Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2: Broadcom NetXtreme® 57XX User Guide

Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) is an integrated utility that provides useful information about each Broadcom NetXtreme 57XX Gigabit Ethernet Controller that is installed in your system. BACS2 also enables you to perform detailed tests, diagnostics, and analyses on each adapter, as well as to view and modify its property values and view traffic statistics. BACS2 contains three panes:

By clicking a specific tab in the Information/Task pane, you can view available information and perform certain tests, diagnostics, and analyses on a selected adapter.

To the left of the Information/Task pane is the Name pane, which shows the names of the individual network adapters, any teams that have been created, and the individual members of a team.

A third pane contains the Menu bar.

Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP), which runs within Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2, is used to configure teams for load balancing, fault tolerance, and virtual local area networks (VLANs). BASP functionality is available only on systems that use at least one Broadcom Ethernet network adapter.

Types of Information Provided by Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 lists all of the network adapters in your system, and provides the following information (if available) about each adapter:

Driver Status MAC Address Link Status IP Address Memory Address Physical Address Speed Duplex	Slot No. Driver Name Driver Version Driver Date Firmware Version ASIC Version Bus Type Bus No.	Device No. Function No. Interrupt Request Team Name Team Type VLAN Name VLAN ID Properties

Advanced. Shows the available properties and their values for the selected adapter.

BASP Statistics. Provides detailed performance statistics for the selected team (this BASP Statistics tab is displayed only when you click the name of an adapter that is part of a team).

Testing, Diagnostics, Analyses, and Teaming Functions

The following testing, diagnostics, analyses, and teaming functions are provided:

Cable Analysis. Determines if your network cable is too long for optimum network performance.

Configuring Teaming. Allows you to group network adapters into teams for load balance and failover and to create virtual LANs (VLANs).

Installing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 Software

The Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) software and related management applications can be installed from the installation CD . Both a graphical interactive installation mode (see Using the InstallShield® Installer) and a command-line silent mode for unattended installation (see Using Silent Installation) are available.

Use the InstallShield installer for best results.

To prevent an error from occurring on a system running Windows 2000 with Terminal Services, type change user /install from the MS-DOS command prompt before you install the BACS2 software.

Before you begin the installation, close all applications, windows, or dialog boxes.

Using the InstallShield^® Installer

Insert the installation CD into the CD-ROM or DVD drive, or download the software driver package from the Broadcom website at http://www.broadcom.com/drivers/.

On the installation CD or from the location to which you downloaded the software driver package, open the MgmtApps folder, open the folder for your operating system, and then double-click Setup.exe to open InstallShield Wizard.

Click Next to continue.

After you review the license agreement, click I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next to continue.

Select the features you want to install.

Click Next.

Click Install.

Click Finish to close the wizard.

Using Silent Installation

To perform a silent install (or upgrade) from within the installer source folder

This procedure installs the BACS2 application and the BASP managment application.

NOTE: CHM32 or CHM64 installs the BACS2 help file and must be included when installing BACS2.

Updating Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

NOTE: Before you begin the update, close all applications, windows, or dialog boxes.

Removing Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Open Add or Remove Programs In Control Panel.

Click Broadcom Management Programs and click Remove.

Click Yes to remove the management applications and all of its features.

Restart your system.

Starting Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Right-click the Control Suite icon in the taskbar notification area, and then click Launch BACS.

Using Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Start BACS2. Click the tab that provides the information of interest or from which you can perform a desired test, diagnostic, analysis, or set adapter properties. To create a team, from the Tools menu, click Create a Team, which starts Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP).

Vital Sign

The Vital Sign tab shows useful information about the Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapter and other network adapters that are installed in your system. Such information includes the link status of the adapter and network connectivity. To view this information for any installed network adapter, click the name of the adapter listed in the Name pane.

NOTE: Information about network adapters made by others is less comprehensive than the information provided for Broadcom network adapters.

MAC Address. This is a physical MAC (media access control) address that is assigned to the adapter by the manufacturer. The physical address is never all 0s.

Permanent MAC Address. The unique hardware address assigned to the network adapter.

IP Address. The network address that is associated with the adapter. If the IP address is all 0s, this means that the associated driver has not been bound with Internet Protocol (IP).

Driver Status. The status of the driver that is associated with the selected adapter.

Loaded. Normal operating mode. The driver that is associated with the adapter has been loaded by Windows and is functioning.

Not Loaded. The driver that is associated with the adapter has not been loaded by Windows.

Information Not Available. The value is not obtainable from the driver that is associated with the adapter.

Driver Name/Version/Date. The file name, version, and creation date of the software driver that is associated with the adapter.

BASP State. Information about the status of the BASP application. This information is displayed only when there is a team (see Configuring Teaming).

Link Status. The indicator is green if a link is established. A red indicator means that a link is not established.

The team status is also graphically indicated by the appearance of the icons representing the team and the team members. If the adapter icon shows only the adapter, the adapter is connected to a network, but is not correctly participating in the team, which corresponds to a Not Active BASP state. This condition does not apply to an adapter that is a standby member of a team. The standby adapter may be correctly working even though it is Not Active.

If the adapter icon shows a superimposed running yellow figure, the adapter is connected and participating in the team correctly, which corresponds to an Active BASP state.

If the adapter icon show a superimposed red letter X, the adapter is not connected to the network.

Resources

Slot No. The PCI slot number on the system board occupied by the adapter. This item is not available for PCI Express™ type adapters.

Bus Speed (MHz). The bus clock signal frequency used by the adapter. This item is not available for PCI Express type adapters.

Bus Width (bits). The number of bits that the bus can transfer at a single time to and from the adapter. This item is not available for PCI Express type adapters.

Function No. The port number of the adapter. For a single-port adapter, the function number is 0. For a two-port adapter, the function number for the first port is 0, and the function number for the second port is 1.

Interrupt Request. The interrupt line number that is associated with the adapter. Valid numbers range from 2 to 25.

Memory Address. The memory mapped address that is assigned to the adapter. This value can never be 0.

Hardware

ASIC Version. The chip version of the Broadcom adapter (this information is not available for adapters made by others).

Firmware Version. The firmware version of the Broadcom adapter (this information is not available for adapters made by others).

Advanced

The Advanced tab allows you to view and change the values of the available properties of the selected adapter. The potentially available properties and their respective settings are described below. To view the value of a property, click the name of the property in the Property list. The property value is displayed in the Value box. To change the value, click an item in the Value list or type a new value, as appropriate (selection options are different for different properties).

You must have administrator privileges to change the values for a property.

The list of available properties is different on some models of the Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapters than on others.

802.1p QOS

The 802.1p QOS property enables quality of service, which is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) specification that treats different types of network traffic differently to ensure required levels or reliability and latency according to the type of traffic. This property is disabled by default. Unless the network infrastructure supports QoS, do not enable QoS. Otherwise, problems may occur.

Checksum Offload

Normally, the checksum function is computed by the protocol stack. When you select one of the Checksum Offload property values (other than None), the checksum can be computed by the network adapter.

TX/Rx TCP/IP Checksum (default). Enables transmit and receive TCP/IP/UDP checksum offload.

Ethernet@Wirespeed™

The Ethernet@Wirespeed property enables a Gigabit Ethernet adapter to establish a link at a lower speed when only 2 pairs of wires are available in the cabling plant. By default, this property is set to Enable. To disable Ethernet@Wirespeed, change the setting to Disable. This property is not available for fiber adapters.

Flow Control

The Flow Control property enables or disables the receipt or transmission of PAUSE frames. PAUSE frames enable the network adapter and a switch to control the transmit rate. The side that is receiving the PAUSE frame momentarily stops transmitting.

LSO & Jumbo Frames

The Jumbo Frames property allows the network adapter to transmit and receive oversized Ethernet frames that are greater than 1514 bytes, but less than 9000 bytes in length. This property requires the presence of a switch that is able to process Jumbo frames. Not all adapters support Jumbo Frames. If Jumbo Frames is not one of the properties listed for a selected adapter, the feature is not supported. BCM5721 and BCM5751 based adapters do not support Jumbo Frames.

Frame size is set at 1500 bytes by default by selecting the LSO Enabled,Jumbo Off option.

NOTE: Jumbo Frames and Large Send Offload (LSO) are mutually-exclusive properties.

Normally the TCP segmentation is done by the protocol stack. When you enable the Large Send Offload (LSO) property, the TCP segmentation can be done by the network adapter.

Locally Administered Address

The Locally Administered Address is a user-defined MAC address that is used in place of the MAC address originally assigned to the network adapter. Every adapter in the network must have its own unique MAC address. This locally administered address consists of a 12-digit hexadecimal number.

Not Present (Default). Uses the factory-assigned node address on the adapter.

The appropriate assigned ranges and exceptions for the locally administered address include the following:

The range is 00:00:00:00:00:01 to FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FD.

Do not use a multicast address (least significant bit of the high byte = 1).

Do not use all 0s or all F's.

Speed & Duplex

The Speed & Duplex property sets the connection speed and mode to that of the network. Note that Full-Duplex mode allows the adapter to transmit and receive network data simultaneously. This property is not available for fiber adapters.

Auto (default). Sets the speed and mode for optimum network connection (recommended).

Auto is the recommended setting. This setting allows the network adapter to dynamically detect the line speed of the network. Whenever the network capability changes, the network adapter automatically detects and adjusts to the new line speed and duplex mode. A speed of 1 Gbit/s is enabled by selecting Auto, when that speed is supported. Therefore, a setting for forcing 1000 Mbit/s speed is not needed for copper links; the default Auto setting is the proper supported configuration under the IEEE specification for 1 Gbit/s operation.

10 Mb Half and 100 Mb Half settings force the network adapter to connect to the network in Half-Duplex mode. Note that the network adapter may not function if the network is not configured to operate at the same mode.

10 Mb Full and 100 Mb Full settings force the network adapter to connect to the network in Full-Duplex mode. The network adapter may not function if the network is not configured to operate at the same mode.

Wake Up Capabilities

The Wake Up Capabilities property enables the network adapter to wake up from a low-power mode when it receives a network wake-up frame. Two types of wake-up frames are possible: Magic Packet™ and Wake Up Frame.

Wake Up Frame. Selects Wake Up Frame as the wake-up frame and allows the network adapter to wake the system when an event such as a ping or an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) request is received. This option works in conjunction with the operating system power mode saving and does not work if the Power Save setting does not enable WOL.

WOL Speed

The WOL Speed property sets the speed at which the network adapter connects to the network while the network adapter is in Wake on LAN mode. By default, the WOL Speed property is set to Auto.

10 Mb. Sets the speed to 10 Mbit/s. This is the network speed when the system is in a standby mode awaiting a wake-up frame.

Wake on LAN is supported at 10 Mbit/s or 100 Mbit/s.

Wake on LAN is supported on only one adapter in the system at a time.

Network Test

On the Network Test tab, you can verify IP network connectivity. This test verifies if the driver is installed correctly and tests connectivity to a gateway or other specified IP address on the same subnet. Network Test uses TCP/IP. The network test sends ICMP packets to remote systems and waits for a response. If a gateway is configured, the test automatically sends packets to that system. If a gateway is not configured or if the gateway is unreachable, the test prompts you for a destination IP address.

Diagnostics

On the Diagnostics tab you can perform diagnostic tests on the physical components of a Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapter. The tests are continuously performed. The number of passes and fails in the Pass/Fail column increments each time the tests are performed. For example, if a test is performed four times and there are no fails, the value in the Pass/Fail column is 4/0. If there were 3 passes and 1 fail, however, the value in the Pass/Fail column is 3/1.

You must have administrator privileges to perform diagnostics.

The network connection is temporarily lost when these tests are running

Control Registers. This test verifies the read and write capabilities of the network adapter registers by writing various values to the registers and verifying the results. The adapter driver uses these registers to perform network functions such as sending and receiving information. A test failure indicates that the adapter may not be working properly.

MII Registers. This test verifies the read and write capabilities of the registers of the physical layer (PHY). The physical layer is used to control the electrical signals on the wire and for configuring network speeds such as 1000 Mbit/s.

EEPROM. This test verifies the content of the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) by reading a portion of the EEPROM and computing the checksum. The test fails if the computed checksum is different from the checksum stored in the EEPROM. An EEPROM image upgrade does not require a code change for this test.

Internal Memory. This test verifies that the internal memory of the adapter is functioning properly. The test writes patterned values to the memory and reads back the results. The test fails if an erroneous value is read back. The adapter cannot function if its internal memory is not functioning properly.

On-Chip CPU. This test verifies the operation of the internal CPUs in the adapter.

Interrupt. This test verifies that the Network Device Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) driver is able to receive interrupts from the adapter.

Loopback MAC and Loopback PHY. These tests verify that the NDIS driver is able to send packets to and receive packets from the adapter.

Test LED. This test causes all of the LEDs to blink 5 times for the purpose of identifying the adapter.

Cable Analysis

On the Cable Analysis tab, you can run a test to determine if you have the appropriate length of cable connected. The cable length test makes this determination by using a return loss algorithm. This information allows you to determine whether a problem you may be experiencing is related to the adapter or if the cabling is too long.

The network connection must be a Gigabit Ethernet connection.

The network connection is temporarily lost during an analysis.

Click the Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapter listed in the Name pane.

Click Test.

Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

Distance. The estimated cable length in meters (an average of all 4 channels using a return loss algorithm).

Margin. The minimum difference (in dB) between the measured length of the cable pair and the maximum length specified in IEEE 802.3ab.

Frequency Margin. The minimum difference (in MHz) between the measured frequency of the cable pair and the maximum frequency specified in IEEE 802.3ab.

Statistics

On the Statistics tab, you can view traffic statistics for both Broadcom network adapters and network adapters made by others. Statistical information and coverage are more comprehensive for Broadcom adapters.

NOTE: Team statistics are not compiled for a Broadcom network adapter if it is disabled.

General Statistics

Frames Tx OK. A count of the frames that are successfully transmitted. This counter is incremented when the transmit status is reported as Transmit OK.

Frames Rx OK. A count of the frames that are successfully received. This does not include frames received with frame-too-long, frame check sequence (FCS), length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented when the receive status is reported as Receive OK.

Directed Frames Tx. A count of directed data frames that are successfully transmitted.

Multicast Frames Tx. A count of frames that are successfully transmitted (as indicated by the status value Transmit OK) to a group destination address other than a broadcast address.

Broadcast Frames Tx. A count of frames that were successfully transmitted (as indicated by the transmit status Transmit OK) to the broadcast address. Frames transmitted to multicast addresses are not broadcast frames and therefore, are excluded.

Directed Frames Rx. A count of directed data frames that are successfully received.

Multicast Frames Rx. A count of frames that are successfully received and are directed to an active nonbroadcast group address. This does not include frames received with frame-too-long, FCS, length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented as indicated by the Receive OK status.

Broadcast Frames Rx. A count of frames that are successfully received and are directed to a broadcast group address. This count does not include frames received with frame-too-long, FCS, length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented as indicated by the Receive OK status.

IEEE 802.3 Statistics

Frames Rx with Alignment Error. A count of the frames that are not an integral number of octets in length and do not pass the FCS check. This counter is incremented when the receive status is reported as Alignment Error.

Frames Tx with one Collision. A count of the frames that are involved in a single collision and are subsequently transmitted successfully. This counter is incremented when the result of a transmission is reported as Transmit OK, and the attempt value is 2.

Frames Tx with more than one Collision. A count of the frames that are involved in more than one collision and are subsequently transmitted successfully. This counter is incremented when the transmit status is reported as Transmit OK, and the value of the attempts variable is greater than 2 and less than or equal to the attempt limit.

Frames Tx after Deferral. A count of the frames that were delayed being transmitted on the first attempt because the medium was busy. The frames involved in any collision are not counted.

Custom Statistics

NOTE: Custom statistics are available only for an enabled Broadcom network adapter.

Frames size less than 64-byte with bad FCS. The number of frames with a size less than 64 bytes with bad FCS.

MAC Rx w/ Pause Command and Length = 0. MAC control frames with the pause command and a length equal to 0.

MAC Rx w/ Pause Command and Length greater than 0. MAC control frames with the pause command and a length greater than 0.

Large Send Offload Transmit Requests. The number of times the adapter was requested to transmit a packet performing TCP segmentation.

BASP Statistics

On the BASP Statistics tab you can view performance information about the network adapters that are on a team. To view this information for any team member adapter, click the name of the adapter. To view the BASP statistics for the team as a whole, click the name of the team.

Configuring Teaming

The teaming function allows you to group any available network adapters together to function as a team. Teaming is a method of creating a virtual LAN (a group of multiple adapters that functions as a single adapter). The benefit of this approach is that it enables load balancing and failover. Teaming is done through the Broadcom Advanced Server Program software. For a comprehensive description of the technology and implementation considerations of the teaming software, refer to the "Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet Teaming Services" section of the Broadcom NetXtreme 57XX User Guide.

Using Broadcom Teaming Wizard

Using Expert Mode

NOTES:

For further information regarding teaming protocols, see "Teaming" in the Broadcom NetXtreme 57XX User Guide.

If you do not enable LiveLink™ when configuring teams, disabling Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) at the switch is recommended. This minimizes the downtime due to spanning tree loop determination when failing over. LiveLink mitigates such issues.

BASP is available only if a system has one or more Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapters installed.

BASP does not support Microsoft Network Load Balancing (NLB).

The Large Send Offload (LSO) and Checksum Offload properties are automatically enabled for a team only if LSO and Checksum Offload are supported and configured on all members of a team.

You must have administrator privileges to create or modify a team.

The load balance algorithm in a team environment in which members are connected at different speeds favors members connected with a Gigabit Ethernet link over members connected at lower speed links (100 Mbps or 10 Mbps) until a threshold is met. This is normal behavior.

Team Types

Smart Load Balance and Failover

Link Aggregation (802.3ad)

Generic Trunking (FEC/GEC)/802.3ad-Draft Static

SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) — The Auto-Fallback Disable feature is configured for Smart Load Balance and Failover type teams in the Teaming Wizard.

In this type of team, a standby member handles the traffic if all of the load balance members fail (a failover event). All load balance members have to fail before the standby member takes over. When one or more of the load balance members is restored (fallback), the restored team member(s) resumes the handling of the traffic. The LiveLink feature is supported only for this type of team.

In this type of team, you can dynamically configure the network adapters that have been selected to participate in a given team. If the link partner is not correctly configured for IEEE 802.3ad link configuration, errors are detected and noted. All adapters in the team are configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. The outbound load balancing scheme is determined by the BASP driver. The link partner of the team determines the load balancing scheme for inbound packets. In this mode, at least one of the link partners must be in active mode.

This type of team is very similar to the link aggregation type, in that all adapters in the team must be configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. This mode does not provide link aggregation control protocol (LACP) or marker protocol support. This mode supports a variety of environments where the link partners are statically configured to support a proprietary trunking mechanism. Trunking supports load balancing and failover for both outbound and inbound traffic.

This team is identical to Smart Load Balance and Failover, with the following exception—when the standby member is active, if a primary member comes back online, the team continues using the standby member rather than switching back to the primary member. This type of team is supported only for situations in which the network cable is disconnected and reconnected to the network adapter. It is not supported for situations in which the adapter is removed/installed through Device Manager or Hot-Plug PCI. If any primary adapter assigned to a team is disabled, the team functions as a Smart Load Balancing and Failover type of team in which auto-fallback occurs.

Standby Team Member and Auto-Fallback Disable Mode

You can designate one team member in an SLB type of team to be the standby member. The standby member does not actively send and receive normal network traffic while other adapters on the team are active. If all of the active adapters on the team fail or are disconnected, the standby member takes over the handling of the network activities.

In Auto-Fallback Disable mode, if a load balance member returns on line, the team continues using the standby member rather than switching back to using the load balance member. Consequently, the adapter that was initially designated a load balance member remains in an inactive state and becomes the new standby member.

The LiveLink™ feature is not supported if Auto-Fallback Disable mode is enabled on an SLB type of team.

Using Broadcom Teaming Wizard

You can use Broadcom Teaming Wizard to create a team, configure an existing team, or create a VLAN.

Creating and Modifying a Team Using the Teaming Wizard

On the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 Tools menu, click Create a Team.

NOTE: If you prefer to work without the wizard for now, click Expert Mode and then click Next. If you want to always use Expert Mode to create a team, select the Default to Expert Mode check box, and then click Next. See Using Expert Mode.

To continue using the wizard, click Next.

Type the team name and then click Next. If you want to review or change any of your settings, click Back. Click Cancel to discard your settings and exit the wizard.

NOTE: The team name cannot exceed 39 characters, cannot begin with spaces, and cannot contain any of the following characters: & \ / : * ? < > |.

Click the type of team you want to create and then click Next.

If the team type is an SLB type team, click Next. If the team type is not an SLB type team, then a dialog box appears. Verify that the network switch connected to the team members is configured correctly for the team type, and then click OK to continue.

In the Available Adapters list, click the adapter you want to add to the team, and then click Add (you can remove team members from the Team Members list by clicking the adapter and then clicking Remove). Click Next.

NOTE: There must be at least one Broadcom network adapter assigned to the team.

The Large Send Offload (LSO) and Checksum Offload (CO) columns indicate if the LSO and/or the CO properties are supported (Y) or not supported (N) for the adapter. The LSO and CO properties are automatically enabled for a team if LSO and/or CO are supported and configured on all members of a team. If this is the case, then the team property appears on the bottom of the screen.

If you want to designate one of the adapters as a standby member (optional), click Use the following member as a standby member.

Select the standby member from the list of adapters.

The Auto-Fallback Disable mode feature allows the team to continue using the standby member rather than switching back to the primary member if the primary member comes back online. To enable this feature, click Enable Auto-Fallback Disable mode, and then click Next.

If you want to configure LiveLink, click Yes, and then click Next. If you do not want to configure LiveLink, click No, and then click Next.

Set the probe interval (the number of seconds between each retransmission of a link packet to the probe target) and the maximum number of probe retries (the number of consecutively missed responses from a probe target before a failover is triggered).

Click the probe target at the top of the list, click Edit Target IP Address, type the target IP address in the IP address box, and then click OK. Click Next.

NOTE: Only the first probe target is required. You can specify up to three additional probe targets to serve as backups by assigning IP addresses to the other probe targets.

Click a listed team member, click Edit Member IP Address, and then type the member IP address in the IP address box. Repeat this step for all listed team members, click OK, and then click Next.

NOTE: All of the member IP addresses must be in the same subnet as the subnet of the probe targets.

If you want to create a VLAN on the team, click Yes, and then click Next. If you do not want to create a VLAN to the team, click No, click Next, and continue with the Teaming Wizard from the Finish screen (see Step 19. of this procedure).

VLANs enable you to add multiple virtual adapters that are on different subnets. The benefit of this is that your system can have one network adapter that can belong to multiple subnets.

NOTE: VLANs can only be created when all team members are Broadcom adapters.

Type the VLAN name, and then click Next.

NOTE: The team name cannot exceed 39 characters, cannot begin with spaces, and cannot contain any of the following characters: & \ / : * ? < > |.

To tag the VLAN, click Tagged, and then click Next. Otherwise, click Untagged, click Next, and continue with the Teaming Wizard to add additional VLANs (see Step 18. of this procedure).

Type the VLAN tag value, and then click Next. The value must be a number between 1 and 4094.

Click Yes to add another VLAN, and then click Next. Repeat until you no longer want to add VLANs.

NOTE: You can define up to 64 VLANs per team (63 VLANs that are tagged and 1 VLAN that is not tagged). Adding several VLANS may slow down the reaction time of the Windows interface due to memory and processor time usage for each VLAN. The degree to which Windows performance may suffer depends on system configuration.

To apply and commit the changes to the team, click Commit changes and return to Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2, and then click Finish.

-or-

To preview the changes to the team in Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2, click Preview changes in Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 and then click Finish. The Teaming Wizard exits and Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 opens. Click Apply to commit the changes or click Cancel to discard the changes.

Click the team name to view the team statistics on the Statistics tab and the team properties on the Team Properties tab. Click the VLAN name to view the properties of the VLAN on the Vital Sign tab and the VLAN statistics on the BASP Statistics tab.

Using Expert Mode

You can also use Expert mode to create a team, modify a team, add a VLAN, and configure LiveLink for a Smart Load Balance and Failover team. To create a team using the wizard, see Using Broadcom Teaming Wizard.

Creating a Team

NOTE: Enabling Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is not recommended for members of an SLB type of team.

On the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 Tools menu, click Create a Team.

To work for now using Expert mode, click Expert Mode.

NOTE: If you want to always use Expert mode to create a team, select the Default to Expert Mode check box.

Click Next.

Type a team name in the Enter a name you will use to identify this team box.

Click the type of team, and then click Next.

Assign any available adapter or adapters to the team by moving the adapter from the Available Adapters list to the Load Balance Members list. There must be at least one adapter in the Load Balance Members list.

Assign any other available adapter or adapters to the team by moving the adapter from the Available Adapters list to the Standby Member list.

NOTE: There must be at least one Broadcom network adapter assigned to the team.

Click Apply.

Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

NOTES:

The number of characters that can be used in a team name is a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 39.

A team name cannot begin with spaces or contain any of the following characters: & \ / : * ? < > | ".

Team names must be unique. If you attempt to use a team name more than once, an error message is displayed indicating that a team by that name already exists.

The maximum number of team members is eight.

When team configuration has been correctly performed, a virtual team adapter driver is created for each configured team.

To view the configuration of the team, click Preview before clicking Apply. If you are satisfied with the configuration, click Configure. If you are not satisfied, either delete the team, or reconfigure it.

If you disable a virtual team and later want to reenable it, you must first disable and reenable all team members before you reenable the virtual team.

When you create Generic Trunking and Link Aggregation teams, you cannot designate a standby member. Standby members work only with Smart Load Balancing and Failover and SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) types of teams.

For an SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) team, to restore traffic to the load balance members from the standby member, click the Fallback button on the Team Properties tab.

When configuring an SLB team, although connecting team members to a hub is supported for testing, it is recommended to connect team members to a switch.

Not all network adapters made by others are supported or fully certified for teaming.

Configure the team IP address.

Open Network Connections in Control Panel.

Right-click the name of the team to be configured, and then click Properties.

On the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.

Configure the IP address and any other necessary TCP/IP configuration for the team, and then click OK when finished.

Modifying a Team

Change the type of team.

Change the members assigned to the team.

Add a VLAN.

Modify a VLAN (using Expert Mode)

Remove a team or a VLAN (using Expert Mode).

On the Broadcom Advanced Control suite 2 Tools menu, click Configure a Team.

In Broadcom Teaming Wizard, click Next to continue modifying a team using the wizard or click Expert Mode to work in Expert mode.

Make the desired changes, and then click OK.

Click Apply.

Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

Adding a VLAN

You also can add virtual LANs (VLANs) to a team. This enables you to add multiple virtual adapters that are on different subnets. The benefit of this is that your system can have one network adapter that can belong to multiple subnets. With a VLAN, you can couple the functionality of load balancing for the load balance members, and you can employ a failover adapter.

You can define up to 64 VLANs per team (63 VLANs that are tagged and 1 VLAN that is not tagged). VLANs can only be created when all teams members are Broadcom adapters. If you try to create a VLAN with a non-Broadcom adapter, an error message is displayed.

Click the name of the team you want to configure.

On the Team Properties tab, click Add VLAN.

Type the VLAN ID and VLAN name, and then click OK.

NOTE: The Untagged VLAN check box is exclusively used by the VLAN ID field. To use VLAN ID 0, simply click this check box. If you type a VLAN name or ID and the name already exists, an Input Error message is displayed

When you are finished adding VLANs to this team, click OK. A new virtual adapter is created for each VLAN.

Click Apply.

Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

NOTE: To maintain optimum adapter performance, your system should have 64 MB of system memory for each of the 8 VLANs created per adapter

Viewing VLAN Properties and Statistics and Running VLAN Tests

Click the name of the VLAN adapter of interest.

Click the Vital Sign tab to view the properties of the VLAN adapter.

Click the BASP Statistics tab to view the statistics for the VLAN adapter.

Click the Network Test tab to run a network test on the VLAN adapter.

Deleting a VLAN

On the Tools menu, click Configure a Team.

If there is more than one team, click the name of the team that has the VLAN you want to delete, and then click OK.

Click Remove VLAN.

Click Apply.

Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

NOTE: If you delete a team, any VLANs configured for that team are also deleted

Configuring LiveLink for a Smart Load Balance and Failover Team

Before you begin configuring LiveLink™, review the description of LiveLink in the Broadcom NetXtreme 57XX User Guide. Also verify that each probe target you plan to specify is available and working. If the IP address of the probe target changes for any reason, LiveLink must be reconfigured.

A probe target must be on the same subnet as the team, have a valid (not a broadcast, multicast, or unicast), statically-assigned IP address, and be highly available (always on).

To ensure network connectivity to the probe target, ping the probe target from the team.

You can specify up to 4 probe targets.

The IP address assigned to either a probe target or team member cannot have a zero as the first or last octet.

Right-click the name of the Smart Load Balance and Failover (SLB) team, and then click Configure LiveLink.

Select the Enable LiveLink check box.

It is recommended to accept the default values for Probe interval (the number of seconds between each retransmission of a link packet to the probe target) and Probe maximum retries (the number of consecutively missed responses from a probe target before a failover is triggered). To specify different values, click the desired probe interval in the Probe interval (seconds) list and click the desired maximum number of probe retries in the Probe maximum retries list.

Click the probe target at the top of the list, click Edit Target IP Address, type the target IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

NOTE: Only the first probe target is required. You can specify up to 3 additional probe targets to serve as backups by assigning IP addresses to the other probe targets

Click one of the listed team members, click Edit Member IP Address, type the member IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

NOTE: All of the member IP addresses must be in the same subnet as the subnet for the probe targets

Repeat step 5 for each of the other listed team members.

Click OK.

CAUTION! For the teams with VLANs (on which LiveLink is enabled): to be able to communicate with the probe target, both the probe target and the team must be on an untagged VLAN (VLAN ID 0). Otherwise, the team loses connectivity.

Ensure that the team has an untagged VLAN (VLAN ID 0).

Ensure there is network connectivity between the team and the probe target on the untagged VLAN.

Right-click the name of the SLB team with VLAN(s).

Select the Enable LiveLink check box.

Click the desired probe interval (the number of seconds between each retransmission of the link packet to the probe target) in the Probe interval (seconds) list.

Click the desired maximum number of probe retries in the Probe maximum retries list.

Click the probe target at the top of the list, click Edit Target IP Address, type the target IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

NOTE: It is not necessary to specify more than one probe target. If you do want to specify more than one, for each additional probe target (up to a total of 4), click the next probe target in the list, type the target IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

Click one of the listed team members, click Edit Member IP Address, type the member IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

NOTE: All of the member IP addresses must be in the same subnet as the subnet for the probe targets

Repeat step 8 for each of the other listed team members.

Click OK.

Viewing the Team Properties and Statistics

Click the name of the newly created team.

Click the Statistics tab to view the team statistics.

Saving and Restoring a Configuration

On the File menu, click Team Save As.

Type the path and file name of the new configuration file, and then click Save (a .bcg extension is added).

The configuration file is a text file that can be viewed by any text editor. The file contains information about both the adapter and the team configuration.

On the File menu, click Team Restore.

Click the name of the file to be restored, and then click Open.

NOTE: If necessary, go to the folder where the file is located.

Click Apply.

Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

If a configuration is already loaded, a message is displayed that asks if you want to save your current configuration. Click Yes to save the current configuration. Otherwise, the configuration data that is currently loaded is lost.