Re: Dell PowerEdge w/ Intel AFT / Broadcom BASP

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• In reply to: Brian A. Seklecki: "Dell PowerEdge w/ Intel AFT / Broadcom BASP"
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Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 16:24:00 -0400 (EDT)
To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org

For the record on this, Dell claims that AFT/ALB is entirely software
based.

On Wed, 5 Oct 2005, Brian A. Seklecki wrote:

> All:
>
> This may be better for freebsd-cluster@freebsd.org, but that list is kind of
> ghost town, and this question is more a standards-based:
>
> Does anyone deploy Dell Poweredge in a HA configuration utilizing these
> features?
>
> http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/resources/technologies/load_balancing.htm
> http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/power/en/ps1q03_bhutani?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz
> http://www.broadcom.com/drivers/faq_drivers.php#55
>
> Do we know what underlying standards and protocols compose these
> "technologies"? 802.3ad, Cisco FEC?
>
> Intel AFT claims to provide redundancy over a "team" of NICs. ALB claims
> link aggregation; but they don't specify if they're doing it in hardware or
> sofware (see Below)
>
> Broadcom BASP claims the same, given different terminology and vendor.
>
> I'm looking for a "fault tolerant" configuration for a HA cluster. "Load
> balancing" and/or "link aggregation" is not required. I need to be able to
> "team" two NICs into one Virtual NIC. Each NIC connects to two redundant
> managed switches, on which the connecting switch ports exist in the same VLAN
> (which is then ISL/802.1q trunked between them). Essentially
> the same ethernet segment.
>
> I see ng_one2many(4), but the man page doesn't really state what standard
> that uses. It seems to be all in-kernel magic (LACP and 802.3.ad aren't
> mentioned in the man page); will this meet the above requirements?
>
> There were some ng_one2many(4) patches a while back to add more intellegence,
> (FEC/802.3ad heartbeat like control protocol)
>
> http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?t=107695977400002&r=1&w=2
> ...but no mention of them ever being commited.
>
> I see ng_fec(4) also, but I don't think that Cisco Ethernet Channel can occur
> between two switches and one server (correct me if I'm wrong).
>
> I question the Hardware v.s. Software issue on the Intel NICs becase the Dell
> PowerEdges Severs that happen to have Intel NIC Chipsets using em(4) (many
> have Broadcom), seem to automatically try to "team" NICs when they're
> connected to unmanaged PowerConnect switches, breaking ng_one2many logic.
> They constantly alternate MAC addresses between the primary ethernet, the
> secondary ethernet, and a 3rd 1-byte-off Virtual MAC.
>
> This automatic attempt to team seems like a hardware feature. If it was a
> software feature, in theory it wouldn't try to team w/o being instructed to?
>
> On the other hand, *managed* Dell PowerConnect switches feature something
> called "LAG", which the docs describe as 802.3ad / LACP.
>
> I haven't tried ng_one2many on non-Dell or Dell Managed switches to see if
> the MAC address "bouncing" problem persists, but I'll try that today.
>
> So the big question:
>
> *) Is the Windows/Linux-only software for configuring "teams" of NICs,
> described in the URLs below, designed to configure a hardware level
> feature that might have more intellegent link failure detection than
> ng_many2one? (I.e., other than just lost carrier, say, STP storm
> detection or excessive packet error thresholds). Or is it software?
>
> *) If it is a hardware feature, could our em(4) driver be adapted or
> could it possibly be configured using OpenManage via the Intel
> IPMI/DMI/SMI whatever?
>
> *) Can Cisco FEC or 802.3ad provide reundancy between two switches and
> one server w/ two NICs? Will NetGraph ever have a 802.3ad module?
>
> *) What combination of Switch and NIC related teaming / failover technology
> are known to be compatible with FreeBSD ?
>
> TIA,
> ~BAS
>

l8*
         -lava

x.25 - minix - bitnet - plan9 - 110 bps - ASR 33 - base8
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• Previous message: Daniel Gerzo: "Re: bruteforceblocker + PF"
• In reply to: Brian A. Seklecki: "Dell PowerEdge w/ Intel AFT / Broadcom BASP"
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