all teaming configurations can be optionally performed using the 3com management programs. refer to "3com management programs" on page 85 for additional information.

    any available nic can be configured as part of a team. teaming is a method of grouping multiple nics to a virtual nic (bundling multiple nics to look like a single nic). the benefit of this approach is load balancing.

    by selecting each of the available nics, move each of them over to the load balance members column. this "team" now appears as one nic. each member in the load balance member list shares the traffic burden of all its members.

    the standby member field is used to permit the selection of one team member to handle traffic, if all other members in the load balance member list fail (failover). the selected standby member will not handle any traffic unless all load balance members fail. when one load balance member (or more) is restored (fail-back), traffic will then be resumed by the restored team member(s).

    teaming configuration is optional. before configuring teaming, see the "nic teaming" in key protocols and interfaces.

    configuring teaming consists of the following tasks:

    ■ accessing the advanced server features driver properties interface

    ■ creating teams

    ■ adding nics to the teams

    ■ assigning ip addresses to the teams

    each of these tasks is described below, along with procedures describing how to delete nics from a failover team and how to delete a team.

    accessing the advanced server features driver interface

    use this procedure to access the nic properties for teaming configuration:

    1 click the start menu, and then select settings/control panel.

    2 select network and dial-up connections, right-click 3com virtual nic, and then select broadcom advanced server program driver.

    the advanced server features window appears.

    interface components of the advanced server features driver properties window are described below:

    ■ select or enter a team name.

    this entry field is used to select or enter a team name.

    ■ unassigned nics

    this list displays all of the nics that are available to be added to a team. because each nic can be added to only one team, the nic is removed from this list after it has been assigned to a team.

    ■ team type

    load balance and failover: load balancing

    fec/gec: also known as general trunking. no standby nic is allowed when this option is selected.

    ■ team members

    this list displays all nics that belong to a selected team.

    ■ standby nics

    this list displays the standby nic selected for failover for a selected team.

    ■ vlan list

    this list displays all the vlans that have been created for the selected team.

    creating a team and assigning nics

    a failover team comprises at least one primary nic (a standby nic is optional). each nic can belong to only one team. to configure a new failover team, access the advanced server features driver properties window and perform the following steps:

    1 enter a team name in the "select or enter a team name" entry field.

    2 click create team.

    all other nics added to the team are reconfigured automatically to match the team configuration. when the basic configuration properties of a team are changed, this changes the configuration of all nics in the team. however, when a nic is removed from any failover teams, it will operate according to the parameters set for it before becoming a member of a failover team.

    3 add a nic to the team.

    ■ in the unassigned nics list, select the nic(s) that you want to add to the team created in the previous step. move the selected nics to the team members list box using the double arrows.

    ■ when you have finished configuring failover teams, click ok to accept the changes.

    at least one nic must be displayed in the team members list box.

    4 if a team has no nics assigned, you will be prompted to add a nic or delete the team.

    click ok. when team has been correctly configured, one virtual team nic driver will be created for each configured team and will appear along with the other nics in the local area connection properties window. click ok.

    5 configure the team ip address if necessary. configure the ip address and any other necessary tcp/ip configuration for the team. click ok when finished. if you are unsure as to how to configure the tcp/ip properties, consult your microsoft documentation.

    removing a nic from a team

    1 to remove an nic from its assigned team, select the nic in the team members list and then click the double left arrow. click ok.

    2 in the local area connection properties window, click ok.

    the nic will be removed from the team list and will reappear in the unassigned nics list.

    deleting a team

    1 to delete a configured failover team and release its assigned nics, select any nic in the team list, and then click delete team. click ok.

    2 in the local area connection properties window click ok.

    the team and all its assigned nics will be removed from the team list. the released nics will reappear in the unassigned nics list.

    nics that are part of a team inherit all the basic configuration properties of the team, including vlans associated with the team. if you delete a team, any vlans configured for that team will also be deleted.