Technical Brief: Ethernet Teaming

This Technical Brief is a valuable resource to learn how to configure your LaCie professional server for Ethernet Teaming. By enabling Ethernet Teaming, you will help to improve the performance and reliability of your server.

In order to review, confirm, or redefine the software settings on your LaCie professional server, you must have Administrative rights to the device.

Ethernet Teaming, also known as “bonding”, allows you to utilize more than one Ethernet port to carry network traffic to and from a network device. In this case, your LaCie professional server. Ethernet Teaming offers the following benefits:

• Fault tolerance In the event that one Ethernet port fails to send or receive network traffic, all data flow is automatically switched to the working port(s). This type of redundancy is critical for businesses that cannot afford extensive downtime.
• Increased bandwidth Commonly known as “Link Aggregation”, moving data across more than one Ethernet port will enhance server performance. For example, teaming two Ethernet ports offers the potential to double the speed of the transfer rates.
• Load balancing Distributing the network traffic across multiple Ethernet adapters helps to ease the burden on a single port.

Built for advanced networks, your LaCie professional server includes a second Ethernet adapter.

Most connections to a network use a single Ethernet port on a computer, server, or network device. However, you may set the LaCie professional server for Ethernet Teaming by attaching a second Ethernet cable and configuring the included Intel® driver.

You may attach the second Ethernet cable to the additional Ethernet port before or after configuring the LaCie professional server for Ethernet Teaming.

LaCie highly recommends that you configure your Ethernet switch(es) for Ethernet Teaming before continuing with the steps in this Technical Brief. Consult the user manual for your Ethernet switch(es) for more information on support and setup for Ethernet Teaming.