Updating NIC drivers and Network Config Utility

[Kevin Everts_1]

Does anyone know why you loose connection to a server when you update the NIC drives and the Network Configuration Utility? I have my NIC cards teamed for fault tolerence and it seems like you should be able to update these without dropping packets. Is there a way to install these without dropping connections?

[Numy]

I've seen some other threads on this type of topic and am curious as well. It seems that most people so far have had to remove the team run the update and re-team to get things working. Does anyone have a good process to automate this as I know I don't care to do this on the number of servers we have.

I can understand some amount of down time from the NIC since when you are updating the drivers I would expect .dll registrations to change or something along those lines but to have it break and not work again after the install seems sloppy at best.

[Kevin Everts_1]

I don't have to break my team, I'm just wondering if there is a way to not drop packets. Each NIC uses it's own driver and it seems like HP could set it up so that it updates the drivers one at a time so that each at least one NIC will be working at all times.

[Numy]

What version are you upgrading too? The 7.5.1 PSP versions? The reason I ask is that in the past my teaming breaks and doesn't come back. I would love it if it would only drop network for a short while and then be working again afterwards.

[Kevin Everts_1]

7.5, I've never had it break the team and I've been using them since 5.5, at least.

[Numy]

Wow, that is suprising as I have had all sorts of trouble with trying to update the NIC or the Teaming Utility.

I did however just try one of my systems with the 7.5.1 PSP bundle via the VCR Agent on a Windows 2003 server and it went pretty smooth. I lost 3 packets doing the driver update and 1 packet for the Teaming util. Are you seeing that kind of loss or greater when updating?

[Kevin Everts_1]

That sounds about right when I'm doing 2003 servers. 2000 Servers seem much worse though.

[Roy Love]

I agree with Kevin. If you don't have a local console connection/ILO/RLO connection, you can be left with no connectivity doing the NIC updates.

[jim goodman]

When updating NIC drivers Windows unloads the old driver to install the new driver. In this period of a few seconds the connection will drop.

In Win2K the timing was such that Windows would actually disable the NIC permanently requiring the removal and rediscovery of the NIC via Device Manager to bring it back. Win2k3 addresses that better and it is not as much of a problem.

Simply put this isn't just with Hp NIC drivers, it is with all NIC Drivers. There is a Microsoft KB article that discusses it.

I can't address the teaming issue. I have seen some instances where the team was not broke and others where it was. I never could understand it.

- Jim

[Jim Miller]

See solution for PSP breaking teams in this thread.

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=1034017