Server load balancing on meshed switches

[Klaus Horlbeck]

Hi,
We have 3 HP ProCurve 5308xl with meshing. They works very well. Two servers shall be attached to two 5308xl with two NICs per each server because of redundancy now.
Is this possible? We use Version 08.01.

How I must configure the switch ports '?

Somebody has any ideas.
Klaus

[Stuart Teo]

Hi,

You got to run teaming software on your server and configure the software to negotiate a trunk with the switch using either PAgP or LACP.

On the switch, configure 2 ports for PAgP or LACP depending on what you selected for the teaming software.

[Gonzo Granello]

Klaus,


that answer from Teo is only part of the story, however - let's clarify terms and usage to make sure we are talking about the same things. In your message headline you say "load balancing" and in the messgae you say "redundancy" - those two things are indeed completley different. Kind of, at least. While load balancing will give you some redundancy it will also give you the benifit of using both links, given they go to the SAME! switch. If you want redundancy and want connections to two different switches then the above scenario will only work when set as follows: (assuming intel NIC's) install Proset and drivers, set to fault tolerance, connect - done. No config on the switches is needed!!!! So, this is easier, right? But, you will loose the capacity of one link since only one is active at a time. What I usually do in this scenario is to use a Gig link as primary and a 100T as backup link since I'm not worried about the speed in a fault situation (as long as it still works) and know it will be temporary and fixed soon. Most servers have a unused on board Nic that is perfect for that....

Hope that Helps

///Andreas