Configure ProCurve 2824 switch for LACP with my Lenovo IX4-300d NAS drives

[rmilyard]

Hello all.

I am just starting out learning more than basic networking.  I was given this switch by a friend and have it in my closest downstairs.

What I have setup right (and will to change stuff around) is my Cox Cable modem is going from modem to my Netgear AC1900 Nighthawk WiFi router.  From router I have coming into the switch on port 24.  Port 23 runs to my upstairs computers etc and does though small 8 port switch and also Apple Airport Extreme setup in bridged mode to provide better WiFi upstairs.

At the switch now I have 2 Lenovo IX4-300d NAS going into port 1 and the other into port 3.  One is my movies NAS for my HTPC and other systems.  The other is hacked for SABnzbd, SickBeard and Couchpotatoe to provide these to my HTPC.

On port 5 I have an Iomega IX2-200d NAS that is all my system use to backup to.  I also have varies items on the switch but nothing that I need help with.

Back to my question.  I am reading that the IX4-300d NAS have 2 1gb ports that can be used for LACP.  I would like to add this as I am reading provides better speeds.  So I was thinking putting first one on ports 1-2 and the other 3-4.  I see the setting within the Lenovo web interface to turn this on but what would I need to do on the swicth to get this going?

[Vince-Whirlwind]

They call it trunking:

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/networking/software/Mgmt-Oct2005-59906023-Chap12.pdf

trunk 1-2 trk1

trunk 3-4 trk2

or,

int 1-2 lacp active

int 3-4 lacp active

or, maybe you need to do both.

Unpatch your NASs before you configure the ports to make sure they don't get confused.

It is also possible the switch might dynamically create the trunk without any extra config just by you patching in the second NAS interface. Not sure. Try it and see.

[rmilyard]

Looking at IX4-300d newest manual I see this:

Bonding NICs

Bonding network interface cards (NICs) is a way to provide redundancy for your ix4-300d on the network. If one NIC should fail, your ix4-300d will remain accessible on the network if that NIC is bonded to others. Depending on the bonding mode selected, it can also increase bandwidth.

You can bond the built-in NICs in your ix4-300d.

Use the following procedure to bond NICs:

1.     Open the Network feature and click Modify network settings.

2.     Use the drop-down menu to select the Bonding Mode you want to use:

             Adaptive Load Balance:

              This mode increases bandwidth by distributing the load across the bonded NICs. Adaptive Load Balance does not               require any switch or router support because the bonding is done by the ix4-300d, and LifeLine's bonding

             driver takes care of network traffic to support the bonding.

             Adaptive Load Balance is the default bonding mode.

             Link Aggregation:

              This mode increases bandwidth by distributing the load across multiple ports in a switch. Link Aggregation

              requires an 802.3ad compatible network switch.

             Failover:

              Failover mode protects network connectivity for your ix4-300d in case a NIC fails. In Failover mode, only one NIC

              in the bond is active; other NICs in the bond are passive. If the active NIC fails, another NIC in the bond becomes

              active and maintains network connectivity. Failover mode does not require any switch support, and it does not

              provide any bandwidth increase.

3. Click Apply to save your setting.

4. In the Network Interface table, expand the number for one of the NICs you want to bond, and then expand the Bond

     Network Interface section.

5. Check the box under Bond next to each NIC you want to bond to the selected NIC. For example, if you expanded NIC 1,

     and your configuration includes four NICs, you could bond NIC 1 to NIC 2, 3, and/or 4.

6. Click Apply to save your settings.

 The section updates and displays the NICs that are bonded to the selected NIC

So I am not sure about how I would go about doing this.  I very new to using this switch and still learning.  I would like to provide the best speeds to my home network for anyhting accessing these NAS drives. 

Any input is VERY WELCOMED!

[Vince-Whirlwind]

OK, so do not configure the switch for any kind of link aggregation and use your device's default method: Adaptive Load Balancing.

Patch both interfaces to the switch.

Check interface traffic stats and confirm you have traffic using both links.

If you're not happy with the results, then try the 802.3ad option and configure both the switchports with LACP active.

[rmilyard]

When I did the Adaptive Load Balancing. and doesn't seem to do anything.  Traffic only on the first NIC.

When I tried using this command:

trunk 1-2 trk1

I can't get into the web page of the NAS anymore.

Tried:

int 1-2 lacp active

Same issue and when look at show lacp I see port status blocked.  LACP partner NO

Sorry for being a NOOB but not sure how to get this setup.

[Vince-Whirlwind]

Did you configure the NAS with 802.3ad first, before configuring LACP on the switch.
Have a read about 802.3ad - seeing all the traffic on only one link can be normal.

[rmilyard]

Yes I set them up first.  I got them working somewhat.  I can watch traffic on switch and see traffic on one port.  If I unplug one I see it fail over to other port.  Still only traffic on one port.

However I have a new issue when using LACP. 

WIthin File Explorer I go to Network and see the NAS drives.  When I double click on them I can't access them.  However I can use RUN command and access them.  Ex: \\10.0.1.220

Also within programs (ex: xbmc) I can access network shares on these NAS drives.  Not sure what issue might be.  I had someone from HP remote in the other day and he didn't seem to know what is going on.