How can I load balance network cards?

[Yvonne Butler]

Hello

I have a 2 node N-class cluster running 1 package. At the moment we have an active/standby setup for the 2 network cards in each node. What we would like to do is set the servers up to load balance network traffic over the 2 network cards. Could someone tell me where to look for the instructions on how to do this please?

[Patrick Wallek · Accepted solution]

You need some additional software called Auto Port Aggregation (APA).

Info available here:

http://h20293.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=J4240AA

[Frank de Vries]

You need this:

http://www.hp.com/products1/serverconnectivity/adapters/apa_overview.html

[rick jones]

The docs for APA should be at http://docs.hp.com/ - depending on your setup, you need to pay attention to the packet scheduling algorithm that will be used.

Keep in mind that any _single_ connection will still be limited to the performance of a single NIC, it is the _aggregate_ that is increased.

If you need a single connection to go faster, you have to upgrade to faster NIC(s).

[Yvonne Butler]

Thanks very much everyone, this is exactly what I needed.