Configure Network Teaming: LACP on Windows - Broadcom
Contact UDC-Networking
If your server is in the University Data Center, you can request assistance with connecting new/additional NICs to data center switches and configuring switch ports for LACP by submitting an email to udc-request@austin.utexas.edu.
Provide the following information in the request:
- System Name
- VLAN(s) to assign to paired switch ports
- Which NICs you want teamed together
Installing the required software
When you install (or update) the Broadcom driver, also select the Control Suite and BASP components.
NOTE: Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 3 requires .NET Framework 2.0 or above.
Creating a New Team
Caution RE: Broadcom 5720 Adapters
The Broadcom 5720 adapter appears to have issues when network teaming (LACP) is employed using Windows Server 2008 R2. The following issues have been seen:
- Upon reboot, virtual LACP adapter returns an invalid MAC address of 0000.0000.0000 and offline NIC. One must disable and re-enable the virtual team to restore proper MAC
This appears to be a issue with the drivers provided by Broadcom. It is recommended to not use the Broadcom adapter, but instead use one from Intel.
Caution:
You should perform this process using a DRAC or while connected to a network connection that will not be part of the new team. When the virtual NIC is created for the new Team, it will not have a static TCP/IP configuration, so you will not be able to access it through this network connection unless there is a DHCP reservation for it to obtain an IP address.
Tip:
BACS can be used to create a Team when at least one of the NICs will be a Broadcom NIC.
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1 |
Open the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS.) |
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Ensure that iSCSI is not enabled on the NIC (If it is, the only Team type that is supported is SLB.) Look under the SCSI controllers (iSCSI) node.
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Click the Team Management button on the lower left corner. |
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Right-click Teams and select Create a Team. |
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When the Broadcom Teaming Wizard appears, click Next. |
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Provide a name for the Team and click Next. |
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For the Team type, select 802.3ad Link Aggregation using Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP). This is what has been suggested by ITS-Networking. Click Next. |
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Select a NIC that you want to add to the new Team from Available Adapters and then click the Addbutton. Repeat this for each NIC that you want to add to the Team. A Team can consist of up to eight NICs. If you need to remove a NIC from the Team, select it from the Team Members section and click the Remove button. (Note: If iSCSI is enabled for a NIC, you will receive an error message when trying to add it to a Team unless the team type is SLB. To avoid this, ensure you have disabled iSCSI for each NIC.) When you have selected all of the NICs for the Team, click Next. |
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On the Creating/Modifying a VLAN page, select Skip Manage VLAN, and click Next. |
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If you are only creating the one Team, select Commit changes to system and exit the wizard. Otherwise select Save changes and continue to manage more teams if you want to create another Team. Click Finish. |
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You will be notified that the Team creation process may take several minutes and will temporarily interrupt the network connection. Click Yes to continue. |
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The Team will now show up in BACS under the Teams node. |
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A virtual NIC will appear in Network Connections. |
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Configure TCP/IP for the Team's virtual NIC as you would any other network connection. |
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Removing a Team
- Open the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS.)
- Click the Team Management button in the lower left corner.
- Under the Teams node find the team that you want to remove. Right-click the Team and select Delete Team.
Changing Properties for a Team
- Open the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS.)
- Click the Team Management button in the lower left corner.
- Under the Teams node find the team you want to add a NIC to. Right-click the Team and select Edit Team.
- When the Broadcom Teaming Wizard appears, progress through the wizard and modify the applicable settings.
Adding a NIC to an Existing Team
- Open the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS.)
- Click the Team Management button in the lower left corner.
- Under the Teams node find the team you want to add a NIC to. Right-click the Team and select Edit Team.
- When the Broadcom Teaming Wizard appears, keep clicking Next on each page until you get to the Assign Team Members page.
- Select the NIC that you want to add from the Available Adapters section and click the Remove button. (A Team can consist of up to eight NICs.) Click Next.
- Keep clicking the Next button on each page of the Wizard until you get to the end, then click then Finish button.
Removing a NIC from an Existing Team
- Open the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS.)
- Click the Team Management button in the lower left corner.
- Under the Teams node find the team you want to add a NIC to. Right-click the Team and select Edit Team.
- When the Broadcom Teaming Wizard appears, keep clicking Next on each page until you get to the Assign Team Members page.
- Select the NIC that you want to remove from the Team Members section and click the Remove button. Click Next.
- Keep clicking the Next button on each page of the Wizard until you get to the end, then click then Finish button.