Users Guide

11–Marvell Teaming Services
Frequently Asked Questions
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5. Check that the adapters and the switch are configured identically for link
speed and duplex.
6. If possible, break the team and check for connectivity to each adapter
independently to confirm that the problem is directly associated with
teaming.
7. Check that all switch ports connected to the team are on the same VLAN.
8. Check that the switch ports are configured properly for Generic Trunking
(FEC/GEC)/802.3ad-Draft Static type of teaming and that it matches the
adapter teaming type. If the system is configured for an SLB type of team,
make sure the corresponding switch ports are not configured for Generic
Trunking (FEC/GEC)/802.3ad-Draft Static types of teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Under what circumstances is traffic not load balanced? Why is all traffic
not load balanced evenly across the team members?
Answer: The bulk of traffic does not use IP, TCP, or UDP, or the bulk of the clients
are in a different network. The receive load balancing is not a function of traffic
load, but a function of the quantity of clients that are connected to the server.
Question: What network protocols are load balanced when in a team?
Answer: Marvell’s teaming software only supports IP, TCP, and UDP traffic. All
other traffic is forwarded to the primary adapter.
Question: Which protocols are load balanced with SLB and which ones are not?
Answer: Only IP, TCP, and UDP protocols are load balanced in both directions:
send and receive. IPX is load balanced on the transmit traffic only.
Question: Can I team a port running at 100Mbps with a port running at
1000Mbps?
Answer: Mixing link speeds within a team is only supported for Smart Load
Balancing teams and 802.3ad teams.
Question: Can I team a fiber adapter with a copper GbE adapter?
Answer: Yes with SLB, and yes if the switch allows for it in FEC and GEC and
802.3ad.
Question: What is the difference between adapter load balancing and Microsoft’s
Network Load Balancing?
Answer: Adapter load balancing is done at a network session level, whereas
Network Load Balancing is done at the server application level.