Interoperation Between CE Series Switches and Servers

Typical Scenario

Figure 2-1 shows a typical scenario in which CE series switches connect to servers.

Figure 2-1 Typical scenario in which CE series switches connect to servers

In this scenario, three servers connect to CE series switches. There are three situations:

• Situation 1: A server connects to multiple Ethernet interfaces of a switch.

• Situation 2: A server connects to a stack system consisting of multiple switches.

• Situation 3: A server connects to multiple switches.

A server can work in different modes in different situations.

Server Working Mode

You can configure a server to work in active/standby or load balancing mode. The following uses two network adapters to describe applicable situations of the two working modes.

• Active/Standby mode: Two network adapters work in active/standby mode and only the active network adapter transmits service traffic. This mode applies to situations 1, 2, and 3 in the typical scenario.

  In this mode, you need to add interfaces connected to the server to the same VLAN, and configure network adapters of the server to work in active/standby mode.

• Load balancing mode: Two network adapters work in active mode to load balance service traffic. This mode applies to situations 1 and 2 in the typical scenario.

  In this mode, you need to add interfaces connected to the server to an Eth-Trunk, configure the Eth-Trunk to work in dynamic LACP mode, and configure network adapters of the server to work in load balancing mode.

  • When a CE switch in LACP mode connects to a virtual server, the CE switch only needs to connect to the physical network adapter of the server to establish an Eth-Trunk in LACP mode.

  • If per-packet load balancing is used, packet mis-sequencing may occur. Server performance is affected. You can configure traffic control on the physical interfaces connecting the switch and server.

    # Enable traffic control on 10GE1/0/1 of the switch in inbound and outbound directions.

    <HUAWEI> system-view
    [~HUAWEI] interface 10ge 1/0/1
    [~HUAWEI-10GE1/0/1] flow-control

Analysis of Interworking Between the CE Series Switch and Linux Server

Analysis of Interworking Between the CE Series Switch and Windows Server

The interworking mode used by a Huawei CE series switch to connect to a Windows server depends on the binding mode of network adapters of the server. For details, see Table 2-2.

A server generally has multiple network adapters. You can configure network adapter aggregation to improve bandwidth and reliability. This document describes how to connect CE series switches to servers using network adapter groups consisting of mainstream network adapters, including Intel(R) Server Adapter I340, HP Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T, and Mellanox ConnectX Ethernet Adapter.

• Intel(R) Server Adapter I340 Network Adapter Group

  Table 2-3 describes the five modes supported by Intel(R) Server Adapter I340 network adapter group.

  Table 2-3 Modes supported by Intel(R) Server Adapter I340 network adapter group

  Server Mode	Network Adapter Group Mode	Description
  Active/Standby mode	Adapter fault tolerance	Each group supports two to eight network adapters working at different rates or in full-duplex mode.
  	Adaptability load balancing	If the switch interface, cable, or active network adapter fails, the network adapter group provides load balancing and fault tolerance for traffic transmission. If receive load balancing (RLB) is enabled, you must choose the active and standby network adapters. Each group supports two to eight network adapters working at different rates or in full-duplex mode.
  	Exchanger fault tolerance	Each group supports a maximum of two network adapters working at different rates or in full-duplex mode.
  Load balancing mode	IEEE 802.3ad dynamic link aggregation	Each group supports two to eight network adapters working at the same rate and in full-duplex mode.
  	Static link aggregation	Each group supports two to eight network adapters working at the same rate and in full-duplex mode.

• HP Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T Network Adapter Group

  Table 2-4 describes the modes supported by HP Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T network adapter group.

  Table 2-4 Modes supported by HP Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T network adapter group

  Server Mode	Network Adapter Group Mode	Description
  -	Automatic (Recommended)	Default configuration. If the default configuration mode is used, check whether member network adapters in the network adapter group connect to the same switch supporting 802.3ad dynamic LACP to choose the network adapter group mode. If so, choose the 802.3ad Dynamic with Fault Tolerance mode. If not, choose the Transmit Load Balancing with Fault Tolerance (TLB) mode.
  Active/Standby mode	Network Fault Tolerance Only (NFT)	Member network adapters connect to different switches. The active network adapter is in active state and other network adapters are in standby state. This mode provides the fault tolerance function, but does not provide the bandwidth increase and load balancing functions.
  Load balancing mode	802.3ad Dynamic with Fault Tolerance	Dynamic link aggregation.
  	Switch-assisted Load Balancing with Fault Tolerance (SLB)	Load balancing and fault tolerance with the assistance of the switch. Member network adapters in the network adapter group must connect to the same switch, and switch interfaces connecting to the server must be configured to work in static link aggregation (SLA) mode.
  	Transmit Load Balancing with Fault Tolerance (TLB)	Load balancing and fault tolerance at the transmit end. Data packets sent by the server can be load balanced, but data packets may not be load balanced at the receive end.

• Mellanox ConnectX Ethernet Adapter network adapter group

  Table 2-5 describes the modes supported by Mellanox ConnectX Ethernet Adapter network adapter group.

  Table 2-5 Modes supported by Mellanox ConnectX Ethernet Adapter network adapter group

  Server Mode	Network Adapter Group Mode	Description
  Active/Standby mode	Fault Tolerance	Adapter fault tolerance.
  	Switch Fault Tolerance	Switch fault tolerance.
  Load balancing mode	Send Load Tolerance	Load balancing and fault tolerance at the transmit end.
  	Load Balancing (Send & Receive)	Load balancing at the transmit and receive ends.
  	Adaptive Load Balancing	Adaptive load balancing.
  	Dynamic Link Aggregation (802.3ad)	Dynamic link aggregation.
  	Static Link Aggregation (802.3ad)	Static link aggregation.