Intel SHG2 - Manual (Page 16)

16 Intel Server Board SHG2 Product Guide
Adapter Fault Tolerance
Adapter Fault Tolerance (AFT) is a simple, effective, and fail-safe approach to increase the
reliability of server connections. AFT gives you the ability to set up link recovery to the server
adapter in case of a cable, port, or network interface card failure. By assigning two server adapters
as a team, AFT enables you to maintain uninterrupted network performance.
AFT is implemented with two server adapters: a primary adapter and a backup, or secondary,
adapter. During normal operation, the backup will have transmit disabled. If the link to the
primary adapter fails, the link to the backup adapter automatically takes over.
Preferred Primary Adapter
With multiple adapters installed, you can specify one as the Preferred Primary adapter. For
example if you have a server with an Intel

PRO/100 Intelligent Server adapter as the primary
adapter and an Intel

PRO/1000 adapter as the secondary, you would want the PRO/100 Intelligent
Server adapter to be the preferred primary. In this scenario, if the PRO/100 Intelligent Server
adapter fails, the PRO/1000 will take over. Then when the PRO/100 Intelligent Server adapter is
replaced, it will automatically revert to being the primary adapter in the team.
If a Preferred Primary is not selected, the Intel

PROSet II will attempt to select the best adapter
based on adapter model and speed.
Mixed Adapter Teaming
AFT supports up to four PRO/1000 or PRO/100 adapters per team, in any mix.
Adaptive Load Balancing
Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB) is a simple and efficient way to increase your server’s transmit
throughput. With ALB you group server adapters in teams to provide an increased transmit rate (up
to 400 Mbps) using a maximum of four adapters. The ALB software continuously analyzes
transmit loading on each adapter and balances the rate across the adapters as needed. Adapter
teams configured for ALB also provide the benefits of AFT. Receive rates remain at 100 Mbps.
To use ALB, you must have two, three, or four server adapters installed in your server or
workstation and linked to the same network switch.