NIC teaming for AIX

[wilson2468]

We are in the process of moving our host system to a new server.

We would like to utilize high availability by teaming the NIC on the AIX host.

We are being told the only way to do this is by creating a etherchannel aggregate connection from the AIX host to a switch.

We have two 6509s and cross stack etherchannel is not supported.

Is there any other way to team the NICs across two different switches without an etherchannel and no loss of connectivty if on one of the NIC fails?

For example like teamed NICs like with HP?

Both nics are connected (two different switches) on fails, the other is maintaining the connection?

They do not need to load balance.

If so, please point me to a link or solution.

 

[p5wizard]

Just make an etherchannel with one main adapter and one backup adapter. They can -and should- be on two different network switches.

HTH,

p5wizard

 

[polani]

Hi

Creation of backup adapter for an ether channel link aggregation allows you to be safe against ethernet switches failure.

Now , if you have one NIC only in ether channel and one backup adapter for that ether channel , definitely you will achieve your objective.

Regards


Here comes polani Once again!!!

See my personal blogs at

http://reliablesolutions.blogspot.com

for unique solutions and tips on AIX, Linux,Storage and TSM.

 

[wilson2468]

Can you show how this would be done, or point to related documentation?

We need this to maintain sockets to a front end server, even if there is a failure of one switch.

To have both NICs bound to the same IP address and a seamless failover to second NIC if the first losses connection.

Is this possible?

 

[DukeSSD]

yeah, no problem, smitty etherchannel.
make sure there is no configuration on either adapter first.
add your main adapter as the primary and your second as the backup adapter.
stick an address on the resulting interface and you should be up and running.
I've tried unplugging the primary while pinging and it does not miss a beat, even a telnet or ssh session does not disconnect, and the switch does not need to be etherchannel aware.
the important bit is to make sure neither adapter has any kind of address or configuration before you start.

 

[p5wizard]

The easiest way to start this is to remove enX and etX interfaces and entX adapters before you start. You'll need two adapters so you'll do these operations twice (for entX/enX/etX and entY/enY/etY). Then run cfgmgr to rediscover the adapters entX and entY. cfgmgr will als "discover" the enX, etX, enY and etY interfaces, but as long as you don't put any IP addresses on these adapters, you're fine.

Then go into smit etherchannel like the Duke here above said...

HTH,

p5wizard