Emulex OneConnect NIC Teaming and Multiple VLAN
Driver and Application Release Notes
Purpose and Contact Information
These release notes describe the new features, resolved known issues, and current known issues associated with this Emulex OneConnect™ NIC Teaming and Multiple VLAN Driver and Application release.
For the latest product documentation, go to www.Emulex.com. If you have questions or require additional information, contact an authorized Emulex technical support representative at [email protected], 800-854-7112, or +1 714-885-3402.
Installation Notes and Warnings
With the 2.5.x release, you may update the base NIC driver, NIC firmware, and NIC Teaming code in any order because the NIC Teaming code is independent of the base NIC driver and firmware. However, when you upgrade the base driver, ensure it is an upgrade, and not an uninstall or re-install. If the base NIC driver is uninstalled or re-installed, all of the NIC will be assigned new GUIDs, which will cause all of the current NIC Team definitions to be invalid.
WARNING: Use the new Emulex-provided kit to install, upgrade, or uninstall the NIC Teaming software. Do not use a previous version of the Teaming utilities to install, upgrade, or uninstall the OneCommand NIC Teaming driver and NIC Teaming and VLAN Manager. If you do, unpredictable results will occur.
Note: Do not update or uninstall the OneCommand NIC Teaming driver and NIC Teaming and
VLAN Manager while I/O traffic is running. If you do, unpredictable results may occur. In Windows 2008 environments that use failover teams, a delay may occur during system boot time due to the complex interaction between the NIC Teaming driver and the TCP stack in the Windows operating system. This interaction may result in a delay of up to three minutes per failover team while the Windows drivers are being loaded. Emulex recommends that you allow appropriate time for the process to complete during the system boot cycle.
Supported Operating Systems
The NIC Teaming driver supports the following operating systems:
Windows Server 2008 x64 SP2 with Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 R2 x64
Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 with Hyper-V
Supported Configurations
The maximum system configuration settings are:
Two ports per failover team
Eight ports per load balancing or LACP team Four VLANs per team
Four teams or VLAN-bound adapters per server 16 VLANs per server.
New Features
1. Support for Microsoft Windows 2008-R2 Hyper-V has been added.
2. New installation, upgrade, and uninstall procedures are included in this release.
The previous installation and upgrade utilities have been removed. Upgrades are now transparently performed by simply installing the new kit. An uninstall is now performed through the Microsoft Windows Add/Remove Programs feature. See the previous “Installation Notes and Warnings” section for important installation information.
3. Command Line Interface (CLI) support has been added in this release. 4. “Default load distribution” has been renamed as “perceived port load”.
Resolved Issues
Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2008 R2
1. A team can now be created even when the link is down. 2. Teaming driver now includes a CLI.
3. Failover and failback on Failover teams now functions properly.
Windows Server 2003 Only
1. A red “X” is no longer displayed next to a newly created team adapter.
2. While traffic is ongoing using a team adapter's IP, the “Received” packets counter for this team adapter now increases correctly.
3. Disabling a port from a Network Property in LB/FO NIC teaming no longer causes a BSOD during I/O.
Known Issues
Team Installation and Configuration Issues
1. On Windows 2008 systems, during the system boot up process prior to the Windows logon screen, the network drivers may take approximately three minutes per failover team to load.
Workaround
None.
2. Modifying an existing team is not supported. Workaround
To modify a team you need to delete it, and then create a new team.
3. Team cannot be uninstalled from the Windows Device Manager. Workaround
Use the NIC Teaming Manager GUI or CLI to uninstall teams.
4. Installing the NIC Teaming software 2.x versions over 1.x versions may not prompt for a system reboot.
Workaround
Reboot the system manually.
5. Deleting teams created in a previous NIC Teaming release may lead to error in system event log.
An IP address conflict error entry in the system event log may occur when deleting teams that were created with a previous NIC Teaming release. An automatic retry will acquire the IP address on the base adapter. This message, or the corresponding pop-up window, can be ignored.
Workaround
None.
6. A team cannot be deleted if one of the cards in the team is replaced.
When a team consists of two cards, replacing either of the cards in the team prevents you from deleting the team.
Workaround
None.
7. Pending reboots are not being detected by the installer, which may cause installations to fail.
Workaround
If the NIC Teaming uninstall process requests a reboot of the system, do not reinstall NIC Teaming without first performing a reboot. Unexpected behavior may result if the requested reboot is not performed.
Workaround
Create teams with link-up adapters.
9. Updating an adapter’s NIC driver causes the adapter’s Friendly Name to be reset.
Updating an adapter’s NIC driver causes the adapter’s Friendly Name, as displayed by the Windows Device Manager, to be reset. This causes any enhancements made to that name, such as the addition of a team designation, to be lost.
Workaround
None.
10. Creating a team with network ports having different MTU parameter values may cause system instability.
A system crash may occur when a team is created with network ports having different MTU parameter values. A system crash may also occur if the MTU size is changed on a network port that is a member of a team. Even if the system crash is not encountered, the team may encounter packet loss if the network ports comprising the team have different MTU parameter values.
Workaround
When creating teams, ensure the MTU size is identical on all ports comprising the team.
11. TOE does not offload connections for multiple VLANs over a team on Windows 2008 SP2 systems running Ethernet driver version 2.103.389.0.
On Windows 2008 SP2 systems running Ethernet driver version 2.103.389.0, the TCP connections are not offloaded when there are multiple VLANs created over a team. Only the first VLAN's TCP connections are offloaded. The display from netstat -tn shows the other VLANs’ TCP connections “in host”.
Workaround
This issue only occurs with VLANs created over a team. If VLANs are created over an Ethernet port, the TCP connections are offloaded on all VLANs.
12. TCP Connection Offload is only supported for failover teams on Windows 2008 systems.
If TCP Connection Offload is enabled for load balancing or LACP teams, the TCP
connections may hang if a port failure is encountered. When this occurs, the affected TCP connections lock up and the system must be reset with the reset switch, or powered off and then back on, to recover. Attempting to reboot the system will not succeed.
IP, TCP, and UDP checksum offload are not affected and may be enabled for all teams if all of the team members support the checksum offload.
Workaround
The use of TCP Connection Offload is only supported for failover teams. Prior to creating load balancing or LACP teams, ensure TCP Connection Offload is disabled in the
Advanced Properties for each potential team member.
13. Downgrading the protocol driver may cause the NIC Teaming Start menu shortcut to disappear.
Work around
Re-install the NIC Teaming kit to repair the shortcut, or double-click “elx_ocntv.exe” in Program Files\Emulex\NIC Teaming to start the NIC Teaming application.
14. In a failover team with the failback option disabled, the secondary port may become the active port after a reboot.
Workaround
None.
VLAN Issues
1. Statistics for sent and received packets are incorrect for VLANs on VNIC using the show vlanadapters CLI command.
Workaround
None.
2. Untagged VLANs are not supported. Workaround
None.
3. Network properties only shows one VLAN I/O counter updating while running traffic through multiple VLANs of a failover team.
Workaround
None.
4. VLANs with Hyper-V are not supported. Workaround
None.
Windows Server 2003-specific VLAN Issues
1. Deleting auto-configured VLANs results in limited connectivity of the base adapter and no IP address.
If auto-configured VLANs (VLANs that do not acquire an IP address because they are not configured by a DHCP server) are deleted, this may result in the base adapter having limited connectivity and no IP address.
Workaround
None.
2. System crash may occur when deleting a second VLAN in the NIC Teaming application when TOE is enabled.
Workaround
Disable TOE if the teaming solution is used on Windows 2003.
Workaround
None.
4. VLAN removal may take longer than expected for load balancing teams that have an adapter with a link down.
Removing the last VLAN from a load balancing team that includes an adapter with a link down may take longer than expected on Windows 2003 systems. The amount of time required increases proportionally with the number of ports included in the team.
Workaround
This issue should not occur if you ensure all links are up before removing VLANs from a load balancing team.
802.3ad and LACP Issues
1. LACP team and VLAN over LACP team cannot transmit or receive data up to one minute after creation.
When creating an LACP team using the GUI or adding a VLAN over LACP team
interface on a system, the team interface comes up in a “Network cable unplugged” state after about a minute.
Workaround
None. This behavior is caused by the switch.
2. Static-mode 802.3ad is not supported.
With this release, 802.3ad-static load balancing is no longer supported. The NIC Teaming driver currently supports the LACP (dynamic mode) and software load balancing modes.
Workaround
None.
3. LACP team may not work properly with the Brocade 8000 switch.
Configuration issues may arise when attempting to use the LACP team with the Brocade 8000 switch.
Workaround
Use team types other than LACP when using the Brocade 8000 switch.
4. Second LACP team does not function on Cisco Nexus 5000-series switches.
On Cisco Nexus 5000-series switches, a second LACP team does not function properly if both teams are running on the same port channel.
Workaround
Load Balancing Issues
1. With load balancing enabled, team traffic may not redistribute after a failed path is repaired.
Currently, team traffic is moved to the alternate path when a path failure occurs. However, after the failed path is repaired, traffic is not re-distributed. Only new traffic that uses newly-assigned MAC addresses is distributed.
Workaround
None.
2. For load balancing teams with VLANs assigned over the team, disabling a port with active traffic through the Network Connections panel may cause an IP address conflict message to display and temporarily stop traffic.
In load balancing teams with VLANs assigned over the team, if you disable a port from the Network Connections panel while traffic is running, an IP address conflict message will display and all traffic will stop, which results in a momentary loss of connectivity. Clearing the message enables traffic to continue running.
Workaround
The issue does not occur if you disable a port through a switch.
Visualizing and Monitoring Issues
1. GUI cannot be refreshed when the network cable is disconnected and re-connected. Workaround
Exit and re-open the GUI.
2. Teaming GUI goes into a “Not Responding” state while creating/deleting teams. Workaround
Wait until the team is created/deleted.
3. The NIC Teaming Manager TOE display in the GUI and CLI interfaces may not appear as enabled for teams.
Workaround
Use the netstat -nt command to display the offload status of the teams.
4. NIC Teaming Manager GUI does not display an invalid connection status (red “x”) for a primary team adapter that is disconnected.
Workaround
None.
5. The bandwidth for a team with VNIC ports may be shown incorrectly.
A team with VNIC ports may not display the correct bandwidth. The team will keep the lowest bandwidth configured for any of the VNICs in the team or display the secondary link speed instead of the primary link speed.
Workaround
6. Hyper-V Manager displays incorrect speed for LACP virtual team adapters created on the host.
When an LACP virtual team adapter is created on the host, the Hyper-V Manager is incorrectly displaying the speed. For example, when two 10 Gb/s ports are teamed, it displays 10 Gb/s instead of 20 Gb/s.
Workaround
None.
Other Issues
1. Spanning tree port type is not set properly on Cisco Nexus 5000 series switches. Workaround
By default, the spanning tree port type is set to “non-edge” on these switches. In this setting, a failback causes this switch to run the spanning tree port until it times out after approximately 20 seconds. To allow instantaneous failback, change the setting to “edge”.
2. The insertion of Chelsio Communications adapters in teams and VLANS is not supported.
Workaround
None.
3. The IBM RNDIS USB network adapter is not supported. Workaround
None.
4. Using the Wireshark network protocol analyzer application may cause system instability.
Workaround
Use a Finisar/JDSU network protocol analyzer.
5. Smart load balancing with Hyper-V is not supported. Workaround
None.
6. IPv6 support is not included in this release. Workaround
None.
7. Multiple IP addresses over a team or over VLAN adapters are not supported. Workaround
8. Windows Network Diagnostic dialog box may appear while viewing network properties for a failed adapter.
While viewing the network properties, a Windows Network Diagnostic dialog box may appear indicating that Windows did not find any IP bindings on the failed adapter. This message is valid because a team is bound to NIC teaming and not to an IP address.
Workaround
None.
9. In Windows 2008, members of a team are bound to file or print sharing services and client for Microsoft networks.
Workaround
None.
10. Error codes are missing from the OneCommand NIC Teaming and VLAN Manager User
Manual.
The following error codes are missing from Table 1, OneCommand NIC Teaming Driver and Command Line Utility Error Codes, in the OneCommand NIC Teaming and VLAN Manager User Manual:
Workaround
None.
Technical Tips
1. Emulex recommends that you do not make any configuration changes while I/O traffic is running. Various issues, including system lock ups and I/O disconnection, may occur. 2. When creating a team or VLAN, there is a period of time between the creation and the
assignment of an IP address. During that time, Windows flags the team or VLAN as down using a yellow bang (yellow circle with an exclamation mark). This is normal and expected behavior.
Copyright © 2011 Emulex. All rights reserved worldwide. This document refers to various companies and products by their trade names. In most, if not all cases, their respective companies claim these designations as trademarks or registered trademarks. This information is provided for reference only. Although this information is believed to be accurate and reliable at the time of publication, Emulex assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Emulex reserves the right to make changes or corrections without notice. This report is the property of Emulex and may not be duplicated without permission from the Company.
Table 1 OneCommand NIC Teaming Driver and Command Line Utility Error Codes Hexadecimal Error Code Signed Decimal Value Unsigned Decimal Value Description
0x8F00004C -1895825332 2399141964 A duplicate adapter was specified on the command line.
