System information

Chapter 1. Introduction to IBM eServer BladeCenter technology and its advantages 7
Each controller is auto-sensing and will connect at the appropriate rate, even if the transfer
rate is 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps or 1000 Mbps. The controller will also set the appropriate duplex
state.
The Ethernet controller is capable of providing several teaming options that increase
throughput and fault tolerance. In your blade server, a team consists of the two Ethernet
controllers to utilize the options below:
Adapter fault tolerance (AFT) Provides automatic redundancy for your Ethernet
controllers. You can configure either one of the
integrated Ethernet controllers as the primary Ethernet
controller. If the primary link fails, the secondary
controller takes over. When the primary link is restored
to an operational state, the Ethernet traffic switches back
to the primary Ethernet controller.
Adaptive load balancing (ALB) Enables you to balance the transmission data flow
among the two controllers. ALB also includes the AFT
option. You can use ALB with any
100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T switch.
Cisco Fast EtherChannel (FEC) Creates a team of two controllers to increase
transmission and reception throughput. FEC also
includes the AFT option. You can use FEC only with a
switch that has FEC capability.
The BladeCenter HS20 has a control panel which is located at the top of the blade servers, as
shown in Figure 1-5.
Figure 1-5 Blade server operators panel
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