I have 2 EX4’s, one primary and one the backup device. I currently have them plugged into a single 1GB switch. I have 2 GB switches in my home and was wondering if the second switch would add anything in terms of availability or speed if I plugged the second port of the EX4s into it.
Are there any references that discuss options for configuring the devices to run in different network configurations. I have link aggregation capabilities on the switches and was looking to see if there is anything written for either speed or availability configurations. I originally discounted any speed configurations as the device has a very overutilized cpu but was wondering if there are other configurations that cound either enhance resiliancy or HA capabilities.
For link aggregation to work both of your ports on EX4 must be hooked to the same gigabit switch that is capable of link aggregation - not two different switches. BTW, small thing - you used the term GB switch - GB denotes GigaByte - Gb denotes gigabit (or Gigabit) which is what your switches are.
I don’t have an EX4, but I assme somewhere in EX4’s dashboard it lets you setup the two connections (after you’ve wired them up to the same gigabit switch that’s link aggregation capable) into a bonded mode. You also have to go into your switch’s web console and turn link aggregation on for the two ports that are being used. Refer to the documentation for both EX4 and your switch for more details.
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Thx, I was thinking of doing the link aggregation. That could give me some protection against a specific port failing on the switch. I don’t believe the configuration would provide any speed increase as the switch has never been pushed while the cpu is routinely maxed out.
I was hoping, probably foolishly that I could configure a port per switch to protect against a specific switch failing.
Thanks for correction on GB vs Gb switch. I understand the difference but my typing isn’t very good and I get lazy with corrections as most folks wouldn’t have understood the difference.
Bill
WillieC wrote:
Thx, I was thinking of doing the link aggregation. That could give me some protection against a specific port failing on the switch. I don’t believe the configuration would provide any speed increase as the switch has never been pushed while the cpu is routinely maxed out.
Actually if your switch supports IEEE 802.3ad with LACP mode then you will see speed boost. It won’t be 2x speed but will be more than the speed of one port (often averages around 1.5x speed of one port but your mileage may vary). But this feature is not available on most inexpensive switches (usually the ones that don’t have any web management console). I am not also sure if the WD firmware supports this (I have an EX2 not an EX4 so I can’t tell), but if it supports this, it will specifically say 802.3ad somewhere in port trunking settings. And on the switch side there will be a setting in the switch’s web management to set the Link Aggregation type to LACP.
Many switches though do offer other forms of link aggregation but they are either for failover, round robin, etc. Here’s a comprehensive list of those modes → http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_aggregation#Driver_modes
