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Broadcom Advanced Control Suite: Broadcom NetXtreme™ Gigabit Ethernet Adapter User's Guide

This chapter provides the following information:

Overview

Installing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

Updating the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

Removing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

Initializing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

Vital Sign

Network Test

Diagnostics

Cable Analysis

Load Balance/Virtual LAN

Save and Restore Configuration

Load Balance/Virtual LAN Statistics

Statistics


Overview

Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS) is an integrated graphical user interface application that provides the following functions:

Vital Sign - at-a-glance status reports of all LAN adapters/controllers in your systems

Network Test - The Network Test will confirm network connectivity to a remote station. The Network Test sends ICMP packets to remote systems and waits for a response. If a gateway is configured, it will automatically send to that system. If a gateway is not configured or if the gateway is unreachable, it will prompt the user for a destination IP address.

Diagnostics - a comprehensive diagnostic for Broadcom NetXtreme™ Gigabit Ethernet controllers

Cable Analysis - an in depth analysis on CAT5 cable characterization performed by the Broadcom NetXtreme™ Gigabit Ethernet controller

Load Balance/Virtual LAN - an easy way to configure the load balance and failover by grouping multiple adapters/controller

Statistics - a detailed performance statistics on each selected adapter/controller

The Broadcom Advanced Control Suite is designed to run in one of the following 32-bit Windows operating systems:

BACS is used to configure load balancing, fault tolerance, and VLANs.


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Installing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

The Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS) can be installed from the Dell CD-ROM, or by using the silent install option.

Silent Installation

Broadcom recommends that you copy the installation files to your hard disk before running the silent install. This is because the setup bacs command automatically generates a setup.log file in the directory it is run from. When the silent install is run from the CD, it cannot generate this log file, and the setup install fails.

  1. Copy the the MgmtApps directory from the Dell CD-ROM to your hard disk.

  2. From a DOS window, type setup bacs. This installs the BACS software.

NOTE – If the silent install MUST be run from the CD, the command . . . setup bacs /f2"c:\setup.log" . . . will target c:\ for an alternative log file location.

 

 

NOTE – To silent install BASP, enter "setup BACS BASP".

 

 

CD-ROM Installation

NOTE – Before installing on Windows 2000 Advanced Server with Terminal Services, the command "change user /install" must be issued, otherwise an error will occur.

 

 

  1. Insert the Dell CD-ROM into your system’s CD-ROM drive.

  2. Open the MgmtApps folder on the CD and double-click setup.exe. The Broadcom Management Programs Setup screen appears.

  1. Click Next. The License Agreement will appear.

  2. Read the agreement and click Yes. The Select Components screen will appear. Three installation selections are possible from this screen: Control Suite, SNMP Service, and CIM Provider.

    Control Suite - Check this box to install the Advanced Server Control Suite.

    SNMP Service - Check this box to install the Advanced Server SNMP sub-agent.

    NOTE – The Microsoft SNMP Service must be running for this component to function properly.

CIM Provider - Check this box to install the CIM Provider.

  1. Click Next. The selected program(s) will be installed.

  2. A Windows dialog box will appear. Click Yes to install the Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP) driver. Click No if BASP teaming software is not required.

  3. When complete, an information screen as shown below will notify you that the files were successfully installed.

  4. Click OK to complete the installation.

The Control Suite can be started from the Control Panel by double-clicking the Broadcom Control Suite icon.

 

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Updating the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

To update the BACS, do the following:

  1. Insert the Dell CD-ROM into your system’s CD-ROM drive.

  2. Open the MgmtApps folder on the CD and double-click setup.exe. The Broadcom Management Programs Setup screen appears.

  3. Click Next. The InstallShield Wizard screen appears.

  4. Click the Modify radio button and click Next.

  5. The Select Components screen will appear. Three installation selections are possible from this screen: Control Suite, SNMP Service, and CIM Provider.

    Control Suite - Check this box to install the Advanced Server Control Suite.
    SNMP Service -
    Check this box to install the Advanced Server SNMP sub-agent.
    CIM Provider - Check this box to install the CIM Provider.

  6. Click Next. The selected program(s) will be installed.
  1. Click Yes to install the Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP) driver.

  2. Click No if BASP teaming software is not required.

  3. When complete, an information screen as shown below will notify you that the files were successfully installed.

  4. Click OK to complete the installation.

Note that the Control Suite can be started from the Control Panel by double-clicking the Broadcom Control Suite icon.

 

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Removing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

To remove the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS) software, perform the following:

  1. From the Windows Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.

  2. At the Add/Remove window, select "Broadcom Management Programs" and click Change/Remove. The InstallShield Wizard screen will appear.

  3. Click the Remove radio button and click Next. The Confirm File Deletion screen will appear.

  4. Click OK. An information screen will appear confirming the update.

  1. Reboot your system to complete the BACS removal.
NOTE – This does not uninstall the BASP.

 


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Initializing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite

To initialize the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS) software, do the following:

NOTE – The Broadcom NetXtreme™ Gigabit Ethernet Adapter must be enabled before initializing the BACS. Refer to "Installing the Driver Software" for the operating system that you are using.

 

 

  1. Click Start button, click Settings, then click Control Panel.

  2. Double click the Broadcom Control Suite icon.
NOTE – Broadcom Control Suite can also be started from the system tray icon.

 


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Vital Sign

The Vital Sign screen allows you to view vital adapter information, network status, and network connectivity. Active adapters are listed in the Installed Adapters window. When selected, vital sign information for that adapter is displayed.

NOTE – Information for Non-Broadcom adapters is less comprehensive than information listed for Broadcom adapters.

Interface components of the BACS Vital Sign window are described below:

Example: [0] 14 indicates Broadcom adapter resides in PCI bus 0, device 14.

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Network Test

The Network Test allows you to verify IP network connectivity. This test verifies if the NDIS driver is installed correctly and test connectivity to a gateway or other specified IP address on the same subnet. The Network test supports TCP/IP.

 

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Diagnostics

The Diagnostics screen allows you to view information only for Broadcom adapters. This function is used to test the physical adapter components.

NOTE – Network connection will be lost when running these tests.

Interface components of the BACS Diagnostics window are described below:


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Cable Analysis

From the Cable Analysis screen, the user can monitor conditions of an Ethernet CAT5 cable connection within a cable plant in an Ethernet network. The software measures the cable quality and compares it against the IEEE 802.3ab for compliance. Given a graphical environment, it can display the frequency-response characteristics of each cable pair.

The Cable Analysis screen allows you to display the "Gain vs. Frequency Characterization" feature.

NOTE – Network connection will be lost when running this test.

Length

The Length sub tab allows you to verify cable length, which is calculated by a Return Loss algorithm, and determine whether your configuration has the appropriate cable. This utility allows you to determine whether the problem is with the adapter or in the cable plant.

  1. From the Cable Analysis/Length screen, select the Broadcom adapter to be tested.
    The name and status of the selected adapter is displayed below. The status messages are as follows:
  2. Click Initialize, then click Test to display the status of the selected adapter.

Interface components for the BACS Cable Analysis/Channel Pairs window are described below:

Frequency

Each channel's frequency response is displayed based on the computation by the cable algorithms. The two graphs represent the values calculated by the Cable Loss and Return Loss algorithms. The vertical axis represents the gain in dB and the horizontal axis represents the operating frequency. The blue graph is the IEEE 802.3ab limit and the red graph is the actual computed values for a particular twisted pair. The two methods of measurement present the typical measurement standards to characterize the cable quality. It is important to take both measurements into consideration, as one result alone is not indicative of the characterization of the cable being tested.

  1. From the Cable Analysis/Frequency screen, select the Broadcom adapter and channel to be tested.

  2. Click Initialize, then click Test to display the status of the selected adapter.

Cable Loss Measurement

The cable loss (red) curve represents the insertion loss of the cable under test as a function of frequency in the frequency range [0 - 62.5 MHz]. The cable loss limit (blue) curve represents the cable loss limit as specified in Section 40.7.2.1 of the IEEE Standard 802.3ab-1999. The cable loss curve (red) on top of the cable loss limit (blue) curve indicates the cable is within the operating limit. If the cable loss (red) curve superimposes the cable loss limit (blue) curve, the cable is marginal to the operating limit. If the cable loss (red) curve is below the cable loss limit (blue) curve, the cable is outside the operating limit of the IEEE 802.3ab-1999 standards. This condition would signify that the cable length is too long and not operational.

Return Loss Measurement

The return loss (red) curve represents the return loss of the cable under test as a function of frequency in the frequency range [0,62.5 MHz]. The return limit (blue) curve represents the return loss limit as specified in Section 40.7.2.3 of the IEEE Standard 802.3ab-1999. The return loss (red) curve below of the return limit (blue) curve indicates the cable is within the operating limit. If the return loss (red) curve superimposes the return limit (blue) curve, the cable is marginal to the operating limit. If the return loss (red) curve is above the return limit (blue) curve, the cable is outside the operating limit of the IEEE 802.3ab-1999 standards. This condition would signify that the cable length is too long and not operational.


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Load Balance/Virtual LANs

The Load Balance/Virtual LANs screen allows you to configure advanced features. Any available adapter can be configured as part of a team. Teaming is a method of grouping multiple adapters into a virtual adapter (bundling multiple adapters to look like a single adapter). The benefit of this approach is load balancing and redundancy, see "Teaming Overview".

An example of this usage using the graphic provided below shows two available adapters on the primary side. By selecting each of the available adapters, and moving each of them over to the Load Balance Members field, they then appear to the outside world as one adapter. Each member in the Load Balance Member list shares the traffic burden of all members.

The Standby Member field is used to permit the selection of one of the team members to handle traffic, should all members in the Load Balance Member list fail (failover). The selected Standby Member will not handle any traffic unless all Load Balance Members fail. When one Load Balance Member (or more) is restored (fail-back), traffic will then be handled by the restored team member(s).

  1. Right-click on the node of Load Balance tree to display a drop-down menu that is associated with the selected node type.

  2. For the team node, the menu items are Delete and Properties. The user can either select Delete to remove the highlighted team or Properties to display the Team Properties dialog box.

  3. From the Team Properties dialog, the user can change team name and/or change the team type.

  4. For the adapter node, the menu items are Unassign and Properties. The user can select Unassign to remove the selected adapter from the team orProperties to display the adapter Properties. All display in adapter Properties are read-only.

  5. For the VLAN node, the menu items are Delete andProperties. The user can either select Delete to remove the highlighted VLAN orProperties to display the VLAN Properties. The only writable item on this dialog box is VLAN name.

Creating a Team and Assigning Adapters

A team is comprised of at least one primary adapter (a standby adapter is optional). Each adapter can belong to only one team. To create a new team perform the following steps:

  1. From the Load Balance/Virtual LAN window, click the Create Team button.
    This displays the Add New Team window.


  2. Enter a team name in the "Name" entry field (i.e., Team1), then select the Team Type and click OK.

  3. Place an available adapter into the team.
NOTE – At least one adapter must be displayed in the Load Balance Members list box.

NOTE – The minimum number of characters that can be used in a team name is one, and the maximum number of characters that can be used in a team name is 39. A Team Name cannot begin with spaces nor contain the character "&". If you attempt to use an identical team name, an error message displays indicating that the entered name already exists. The maximum number of members in a team is eight.
  1. Click the OK button. When team configuration has been correctly performed, one Virtual Team adapter driver will be created for each configured team.

When you create a generic trunking team, you cannot select a Standby Member. Standby Members only work with Smart Load Balance and Failover Teams.

NOTE – Only one Standby Member is allowed when using Smart Load Balance and Failover Teams..
  1. Configure the Team IP address if necessary. If other adapters in your system use TCP/IP bindings, the TCP/IP Properties window will open.
NOTE – Not all vendor adapters are supported or fully certified for Teaming. If an adapter is not (fully) supported, you can click List All Supported Adapters to display a list of fully supported adapters.



  1. To access the Internet Protocol Properties window in Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, right click on the My Network Places icon and select Properties.

  1. When the Network and Dial-up Connections window opens, right-click on any network adapter and select Properties. Then select Internet Protocol and click Properties. This displays the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window.

    To set an adapter's IP address, use the following menu:

  2. Configure the IP address and any other necessary TCP/IP configuration for the team and click the OK button when finished.

Removing Adapters and Deleting a Team

To remove an adapter from its assigned team, select the adapter in the Load Balance Members list and click the arrow key. The adapter will be removed from the Load Balance Members list and will reappear in the Available Adapters list.

Deleting a Team

To delete a configured team and release its assigned adapters, select the team you want to delete, and click the Remove Team button. The team and all its assigned adapters will be removed from the team list. The released adapters will reappear in the Available Adapters list.

NOTE – Adapters that are part of a team inherit all the basic configuration properties of the team, including VLANs associated with the team. If you delete a Team, any VLANs configured for that team will also be deleted.

Adding a VLAN

You can add VLANs to a team. The concept behind this is that you are adding multiple virtual adapters that are on different subnets. The benefit of this is that your server can have one NIC that can belong to multiple subnets. With a VLAN you can couple the functionality of load balancing for the Load Balance Members and you can employ a failover adapter.

You can define up to 64 VLANs per team (63 tagged and 1 untagged). VLANs can only be created when all members are Broadcom adapters. If you try to create a VLAN with a non-Broadcom adapter, an error message displays.

NOTE – Disabled Broadcom adapters are not recognized and will not allow the creation of a VLAN. If you attempt to create a VLAN with a disabled Broadcom adapter, the error message above will appear.

 

To configure a new VLAN, perform the following steps:

  1. From the Load Balance/Virtual LAN window, select the team to add the VLAN, then click the Add VLAN button.

The Untagged VLAN checkbox is exclusively used by the VLAN ID field. To use VLAN ID zero, simply check this box.

If you enter a VLAN name or ID and the name already exists, an Input Error message is displayed similar to the one below:

  1. When you are finished adding VLANs to this team, click the OK button. A new virtual adapter is created for each VLAN.
NOTE – To maintain optimum adapter performance, your system should have 64 MB of system memory for each eight VLANs created per adapter.

The Create VLAN button can also be used to create a team with a VLAN. To utilize this method:

  1. Click the Create VLAN Button

  2. Enter a VLAN ID and a VLAN Name then click the Next button.

  3. A list of Avaliable Adapters are shown. These adapters are not currently members of any team.

  4. Select an adapter and click OK.

  5. Click OK or Apply to save the changes.

 

Deleting a VLAN

NOTE – If you delete a Team, any VLANs configured for that team will also be deleted.

To delete a configured VLAN, perform the following steps:

  1. From the Load Balance/Virtual LAN window, select the VLAN you want to delete and click the Remove VLAN button. The selected VLAN will be deleted from the Load Balance/Virtual LAN Configuration window.
  2. When you are finished deleting VLANs, click the OK button to accept the changes.


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Save and Restore Configuration

Save Configuration

To save a configuration, perform the following:

  1. With the Team and VLAN configuration loaded, click Save as at the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite "Load Balance/Virtual LAN" tab.

  2. At the Save as screen, enter the path and filename of the new configuration file. A "bcg" extension will be placed on the filename. Click Save.

A configuration file will be placed in the directory as shown below.

This new configuration file is a text file and can be viewed by any text editor. As shown below, it contains both adapter and team configuration information.

Restore Saved Configuration

To restore a saved configuration, perform the following:

  1. Click Restore at the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite "Load Balance/Virtual LAN" tab.
  2. If a configuration is already loaded, the Restore Configuration screen will appear. Click Yes to continue. However, note that all current configuration data currently loaded will be lost. To save the current configuration, perform the Save Configuration procedure above,

  3. At the Open screen, select the configuration file to be restored and click Open.

NOTE – The Open screen will navigate to the folder where the last configuration file was stored. If the configuration file to be restored is elsewhere, navigate to that location to select the file.
  1. The new configuration will be loaded as shown below. Click Apply to complete the restoration. Until Apply is clicked, the configuration has not been restored.


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Load Balance/Virtual LAN Statistics

The following shows the screen that displays when you select the Statistics tab.


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Statistics

The Statistics screen allows you to view traffic statistics for both Broadcom and non-Broadcom adapters. Statistical values and coverage is more comprehensive for Broadcom than for non-Broadcom adapters.

NOTE – If a Broadcom adapter is disabled, its team will not be displayed in the Statistics window.

General Tab

Interface components of the BACS Statistics/General tab window are described below:

IEEE 802.3 Tab

Interface components of the BACS Statistics/IEEE 802.3 tab window are described below:

Custom Tab

NOTE – The Custom tab will only appear for an enabled Broadcom adapter.

A complete view of Interface components of the BACS Statistics/Custom tab window are shown below. Their descriptions follow:



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