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Intel adapter teaming issue

idata
Employee
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So I went to configure adapter teaming and had nothing but problems. The wizard would start the process, create the Intel Advanced Network Services Virtual Adapter, then hang and not complete any other parts of the process. I found out that I was using the wrong version of the software for my adapters (which are Pro/1000 MT Dual Port), installed an older version, and all was good to go... except for the 4 Virtual adapters that were created previously by failed attempts of the wizard. How do I remove these unused virtual adapters from the server? Simply trying to uninstall them via the device manager doesn't work. Neither did removing the teaming software, rebooting the server, or simply trying to delete the network connection.

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Mark_H_Intel
Employee
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The problem you describe sometimes happens if the drivers and PROSet are not the versions that belong together. There is an article at http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-016722.htm that might help get you to the point where you can use PROSet to remove the virtual adapters and get teaming to work again.

I can see you tried removing the PROSet and/or ANS software. You might try to use add/remove programs and then install the drivers, PROSet, and ANS from scratch. You should use the PROSet software to remove the old teams if you can.

Although the listed symptom is different than your problem, there is a trick listed at http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-020087.htm for finding and getting rid of old ANS driver files. You could do this after the uninstall from add/remove programs and before you install the new software.

Depending on what version of software you had the problem with, you might want to try the latest software download available at http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=880 . I would recommend completely removing the old software before you install the new version.

If all else fails, you can call or email customer support. The links for contacting support are on the page at http://www.intel.com/support/feedback.htm .

Once this is fixed, please post what you did. Thanks.

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idata
Employee
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I have inherited a system with multile servers, each server has Intel nics and all are teamed

but I am noticing poor performance, mix of Windows, Linux, VMWare servers

can anyone point me in the right direction

<![CDATA[<span class="value">]]>I have the following

1.) switch

3Com Switch 4200G 3CR17662-91

Software Version: 3.01.00s56

2.) two NICS

Intel Pro PM 1gb nic

Intel Pro PL 1gb nic

most recent drivers and Intel ProSet with ANS installed

Switch Config

-have setup aggregated ports on switch

NIC Config

-have tried team setup as SLA (Static) for aggregate bandwidth

-have tried team setup as DLA (Dynamic) for aggregate bandwidth

PROBLEMS

1.) as SLA I run the test utility on Intel ProSet DeviceManager plugin and it explains that switch is not configured properly

2.) as DLA it seems to be teamed fine, Windows shows it as 2gb NIC, but my performance is slower then when on a single NIC

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Mark_H_Intel
Employee
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I can help you out with some hints on the NIC side, but I don't have any information about configuring the switch to deal with problem # 1. I hope some of the following will help you with problem # 2.

Link aggregation provides extra bandwidth when multiple link partners are connecting to your system. Although you gain bandwidth, the speed of each adapter is still a gigabit per second. If you test one adapter versus the team adapters with a connection between two link partners, you will be adding some overhead to the connection, so the performance might suffer a bit.

In some cases, depending upon your ultimate goal, you might be better off using load balancing teams instead.

Some of my colleagues collaborated on a document that includes an explanation about performance on teams using link aggregation. The Link aggregation part starts about half way down the page at http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-025829.htm .

You might also get some ideas from teaming section in the User Guide. That section is a fairly quick read. You can download a copy at http://support.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-009715.htm .

Let us know if you have more questions or need clarification on any of this information.

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idata
Employee
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I tried your suggestions and unfortunately they did not work. I did however manage to remove the adapters after some careful system tinkering. Here's how I did it...

First I removed the team that I successfully setup with the proper version of PROSET that my adapters required (this whole problem started because I was using a version that was too new for my adapters). I then rebooted the server in safe mode. Open regedit and navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\IANSMINIPORT key. Inside of the IANSMINIPORT key is where all of the virtual adapters' information is stored. Before deleting any of this information, BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY. There were subkeys located within this key ( the first one named 0000, the second 0001 and so on), one for each virtual adapter that was installed. Once I deleted the IANSMINIPORT key and rebooted the system, all was back to normal. I then reinstalled the correct PROSET version and reconfigured my team. All is good to go.

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Mark_H_Intel
Employee
2,497 Views

Thank you for sharing your solution.

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idata
Employee
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loliqator,

I have the same problems that you did. Which version of PROSET did you get to work with your adapter?

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idata
Employee
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I'm not sure which version I was using originally, but I eventually got it to work with 7.2.5.1. According to the about screen, it was made in 2004. I hope that helps. Good luck.

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idata
Employee
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