Network setup opinions

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rwfitzy

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I've never setup Link Aggregation before and have a NAS server with Intel PRO 100/1000 x 6 I want to use primarily as a backup/archive server since it also has lots of storage. I have tested successful setup of LACP using 2 ports to confirm all the hardware is up to the task and now trying to decide on the best approach.

I thought LACP is the best choice because lots of clients will be backing up to this NAS. Failover makes sense as well, but would that be needed with LACP on 4 ports versus Failover with another pair of ports as LACP?

I plan to allocate 4 ports to the LAN where the backup will be done and the other 2 as yet a third LACP setup on the WAN serving shares and volumes.

Any recommendations appreciated!
 

kdragon75

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WAN serving shares and volumes.
I just have to ask... how is this setup? Please tell me your not just forwarding ports to your NAS for CIFS and/ro iSCSI or worse, giving it a WAN address!

I plan to allocate 4 ports to the LAN
Place all 4 ports in one LACP group. In networking the standard is to only have ONE IP address per host per subnet. Again, please explain how you plan to have your network setup with WAN connectivity.
 

rwfitzy

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Well, when I say WAN, it really is just one-to-one NAT through a firewall and no ports are open except for trusted sources for off-site backup access. The firewall has three ports, two connected to my two WAN subnets and one that will now be connected to this newly installed LAN switch for backups. I could effectively do off-site via the LAN interface I guess but haven't opened any ports in the LAN interface yet.

Lol, yes, I learned quickly learned LACP failover is not even a thing, I should have tried to set up for asking my question. I have 4 ports now in the local LAN in the LACP as you suggested and all working well.
 
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Lol, yes, I learned quickly learned LACP failover is not even a thing, I should have tried to set up for asking my question. I have 4 ports now in the local LAN in the LACP as you suggested and all working well.

I believe there is a LAGG option for failover, but I haven't used it as yet. I does seem that you won't get much benefit (other than redundancy) out of the LAGG (LACP 4 member channel you are proposing). That is because you don't describe anything else that has multiple links. LACP group do not aggregate the physical links together, they make a virtual link and load balance conversations across different members depending on the load balancing criteria you have defined. That means that one conversation can get no more than the speed of a single member link. If you had multiple clients on the same LAN and your load balancing criteria is set up correctly, you could possible server 4 connections at full rate. You did not mention a scenario like that though.
 

kdragon75

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ne-to-one NAT through a firewall and no ports are open except for trusted sources for off-site backup access.
Personally I would use VPN for backups and any site to site for that matter. pfSense will have full routed VPN support in 2.4.4! FreeBSD for the win!
 

kdragon75

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I does seem that you won't get much benefit (other than redundancy) out of the LAGG (LACP 4 member channel you are proposing). That is because you don't describe anything else that has multiple links. LACP group do not aggregate the physical links together, they make a virtual link and load balance conversations across different members depending on the load balancing criteria you have defined.
He did mention the following.
...because lots of clients will be backing up to this NAS.
 
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He did mention the following.
(Original post mentions multiple clients)

Ooops. OK, I missed that. Are the multiple clients local? If so, then LACP could help. It does matter how you configure load balancing in both the switch and in FreeNAS. FreeNAS would would to load balance based on destination MAC address or IP address. Your switch would need to load balance based on source MAC address or IP address. The latter is because from the vantage point of the switch, all traffic bound for FreeNAS over the logical link is destined for the same MAC/IP. Load balancing in the switch would make it send all traffic down one link if it is done by destination instead of source.
 

kdragon75

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FreeNAS would would to load balance based on destination MAC address or IP address. Your switch would need to load balance based on source MAC address or IP address. The latter is because from the vantage point of the switch, all traffic bound for FreeNAS over the logical link is destined for the same MAC/IP. Load balancing in the switch would make it send all traffic down one link if it is done by destination instead of source.
Good point to make here.
 
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