16–Using Cavium Teaming Services
Application Considerations
245
83840-546-00 N
Fault Tolerance
If a network link fails during tape backup operations, all traffic between the backup
server and client stops and backup jobs fail. If, however, the network topology was
configured for both Cavium SLB and switch fault tolerance, then this would allow
tape backup operations to continue without interruption during the link failure. All
failover processes within the network are transparent to tape backup software
applications.
To understand how backup data streams are directed during network failover
process, consider the topology in
. Client-Server Red is transmitting
data to the backup server through Path 1, but a link failure occurs between the
backup server and the switch. Because the data can no longer be sent from
Switch #1 to the Adapter A interface on the backup server, the data is redirected
from Switch #1 through Switch #2, to the Adapter B interface on the backup
server. This occurs without the knowledge of the backup application, because all
fault tolerant operations are handled by the adapter team interface and trunk
settings on the switches. From the client server perspective, it still operates as if it
is transmitting data through the original path.
Figure 16-10. Network Backup with SLB Teaming Across Two Switches
