Differences When Configuring Ethernet Teams in a Hyper-V Environment

When teaming Ethernet network adapters for use in a Hyper-V environment, use the LBFO teaming script to create teams in the parent partition, and then use Hyper-V Manager to create an external Virtual Network and associate it with the teamed adapter. You can create multiple external Virtual Network Adapters associated with the same team.

When teaming Ethernet adapters for use in a Hyper-V environment:

• You must use Switch Embedded Teaming (SET) instead of Load Balance Failover (LBFO) teaming technology to create the teams.

  Notice: Attaching a virtual switch to an LBFO team is deprecated by Microsoft.

• The LBFO teaming script provided in Automated Uptime Layer with Smart Exchange automatically senses if you enable the Hyper-V role on your system and thereafter uses SET technology to create teams; however, you must recreate any preexisting LBFO teams with SET technology, including the default embedded teams created by the system software installation. The easiest way to do this is by using the LBFO teaming script create operation to automatically delete the existing teams and create new default teams, as described in III. Creating Ethernet Teams.

• Because you need to recreate any preexisting LBFO teams, it is best to enable the Hyper-V role on the system to automatically enable SET technology before creating any new teams or customizing teams for your needs. For more information about configuring Hyper-V, see Configuring the Hyper-V Role on Your System.

• The syntax of the LBFO teaming script is identical for creating both LBFO and SET teams. If you are using the LBFO teaming script for the first time, optionally see Using the LBFO Teaming Script to Manage Ethernet Teams to learn more about the script and the full list of options that are available.

If you need to assign virtual LAN (VLAN) IDs to your network connections, configure the VLAN settings as follows:

• If you need to enable VLAN identification for a team that is assigned to a specific VM, assign the VLAN ID in the VM’s settings in Hyper-V Manager. To support multiple VLANs in a VM, provide the VM with multiple Hyper-V switch ports and associate each port with a VLAN.

• If you need to enable VLAN identification for a team that is shared between the parent partition and the VMs, use Virtual Network Manager to assign the VLAN ID to the associated virtual network switch.

• If you need to enable VLAN identification for an Ethernet team that is reserved exclusively for the parent partition, configure the VLAN setting in the NIC Teaming properties for the Ethernet team in the parent partition.

When teaming Ethernet adapters for use in a Hyper-V environment, also observe the following additional restrictions:

• Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) interfaces and Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) interfaces are not supported because they conflict with fault-tolerant operation; however, Microsoft Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ) technology is enabled by default for all network adapters to improve network throughput.

• You cannot create a virtual network and associate it with an Ethernet team that contains disabled members. If you do so, the following error is displayed: Error Applying New Virtual Network Changes. Setup switch failed. The operation failed because the file was not found. To correct the problem, enable all members of the team in the Network and Sharing Center control panel.

• You cannot change the type of a team if that team is tied to a virtual network. If you try to do so, the team properties indicate that the type has been successfully changed when it has not. To change the team type, remove the virtual network in Hyper-V Manager, change the team type in the NIC Teaming utility, and then create a new virtual network with the team.

• You cannot use the LINK state of an adapter in a VM to determine if the VM has network connectivity. A virtual network indicates that a network connection exists even if all members of an Ethernet team assigned to that network lose their network link. Attempts to ping the IP address of the team in the VM or in the parent partition from a remote system will time out. However, if the virtual network is accessible from the parent partition, you can still successfully ping the VM from the parent partition, and ping the parent partition from the VM.

  To determine the correct LINK state for an Ethernet team, view the status of the team in the parent partition. For example, view the status of the associated connection in the Network and Sharing Center control panel, or the status of the Ethernet team in the NIC Teaming utility or in the ztC Endurance console​.