Using Link Aggregation With a Virtual Switch

As of the release of the Solaris 10 10/08 OS and the Logical Domains 1.1 software, the virtual switch can be configured to use a link aggregation. A link aggregation is used as the virtual switch's network device to connect to the physical network. This configuration enables the virtual switch to leverage the features provided by the IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Standard. Such features include increased bandwidth, load balancing, and failover. For information about how to configure link aggregation, see the System Administration Guide: IP Services.

After you create a link aggregation, you can assign it to the virtual switch. Making this assignment is similar to assigning a physical network device to a virtual switch. Use the ldm add-vswitch or ldm set-vswitch command to set the net-dev property.

When the link aggregation is assigned to the virtual switch, traffic to and from the physical network flows through the aggregation. Any necessary load balancing or failover is handled transparently by the underlying aggregation framework. Link aggregation is completely transparent to the virtual network (vnet) devices that are on the guest domains and that are bound to a virtual switch that uses an aggregation.

You cannot group the virtual network devices (vnet and vsw) into a link aggregation.

You can plumb and use the virtual switch that is configured to use a link aggregation in the service domain. See Configure the Virtual Switch as the Primary Interface.

The following figure illustrates a virtual switch configured to use an aggregation, aggr1, over physical interfaces nxge0 and nxge1.

Figure 7–8 Configuring a Virtual Switch to Use a Link Aggregation