hi,
i would like to use link agreggation on a mikrotik router or switch, can someone tell me how happy it is on this feature on mikrotik devices.to be more specific i’m interested on this:
easy to configure
-what problems i’ll encounter
-how is performance
-any other suggestions.
I have a storage server and 5 professional workstations Dell Precision, and 20 desktops plus some notebooks on wireless, they all have to save work on storage server and files are big, few Gb. and i think this will help reduce time.
Mikrotik routers are LACP-compatible, so you can set up a bonding interface containing multiple ethernet/gigabit links between two devices for aggregation and failover.
It’s quite easy to configure
add bonding interface
attach ethernet interfaces to bonding interface
set IP on bonding interface & add routing rules
OR bridge bonding interface (not sure about this)
This is important because a bonding interface is CPU-forwarded in RouterOS (just like a bridge interface is) so you’ll need to make sure you choose a box with enough horsepower to handle your traffic load.
I would say to look into the CCR line. I’ve read lots and lots of horror stories on these forums about poor performance when using a CRS as a router, so I’d advise against choosing a CRS.
Agree with ZeroByte and I would also look at 10 gig for your storage server.
We do a lot of work with storage in the Data Center and 10 gig will give you the biggest improvement in performance. 10 Gig cards aren’t that expensive these days for servers and you will get much better performance from one 10 gig ports than an LACP channel with 8 - 1 gig ports.
A CCR1036 or CCR1072 would work well for your application depending on how much 10 gig you use.