Smart Link

Smart Link enables the server software to detect and respond to a loss of network connectivity on the interconnect uplink ports. Smart Link causes the operating system to detect a failure and direct traffic to an alternative path. With Smart Link enabled, the Virtual Connect interconnects will drop the Ethernet link on all server connections associated with the network if all uplink ports within an uplink set lose their connection to the data center switches.

For the Smart Link functionality to operate as designed, valid DCC (Device Control Channel)-compatible NIC firmware and drivers must be installed on the server.

Smart Link can be helpful when using certain server network teaming (bonding) policies.

Smart Link must be enabled for horizontal stacking and primary-slice configurations.

Smart Link is only required and effective in the non redundant A/B side configurations. It has no effect on high availability or redundant configuration where both ICMs are in the same logical interconnect and MLAG is in use.

If a server profile connection contains network sets with both Smart Link and non-Smart Link enabled networks, no Smart Link processing occurs. This means that the profile connection always remains linked, even if uplink connectivity is lost for the Smart Link enabled networks.

If a server profile connection contains network sets with only Smart Link enabled networks and if all the uplink connectivity is lost for the networks in the network set, the server profile connection becomes unlinked due to Smart Link. The warning message indicates the reason for loss of connectivity.

When using Smart Link enabled networks within a network set, Hewlett Packard Enterprise recommends that all the networks in the network set must be a subset of the configured networks in an uplink set in the logical interconnect.

For more information, see VC traffic flow.