Increase data transfer speed through bonding/lacp

bondingcifsethernetfile-transferlacp

I want to maximize the throughput of a data transfer between two servers. The copy will be made at the application layer using Robocopy.

To clear things up, please check my Visio schema of the network:

FS1---------(SW1)===========(SW2)--------- FS2
  • SW1 to SW2 is connected through 10 gigabit Fiber Channel ethernet
  • FS1 to SW1 is connected through 1 gigabit ethernet
  • FS2 to SW2 is connected through 1 gigabit ethernet

I first idea I've come up with is to use LACP, so I could use two Gigabit Ethernet between each server and the switch. A collegue told me that LACP is for availability and not performance, so he reckon this solution will not work. Is he right? Do I have other options?

Best Answer

He is partially right: Using LACP can increase availability due to it's automatic nature e.g. regarding dead links, but basically it's a protocol to control the bonding, regardless if it's used for performance enhancement or better resilience. So, your idea should work if all participating devices support it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Aggregation_Control_Protocol#Link_Aggregation_Control_Protocol