Link Aggregation/ Port Trunking not working with Asus AX-11000 and Qnap TS-451+

[Kashif Tasneem]

Hi. I followed the following guides of both Qnap and Asus to setup link aggregation but still it is not working. When I transfer files, only 1 adapter is used even though NAS shows I have setup Link aggregation correctly.

https://www.qnap.com/en/how-to/tuto...-increase-the-bandwidth-via-802-3ad-protocol/

https://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1016088/

I have checked on both Layer 2 and Layer 2 + 3 but still not working. I also tried enabling Jumbo Frame. It did not work as well. I have made sure that port 1 of NAS is connected to LAN port 1 of router and port 2 of NAS is connected to LAN port 2 of router.

Router is assigning 1 IP to the NAS, not 2 which it does when link aggregation is off.

For testing, I have connected 2 devices via LAN to the router. I am writing two 4 GB files from each client onto the NAS. I am expecting transfer speeds of 1Gbps for both clients because both adapters should work.

Here are the screenshots of my NAS and router:

What could be the issue?

 

[ColinTaylor]

How are you testing it. You won't get more than 1 gig throughput unless you're using more than one client.

 

[Kashif Tasneem]

How are you testing it. You won't get more than 1 gig throughput unless you're using more than one client.

Yes, I know that. I am testing with 2 clients. Both connected via LAN to the router. I am expecting both clients should get around 100 MB/sec speed each. Currently it is being divided as only 1 adapter is being used.


I am updating my question to mention testing environment as well.

 

[coxhaus]

How are you testing it. You won't get more than 1 gig throughput unless you're using more than one client.

If you have a fast enough PC or server you can setup a lagg on your PC and move more than a gig of data. You do not have to have 2 PCs. I would not use jumbo frames.

Does the router support that much data? I am sure 2 PCs run at the same time with a 1 gig each data stream should flow into the second lagg port to the NAS.

 

[ColinTaylor]

If you have a fast enough PC or server you can setup a Lagg on your PC and move more than a gig of data.

True, but there are some caveats with that depending on the particular NICs and drivers you're using - been there, done that. So for simplicity of debugging it's best to use multiple separate clients IMHO.

 

[coxhaus]

Using Microsoft server and Intel NICs I have done this many times in the past using lagg ports.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Using Microsoft server and Intel NICs I have done this many times in the past using lagg ports.

As have I. My own problems were with Dell and HP servers. In one case the driver was configured for a mode that was not compatible with the Cisco switch, and in another there was a bug in the network driver.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I have checked on both Layer 2 and Layer 2 + 3 but still not working.

The Asus document you linked to explicitly states that Layer 2+3 is not supported, so don't waste you time with that mode.

Given that the Layer 2 policy determines which slave link to use based on a hash of the client's MAC address I would guess that there's a 50% chance that any particular client would end up using the same link as another client. So try swapping out one of your test clients for different devices and see if one of those will distribute the load evenly.

 

[Kashif Tasneem]

The Asus document you linked to explicitly states that Layer 2+3 is not supported, so don't waste you time with that mode.

Given that the Layer 2 policy determines which slave link to use based on a hash of the client's MAC address I would guess that there's a 50% chance that any particular client would end up using the same link as another client. So try swapping out one of your test clients for different devices and see if one of those will distribute the load evenly.

Thanks. I tried layer 2+3 because instructions mentioned by Asus are of older routers. They have not published such instructions for AX-11000. Also Qnap instructions recommended Layer 2+3.

 

[Kashif Tasneem]

Update: Link Aggregation seems to be working (traffic flowing through both adapters) when I am downloading simultaneously from the NAS. It does not work while uploading simultaneously.