Microsoft nlb and hp 5500 switches

[sc_21111]

After reading a few threads and still being unable to solve the problem I decide to post here

the issue is quite common, we're trying to configure 2 VMs running windows 2012r2 in multicast NLB ( as per VMware BP )

we have two esxi 5.5 hosts connected to two hp 5500 switches

the switches are configured in vrrp and are the default gateway for each vlan configured

the problem is that we are not able to reach the nlb virtual IP from vlan other then the one we're the 2 VM exists

can anyone provide a configuration example for the 5500?

we also tried gimp-snooping with no luck as well

any help is greatly appreciate

[rcporto]

You're using dual NIC configuration on VMs ? If yes, take a look: http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2008/11/20/balancing-act-dual-nic-configuration-with-w...

[MKguy]

the switches are configured in vrrp and are the default gateway for each vlan configured

the problem is that we are not able to reach the nlb virtual IP from vlan other then the one we're the 2 VM exists

You need a static ARP entry for the virtual NLB MAC and vIP on your switches which are routing into this subnet. Most routers/switches reject ARP replies to a unicast IP with multicast layer 2 MAC address, which is exactly what your multicast NLB nodes are answering with.

[sc_2111]

I tried to add either a static arp , but it didn't work well, and a "mac-address multicast .." command per interface but we got strange behaviour in which the browser get redirected to the login page sometimes and sometimes even can't .

Does anyone have a configuration example for such switches ?

[MKguy]

I'm not really familiar with HP switches myself, but it seems there is an option to disable the MAC check of ARP replies with undo arp check enable. Did you use that as well?

A detailed config example from the manual is here:

Microsoft NLB Support - HP Enterprise Business Community