How can I take advantage of multiple NICs in Server 2008 R2 Storage addition to improve speed transfer?

Question

I am running Windows Server 2008 R2 Server edition on a server that has 2 identical Intel 1000MB network interfaces. Is there any way to link these in order to improve network copy over LAN?

I noticed that when the server is running backup (copying files from its own storage to another network location) or I have multiple clients downloading ISOs (4.8GB each) the transfer speed gets significant hit.

Solution

This is called NIC teaming and is hardware/software based, not Windows based. You'll need to get the correct software for your hardware configuration (For example use Broadcom Advanced Control Suite if you have Broadcom NetXtreme adapters). If you tell us your hardware configuration we could provide more info, maybe.

This link is helpful (Section 2.2):

http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2010/09/03/using-the-multiple-nics-of-your-file-server-running-windows-server-2008-and-2008-r2.aspx

Comments

[TomEus]

Based on Nate's answer below I found intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-009747.htm which I think is what I am after so the next step would be to download the intel ANS and start playing. If anyone knows how to accomplish this via HW without having to install additional drivers on the server, that would be truly appreciated.

[TomEus]

Thank you - the board has 2x Intel i210 NICs: intel.com/content/www/us/en/ethernet-controllers/…

[Nate]

It looks like this is what you need then. Best of luck, and make sure to let me know if it worked!