Does Windows 7 support 802.3ad (link aggregation) natively

aggregationnetwork-adapter

I'm trying to understand what's needed to make Windows 7 combine two Ethernet ports into one virtual 2 gigabit port. I know I need 802.3ad compatible switch, my NAS also supports 802.3ad, but it's not sure what's needed on the desktop side.

I know I can buy an expensive 2-port server NIC, and Intel drivers have "teaming" support in them. However, my motherboard already has an integrated NIC. If I put a second, cheap regular network adapter, is there a way to enable 802.3ad over them in Windows?

Best Answer

For NIC teaming or link aggregation support, you'll need to contact your network adaptor vendor or OEM (e.g. Dell offers a teaming driver). They will need to provide you a driver that enables NIC teaming, since Windows does not offer this functionality in the core OS.

Source: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other-networking/does-windows-natively-support-link-aggregation/81e647f9-d89e-4028-8370-7e8bb0e3dc2f?msgId=6ca73c70-5ea7-4054-a75a-1be66d545b8a

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