Installing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2
Updating Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2
Removing Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2
Starting Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2
Using Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2
Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) is an integrated application that provides useful information about each network adapter that is installed in your server. The BACS2 application also enables you to perform detailed tests, diagnostics, and analyses on each adapter, as well as to modify property values and view traffic statistics for each adapter. BACS2 contains three panes:
The Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP) application, which runs within BACS2, is used to configure teams for load balancing, fault tolerance, and virtual local area networks (VLANs). BASP is available only on servers that use at least one Broadcom Ethernet network adapter.
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Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 lists all of the network adapters in your computer, and provides the following information (if available) about each device:
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Vital Sign. At-a-glance status reports on all of the LAN devices in your computer.
Resources. Shows the resource settings for the selected device.
Hardware. Shows the hardware information (the ASIC version and the firmware version) for the selected device.
Advanced. Allows you to view and change the values of the available properties of the selected device.
Statistics. Provides detailed performance statistics for the selected device.
BASP Statistics. Provides detailed performance statistics for the selected team (this BASP Statistics tab appears only when you click the name of an adapter that is part of a team).
The following testing, diagnostics, analyses, and teaming functions are provided:
Network Test. Confirms network connectivity to a remote station.
Diagnostics. Performs comprehensive diagnostics on Broadcom network adapters.
Cable Analysis. Analyzes Category 5 cabling conditions in depth.
Configuring Teaming. Allows you to group multiple network adapters into teams for load balance and failover.
The Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) software can be installed from the installation CD-ROM or by using the silent install option.
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NOTE: Before you begin the installation, close all applications, windows, or dialog boxes. |
| Control Suite. Installs the Broadcom Advanced Server Control Suite. | |
| BASP. Installs the Broadcom Advanced Server Program. | |
| SNMP Service. Installs the Advanced Server SNMP subagent. |
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NOTE: The Microsoft SNMP Service must be running for the SNMP Service application to function properly. |
| CIM Provider. Installs the CIM Provider. |
Before you perform the silent installation, copy the installation files to your hard disk to perform the silent installation from the hard disk, rather than from the CD-ROM drive. Installing from the hard disk is recommended because the setup /s command automatically generates a Setup.log file in the directory from which it is run. If you perform a silent installation from the CD-ROM drive, a log file cannot be generated, which causes the silent installation to fail.
To perform a silent installation
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NOTE: Before you begin the update, close all applications, windows, or dialog boxes. |
To update Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2
Follow the installation instructions for CD-ROM or silent install.
To remove the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) software
To start Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2)
In Control Panel, click (or double-click) Broadcom Control Suite.
Start BACS2. Click the tab that provides the information of interest or from which you can perform a desired test, diagnostic, analysis, or configuration. or, from the Tools menu, click Create a Team to start the BASP application.
The Vital Sign tab contains information about the Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet controller and other network adapters that are installed, the link status of the network, and network connectivity. To view this information for any installed network adapter, click the name of the device listed in the left pane.
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NOTE: Information about network adapters made by others is less comprehensive than the information provided for Broadcom network adapters. |
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| Physical Address. This is a physical MAC (media access control) address that is assigned to the device by the manufacturer. The physical address is never all 0s. | |
| IP Address: The network address that is associated with the device. If the IP address is all 0s, this means that the associated driver has not been bound with Internet Protocol (IP). |
| Driver Status. Information about the status of the driver that is associated with the selected controller. | ||
| Loaded. Normal operating mode. The driver that is associated with the device has been loaded by Windows and is functioning. | ||
| Not Loaded. The driver that is associated with the device has not been loaded by Windows. | ||
| Information Not Available. The value is not obtainable from the driver that is associated with the device. | ||
| Driver Name/Version/Date. The file name, version, and creation date of the software driver that is associated with the device. | ||
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BASP State. Information about the status of the BASP application. This information appears only when there is a team (see Configuring Teaming).
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Network Status: The following network status information is provided: |
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| Link Status. The indicator is green if a link is established. A red indicator means that a link is not established. | ||
| Speed. The link speed of the device. | ||
| Duplex. The duplex mode in which the device is operating. | ||
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| Bus Type. The type of input/output (I/O) interconnect used by the controller. | |
| Slot No. The PCI slot number on the system board occupied by the controller. This item is not available for PCI-E type controllers. | |
| Bus Speed (MHz). The bus clock signal frequency used by the controller. This item is not available for PCI-E type controllers. | |
| Bus Width (bit). The number of bits that the bus can transfer at a single time to and from the controller. This item is not available for PCI-E type controllers. | |
| Bus No. Indicates the number of the bus in which the controller is installed. | |
| Device No. The number assigned to the device by the operating system. | |
| Function No. The port number of the adapter. For a single-port adapter, the function number is 0. For a two-port adapter, the function number for the first port is 0, and the function number for the second port is 1. | |
| Interrupt Request. The interrupt line number that is associated with the device. Valid numbers range from 2 to 25. | |
| Memory Address. The memory mapped address that is assigned to the device. This value can never be 0. |
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| ASIC Version. The chip version of the Broadcom device (this information is not available for devices made by others). | |
| Firmware Version. The firmware version of the Broadcom device (this information is not available for devices made by others). | |
| Vendor ID | |
| Device ID | |
| Subsystem Vendor ID | |
| Subsystem ID |
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The Advanced tab allows you to view and change the values of the available properties of the selected device. The potentially available properties and their respective settings are described below. To view the value of a property, click the name of the property in the Property list. The property value appears in the Value box. To change the value, click an item in the Value list or type a new value, as appropriate (selection options are different for different properties).
The 802.1p QOS property enables quality of service, which is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) specification that treats different types of network traffic differently to ensure required levels or reliability and latency according to the type of traffic. This property is disabled by default. Unless the network infrastructure supports QoS, do not enable QoS. Otherwise, problems may occur.
Normally the Checksum Offload function is computed by the protocol stack. When you select one of the Checksum Offload property values (other than None), the checksum can be computed by the network adapter.
The Ethernet@Wirespeed property enables a Gigabit Ethernet adapter to establish a link at a lower speed when only 2 pairs of wires are available in the cabling plant. By default, this property is set to Enable. To disable Ethernet@Wirespeed, change the setting to Disable.
The Flow Control property enables or disables the receipt or transmission of PAUSE frames. PAUSE frames enable the network controller and a switch to control the transmit rate. The side that is receiving the PAUSE frame momentarily stops transmitting.
Auto (default). PAUSE frame receipt and transmission are optimized.
Disable. PAUSE frame receipt and transmission are disabled.
Rx PAUSE. PAUSE frame receipt is enabled.
Rx/Tx PAUSE. PAUSE frame receipt and transmission are enabled.
Tx PAUSE. PAUSE frame transmission is enabled.
The Jumbo Mtu property allows the network adapter to transmit and receive oversized Ethernet frames that are greater than 1514 bytes, but less than 9000 bytes in length. This property requires the presence of a switch that is able to process Jumbo frames.
Frame size is set at 1500 bytes by default. To increase the size of the received frames, increment the byte quantity in 500-byte increments.
Normally the TCP segmentation is done by the protocol stack. When you enable the Large Send Offload property, the TCP segmentation can be done by the network adapter.
Disable. Disables Large Send Offload.
Enable. (default). Enables Large Send Offload.
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NOTE: The Large Send Offload property is not supported on the BCM5700 device. |
The Locally Administered Address is a user-defined MAC address that is used in place of the MAC address originally assigned to the network adapter. Every adapter in the network must have its own unique MAC address. This locally administered address consists of a 12-digit hexadecimal number.
The appropriate assigned ranges and exceptions for the locally administered address include the following:
The Speed & Duplex property sets the connection speed and mode to that of the network. Note that Full-Duplex mode allows the controller to transmit and receive network data simultaneously.
10 Mb Full. Sets the speed at 10 Mbit/s and the mode to Full-Duplex.
10 Mb Half. Sets the speed at 10 Mbit/s and the mode to Half-Duplex.
100 Mb Full. Sets the speed at 100 Mbit/s and the mode to Full-Duplex.
100 Mb Half. Sets the speed at 100 Mbit/s and the mode to Half-Duplex.
Auto (default). Sets the speed and mode for optimum network connection (recommended).
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The Wake Up Capabilities property enables the network adapter to wake up from a low-power mode when it receives a network wake-up frame. Two types of wake-up frames are possible: Magic Packet™ and Wake Up Frame.
Both (default). Selects both Magic Packet and Wake Up Frame as wake-up frames.
Magic Packet. Selects Magic Packet as the wake-up frame.
None. Selects no wake-up frame.
Wake Up Frame. Selects Wake Up Frame as the wake-up frame and allows the network adapter to wake the system when an event such as a ping or an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) request is received.
The WOL Speed property sets the speed at which the network adapter connects to the network although the network adapter is in Wake on LAN mode. By default, the WOL Speed property is set to Auto.
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From the Network Test tab, you can verify IP network connectivity. This test verifies if the driver is installed correctly and tests connectivity to a gateway or other specified IP address on the same subnet. The Network test uses TCP/IP.
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From the Diagnostics tab you can perform diagnostic tests on the physical components of Broadcom network adapters. The tests are continuously performed on the selected physical components. The number of passes and fails in the Pass/Fail column increments each time the tests are performed. For example, if a test is performed four times and there are no fails, the value in the Pass/Fail column is 4/0. However, if there were 3 passes and 1 fail, the value in the Pass/Fail column is 3/1.
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NOTE: The network connection is temporarily lost when these tests are running. |
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| Control Registers. This test verifies the read and write capabilities of the network adapter registers by writing various values to the registers and verifying the results. The device driver uses these registers to perform network functions such as sending and receiving information. A test failure indicates that the device may not be working properly. | |
| MII Registers. This test verifies the read and write capabilities of the registers of the physical layer (PHY). The physical layer is used to control the electrical signals on the wire and for configuring network speeds such as 1000 Mbit/s. | |
| EEPROM. This test verifies the content of the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) by reading a portion of the EEPROM and computing the checksum. The test fails if the computed checksum is different from the checksum stored in the EEPROM. An EEPROM image upgrade does not require a code change for this test. | |
| Internal Memory. This test verifies that the internal memory of the device is functioning properly. The test writes patterned values to the memory and reads back the results. The test fails if an erroneous value is read back. The device cannot function its internal memory is not functioning properly. | |
| On-Chip CPU. This test verifies the operation of the internal CPUs in the device. | |
| Interrupt. This test verifies that the NDIS driver is able to receive interrupts from the device. | |
| Loopback MAC and Loopback PHY. These tests verify that the Network Device Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) driver is able to send packets to and receive packets from the device. | |
| Test LED. This test causes all of the LEDs to blink 5 times for the purpose of identifying the device. |
On the Cable Analysis tab, you can monitor the conditions of an Ethernet Category 5 cable connection within a cabling plant in an Ethernet network. The analysis measures the cable quality and compares it against the IEEE 802.3ab specification for compliance. A graph of the frequency-response characteristics of each cable pair appears, along with a graph of the Gain versus Frequency characterization.
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You can verify cable length and determine whether your configuration has the appropriate length of cable by running a Length test. This determination is made by using a return loss algorithm. This information allows you to determine whether the problem is with the network device or if the cabling is too long.
To run a Length test
The resulting test information is described below:
| Distance. The estimated cable length in meters (an average of all 4 channels using a return loss algorithm). | |
| Margin. The minimum difference (in dB) between the measured length of the cable pair and the maximum length specified in IEEE 802.3ab. | |
| Frequency Margin. The minimum difference (in MHz) between the measured frequency of the cable pair and the maximum frequency specified in IEEE 802.3ab. |
The frequency response of each channel appears based on the computation by the cable algorithms. The two graphs represent the values calculated by the cable loss and return loss algorithms. The vertical axis represents the gain in dB, and the horizontal axis represents the operating frequency. The blue graph is the IEEE 802.3ab specification limit, and the red graph is the actual computed values for a particular twisted pair. The two methods of measurement present the typical measurement standards to characterize the cable quality. It is important to take both measurements into consideration, as one result alone is not indicative of the characterization of the cable being tested.
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NOTE: The Frequency test feature may not be supported for your network device. |
To run a Frequency test
The resulting test information is described below:
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Cable Loss Measurement. The cable loss curve (red) represents the insertion loss of the cable under test as a function of frequency in the frequency range (0-62.5 MHz). The cable loss limit curve (blue) represents the cable loss limit as specified in Section 40.7.2.1 of the IEEE Standard 802.3ab-1999. A cable loss curve that is above the cable loss limit curve indicates that the cable is operating within the operating limit. A cable loss curve that is superimposed on the cable loss limit curve indicates that the cable is operating at the operating limit, which means that the quality of operation is marginal. If the cable loss curve is below the cable loss limit curve, the cable is operating outside of the operating limit of the IEEE 802.3ab-1999 standards. This means that the cable is too long for satisfactory operation. |
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Return Loss Measurement. The return loss curve (red) represents the return loss of the cable under test as a function of frequency in the frequency range (0-62.5 MHz) The return limit curve (blue) represents the return loss limit as specified in Section 40.7.2.3 of the IEEE Standard 802.3ab-1999. A return loss curve that is below of the return limit curve indicates that the cable is operating within the operating limit. A return loss curve that is superimposed on the return limit curve indicates that the cable is operating at the operating limit, which means that the quality of operation is marginal. A return loss curve that is above the return limit curve indicates that the cable is operating outside of the operating limit of the IEEE 802.3ab-1999 standards. This means that the cable is too long for satisfactory operation. |
On the Statistics tab, you can view traffic statistics for both Broadcom network devices and network devices made by others. Statistical information and coverage are more comprehensive for Broadcom devices, however.
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NOTE: Team statistics are not shown for a Broadcom network device if it is disabled. |
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| Frames Tx OK. A count of the frames that are successfully transmitted. This counter is incremented when the transmit status is reported as Transmit OK. | |
| Frames Rx OK. A count of the frames that are successfully received. This does not include frames received with frame-too-long, frame check sequence (FCS), length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented when the receive status is reported as Receive OK. | |
| Directed Frames Tx. A count of directed data frames that are successfully transmitted. | |
| Multicast Frames Tx. A count of frames that are successfully transmitted (as indicated by the status value Transmit OK) to a group destination address other than a broadcast address. | |
| Broadcast Frames Tx. A count of frames that were successfully transmitted (as indicated by the transmit status Transmit OK) to the broadcast address. Frames transmitted to multicast addresses are not broadcast frames and therefore, are excluded. | |
| Directed Frames Rx. A count of directed data frames that are successfully received. | |
| Multicast Frames Rx. A count of frames that are successfully received and are directed to an active nonbroadcast group address. This does not include frames received with frame-too-long, FCS, length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented as indicated by the Receive OK status. | |
Broadcast Frames Rx. A count of frames that are successfully received and are directed to a broadcast group address. This count does not include frames received with frame-too-long, FCS, length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented as indicated by the Receive OK status. |
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| Frames Rx with CRC Error. The number of frames received with CRC errors. |
| Frames Rx with Alignment Error. A count of the frames that are not an integral number of octets in length and do not pass the FCS check. This counter is incremented when the receive status is reported as Alignment Error. | |
| Frames Tx with one Collision. A count of the frames that are involved in a single collision and are subsequently transmitted successfully. This counter is incremented when the result of a transmission is reported as Transmit OK, and the attempt value is 2. | |
| Frames Tx with more than one Collision. A count of the frames that are involved in more than one collision and are subsequently transmitted successfully. This counter is incremented when the transmit status is reported as Transmit OK, and the value of the attempts variable is greater than 2 and less than or equal to the attempt limit. | |
| Frames Tx after Deferral. A count of the frames that were delayed being transmitted on the first attempt because the medium was busy. The frames involved in any collision are not counted. |
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NOTE: Custom statistics are available only for an enabled Broadcom network device. |
| Number of Interrupts generated by this adapter. The number of interrupts generated by the device. | |
| Number of Interrupts avoided by this adapter. The number of interrupts avoided by the device. | |
| Tx Max Coalesce Frames Threshold hit. The number of times the Send Max Coalesce Frames Threshold was hit. | |
| Rx Max Coalesce Frames Threshold hit. The number of times the Receive Max Coalesce Frames Threshold was hit. | |
| DMA write Queue was full. The number of times the DMA write queue was full. | |
| DMA write High Priority Queue was full. The number of times the DMA write high priority queue was full. | |
| DMA Read Queue was full. The number of times the DMA read queue was full. | |
| DMA Read High Priority Queue was full. The number of times the DMA read high priority queue was full. | |
| Send Data Completion FTQ was full. The number of times the send data completion FTQ (flow through queue) was full. | |
| NIC ran out of the Recv Buffer. The number of times the network adapter ran out of the Recv Buffer descriptors. | |
| Frames size less than 64-byte with bad FCS. The number of frames with a size less than 64 bytes with bad FCS. | |
| MAC Rx w/ Pause Command and Length = 0. MAC control frames with the pause command and a length equal to 0. | |
| MAC Rx w/ Pause Command and Length greater than 0. MAC control frames with the pause command and a length greater than 0. | |
| MAC Rx w/ no Pause Command. MAC control frames with no pause command. | |
| MAC Sent X-on. MAC Transmit with X-on was on. | |
| MAC Sent X-off. MAC Transmit with X-on was off. |
On the BASP Statistics tab you can view performance information about the network adapters that are on a team. To view this information for any team member adapter, click the name of the device. To view the BASP statistics for the team as a whole, click the name of the team.
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The teaming function allows you to group any available network devices together to function as a team. Teaming is a method of creating a virtual LAN (a group of multiple devices that functions as a single device). The benefit of this approach is that it enables load balancing and failover. Teaming is done via BASP.
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You can create 4 types of load balance teams:
Smart Load Balance and Failover. In this type of team, a standby member handles the traffic if all of the load balance members fail (a failover event). All load balance members have to fail before the standby member takes over. When one or more of the load balance members is restored (fallback), the restored team member(s) resumes the handling of the traffic.
Link Aggregation. In this type of team, you can dynamically configure the network adapters that have been selected to participate in a given team. If the link partner is not correctly configured for IEEE 802.3ad link configuration, errors are detected and noted. All adapters in the team are configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. The outbound load balancing scheme is determined by the BASP driver. The link partner of the team determines the load balancing scheme for inbound packets. In this mode, at least one of the link partners must be in active mode.
Generic Trunking. This type of team is very similar to the link aggregation type in that all adapters in the team need to be configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. This mode does not provide link aggregation control protocol (LACP) or marker protocol support. This mode supports a variety of environments where the link partners are statically configured to support a proprietary trunking mechanism. Trunking supports load balancing and failover for both outbound and inbound traffic.
SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable). This team is identical to Smart Load Balance and Failover, with the following exception — when the standby member is active, if a primary member comes back on line, the team continues using the standby member rather than switching back to the primary member. This type of team is supported only for situations in which the network cable is disconnected and reconnected to the network adapter. It is not supported for situations in which the adapter is removed/installed via Device Manager or Hot-Plug PCI.
From the Tools menu, click Create a Team.
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NOTE: There must be at
least one Broadcom Ethernet controller assigned to the team. |
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After you have created a team, you can modify the team in the following ways:
To modify a team
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To view the team properties and statistics
You also can add virtual LANs (VLANs) to a team. This enables you to add multiple virtual adapters that are on different subnets. The benefit of this is that your server can have one network adapter that can belong to multiple subnets. With a VLAN, you can couple the functionality of load balancing for the load balance members, and you can employ a failover adapter.
You can define up to 64 VLANs per team (63 VLANs that are tagged and 1 VLAN that is not tagged). VLANs can only be created when all teams members are Broadcom adapters. If you try to create a VLAN with a non-Broadcom adapter, an error message appears.
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NOTE: Disabled Broadcom adapters are not recognized,
and they prevent the creation of a VLAN. If you attempt to create a VLAN
with a disabled Broadcom adapter, an error message appears.
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To configure a team with a VLAN
| The Untagged VLAN check box is exclusively used by the VLAN ID field. To use VLAN ID 0, simply click this check box. If you type a VLAN name or ID and the name already exists, an Input Error message is displayed. |
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NOTE: To maintain optimum adapter performance, your
system should have 64 MB of system memory for each of the 8 VLANs created
per adapter.
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The available adapters are listed (these adapters are not currently members of any team).
To view VLAN properties and statistics and to run VLAN tests
To delete a VLAN
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NOTE: If you delete a
team, any VLANs configured for that team are also deleted. |
To save a configuration
The configuration file is a text file that can be viewed by any text editor. The file contains information about both the adapter and the team configuration.
To restore a configuration
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NOTE: If necessary, go to the folder where the file is located. |
