Should I enabled 802.3x hardware flow control?

Posted by Stu Thompson on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Stu Thompson
Published on 2010-05-20T10:50:05Z Indexed on 2010/05/20 11:02 UTC
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networking

What is the conventional wisdom regarding 802.3x flow control?

I'm setting up a network at a new colo and am wondering if I should be enabling it or not. My oh-cool-a-bright-and-shiny-new-toy self wants to enable it, but this seems like one of those decisions that could blow up in my face later on.

My network:

An HP ProCurve 2510G-24 switch
A pair of Debian 5 HP DL380 G5's with built-in NC373i 2-port NIC LACP'd as one link. 9000 jumbo frames enabled. (Application)
A pair of hand-built Ubuntu server with 4-port Intel Pro/1000 LACP'd as one link. 9000 jumbo frames enabled. (NAS)
A few other servers with with single 1Gbps ports, but one with 100Mbps.

Most of this kit is 802.3x. I've been enabling it as I go along, and am about to test the network. But as my 'go live' day nears, I am worried about the 802.3x decision as I've never explicitly used it before. Also, I've read some 10-year old articles out there on the Intertubes that warn against using flow control.

Should I be enabling 802.3x hardware flow control?

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