A systems administrator must create a NIC team on a Linux file server that uses two 10 GbE adapters plugged into different access switches. The design goals are to keep the server online if either network adapter or one of the switches fails, and to avoid any special configuration on the switches. Extra bandwidth beyond 10 Gb/s is not required. Which NIC bonding/teaming mode BEST meets these requirements?
Active-backup (active-passive) keeps only one NIC active at a time while the second remains on standby. If the active link or its switch goes down, the standby adapter takes over automatically, preserving connectivity. Because only one link is ever active, no link aggregation protocol or EtherChannel needs to be configured on the switches. The other modes listed all require the switches to participate in link aggregation (static EtherChannel or LACP) or transmit every frame on all links, so they do not fit the requirements.