SDB:Bonding
NIC bonding (sometimes called NIC teaming) combines multiple discreet physical NICs into a single logical interface with all of the NICs sharing IP address, MAC address, etc. This allows for redundant failover and can sometimes provide improved transfer times for larger files over a LAN.
Before you start
- Check with your system and network administrator(s) to make sure you should be performing this procedure and that you have all of the necessary addressing and protocol information.
- Make sure you can configure the individual cards to work individually on your system and that they will function properly when using the addressing and firewall zone you plan to use for the bond(s) you are going to create.
Situation
You have a system with multiple physical network interfaces and want to combine them into a single logical interface (same IP, MAC, etc.) to provide redundancy, load balancing or increased bandwidth.
Procedure
This article describes one solution: using YaST2
with YaST2
Note: Before creating the bond entry or preparing the physical cards for inclusion in a bond, test each card with the activation, control and address options you intend to use for the bond. This procedure has not been tested with WiFi or other types of wireless network interface, using it with a wireless interface is not recommended.
- Start YaST2, select "Network Devices" and start the module "Network Settings".
- In "Overview" choose your first network device, click "edit".
- In "General" set "Activate Device" to "Never", in "Address" select "No IP Address", set other options in all sections as necessary for your situation (ie MTU, Firewall Zone, special hardware settings). Click "Next" to complete the device/interface configuration.
- Repeat the previous step for each additional physical device/interface that will be added to a bond.
- When all physical devices are configured, in "Overview" click "Add".
- Set "Device Type" to "Bond", "Configuration Name" should automatically set to the first available interface ID number, set Kernel Module options as necessary, and click "Next" to proceed.
- In "Address" and "General" set options just as you would for a single NIC in your environment and role.
- In "Bond Slaves" select each physical network interface you want to use for this bond (only network cards set to activate "Never" and set to "No IP Address" will appear in this list).
- Click "Next" to finish editing the interface's settings.
- Complete the configuration with "OK".