41.5.2. The Channel Bonding Module

41.5.2. The Channel Bonding Module

Red Hat Enterprise Linux allows administrators to bind NICs together into a single channel using the bonding kernel module and a special network interface, called a channel bonding interface. Channel bonding enables two or more network interfaces to act as one, simultaneously increasing the bandwidth and providing redundancy.

To channel bond multiple network interfaces, the administrator must perform the following steps:

  1. Add the following line to /etc/modprobe.conf:

    alias bond<N> bonding

    Replace <N> with the interface number, such as 0. For each configured channel bonding interface, there must be a corresponding entry in /etc/modprobe.conf.

  2. Configure a channel bonding interface as outlined in Section 14.2.3, “Channel Bonding Interfaces”.

  3. To enhance performance, adjust available module options to ascertain what combination works best. Pay particular attention to the miimon or arp_interval and the arp_ip_target parameters. Refer to Section 41.5.2.1, “bonding Module Directives” for a listing of available options.

  4. After testing, place preferred module options in /etc/modprobe.conf.


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