27.11.2024

How to Configure a Bond Interface in Ubuntu

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Bonding network interfaces is a common practice for improving network performance and reliability. In Ubuntu, you can combine two or more network interfaces into a single logical bonded interface. This is especially useful for redundancy and load balancing.

This guide explains how to configure a bond interface in Ubuntu using Netplan.

What is Network Bonding?

Network bonding, also known as link aggregation, combines multiple network interfaces into a single logical interface. Benefits include:

Increased throughput: Aggregate bandwidth from multiple links.
Redundancy: Automatically failover if one link fails.
Load balancing: Distribute traffic across multiple links.

Modes of Network Bonding

Ubuntu supports several bonding modes. Common ones include:

Mode 0 (balance-rr): Round-robin policy for load balancing.
Mode 1 (active-backup): Active-passive redundancy.
Mode 2 (balance-xor): XOR policy for load balancing.
Mode 4 (802.3ad): IEEE 802.3ad link aggregation (requires switch support).
Mode 5 (balance-tlb): Adaptive transmit load balancing.
Mode 6 (balance-alb): Adaptive load balancing with receive-side balancing.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure:

Multiple network interfaces: Two or more NICs (e.g., eth0, eth1).
Root privileges: You'll need sudo access.
Netplan installed: Default network configuration tool in Ubuntu 18.04 and later.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configure Bond Interface

1. Identify Network Interfaces

Use the following command to list all network interfaces:

ip link show

Identify the interfaces you want to bond (e.g., eth0 and eth1).

2. Edit Netplan Configuration

Open or create a Netplan configuration file in /etc/netplan/ (e.g., /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml).

Below is an example configuration for a bonded interface:

network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      dhcp4: no
    eth1:
      dhcp4: no
  bonds:
    bond0:
      dhcp4: yes
      interfaces:
        - eth0
        - eth1
      parameters:
        mode: active-backup
        primary: eth0

Replace bond0 with your desired bond name.
Adjust mode as per your needs (e.g., balance-rr for load balancing).
Set primary for failover in active-backup mode.

3. Apply the Configuration

Apply the Netplan configuration with:

sudo netplan apply

4. Verify the Bonding Configuration

Check the bond status with:

cat /proc/net/bonding/bond0

This will display detailed bonding information, including the mode and active interfaces.

Additional Considerations

Switch Configuration

If using 802.3ad (LACP), configure the switch to support link aggregation.

Troubleshooting

Network downtime: Ensure correct syntax in the YAML file.
Interface not active: Check interface status with ip link.

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Conclusion

Configuring a bond interface in Ubuntu is straightforward with Netplan. Network bonding boosts performance, ensures redundancy, and optimizes traffic. By following this guide, you'll achieve a more reliable and robust network configuration.

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Akmatori team