RHEL 6 network bonding

[BradV]

We have a c7000 with 16 BL460c G1s.  Externally we have several DL380 G7s.  The developers aren't satisfied with the network throughput.  So, we are going to get rid of the GbE2c Ethernet switches in ICB 1 & 2.  We have acquired four 1/10Gb Virtual Connect Ethernet Modules (447047).  We will place these in ICB 1 - 4.  We will have on each blade an nc326m mezzanine card (Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5715S) in slot 1 and a Qlogic ISP2432 4Gb Fibre Channel card in slot 2.  The onboard NICs are capable of 1Gb/s and 2.5Gb/s.  The add-on NIC is capable of 1Gb/s.  External to the c7000, we have a Cisco 3750 running IOS 12.2(55)SE6.  I want to set up bonding to a) maximize throughput and b) provide fault tolerance.

Any suggestions on the best way to proceed?

Thanks!

[Suman_1978]

Hi,

From your post I understand you want to know about RHEL 6 Bonding NIC's.

Take a look at these links, it will give you some ideas.

If you are looking for any other type of bonding, do let us know.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-bond-or-team-multiple-network-interfaces-nic-into-single-interface.html

http://advancelinux.blogspot.com/2012/01/bonding-in-rhel-6.html

Thank You!
__________________________________________
Was the post useful? Click on the white KUDOS! Star.

For product specific Guided Troubleshooting visit; http://www.hp.com/support/hpgt
Click here to know, How to use HP Guided Troubleshooting?

I am a HP employee

[BradV]

Hi, thanks for the reply.  I'm familiar with bonding.  I guess I'm trying to get some more details on the complexities.

That is:

1. The type of bond to use.  The developers want to maximize throughput.  So, I'm thinking mode 4 - 802.3ad.  I'd like a little validation that is the correct choice.  :)
2. Since the two on-board NICs are capable of 2.5Gb/s and the mezzanine NICs are 1Gb/s, can I bond all four together to get a rough 7Gb/s link?
3. Between the four 1/10Gb switches, do I need to enable cross-connects?  That is, how will these four switches "know" the traffic coming in to each of them is in the same channel?
4. Configuring the uplink to the Cisco 3750.  Can I take one connection from each and create a 4Gb/s channel?

I'm trying to get down to the details of how this will actually work.  :)

Regards,

Brad

[James_R]

The cross links in a Virtual Connect environment are enabled by default.  Attached is a guide that will help you decide which configuration of uplinks and profiles will best suit your needs

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01990371/c01990371.pdf

For the configuration of your Cisco switch, please refer to this guide.  It will assist you in finding the needed settings to connect with Virtual Connect.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01386629/c01386629.pdf

[BradV]

Thanks,  I will take a look at those.  It's my understanding that the switches in ICB 1 & 2 are cross-connected and the switches in ICB 3 & 4 are cross-connected, but 1 & 2 aren't connected to either 3 or 4.  Is that correct?  If so, I believe I will have to manually connect them?

Regards,

Brad

[James_R]

That is correct.  In order for traffic to pass between IC bays 1/2 and IC bays 3/4, you must provide at least one external stacking link.  Typically customers use 2 for redundancy.

[BradV]

OK, for the ICB 1/10 switches, I will need to connect the switch in ICB 1 to ICB 3 and the one in ICB 2 to ICB 4, correct?  Now when I create the uplink LACP connection, I should use at least one connection from each switch so that if a switch fails it doesn't take down the entire connection?  I'm going to start working on the RHEL configuration.

[James_R]

Stacking links will automatically form a channel and failover to available connections when needed.  Only 1 connection will be active at any given time.