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Chapter 4. Configuring a NIC team

Network interface controller (NIC) teaming is a method to combine or aggregate physical and virtual network interfaces to provide a logical interface with higher throughput or redundancy. NIC teaming uses a small kernel module to implement fast handling of packet flows and a user-space service for other tasks. This way, NIC teaming is an easily extensible and scalable solution for load-balancing and redundancy requirements.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides administrators different options to configure team devices. For example:

  • Use nmcli to configure teams connections using the command line.
  • Use the RHEL web console to configure team connections using a web browser.
  • Use the nm-connection-editor application to configure team connections in a graphical interface.
Important

NIC teaming is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Consider using the network bonding driver as an alternative. For details, see Configuring a network bond.

4.1. Migrating a NIC team configuration to network bond

Network interface controller (NIC) teaming is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. If you already have a working NIC team configured, for example because you upgraded from an earlier RHEL version, you can migrate the configuration to a network bond that is managed by NetworkManager.

Important

The team2bond utility only converts the team configuration to a bond. Afterwards, you must manually configure further settings of the bond, such as IP addresses and DNS configuration.

Prerequisites

  • The team-team0 NetworkManager connection profile is configured and manages the team0 device.
  • The teamd package is installed.

Procedure

  1. Optional: Display the IP configuration of the team-team0 NetworkManager connection: 

    # nmcli connection show team-team0 | egrep "^ip"
...
ipv4.method:                            manual
ipv4.dns:                               192.0.2.253
ipv4.dns-search:                        example.com
ipv4.addresses:                         192.0.2.1/24
ipv4.gateway:                           192.0.2.254
...
ipv6.method:                            manual
ipv6.dns:                               2001:db8:1::fffd
ipv6.dns-search:                        example.com
ipv6.addresses:                         2001:db8:1::1/64
ipv6.gateway:                           2001:db8:1::fffe
...

  2. Export the configuration of the team0 device to a JSON file: 

    # teamdctl team0 config dump actual > /tmp/team0.json

  3. Remove the NIC team. For example, if you configured the team in NetworkManager, remove the team-team0 connection profile and the profiles of associated ports: 

    # nmcli connection delete team-team0
# nmcli connection delete team-team0-port1
# nmcli connection delete team-team0-port2

  4. Run the team2bond utility in dry-run mode to display nmcli commands that set up a network bond with similar settings as the team device: 

    # team2bond --config=/tmp/team0.json --rename=bond0
nmcli con add type bond ifname bond0 bond.options "mode=active-backup,num_grat_arp=1,num_unsol_na=1,resend_igmp=1,miimon=100,miimon=100"
nmcli con add type ethernet ifname enp7s0 controller bond0
nmcli con add type ethernet ifname enp8s0 controller bond0

    The first command contains two miimon options because the team configuration file contained two link_watch entries. Note that this does not affect the creation of the bond.

    If you bound services to the device name of the team and want to avoid updating or breaking these services, omit the --rename=bond0 option. In this case, team2bond uses the same interface name for the bond as for the team.

  5. Verify that the options for the bond the team2bond utility suggested are correct.

  6. Create the bond. You can execute the suggested nmcli commands or re-run the team2bond command with the --exec-cmd option: 

    # team2bond --config=/tmp/team0.json --rename=bond0 --exec-cmd
Connection 'bond-bond0' (0241a531-0c72-4202-80df-73eadfc126b5) successfully added.
Connection 'bond-port-enp7s0' (38489729-b624-4606-a784-1ccf01e2f6d6) successfully added.
Connection 'bond-port-enp8s0' (de97ec06-7daa-4298-9a71-9d4c7909daa1) successfully added.

    You require the name of the bond connection profile (bond-bond0) in the next steps.

  7. Set the IPv4 settings that were previously configured on team-team0 to the bond-bond0 connection: 

    # nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv4.addresses '192.0.2.1/24'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv4.gateway '192.0.2.254'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv4.dns '192.0.2.253'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv4.dns-search 'example.com'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv4.method manual

  8. Set the IPv6 settings that were previously configured on team-team0 to the bond-bond0 connection: 

    # nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv6.addresses '2001:db8:1::1/64'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv6.gateway '2001:db8:1::fffe'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv6.dns '2001:db8:1::fffd'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv6.dns-search 'example.com'
# nmcli connection modify bond-bond0 ipv6.method manual

  9. Activate the connection: 

    # nmcli connection up bond-bond0

Verification

  1. Display the IP configuration of the bond-bond0 NetworkManager connection: 

    # nmcli connection show bond-bond0 | egrep "^ip"
...
ipv4.method:                            manual
ipv4.dns:                               192.0.2.253
ipv4.dns-search:                        example.com
ipv4.addresses:                         192.0.2.1/24
ipv4.gateway:                           192.0.2.254
...
ipv6.method:                            manual
ipv6.dns:                               2001:db8:1::fffd
ipv6.dns-search:                        example.com
ipv6.addresses:                         2001:db8:1::1/64
ipv6.gateway:                           2001:db8:1::fffe
...

  2. Display the status of the bond: 

    # cat /proc/net/bonding/bond0
Ethernet Channel Bonding Driver: v5.13.0-0.rc7.51.el9.x86_64

Bonding Mode: fault-tolerance (active-backup)
Primary Slave: None
Currently Active Slave: enp7s0
MII Status: up
MII Polling Interval (ms): 100
Up Delay (ms): 0
Down Delay (ms): 0
Peer Notification Delay (ms): 0

Slave Interface: enp7s0
MII Status: up
Speed: Unknown
Duplex: Unknown
Link Failure Count: 0
Permanent HW addr: 52:54:00:bf:b1:a9
Slave queue ID: 0

Slave Interface: enp8s0
MII Status: up
Speed: Unknown
Duplex: Unknown
Link Failure Count: 0
Permanent HW addr: 52:54:00:04:36:0f
Slave queue ID: 0

    In this example, both ports are up.

  3. To verify that bonding failover works:

    1. Temporarily remove the network cable from the host. Note that there is no method to properly test link failure events using the command line.

    2. Display the status of the bond: 

      # cat /proc/net/bonding/bond0

4.2. Understanding the default behavior of controller and port interfaces

Consider the following default behavior when managing or troubleshooting team or bond port interfaces using the NetworkManager service:

  • Starting the controller interface does not automatically start the port interfaces.
  • Starting a port interface always starts the controller interface.
  • Stopping the controller interface also stops the port interface.
  • A controller without ports can start static IP connections.
  • A controller without ports waits for ports when starting DHCP connections.
  • A controller with a DHCP connection waiting for ports completes when you add a port with a carrier.
  • A controller with a DHCP connection waiting for ports continues waiting when you add a port without a carrier.

4.4. Configuring a NIC team by using nmcli

To configure a network interface controller (NIC) team on the command line, use the nmcli utility.

Important

NIC teaming is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Consider using the network bonding driver as an alternative. For details, see Configuring a network bond.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Create a team interface: 

    # nmcli connection add type team con-name team0 ifname team0 team.runner activebackup

    This command creates a NIC team named team0 that uses the activebackup runner.

  2. Optional: Set a link watcher. For example, to set the ethtool link watcher in the team0 connection profile: 

    # nmcli connection modify team0 team.link-watchers "name=ethtool"

    Link watchers support different parameters. To set parameters for a link watcher, specify them space-separated in the name property. Note that the name property must be surrounded by quotation marks. For example, to use the ethtool link watcher and set its delay-up parameter to 2500 milliseconds (2.5 seconds): 

    # nmcli connection modify team0 team.link-watchers "name=ethtool delay-up=2500"

    To set multiple link watchers and each of them with specific parameters, the link watchers must be separated by a comma. The following example sets the ethtool link watcher with the delay-up parameter and the arp_ping link watcher with the source-host and target-host parameter: 

    # nmcli connection modify team0 team.link-watchers "name=ethtool delay-up=2, name=arp_ping source-host=192.0.2.1 target-host=192.0.2.2"

  3. Display the network interfaces, and note the names of the interfaces you want to add to the team: 

    # nmcli device status
DEVICE  TYPE      STATE         CONNECTION
enp7s0  ethernet  disconnected  --
enp8s0  ethernet  disconnected  --
bond0   bond      connected  bond0
bond1   bond      connected  bond1
...

    In this example:

    • enp7s0 and enp8s0 are not configured. To use these devices as ports, add connection profiles in the next step. Note that you can only use Ethernet interfaces in a team that are not assigned to any connection.
    • bond0 and bond1 have existing connection profiles. To use these devices as ports, modify their profiles in the next step.

  4. Assign the port interfaces to the team:

    1. If the interfaces you want to assign to the team are not configured, create new connection profiles for them: 

      # nmcli connection add type ethernet port-type team con-name team0-port1 ifname enp7s0 controller team0
# nmcli connection add type ethernet port--type team con-name team0-port2 ifname enp8s0 controller team0

      These commands create profiles for enp7s0 and enp8s0, and add them to the team0 connection.

    2. To assign an existing connection profile to the team:

      1. Set the controller parameter of these connections to team0: 

        # nmcli connection modify bond0 controller team0
# nmcli connection modify bond1 controller team0

        These commands assign the existing connection profiles named bond0 and bond1 to the team0 connection.

      2. Reactivate the connections: 

        # nmcli connection up bond0
# nmcli connection up bond1

  5. Configure the IPv4 settings:

    • If you plan to use this team device as a port of other devices, enter: 

      # nmcli connection modify team0 ipv4.method disabled
    • To use DHCP, no action is required.

    • To set a static IPv4 address, network mask, default gateway, and DNS server to the team0 connection, enter: 

      # nmcli connection modify team0 ipv4.addresses '192.0.2.1/24' ipv4.gateway '192.0.2.254' ipv4.dns '192.0.2.253' ipv4.dns-search 'example.com' ipv4.method manual

  6. Configure the IPv6 settings:

    • If you plan to use this team device as a port of other devices, enter: 

      # nmcli connection modify team0 ipv6.method disabled
    • To use stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC), no action is required.

    • To set a static IPv6 address, network mask, default gateway, and DNS server to the team0 connection, enter: 

      # nmcli connection modify team0 ipv6.addresses '2001:db8:1::1/64' ipv6.gateway '2001:db8:1::fffe' ipv6.dns '2001:db8:1::fffd' ipv6.dns-search 'example.com' ipv6.method manual

  7. Activate the connection: 

    # nmcli connection up team0

Verification

  • Display the status of the team: 

    # teamdctl team0 state
setup:
  runner: activebackup
ports:
  enp7s0
    link watches:
      link summary: up
      instance[link_watch_0]:
        name: ethtool
        link: up
        down count: 0
  enp8s0
    link watches:
      link summary: up
      instance[link_watch_0]:
        name: ethtool
        link: up
        down count: 0
runner:
  active port: enp7s0

    In this example, both ports are up.

Additional resources

4.5. Configuring a NIC team by using the RHEL web console

Use the RHEL web console to configure a network interface controller (NIC) team if you prefer to manage network settings using a web browser-based interface.

Important

NIC teaming is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Consider using the network bonding driver as an alternative. For details, see Configuring a network bond.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.

    For details, see Logging in to the web console.

  2. Select the Networking tab in the navigation on the left side of the screen.
  3. Click Add team in the Interfaces section.
  4. Enter the name of the team device you want to create.
  5. Select the interfaces that should be ports of the team.

  6. Select the runner of the team.

    If you select Load balancing or 802.3ad LACP, the web console shows the additional field Balancer.

  7. Set the link watcher:

    • If you select Ethtool, additionally, set a link up and link down delay.
    • If you set ARP ping or NSNA ping, additionally, set a ping interval and ping target.
    team settings
  8. Click Apply.

  9. By default, the team uses a dynamic IP address. If you want to set a static IP address:

    1. Click the name of the team in the Interfaces section.
    2. Click Edit next to the protocol you want to configure.
    3. Select Manual next to Addresses, and enter the IP address, prefix, and default gateway.
    4. In the DNS section, click the + button, and enter the IP address of the DNS server. Repeat this step to set multiple DNS servers.
    5. In the DNS search domains section, click the + button, and enter the search domain.

    6. If the interface requires static routes, configure them in the Routes section.

      bond team bridge vlan.ipv4
    7. Click Apply

Verification

  1. Select the Networking tab in the navigation on the left side of the screen, and check if there is incoming and outgoing traffic on the interface.

    team verify

  2. Display the status of the team: 

    # teamdctl team0 state
setup:
  runner: activebackup
ports:
  enp7s0
    link watches:
      link summary: up
      instance[link_watch_0]:
        name: ethtool
        link: up
        down count: 0
  enp8s0
    link watches:
      link summary: up
      instance[link_watch_0]:
        name: ethtool
        link: up
        down count: 0
runner:
  active port: enp7s0

    In this example, both ports are up.

Additional resources

4.6. Configuring a NIC team by using nm-connection-editor

If you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux with a graphical interface, you can configure network interface controller (NIC) teams using the nm-connection-editor application.

Note that nm-connection-editor can add only new ports to a team. To use an existing connection profile as a port, create the team using the nmcli utility as described in Configuring a NIC team by using nmcli.

Important

NIC teaming is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Consider using the network bonding driver as an alternative. For details, see Configuring a network bond.

Prerequisites

  • The teamd and NetworkManager-team packages are installed.
  • Two or more physical or virtual network devices are installed on the server.
  • To use Ethernet devices as ports of the team, the physical or virtual Ethernet devices must be installed on the server.
  • To use team, bond, or VLAN devices as ports of the team, ensure that these devices are not already configured.

Procedure

  1. Open a terminal, and enter nm-connection-editor: 

    $ nm-connection-editor
  2. Click the + button to add a new connection.
  3. Select the Team connection type, and click Create.

  4. On the Team tab:

    1. Optional: Set the name of the team interface in the Interface name field.

    2. Click the Add button to add a new connection profile for a network interface and adding the profile as a port to the team.

      1. Select the connection type of the interface. For example, select Ethernet for a wired connection.
      2. Optional: Set a connection name for the port.
      3. If you create a connection profile for an Ethernet device, open the Ethernet tab, and select in the Device field the network interface you want to add as a port to the team. If you selected a different device type, configure it accordingly. Note that you can only use Ethernet interfaces in a team that are not assigned to any connection.
      4. Click Save.

    3. Repeat the previous step for each interface you want to add to the team.

      add nic to team in nm connection editor

    4. Click the Advanced button to set advanced options to the team connection.

      1. On the Runner tab, select the runner.
      2. On the Link Watcher tab, set the link watcher and its optional settings.
      3. Click OK.

  5. Configure the IP address settings on both the IPv4 Settings and IPv6 Settings tabs:

    • If you plan to use this bridge device as a port of other devices, set the Method field to Disabled.
    • To use DHCP, leave the Method field at its default, Automatic (DHCP).

    • To use static IP settings, set the Method field to Manual and fill the fields accordingly:

      team IP settings nm connection editor

  6. Click Save.
  7. Close nm-connection-editor.

Verification

  • Display the status of the team: 

    # teamdctl team0 state
setup:
  runner: activebackup
ports:
  enp7s0
    link watches:
      link summary: up
      instance[link_watch_0]:
        name: ethtool
        link: up
        down count: 0
  enp8s0
    link watches:
      link summary: up
      instance[link_watch_0]:
        name: ethtool
        link: up
        down count: 0
runner:
  active port: enp7s0

Additional resources

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