Network Interface Card (NIC) bonding, also known as network bonding, is a technique used in Linux to combine multiple network interfaces into a single interface. This not only provides redundancy, but also load balancing and failover capabilities, resulting in higher network efficiency and resilience. In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of setting up NIC bonding on a Linux system.
Prerequisites
Before starting, ensure that you have at least two network interface cards and root or super user access to your Linux system.
Step 1: Install the IFENSALVE package
The first step is to install the ifenslave package. The ifenslave is a Linux tool that allows a network administrator to bind multiple network interfaces into a single channel. Install it using the following command:
# apt-get install ifenslave
Step 2: Load the Bonding Kernel Module
The next step is to load the bonding module into the Linux kernel. Use the modprobe command to do this:
# modprobe bonding
Step 3: Configure Bonding
All the network-related configurations in Linux are stored in the /etc/network/interfaces file. To configure bonding, open this file:
# nano /etc/network/interfaces
After opening the file, append the following lines to create a bond and add your network interfaces to it:
auto bond0
iface bond0 inet static
address 192.168.1.10
gateway 192.168.1.1
netmask 255.255.255.0
bond-slaves eth0 eth1
bond-mode balance-rr
bond-miimon 100
Step 4: Restart Networking Services
Finally, after all the configuration is done, save your changes and restart the networking service for the changes to take effect:
# /etc/init.d/networking restart
Conclusion
And that’s it! You have successfully configured NIC bonding on your Linux system. Now, your system will use multiple interfaces as if they were a single interface, providing increased bandwidth and redundancy. Happy networking!