4.3.2. Create a Channel Bonding Interface

⁠4.3.2. Create a Channel Bonding Interface

To create a channel bonding interface, create a file in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ directory called ifcfg-bondN, replacing N with the number for the interface, such as 0.

The contents of the file can be based on a configuration file for whatever type of interface is getting bonded, such as an Ethernet interface. The essential differences are that the DEVICE directive is bondN, replacing N with the number for the interface, and TYPE=Bond. The NM_CONTROLLED directive can be added to prevent NetworkManager from configuring this device.

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Example 4.1. Example ifcfg-bond0 Interface Configuration File

An example of a channel bonding interface.

DEVICE=bond0
NAME=bond0
TYPE=Bond
IPADDR=192.168.1.1
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
ONBOOT=yes
BOOTPROTO=none
BONDING_OPTS="bonding parameters separated by spaces"

The NAME directive is useful for naming the connection profile in NetworkManager. ONBOOT says whether the profile should be started when booting (or more generally, when auto-connecting a device).

Put all Bonding Module Parameters in ifcfg-bondN Files

Parameters for the bonding kernel module must be specified as a space-separated list in the BONDING_OPTS="bonding parameters" directive in the ifcfg-bondN interface file. Do not specify options for the bonding device in /etc/modprobe.d/bonding.conf, or in the deprecated /etc/modprobe.conf file.

The max_bonds parameter is not interface specific and should not be set when using ifcfg-bondN files with the BONDING_OPTS directive as this directive will cause the network scripts to create the bond interfaces as required.

For further instructions and advice on configuring the bonding module and to view the list of bonding parameters, see Section 4.4, “Using Channel Bonding”.