Implementing a Link Aggregation Group (LAG) that uses LACP to aggregate all the defined ethernet links is a well used and documented process. However under Redhat/CENTOS 7 and 8 the addition of NetworkManager can both throw a spanner in the mix and allow an easy way to dynamically add LACP during a kickstart install. During …
Category: Networking
A collection of network focused articles from contract work we have completed.
Infiniband Fat Trees
Overview Infiniband is primarily used in High Performance Computing (HPC) and provides a very fast network interconnect with an incredibly small latency. One of the most common topologies implented is the “Fat Tree” layout. The fat tree topology has host nodes connected at the end points of the network via PCI Infiniband cards. The Infiniband …
HPC Re-Engineering
Overview We have been tasked with proposing how we would re-engineer an aging SGI High Performance Computing platform. The platform is a 35 Node cluster running Red Hat 6.7 on each node with a Lustre file system mount and a /home file system presented via NFS from a Hierarchical Storage Node (over an FDR Infiniband …
LACP Implementation
Modern servers usually have multiple ethernet interfaces, and by combining them into an LACP trunk, you can pass VLAN’s over then to extend the amount of traffic over a bonded network link. Converting a Linux CENTOS server with 2 or more Ethernet interfaces to an LACP bonded network link couldn’t be simpler. The process is well documented …