Setting Up LACP Bonding (Mode 4) for Oracle Linux Virtualisation Manager (OLVM)

Applies to: Oracle Linux 8 / 9, OLVM 4.x, Cisco Nexus or MLAG-capable switches

Overview

In an OLVM environment, Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) bonding enables multiple NICs to act as a single high-performance link.

This provides bandwidth aggregation and fault tolerance, essential for virtualized workloads and management networks.

Network Architecture

Typical layout for each OLVM host:

ens1f0np0  \
             > bond0 (mode 4, LACP)
ens1f1np1  /

bond0.11  → VLAN 11 (Storage)
bond0.20  → VLAN 20 (Management)

Each NIC connects to a Cisco or similar switch, configured as an LACP trunk.

Step 1: Configure the Switch

Example Cisco NX-OS configuration:

interface Ethernet1/22
  description OLVM-Host01-NIC1
  switchport
  switchport mode trunk
  switchport trunk allowed vlan 11,20
  channel-group 15 mode active
  no shutdown

interface Ethernet1/23
  description OLVM-Host01-NIC2
  switchport
  switchport mode trunk
  switchport trunk allowed vlan 11,20
  channel-group 15 mode active
  no shutdown

interface port-channel15
  description OLVM-Host01-Bond0
  switchport
  switchport mode trunk
  switchport trunk allowed vlan 11,20
  spanning-tree port type edge trunk

Requirements:

• Both ports in the same port-channel

• Same VLANs, MTU, and speed

• FEC (Forward Error Correction) aligned (Auto or Off)

• channel-group mode active (for LACP)

• 
  

Step 2: Configure OLVM Host Bonding

# Create bond
nmcli con add type bond ifname bond0 mode 802.3ad miimon 100 lacp-rate fast xmit-hash-policy layer3+4

# Add slaves
nmcli con add type ethernet ifname ens1f0np0 master bond0
nmcli con add type ethernet ifname ens1f1np1 master bond0

# Bring interfaces up
nmcli con up bond0
nmcli con up ens1f0np0
nmcli con up ens1f1np1

Step 3: Create VLAN Interfaces

nmcli con add type vlan con-name bond0.11 dev bond0 id 11
nmcli con add type vlan con-name bond0.20 dev bond0 id 20

Assign IP to management VLAN:

nmcli con mod bond0.20 ipv4.addresses 10.178.7.83/24
nmcli con mod bond0.20 ipv4.gateway 10.178.7.1
nmcli con mod bond0.20 ipv4.method manual
nmcli con up bond0.20

Step 4: Verify Operation

cat /proc/net/bonding/bond0

Expected:

Bonding Mode: IEEE 802.3ad Dynamic link aggregation
LACP active: on
Aggregator ID: 1
Number of ports: 2
Partner Mac Address: 

Both interfaces must have matching Aggregator IDs and Partner MACs.

Troubleshooting

Summary

LACP bonding offers performance scaling and redundancy, ideal for stable 10 Gb environments or modern 25 Gb optics with validated FEC alignment.