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: <Switch MAC>

Both interfaces must have matching Aggregator IDs and Partner MACs.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
Partner Mac Address: 00:00:00:00:00:00	Switch not sending LACP PDUs	Ensure channel-group mode active
Only one NIC active	Aggregator mismatch	Verify VLAN/MTU match
Drops or slow throughput	FEC or link negotiation issue	Align FEC or disable auto-neg
LACP flapping	Cabling or optics mismatch	Reseat transceivers, check logs

Summary

Setting	Value
Bond mode	802.3ad (LACP)
Hash policy	layer3+4
LACP rate	fast
VLANs	Trunked
Switch config	Port-Channel Active

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