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VPP Bonding Configuration
VPP bonding interfaces provide link aggregation capabilities, combining multiple physical interfaces into a single logical interface for increased bandwidth and redundancy. VPP bonding offers high-performance packet processing compared to traditional Linux bonding.
Basic Configuration
Creating a Bonding Interface
To create a VPP bonding interface:
Create a bonding interface where <bondN> follows the naming convention bond0, bond1, etc.
Example:
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0
Interface Description
Set a descriptive name for the bonding interface.
Example:
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 description "Primary uplink bond"
Administrative Control
Member Interface Configuration
Adding Member Interfaces
Add physical interfaces as members of the bond. Multiple interfaces can be added to the same bond.
Example:
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 member interface eth0
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 member interface eth1
Note
Member interfaces should be of the same speed and duplex for optimal performance and already be attached to VPP.
Bonding Modes
Configure the bonding mode. Available modes:
802.3ad: IEEE 802.3ad Dynamic Link Aggregation (LACP) - Default
active-backup: Fault tolerant, only one slave interface active
broadcast: Transmits everything on all slave interfaces
round-robin: Load balance by transmitting packets in sequential order
xor-hash: Distribute based on hash policy
Examples:
# Use LACP (recommended for switch environments)
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 mode 802.3ad
# Use active-backup for simple failover
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 mode active-backup
Hash Policies
For load balancing modes, configure how traffic is distributed across member interfaces:
Set the transmit hash policy:
layer2: Use MAC addresses to generate hash (default)
layer2+3: Combine MAC addresses and IP addresses
layer3+4: Combine IP addresses and port numbers
Examples:
# Layer 2 hashing (default)
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 hash-policy layer2
# Layer 3+4 for better distribution with multiple flows
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 hash-policy layer3+4
MAC Address Configuration
Set a specific MAC address for the bonding interface.
Example:
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 mac 00:11:22:33:44:55
Kernel Interface Integration
Create a kernel interface bound to the VPP bonding interface. This allows standard Linux networking tools and services to interact with the VPP bond.
For detailed information about kernel interface integration, see VPP Kernel Interfaces Configuration.
Example:
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 kernel-interface vpptap0
Important
When using kernel interface binding, you can configure IP addresses and other network settings on the kernel interface.
A kernel-interface must be created beforehand.
Complete Configuration Example
Here’s a complete example configuring a bonding interface with LACP:
# Create bonding interface
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 description "Server uplink bond"
# Configure bonding parameters
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 mode 802.3ad
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 hash-policy layer3+4
# Add member interfaces
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 member interface eth0
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 member interface eth1
# Create kernel interface for OS integration
set vpp interfaces bonding bond0 kernel-interface vpptap0
# Configure IP on kernel interface
set vpp kernel-interfaces vpptap0 address 192.168.1.10/24
Best Practices
Use 802.3ad mode with LACP-capable switches for best performance and standards compliance
Configure layer3+4 hash policy for environments with multiple traffic flows
Ensure member interfaces have identical capabilities (speed, duplex, MTU)