Proxmox Link Aggregation Using balance-alb Windows vs Linux

 

Proxmox Link Aggregation Using balance-alb Mode

Explanation

I have this nice little business switch that unfortunately doesn't support LACP for network link aggregation. One of my cables also turned out to be a little bit faulty, so to prevent any mishaps in the future I decided to configure a link bond between the proxmox box's two NICs (Network Interface Cards). Link bonding, also known as Link aggregation or NIC Teaming is where you have two network interfaces on your host working together. This can provide some redundancy, load balancing, and even increase your throughput depending on your configuration. the balance-alb setting can be used regardless of what the switch supports. It's best only used on small networks.

I ran into an interesting problem. None of the VM's could access the network after changing my proxmox box to use the balance-alb bond mode. The solution turned out to be simple.

For windows VM's
  • Install the VirtIO driver in windows, and then set the Networking Device model to VirtIO (paravirtualized)
For Linux VM's
  • Change the Network Device model from VirtIO to Realtek.

HUH? that's kinda weird, basically opposite configurations.

I figured this out because in a Windows 11 VM to save time I never installed the VirtIO drivers. With the lack of network access, I decided maybe it was a good time to install it. It worked! Since switching the device worked for Windows why not try switching devices for the Linux VMs. 

I'm a bit curious why this worked.

Steps

Here's some configuration steps if anyone else stumbles upon this post:

1) Create a Linux Bond in Proxmox. (You might need to remove Network Device from other settings you've setup) 

In the left hand side of the screen select the node you want to configure. 
Datacenter -> Node (in this case it's named myVMs) -> System -> Network
Create -> Linux Bond -> 
                                        *Name
                                        *Slaves
                                        *Mode







2) Set your bridge to use the bond.

Click "vmbr0" -> Edit -> Bridge Ports




3) Click "Apply Configuration"

==================================================================
Setting the Network Device for your VM's

Datacenter -> MyVMs (Node) -> VM (100 Windows) -> Hardware -> Network Device -> Edit




Select the Network Device Model

For Windows VM:
Installing VirtIO Drivers for Windows VM on Proxmox VE – Majornetwork
(Download and install the VirtIO Drivers)
Then change the model setting.



For Linux VM:



You might need to reboot or reload your network settings.
Network Configuration - Proxmox VE


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fail2ban Rules for Foundry VTT

Image
Leave a comment if you like, hate, or find something confusing. This guide covers the steps required to create your own fail2ban jails, using foundryvtt as an example. *Warning I take some playful liberty at the start of this post. Welcome fellow nerds, geeks, otaku, or whatever you smartypants call yourselves. I'm assuming you might fit one of the following categories probably because you either know what Fail2ban is you nerd, or you know what FoundryVTT is you DnD tabletop (but on computer) roleplaying geek . Now that i've gotten the tongue in cheek (insults/compliments) aside I have a confession to make. I know what both of those things are so does that make me like a Generked? Okay I just mixed the two words together, that might be good for a riddle or puzzle in some future game. Anyways enough blabbing, you are probably here for the technical content anyways. Everything that i'm writing is assuming you use an Ubuntu/Debian based Linux distribution. Most Linux distros ...
Read more

Fail2ban Behind Reverse Proxy

Image
Assumptions, Prerequisites, Prior Set Up This guide is for when the reverse proxy & FoundryVTT server are both on separate machines This guide builds upon the prior one and details how to setup fail2ban to block bad bots, automated login attempts, and repeated connection attempts that are likely malicious, when your server is behind a reverse proxy.  If you haven't taken a look already my prior post detailed how to go about setting up fail2ban rules. https://blog.iterlyze.com/2024/11/fail2ban-foundryvtt.html  This guide assumes you are using a Debian 12 server (or Ubuntu) and have a basic idea of how to use a Linux shell. Some other assumptions that won't affect setting up fail2ban include that you are using Nginx as the reverse proxy, nftables as your system's firewall frontend, and that you are forwarding traffic to a FoundryVTT server. Make sure the reverse proxy and the server it sends traffic to is working before trying to set up fail2ban. If you are setting up Fou...
Read more

Leadership Training 2

Image
Recently I was invited to conduct a leadership workshop at California State University of Monterey Bay for the Networking and Security Team. They wanted the training to focus in on getting things done, so I put together a few fun training activities that help with communication, self-direction, teamwork, and having more effective meetings. Activities build leaders faster than lectures in my experience. Check out the slides and try a few of the activities for yourself! When talking about leadership a general discussion about what a leader is, is in order. When asked many of the participants shared ideas such as "A leader is someone who gets things done", "Someone who steps up", "An active listener", "Leaders are people that others follow". We didn't get too deep into what a leader was in this training and focused more on a few of the skills. If you are interested in diving a little deeper into some of the details of leadership i've foun...
Read more