Configure and Manage Networking
Networking items test AHV switching: bond modes and what the physical switch must be told, VLAN handling, and how storage traffic shares the data network.
The AHV switch model
- AHV uses an Open vSwitch-based bridge, br0, created at install. There is no vSwitch/vDS object to create; you add uplinks and VLAN interfaces to br0.
- The host and its CVM sit on the same bridge and normally the same subnet/VLAN; VM NICs attach to br0 with a VLAN.
Bond modes and switch prerequisites
- active-backup (default): one link active, no switch configuration, survives cable or switch-port failure without aggregation.
- balance-slb: per-flow hashing across links without LACP; no switch configuration required; useful when LACP is not available.
- balance-tcp: requires an 802.3ad LACP bond on the switch. Choosing it without a matching switch configuration breaks connectivity.
Storage traffic
Nutanix does not require a dedicated storage network: CVM-to-CVM I/O runs over the same links as VM traffic, so size the bond for both.
Worked example
Each host has two 10 GbE ports, and the ToR pair is configured as LACP. Create the bond in Prism as balance-tcp, then verify with manage_ovs --show_uplinks that both uplinks are up and the bond reports the expected mode. If the switch team later removes LACP, the bond drops - revert to balance-slb.
Traps
- Assuming active-backup aggregates bandwidth; it does not.
- Configuring balance-tcp on one side only.
- Changing bond mode or moving uplinks in production hours: the change briefly interrupts host, CVM and VM traffic.
- Placing CVM and host on different VLANs when the node expects L2 adjacency.