Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation / Release Notes

Oracle Exadata Database Service on Cloud@Customer: Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) Support for Client and Backup Networks

Oracle Exadata Database Service on Cloud@Customer physical networks (client and backup) are configured to use active-backup by default. This mode is recommended for most customers. However, support for LACP (802.3ad active/active bonding mode) has now been added also for those customers who require it.

You can configure client and backup networks with LACP while provisioning the Exadata Infrastructure. The network bonding mode is set at the infrastructure level and will apply globally to all VM Cluster Networks, future or existing. Since the setting gets applied to each network interface individually, you have the flexibility to configure client and backup network interfaces independently from one another. For example, you can configure the backup network to LACP and the client network to Active-Backup, if desired.

On an existing Exadata Infrastructure that is now in use, you may change the network bonding mode from Active-Backup to LACP (or vice versa). However, note that this is a non-rolling update process, and bonding modes are changed simultaneously on all Database Servers. You are required to manage your own switch settings on your network accordingly. You may experience a network outage and should plan for application downtime until your switch settings and ExaDB-C@C settings are made to match.

The use of LACP requires both the server and the switch(es) to have compatible settings to allow LACP to work properly. To use LACP for ExaDB-C@C, you must configure your network switches such that they are compatible with the following parameter from the Linux ifcfg-bondethx configuration file:

BONDING_OPTS="mode=802.3ad miimon=100 downdelay=200 updelay=200 lacp_rate=1 xmit_hash_policy=layer3+4"

Note that the BONDING_OPTS line in the host operating system cannot be changed, so customer switch settings must be compatible with the parameters stated above without alteration.

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