Adding a NIC

As an ACOS cluster hosts more workloads, the VM network may reach a bandwidth bottleneck. In this case, you can improve network bandwidth by adding a NIC to the server node.

Note:

If the purpose of adding a NIC is to increase bandwidth rather than just for high availability, it is recommended to use the 802.3ad bonding mode for RDMA NICs, and balance-tcp bonding mode for non-RDMA NICs.

Preparation

Before you shut down the node and add the NIC, check the status of the NIC to be installed and the cluster as follows to ensure proper preparation.

• Ensure that the added NIC is compatible with the server model. You can verify compatibility using the Arcfra Hardware Compatibility Checker.

• For ACOS (VMware ESXi) clusters, refer to the official VMware documentation to manually migrate all virtual machines from the ESXi host where the added NIC resides to other ESXi hosts.

Operation recommendation

Taking snapshots will disable the agile recovery mechanism when the host is in maintenance mode. Therefore, it is recommended to add the NIC at a time when no snapshot operations are being performed to avoid triggering a snapshot during host maintenance.

If special circumstances require adding a NIC during a snapshot operation, make sure you understand the risk described above before proceeding.

Procedure

1. Log in to AOC and set the node where the NIC is to be added to maintenance mode.

2. Shut down the node in AOC.

3. Insert the new NIC into the server and power on the server.

4. Log in to the IPMI console of the node and verify that the newly added NIC has been recognized by the IPMI console.

5. Log in to AOC and exit maintenance mode for this node.

6. Log in to this node using SSH and run the following command to check whether all services are running properly.

   sudo /usr/share/tuna/script/control_all_services.sh --action=status --group=role

7. Connect the virtual distributed switch for the NIC to be added to the newly added network port.

   • AVE platform

     Log in to AOC, go to the list of virtual distributed switches in the cluster, and select the virtual distributed switch associated with the NIC to be added. Click the ellipsis (...) on the right and choose Edit. In the pop-up Edit virtual distributed switch dialog box, check the box next to the newly added network port, and save the settings.

   • VMware ESXi platform

     Log in to the vCenter Server through the VMware vSphere Web Client, navigate to the ESXi host where the NIC is added, and bind the newly added physical network adapter to the standard switch used by the VM network.

8. Verify that the VM network of the cluster is accessible.

   Manually migrate a virtual machine from another node in the cluster to the node where the NIC is added. Log in to the operating system of this migrated VM. If the VM can successfully ping other virtual machines, it indicates that the VM network is functioning properly.