Adding an aggregate interface

Before you begin

You must be assigned the WebSphere® DataPower® XC10 Appliance administration permission to perform these steps.

About this task

You can link multiple network interfaces into a single aggregate interface. An aggregate interface is made up of one or more Ethernet interfaces to act as a single logical unit. Use this feature to distribute traffic over your network. Link aggregation between switches provides increased connectivity, redundancy, and expanded bandwidth.
  • Increased bandwidth

    Multiple Ethernet Interfaces are combined into one logical link, as an aggregate interface, which increases the bandwidth that is available to the appliance.

  • Automatic failover

    Traffic on a failed Ethernet port in an aggregate is transferred to a working Ethernet port. When you use a single switch, this can protect against port failures. By using redundant switches, you can protect against network switch failures.

  • Load balancing

    You can select load balancing policies to distribute both inbound and outbound traffic.

  • Support for redundancy

    Two systems can be connected by multiple links in various aggregation configurations.

  • Improved administration

    As an administrator, you can manage multiple Ethernet Interfaces as a single aggregate interface unit.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Settings panel. To add an aggregate interface, navigate to the Settings panel, using one of the following methods:
    • From the menu bar at the top of the WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance user interface, navigate to Appliance > Settings.
    • From the Home panel, click the Customize settings link in the Step 1: Set up the appliance section.
  2. Expand Aggregate Interfaces.
  3. Click Add a new aggreggate interface.
  4. Complete the form to describe the aggregate interface you want to add.
    Name
    Specifies the name of the interface.
    IP address/mask
    Specifies the IP address that you want assigned to the aggregate interface. Enter the IP address and the subnet mask in the following format <ip_address>/<subnet_mask>.
    Tip: IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are both assigned using this property. Duplicate addresses are not permitted.
    Aggregation policy
    active-backup
    Specifies the active-backup policy for high availability. With this policy, only one Ethernet interface, as a member of an aggregate interface, is enabled at a time. If that Ethernet interface fails, another member resumes processing.
    LACP
    Specifies the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) policy for both high availability and bandwidth. You can use the LACP policy only when its mode is not set to 'OFF'. By default, the selection logic is Stable, and the transmit hash mode is layer2.
    balance-tlb
    Specifies the balance-tlb policy for load balancing and high availability. This policy distributes outbound traffic according to the current load of each member. Inbound traffic flows to the Ethernet interface that is selected as the primary member. If the receiving Ethernet interface fails, another member resumes processing.
    Members
    Specifies the Ethernet interface you want to add to the aggregate interface. By default, the first Ethernet interface added to the list is designated as the primary member.
    Restriction: An Ethernet interface cannot be a member of more than one aggregate interface.
    Important: You must ensure that the Ethernet interface is disabled before you can add it to the aggregate interface. To disable the Ethernet interface, you must clear the Enabled checkbox on the Ethernet interfaces panel. For more information on how to navigate to this panel, see Managing the IBM WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance Ethernet interfaces
  5. Click OK.
    Attention: An aggregate interface is enabled by default. If you want to continue using your existing aggregate instead of your new one, then you must disable this aggregate interface first. To disable the aggregate interface, expand Aggregate interfaces and locate the new aggregate interface you just added. Clear the Enabled checkbox. If the aggregate interface is left enabled, the next time you restart WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance, the new aggregate interface will be used to bind the data grids and this may lead to unexpected results.
    Note: Any changes you make to the aggregate interfaces requires a restart before the change is used by the WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance. However, you must issue the clear-all command and then issue the device-restart command for changes to take affect.
Parent topic: Managing the IBM WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance Ethernet interfaces
Related tasks:
Editing an aggregate interface
Deleting an aggregate interface
Managing the IBM WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance Ethernet interfaces
Shutting down or restarting the appliance from the user interface
Using the command line interface to run operations on your appliance
Monitoring activities with tasks