Bonding your network adapters for better performance
Together

© Photo by Andrew Moca on Unsplash
Combining your network adapters can speed up network performance – but a little more testing could lead to better choices.
I recently bought a used HP Z840 workstation to use as a server for a Proxmox [1] virtualization environment. The first virtual machine (VM) I added was an Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS instance with nothing on it but the Cockpit [2] management tool and the WireGuard [3] VPN solution. I planned to use WireGuard to connect to my home network from anywhere, so that I can back up and retrieve files as needed and manage the other devices in my home lab. WireGuard also gives me the ability to use those sketchy WiFi networks that you find at cafes and in malls with less worry about someone snooping on my traffic.
The Z840 has a total of seven network interface cards (NICs) installed: two on the motherboard and five more on two separate add-in cards. My second server with a backup WireGuard instance has 4 gigabit NICs in total. Figure 1 is a screenshot from NetBox that shows how everything is connected to my two switches and the ISP-supplied router for as much redundancy as I can get from a single home network connection.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.