Before creating a new VM instance, create network bridges for management (MGT), high availability (HA), and packet ports (PKT0 and PKT1). These are linked to the physical interfaces on the host. This section explains how to create the network bridges and link to the physical interfaces. 

 For SR-IOV and Direct I/O  setup, network bridge is not required for PKT0 and PKT1.

  1. Log on to the host system as root user through SSH and telnet client such as PuTTY.
  2. To navigate to network scripts directory, execute the following command:

    cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
  3. Perform the following steps to create a bridge for MGT interface:

    1. Create and Open the ifcfg-mgtbridge file in vi editor using the following command:

      vi ifcfg-mgtbridge
    2. Enter the MGT bridge details. Information like IP Address, Netmask, and Gateway varies based on the configuration.

      TYPE=Bridge
      BOOTPROTO=none
      DEVICE=mgtbridge
      IPADDR=xx.xx.xx.xx
      NETMASK=xx.xx.xx.xx
      GATEWAY=xx.xx.xx.xx
      STP=off
      USERCTL=no
      NOZEROCONF=yes
      ONBOOT=yes
    3. Press Esc key.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  4. Link a bridge with MGT interface:
    1. Create and Open the ifcfg-em1 file using vi editor using the following command.

      vi ifcfg-em1
    2. Enter the MGT bridge details as shown below:

      BOOTPROTO="dhcp"
      UUID=fcd2131c-9142-42e4-bce4-825f4c8efc7f
      DEVICE=em1
      ONBOOT=yes
      BRIDGE="mgtbridge"
    3. Press Esc key.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  5. Perform the following steps to create a bridge for HA interface:

    1. Create and Open the ifcfg-habridge file using vi editor using the following command.

      vi ifcfg-habridge
    2. Enter the HA bridge details as shown below:

      TYPE=Bridge
      BOOTPROTO=none
      DEVICE=habridge
      STP=off
      USERCTL=no
      NOZEROCONF=yes
      ONBOOT=yes
      IPV6_DISABLED=yes
      IPV6INIT=no
    3. Press Esc.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  6. Link a bridge with HA interface:
    1. Create and Open the ifcfg-em2 file using vi editor using the following command.

      vi ifcfg-em2
    2. Enter the HA bridge details as shown below:

      BOOTPROTO="dhcp"
      UUID=fcd2131c-9142-42e4-bce4-825f4c8efc7f
      DEVICE=em2
      ONBOOT=yes
      BRIDGE="habridge"
    3. Press Esc key.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  7. Perform the following steps to create a bridge for PKT0 interface:

    1. Create and Open theifcfg-pkt0bridge file using vi editor using the following command:

      vi ifcfg-pkt0bridge
    2. Enter the PKT0 bridge details as shown below:

      TYPE=Bridge
      BOOTPROTO=none
      DEVICE=pkt0bridge
      IPADDR=xx.xx.xx.xx
      NETMASK=xx.xx.xx.xx
      GATEWAY=xx.xx.xx.xx
      STP=off
      USERCTL=no
      NOZEROCONF=yes
      ONBOOT=yes
    3. Press Esc.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  8. Link a bridge with PKT0 interface:
    1. Create and Open the ifcfg-em3 file using vi editor using the following command.

      vi ifcfg-em3
    2. Enter the PKT0 bridge details as shown below:

      BOOTPROTO="dhcp"
      UUID=fcd2131c-9142-42e4-bce4-825f4c8efc7f
      DEVICE=em3
      ONBOOT=yes
      BRIDGE="pkt0bridge"
    3. Press Esc key.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  9. Perform the following to create a bridge for PKT1 interface:

    1. Create and Open theifcfg-pkt1bridgefile using vi editor using the following command:

      vi ifcfg-pkt1bridge
    2. Enter the PKT1 bridge details as shown below:

      TYPE=Bridge
      BOOTPROTO=none
      DEVICE=pkt1bridge
      IPADDR=xx.xx.xx.xx
      NETMASK=xx.xx.xx.xx
      GATEWAY=xx.xx.xx.xx
      STP=off
      USERCTL=no
      NOZEROCONF=yes
      ONBOOT=yes

      The table below lists the parameters for HA, PKT0, and PKT1 bridges:

      ParameterValue
      TYPEIndicates the type. For example, the Network Bridge.
      DEVICEIndicates the name of the bridge that is used to link with the physical interface on the host.
      ONBOOTIndicates whether or not to activate the bridge at boot-time. For example, if Yes, it activates the bridge at boot-time.
      IPADDRIndicates the IP address for this bridge.
      NETMASKIndicates the netmask value associated with the entered IP address.
      GATEWAYIndicates the gateway address associated with the entered IP address.
      STPIndicates the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). This is set to off for this requirement.
      BOOTPROTOIndicates the boot time protocol. This is set to none for this requirement.
      USERCTL

      Indicates the user control for the device. For example, no to allow only the super-user root to control this device.

      NOZEROCONFIndicates zeroconf routing details. For example, yes to enable the zeroconf route.
    3. Press Esc.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  10. Link a bridge with PKT1 interface:
    1. Create and Open the ifcfg-em4 file using vi editor using the following command.

      vi ifcfg-em4
    2. Enter the PKT1 bridge details as shown below:

      BOOTPROTO="dhcp"
      UUID=fcd2131c-9142-42e4-bce4-825f4c8efc7f
      DEVICE=em4
      ONBOOT=yes
      BRIDGE="pkt1bridge"
    3. Press Esc key.

    4. To save the file and quit from vi editor, execute the following command:

      :wq
  11. To list the interface created, execute the following command:

    ls -ltr ifcfg-*

    The command executes with the following output.

    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 337 Sep  4  2015 ifcfg-eno1
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 353 Sep  4  2015 ifcfg-eno2
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 355 Sep  4  2015 ifcfg-eno3
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 355 Sep  4  2015 ifcfg-eno4
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 151 Sep  4  2015 ifcfg-MGTBRIDGE
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 150 Sep  4  2015 ifcfg-HABRIDGE
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 151 Apr 26 17:44 ifcfg-PKT0BRIDGE
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 151 Apr 26 17:44 ifcfg-PKT1BRIDGE