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Networking

A Gallium Cluster uses a layered network architecture to connect your virtual machines to each other and to your physical network. Understanding these layers will help you plan your network configuration before installation.

Overview​

The network stack is built on four components:

  1. Network Interfaces — Virtual NICs attached to your virtual machines.
  2. Networks — Logical network definitions with VLAN or untagged configuration.
  3. Adaptor Groups — Logical collections of physical adaptors with failover and load balancing.
  4. Network Adaptors — Physical NICs installed in your server hardware.

Cluster network architecture

Network Interfaces​

Network interfaces are the virtual network connections attached to your virtual machines. Each interface is configured with:

  • A unique MAC address
  • A connection to a defined network
  • A hardware type derived from the Virtual Machine's hardware profile

Networks​

A network in Gallium defines a logical network for virtual machine connectivity. Each network specifies:

  • Adaptor Group — How traffic flows between VMs and the physical network infrastructure.
  • Settings — VLAN tag or untagged configuration.

Adaptor Groups​

An adaptor group is a logical collection of network adaptors that work together to provide external network connectivity. Each adaptor group requires one or more network adaptors and is configured with:

  • Adaptors — The physical network adaptors assigned on each hypervisor.
warning

Any Network Adaptor within a group may become active. Your network topology must allow for traffic from any adaptor to any other adaptor within the same group.

Network Adaptors​

Network adaptors are the physical network interface cards (NICs) installed in your server hardware. Each adaptor can belong to only one adaptor group.

Network Requirements​

A Gallium Cluster requires a minimum of 4 network adaptors per server:

  • 2 for the infrastructure adaptor group — carries cluster communication and storage traffic.
  • 2 for a VM network adaptor group — provides connectivity for your virtual machines.
tip

The VM network adaptor group can use 1 Gbps adaptors if higher bandwidth is not required for your workloads.

Infrastructure Adaptor Group​

The infrastructure adaptor group is a special adaptor group that carries cluster communication and storage replication traffic between servers. It requires:

  • At least 2 network adaptors
  • A minimum link speed of 10 Gbps
tip

For evaluation purposes, it is possible to run a cluster with a single network adaptor. This configuration is not supported for production use.

IP Addressing​

Each hypervisor in the cluster requires a static management IP address. The cluster also requires a Virtual IP (VIP) — a shared address that floats between cluster members and provides a stable endpoint for accessing the cluster regardless of which hypervisor is currently active. All management IPs and the VIP must be on the same subnet.

Plan for the following addresses before installation:

  • 1 management IP per hypervisor (e.g., 192.168.1.101/24, 192.168.1.102/24, 192.168.1.103/24)
  • 1 Virtual IP for the cluster (e.g., 192.168.1.100)

Infrastructure traffic should connect to a dedicated, segregated management VLAN to isolate cluster communication from VM workload traffic. This should be presented as the native (untagged) VLAN to members of the infrastructure adaptor group.