Interface Types

Forwarding: An interface used to pass session traffic.

Non Forwarding: An interface that is not used to pass session traffic and used for management or conductor-specific traffic.

Non forwarding external interface: An interface that is externally facing such as a management interface or an interface used to reach the conductor. There is no limit to the number of external interfaces that a user can configure per node. External interfaces can be Ethernet, LTE, PPPoE or T1 devices. They can also be configured with static IP addresses or to use DHCP.

Non forwarding fabric interface: An interface that is used to connect directly to the node's HA peer. Since a direct connection from one box to the other is assumed in this case, the interface is configured in Linux as a network team. The network team configuration ensures that if a node's HA peer is rebooted that the node's interface does not get a link down event and the IP address does not disappear from Linux, which causes internal connectivity issues within the node itself. The user may configure one fabric or shared interface per node, and that interface is used for all HA control traffic. The fabric interface must be an Ethernet interface with exactly one address.

Non forwarding shared interface: A combination of an external and fabric interface. A shared interface serves all the same purposes as an external interface while also providing connectivity to the HA peer. A shared interface is not directly connected to the HA peer so it is not configured as a Linux network team. The user may configure one fabric or shared interface per node, and that interface is used for all HA control traffic. The shared interface must be an Ethernet interface with exactly one address.