Secondary Network Interface in a RHEL Instance

Executive Summary

A secondary network interface is an additional network interface card (NIC) that is added to a computer system or server to provide additional network connectivity. A network interface is a hardware component that allows a computer to communicate over a network, and a secondary network interface is simply a second such component added to the system. A secondary network interface provides additional flexibility and reliability in network communications. Pirai uses RHEL instance to host server environments due to its robustness, security features, and support for a wide range of hardware and software configurations.

Problem Statement

One of Pirai’s client used RHEL instances for their the versatility and stability of RHEL. They wanted to create a secondary network interface on their RHEL instance for several reasons like:

Segmentation of network traffic

Load balancing and fault tolerance

Network troubleshooting

Solution

A secondary network interface can be used to create a separate network segment for certain types of traffic, or to provide redundancy and load balancing by allowing traffic to be spread across multiple network interfaces. It also provides flexibility and redundancy, enabling improved network performance and reliability for a variety of use cases.

Steps to create SNI

Challenges faced

Team faced few of the challenges mentioned below while creating the secondary network interface on their RHEL instance.

The system's firewall settings needed an update to allow traffic through the new interface.

Team monitored closely the existing interfaces to avoid the conflicts with IP addresses.

The network settings for the new interface are to be verified to avoid the issues with other network traffic or connectivity issues with network-dependent applications and services.

Steps to overcome challenges

Pirai took few extra steps to overcome the challenges faced while creating the SNI. Listing below few of them:

Verify the current network configurations to avoid conflicts

Took extra care with network setting factors like IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS servers

Check and verify the firewall settings

Implement appropriate security measures to protect the system and network

Document all changes made to the network configuration and keep a record of the network settings and configuration files, for future references

By following these steps, team could address the challenges faced quickly and effectively.

Outcome / benefits

Below were few of the benefits that Client could experience after creating SNI on a RHEL instance:

Improved network performance

Improved network segmentation and redundancy

Simplified network troubleshooting

Isolation of network traffic

Flexible network configurations