General requirements

The general requirements for Multus networking cover interface naming, connectivity, and hardware specifications.

The general requirements for Multus networking are as follows:

• Interface used for the storage networks must have the same interface name on each OpenShift storage and worker node.
• Interfaces must all be connected to the same underlying network.
• When both public and cluster networks are used, they should not be connected to each other.
• At least one additional network for storage is required.
• Storage networks must be at least 10 Gbps. Bonded links are supported and suggested.

Fusion Data Foundation with Multus creates many virtual MAC addresses on each storage network host interface. This requires network cards and switch hardware to support promiscuous mode. Some smart switches have security processes that inspect each packet, and these switches can bog down significantly due to the high number of MAC addresses for Fusion Data Foundation. It is best to disable smart switch security features that require advanced processing.

Similarly, virtual or software switches might struggle to process the large number of MAC addresses. Some are not able to disable this functionality. Therefore, do not use virtual switches without a support exception.