How to troubleshoot slow Ethernet speeds with a bonded connection?
Asked by
TechieTurtle92
I have a Linux PC with two network interface cards (NICs): one wired Ethernet and one wireless. I've set up a netplan bond configuration, which is supposed to allow the Ethernet and Wi-Fi to work together, but I'm experiencing slow speeds transferring files over Samba. Here's my bond configuration:
```yaml
network:
version: 2
bonds:
bond0:
dhcp4: true
interfaces:
- enp130s0
- wlp129s0
parameters:
mode: active-backup
primary: enp130s0
```
When I check the `ip addr`, it indicates that both interfaces are up, and the bond appears to be configured correctly. However, I'm only achieving about 10 MiB/sec when the Wi-Fi is included in the bond, but when I comment out the Wi-Fi interface, the speed jumps to around 100 MiB/sec. My expectation was for the Wi-Fi to act as a backup when the wired connection fails, but it seems to slow everything down instead. What steps can I take to diagnose this issue further?
Answers
It turns out this might be linked to a known bug in Linux networking with bond modes. When I switched from round robin to active-backup, I didn’t realize that it wouldn’t take effect right away after applying settings. You might want to check if you’re in a similar situation and consider looking into this bug report for more context: [here](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nplan/+bug/1746419). Maybe that can guide you to a solution!
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Bonding wired and wireless interfaces isn't generally recommended due to potential performance issues. You might want to verify your setup to ensure that the Wi-Fi is indeed only being used as a failover. If they are on the same network, this shouldn't normally slow your connection unless there’s a misconfiguration. Maybe check for any issues in the bonding mode you’re using, as it may not be functioning as expected.
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