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Difficulty: MediumResilience, High Availability, and Redundancy

An organization is deploying a cluster of database servers that require continuous network connectivity at the host level. The infrastructure team must configure host network interfaces to survive an individual cable or switch port failure while simultaneously aggregating bandwidth across two interconnected access switches during normal operations. Which of the following networking mechanisms should the administrator implement to meet these requirements?

  1. NIC teaming configured for IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) using a switch-stacking topologyAnswer
  2. B
    Host-level RAID 1 volume mirroring configured across twin Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) controllers
  3. C
    Dual Power Distribution Units (PDUs) connected to redundant Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems
  4. D
    Automated hourly cold-site data replication snapshots executed over a dedicated management VLAN

Answer

NIC teaming configured for IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) using a switch-stacking topology
NIC teaming with 802.3ad LACP directly satisfies the requirement for both network interface fault tolerance and active-active bandwidth aggregation. Connecting the bonded links to a switch-stacking architecture ensures that if a single network port, cable, or switch fails, network traffic immediately fails over to the remaining active link without interrupting database connectivity.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the operational requirements
The requirement specifies host-level network link resilience against cable/switch port failure combined with active-active bandwidth aggregation across interconnected switches.
Identifying the target domain (network availability and link redundancy) separates host networking controls from storage or power controls.
2
Evaluate network interface resilience options
NIC teaming (bonding) allows multiple physical network adapters to function as a unified logical interface. IEEE 802.3ad LACP dynamically manages link aggregation to combine throughput while providing fault tolerance.
When connected to a switch stack or MCLAG arrangement, LACP enables active-active link load balancing across separate physical switches.
3
Differentiate correct network fault-tolerance controls from non-network redundancy mechanisms
Disqualify storage redundancy (RAID 1), power infrastructure redundancy (dual PDUs/UPS), and disaster recovery techniques (cold-site snapshots).
Only NIC teaming with LACP directly addresses network link aggregation and port failure resilience.

Key Concept

NIC Teaming and Link Aggregation (LACP)
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Resilience, High Availability, and Redundancy

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