Network Management
The Network Management module in eEKAS provides a centralized, intuitive interface for configuring and monitoring all network interfaces and connections across the cluster. In a Ceph-based, high-availability environment, reliable and well-structured networking is a fundamental requirement for both storage performance and service continuity. This module enables administrators to define, adjust, and troubleshoot network configurations without disrupting running services.
To ensure stable cluster operation, eEKAS requires a minimum of two logically separated networks. These networks serve distinct purposes and are critical to maintaining availability, consistency, and predictable performance under both normal operation and failure conditions.
Cluster / Internal Communication Network: This network is used for node-to-node communication, cluster coordination, and heartbeat signaling. It allows the cluster to continuously monitor node health, detect failures, and trigger automated failover actions. A dedicated and low-latency internal network is essential to ensure fast failure detection and stable high-availability behavior.
Ceph Storage Network: The Ceph network is used exclusively for storage-related traffic such as data replication, recovery, and rebalancing between nodes. Isolating this traffic prevents storage operations from interfering with client access and ensures consistent performance, especially during rebuild or recovery scenarios.
In addition to these mandatory networks, one or more client-facing networks are typically configured to provide access to storage services such as SMB, NFS, iSCSI, NVMe-oF, and S3. Separating client traffic from internal and storage replication traffic significantly improves scalability, security, and overall system stability.
For block and file services, eEKAS networking is built around IP Groups—logical collections of one or more IP addresses that can be assigned to specific services. IP Groups can be moved between cluster nodes during planned maintenance or automatically during failover events, ensuring uninterrupted client connectivity.
Key Capabilities
- Centralized Interface Management – Configure physical interfaces, bonded interfaces for redundancy and performance, and VLAN-tagged interfaces across all nodes from a single interface.
- VLAN Support – Logically separate traffic types such as management, cluster communication, storage replication, and client access without requiring additional physical NICs.
- Multi-Network Architecture – Enforce strict separation between internal cluster traffic, Ceph replication traffic, and client-facing services to improve performance and resilience.
- High Availability Integration – Automatic failover mechanisms ensure services remain available even during node or hardware failures.
- Real-Time Monitoring – Monitor link status, bandwidth utilization, and traffic patterns for proactive diagnostics and capacity planning.
By combining a multi-network architecture with centralized management and automated failover logic, eEKAS ensures stable, high-performance connectivity for both the storage backend and the services that depend on it.
Example VLAN Scenario
- VLAN 10 – Management & Cluster Communication: Node management, monitoring, and heartbeat traffic.
- VLAN 20 – Ceph Storage Network: Replication, recovery, and internal Ceph communication.
- VLAN 30 – Client Access: SMB, NFS, iSCSI, NVMe-oF, and optional S3 access.
This separation ensures that critical cluster and storage operations remain isolated from client workloads, reducing contention while improving performance, predictability, and security.
The model can be extended with additional networks or VLANs for backup traffic, dedicated S3 access, or other specialized workloads as required.