# Network Consumption

Attach networks to compute host interfaces to enable connectivity between workloads and the physical network. You can use either:

- **Physical interfaces** (individual NIC ports)
- **Bonded interfaces**, which combine two physical ports into a single logical interface

When you use bonded interfaces, you gain:

- Higher bandwidth through interface aggregation
- Improved availability through redundancy in case one port fails

## Selecting Network Interfaces

After you decide whether to use physical or bonded interfaces, attach networks to these interfaces from the list of preconfigured networks.

When you assign networks to interfaces, the system:

- Maps the selected networks to specific switch ports or LAGs
- Configures VLANs automatically on the connected switch ports

## VLAN Assignment Behavior

- The **primary VLAN** is configured as an **untagged VLAN** on the interface
- Additional **trunk VLANs** are configured as **tagged VLANs**

This configuration ensures that the correct network traffic flows through the appropriate interfaces.

## Bond Types

Choose the bond type based on your network design and switch configuration.

- Static Bond: Use this option when your switch does not use LACP and you configure link aggregation manually on both the host and the switch.

  - Uses an **L2 + L3 hashing algorithm** on the host operating system
  - Requires a **static Link Aggregation Group (LAG)** configuration on the switches
- LACP Bond: Use this option when you want dynamic link aggregation and require automated link negotiation and link monitoring between the host and the switch.

  - Uses **Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)** on the host
  - Requires **LACP-enabled LAG** on the switches
- Switch Independent Bond: Use this option when your switch configuration does not support LAG or is limited, and you want to use host-based load balancing without relying on the switch.

  - Uses **balance-tlb mode** on Linux systems
  - Uses **switch-independent mode** on Windows systems
  - Does not require LAG configuration on the switch

NOTE

Standalone ESXi instances do not support **LACP Bond** mode. When provisioning ESXi, select either **Static Bond** or **Switch Independent Bond**.
