Multi-Homed Workers

A STRATUM worker is not restricted to a single physical network. Assign separate adapters for management, VM traffic, STRATUM Switch uplinks, or connections to other physical networks instead of pushing every workload through the management port.

STRATUM supports eight physical-network bridge names: pnet0 through pnet7. Each configured bridge connects a worker to a physical network through its assigned Ethernet interface, and that connection becomes available to your virtual datacenter through drag-and-drop wiring on the STRATUM Mission Planner canvas.

Build around the capacity already in your racks: 1GbE management connections, 10GbE, 25GbE or 100GbE data links, and InfiniBand-equipped workers for supported high-performance transport. pnetN bridge assignments use compatible Linux Ethernet-bridge interfaces; native InfiniBand is not itself an Ethernet NIC.

pnet0 is the primary host-management bridge. Configure its management interface, IP address, gateway and DNS through the existing Host Manager Network settings. The Physical Networks page shows pnet0 but does not change its assignment.

Assign additional available adapters to pnet1 through pnet7. A data-only bridge does not need its own host IP address: it carries traffic for the virtual systems and switches connected to its physical network.

These two physical interfaces can attach to the same LAN switch or to entirely different networks. Choose the upstream LAN or VLAN deliberately: a bridge name identifies the physical connection on that worker, not a universal LAN shared by every worker.

STRATUM does the distributed network work instead of forcing you to hand-build a maze of tunnels. Cross-worker Layer-2 segments use VXLAN overlays, while the secure, encrypted stratum-connect mesh protects Continuum communications. STRATUM maintains logical network separation across participating workers without requiring a dedicated physical cable for every virtual segment.

At the physical edge, the selected pnetN bridge still reaches the LAN or VLAN configured on its upstream switch. You control where the workload exits; STRATUM controls the distributed virtual fabric.

STRATUM Host Manager is stratum-host. Run it interactively as the terminal user interface (TUI), or pass commands directly from the shell. Both modes operate on the same worker configuration.

In the TUI, open Network → Physical Networks. pnet0 appears as the locked management bridge. Select any of pnet1 through pnet7, choose an available NIC, and enable the bridge. Interfaces already assigned or configured elsewhere are shown as unavailable, with the reason. Save with Ctrl-S, review with Plan, and activate with Apply.

Use Host Manager on the command line to assign the same bridge without opening the TUI:

Assigning an interface also enables that bridge in the saved configuration. To change an assignment later, use the same CLI:

Assign, enable, disable and unassign update the saved configuration; apply --yes makes the network changes live. The additional-bridge commands do not reassign pnet0 or replace the management network configuration.

Multi-homed systems can use multiple switches and networks—or multiple NICs plugged into the same Ethernet switch. For example, keep management and STRATUM disk/storage communications on a 1GbE pnet0 host path while the VMs and STRATUM Switches exit over a faster 10GbE pnet1 link. The interfaces can share the same physical switch and subnet; no second host IP is necessary for the extra VM bridge.

Do not assign a second host IP to pnet1, pnet2, and the other data-only bridges or their member physical NICs. VMs attach to the bridge at Layer 2 and can have their own guest IP addresses. Two NICs on the same switch do not automatically form a bond, aggregate a single flow, or provide failover; traffic separation depends on the connections you configure in Mission Planner.

The manual recipe below is for operators who prefer configuring Linux directly rather than letting STRATUM Host Manager configure additional bridges. Choose one configuration owner per bridge: do not configure the same pnet1 through both Netplan and stratum-host apply at the same time.

Use this method for a controlled test. It creates an Ethernet bridge and enslaves the selected NIC; it does not change pnet0 or add any IP address to pnet1. If pnet1 already exists, inspect its ownership and configuration instead of creating a second bridge.

Result: pnet1 is a Linux bridge connected directly to enp129s0f0. The bridge does not require a host IP address for attached VM traffic to reach its physical Ethernet network. This temporary ip link configuration does not survive a reboot.

On Ubuntu hosts managed by systemd-networkd, create /etc/netplan/60-pnet1.yaml with the following contents. Check for existing Netplan, cloud-init, or networkd definitions for this NIC first; reconcile those configurations rather than leaving contradictory IP/DHCP settings. The dedicated data-only bridge has no IPv4, IPv6, DHCP, or router-advertisement address assignment.

Once the bridge is active, choose pnet1 in Mission Planner for the virtual network that should use that uplink. On other Linux distributions, use the host's supported persistent network manager rather than Netplan. Avoid creating Layer-2 loops by wiring separate physical uplinks together without an appropriate switching design.

When you deploy or edit a Cloud/Management network—including Cloud0—the Physical Network selector offers pnet0 through pnet7. Choose the bridge that leads to the physical network you want to use. That bridge must be configured on the worker providing the uplink.

Drag and drop connections on the Mission Planner canvas between the Cloud/Management network and the VMs or STRATUM Switches that need external connectivity. For example, attach Cloud0 to pnet1 and connect a STRATUM Switch to Cloud0 to send its external traffic through the selected 10GbE link.

The Cloud network in the Mission Planner has no execution host of its own. Each directly attached system resolves the selected bridge on its own worker.

The physical exit point is determined by the workload or STRATUM Switch connected to it.

A VM running on Worker A can connect to a STRATUM Switch executing on Worker B. Traffic travels across the STRATUM Continuum to that switch, then exits from Worker B through the switch worker's physical bridge. The VM does not need to execute on the worker providing the uplink.

Put management on a 1GbE adapter, dedicate 10/25/100GbE ports to workload traffic, and use InfiniBand-capable fabric transport where configured. Then choose the physical network in Mission Planner and wire workloads onto it. A worker's network capacity is no longer limited to its management interface.