LFCS Networking Practice Question
Which bonding mode provides high availability without requiring switch configuration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'high availability' with 'load balancing' and choose mode 0 or mode 4, not realizing that those modes require switch configuration or do not inherently provide failover without additional setup.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
mode 1 (active-backup)
Mode 1 (active-backup) provides high availability by designating one NIC as active and the others as standby, with automatic failover if the active link fails. It requires no special switch configuration because it does not use any link aggregation protocol or load-balancing algorithm that depends on switch-side settings.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
mode 1 (active-backup)
Why this is correct
Active-backup uses only one NIC at a time; no switch configuration needed.
- ✗
mode 4 (802.3ad)
Why it's wrong here
802.3ad requires LACP support on the switch.
- ✗
mode 6 (balance-alb)
Why it's wrong here
Balance-alb is outbound load balancing without switch support but does not provide high availability per se.
- ✗
mode 0 (balance-rr)
Why it's wrong here
Balance-rr requires switch to support link aggregation or may cause issues.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LFCS exam.