LPIC-2 Advanced Networking Configuration Practice Question
An administrator wants to implement network bonding for redundancy on a Linux server running RHEL 8. The server has two physical interfaces em1 and em2. The administrator creates a bond interface bond0 with mode active-backup (mode 1) and adds the slaves em1 and em2. They assign IP address 192.168.50.10/24 to bond0 and bring up the bond. The bond appears to work initially, with one slave active. However, when they disconnect the cable from the active slave, the bond does not fail over to the other slave. The administrator checks /proc/net/bonding/bond0 and sees that the link status for both slaves shows 'up' even after the disconnection. They confirm the bonding module is loaded and the mode is correct. Which of the following is the most likely missing configuration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume active-backup mode automatically handles failover without additional configuration, but the LPIC-2 exam tests the understanding that link monitoring (miimon) must be explicitly configured for the bonding driver to detect physical link loss.
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
✓
The MII monitoring interval (miimon) is not configured.
In active-backup bonding mode (mode 1), the kernel bonding driver requires the MII (Media Independent Interface) monitoring interval (miimon) to be configured in order to detect link failures. Without miimon, the driver never polls the slave interfaces for link state changes, so even when a cable is disconnected, the driver continues to see the link as 'up' and does not trigger a failover. The administrator must set miimon=100 (or another value in milliseconds) in the bond configuration to enable periodic link monitoring.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The MII monitoring interval (miimon) is not configured.
Why this is correct
miimon is required for link monitoring.
- ✗
The bond interface requires a specific kernel module that is missing.
Why it's wrong here
The bond0 interface exists, so module is loaded.
- ✗
The slave interfaces were not set to 'down' before enslaving.
Why it's wrong here
Slaves can be enslaved while up if already configured.
- ✗
The bond mode is set to mode 0 instead of mode 1.
Why it's wrong here
Mode is confirmed as mode 1.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-2 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-2 exam.