EX200 Operate running systems Practice Question
An administrator needs to combine two physical network interfaces into a single logical interface for redundancy. Which RHEL tool is recommended to configure this in RHEL 8/9?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates familiar with older RHEL versions (RHEL 7 or earlier) may remember `teamd` as the recommended tool for teaming, but RHEL 8/9 deprecated and removed it, making `nmcli` the correct answer for bonding.
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
✓
nmcli
In RHEL 8/9, NetworkManager is the default networking service, and `nmcli` is its command-line tool. For bonding (combining two physical interfaces into a single logical interface for redundancy or increased throughput), the recommended approach is to use `nmcli` to create a bond connection, which uses the Linux kernel bonding driver. The `teamd` service was deprecated in RHEL 8 and removed in RHEL 9, making `nmcli` the correct and supported method.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
teamd
Why it's wrong here
teamd is the user-space daemon that manages a team device, but for an administrator the correct workflow is to define the team via NetworkManager with nmcli. Running teamd directly is a low-level way to configure teaming, and it does not create persistent NetworkManager connection profiles, so it is not the recommended tool for combining two physical interfaces.
- ✗
ip link
Why it's wrong here
The ip link command can manually create a bond master and enslave interfaces (e.g., using ip link add and ip link set), but this configuration is ephemeral and does not survive a reboot. ip link lacks the abstraction of NetworkManager connection profiles, and RHEL expects bonds to be configured persistently, so while possible, it is not the recommended method.
- ✗
brctl
Why it's wrong here
brctl is the legacy tool for configuring Ethernet bridges, which forward traffic between network segments at layer 2 and behave like a virtual switch. Combining two physical interfaces into a bond or team is a different task entirely — it is link aggregation for redundancy or throughput, not bridging — so brctl is conceptually wrong.
- ✓
nmcli
Why this is correct
nmcli is the NetworkManager command-line utility and is the recommended way to configure a bond or team on RHEL systems. For example, you can run nmcli connection add type bond to create the bond master, then add slave interfaces, and NetworkManager will persist the configuration and manage the underlying teamd or bonding driver automatically.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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