Network Bridge

2 minute read.

Last Modified 2021-07-30 11:09 EDT

A Bridge generally refers to various methods of combining (aggregating) multiple network connections into a single aggregate network. TrueNAS uses bridge(4) to manage Bridges.

To set up a bridge interface, go to Network > Interface > Add.

Set the Type to Bridge and enter a name for the interface. The name must use the format bridgeX, where X is a number representing a non-parent interface. It is also recommended to add any notes or reminders about this particular bridge in the Description.

Under Bridge Settings, select which interfaces will be Bridge Members and then configure the remaining interface options to match your networking needs.

Other Settings

Every kind of network interface has common settings:

NetworkInterfacesAddOtherSettings

Disabling Hardware Offloading is discouraged as it can reduce network performance. However, disabling this option might be needed when the interface is managing Jails, Plugins, or Virtual Machines.

The Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the largest protocol data unit that can be communicated. What the largest workable MTU size can be will change according to your available network interfaces and other physical hardware. 1500 and 9000 are standard Ethernet MTU sizes and the recommendation is to use the default 1500. The permissible range of MTU values is 1492-9216. Leaving this field blank sets the default value of 1500.

If additional tuning is needed, you can enter additional ifconfig settings in the Options

IP Addresses

Additional aliases for the interface can also be defined:

NetworkInterfacesAddIpAddresses

Either IPv4 or IPv6 addresses and subnets from 1-32 can be defined. Clicking Add will provide another field for defining an IP address.