Network topologies

The StorageGRID system supports up to three network interfaces per grid node, allowing you to configure the networking for each individual grid node to match your security and access requirements. Subnets are available on each network for access restriction and protection of network segments.

Each grid node has multiple Ethernet ports available, and each port can access a separate network if configured. Depending on the node configuration, these ports can be hardware ports or virtual ports. When you configure the grid, you can use these interfaces to create additional separate networks to connect to your grid nodes. These separate networks serve different functions:

Grid Network: Required. You must configure a Grid Network for all internal StorageGRID traffic. All grid nodes are on the Grid Network, and they must be able to talk to all other nodes. If the Client Network is not configured, the Grid Network gateway is used as the default gateway for outbound communications on the node.
Admin Network: Optional. In addition to the Grid Network, you can configure a separate Admin Network as a closed network. This allows you to have a private network that is not routable between sites, while allowing your Grid Network to remain separate and routable. For example, you might want to use the Admin Network for maintenance and administration.
Client Network: Optional. In addition to the Grid Network, you can configure an external-facing network, known as the Client Network, to allow S3 and Swift clients to access the grid. Using a Client Network, you can configure a Grid Network that is private and not externally routable, while using an external network for client access. If a Client Network is configured, the Client Network gateway becomes the default gateway for outbound connections when you complete the grid configuration steps.

You can use the untrusted Client Network feature if you want the Client Network to be more restrictive of what connections are allowed.

Attention: Each type of network must be on a different subnet with no overlap.

On each node, each network maps to a specific network interface.

Network	Interface
Grid Network (required)	eth0
Admin Network (optional)	eth1
Client Network (optional)	eth2

When you configure a network, you must establish the following for each interface on each grid node:

IP address
Subnet mask
Gateway IP address

You can only configure one IP address/mask/gateway combination for each of the three networks on each grid node. If you do not want to configure a gateway for a network, you can use the network IP address as the network gateway address.