Configuring a virtual Ethernet adapter using the HMC

You can configure a virtual Ethernet adapter dynamically for a running logical partition by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC). Doing so will connect the logical partition to a virtual LAN.

You can dynamically configure a virtual Ethernet adapter for a Linux® logical partition only if the following conditions are met:

A Linux distribution that supports dynamic logical partitioning is installed on the Linux logical partition. Distributions that support dynamic logical partitioning include SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and later versions.
The DynamicRM tool package is installed on the Linux logical partition. To download the DynamicRM tool package, see the Service and productivity tools for Linux on POWER® systems Web site.

If you plan to configure an Ethernet adapter for a logical partition that uses shared memory (hereafter referred to as a shared memory partition), you might need to adjust the amount of I/O entitled memory assigned to the shared memory partition before you configure the adapter:

If the I/O entitled memory mode of the shared memory partition is set to the auto mode, you do not need to take action. When you configure the new Ethernet adapter, the HMC automatically increases the I/O entitled memory of the shared memory partition to accommodate the new adapter.
If the I/O entitled memory mode of the shared memory partition is set to the manual mode, you must increase the I/O entitled memory that is assigned to the shared memory partition to accommodate the new adapter. For instructions, see Adding and removing I/O entitled memory dynamically to and from a shared memory partition.

To configure a virtual Ethernet adapter dynamically for a running logical partition using the HMC, follow these steps:

In the navigation pane, open Systems Management > Servers, and click the system on which the logical partition is located.
In the work pane, select the logical partition on which you want to configure the virtual Ethernet adapter, click the Tasks button, and click Dynamic Logical Partitioning > Virtual Adapters.
Click Actions and choose Create > Ethernet Adapter.
Enter the slot number for the virtual Ethernet adapter into Adapter ID.
Enter the Port Virtual LAN ID (PVID) for the virtual Ethernet adapter into VLAN ID. The PVID allows the virtual Ethernet adapter to communicate with other virtual Ethernet adapters that have the same PVID.
Select IEEE 802.1 compatible adapter if you want to configure the virtual Ethernet adapter to communicate over multiple virtual LANs. If you leave this option unchecked and you want this logical partition to connect to multiple virtual networks, you must create multiple virtual adapters by creating additional virtual LAN IDs.
Click OK.

After you have finished, access any existing partition profiles for the logical partition and add the virtual Ethernet adapters to those partition profiles. The virtual Ethernet adapter will be lost if you shut down the logical partition and activate that logical partition using a partition profile that does not have the virtual Ethernet adapter in it.