Using a HSCI interface as a base device for MacVTap or OpenVSwitch

6.10 LPAR mode

You can use a HSCI network device as the base device for a MacVTap or OpenVSwitch connection. You can, for example, attach KVM virtual servers to the converged network.

Before you begin

It is useful to define the PNET ID for the HiperSockets channel and the OSA or RoCE adapters to mark them as part of the same network segment.

About this task

To attach KVM virtual servers to a converged network, you define the HSCI device as a source device in the domain XML of the virtual server.

The following example assumes a HiperSockets device with bus ID 0.0.8410 and interface name hsi0. It also assumes an OSA device with bus ID 0.0.b040 and interface name eth0. You create an HSCI interface from hsi0 and eth0.

Procedure

On the KVM host, define the HiperSockets interface as layer 2. Issue a command of the form:
```
# chzdev -e <device_bus_id> layer2=1
```
For device bus-ID 0.0.8410 of the HiperSockets device:
```
# chzdev -e 8410 layer2=1
QETH device 0.0.8410:0.0.8411:0.0.8412 configured
```

Define the OSA interface with flooding and mcast_flooding enabled. Issue a command of the form:

# chzdev -e <device_bus_id> vnicc/flooding=1 vnicc/mcast_flooding=1

For example, for device bus-ID 0.0.b040 of the OSA device:

# chzdev -e b040 vnicc/flooding=1 vnicc/mcast_flooding=1
QETH device 0.0.b040:0.0.b041:0.0.b042 configured
   Adding layer2=1 to active configuration (required by vnicc/mcast_flooding)
   Adding layer2=1 to persistent configuration (required by vnicc/mcast_flooding)

Create the converged HSCI interface. Issue a command of the form:

# hsci add <HipSock_if> <OSA_if>

For example, for hsi0 of the HiperSockets interface and eth0 of the OSA interface:

# hsci add hsi0 eth0
Verifying net dev eth0 and HiperSockets dev hsi0
Adding hsci8410 with a HiperSockets dev hsi0 and an external dev eth0
Added HSCI interface hsci8410

Optional: Check that the HSCI interface was created. Use the hsci show command.

For example:

# hsci show
HSCI       PNET_ID        HiperSockets            External
------------------------------------------------------------
hsci8410   NET1           hsi0                    eth0

What to do next

You can use the HSCI interface as the base for a MacVTap or an OpenVSwitch connection on a KVM virtual server, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Two KVM virtual servers are connected by a MacVTap interface, connected to an HSCI interface, in turn connected to the external network — Figure 1. MacVTap connection with two KVM virtual servers

See KVM Virtual Server Management, SC34-2752 for how to configure a network interface in the domain configuration XML of the KVM virtual servers.