Configuring Ethernet on the managed system using the Integrated Virtualization Manager

You can configure the following types of Ethernet on your managed system:

• You can create virtual Ethernet bridges on your managed system. Virtual Ethernet bridges, also known as Shared Ethernet Adapters, connect the virtual Ethernet networks on your managed system to physical Local Area Networks (LANs). For greater security, do not set up the physical Ethernet adapter that you use to connect to the management partition as a virtual Ethernet bridge. This allows you to isolate the management partition from all external networks. (The management partition manages the virtual Ethernet networks on your managed system but does not participate in any virtual Ethernet networks.)

  If you configure a single physical Ethernet adapter or link aggregation to connect to the management partition and to act as a virtual Ethernet bridge, consider using OpenSSL and Portable OpenSSH on the management partition. You can use OpenSSL and Portable OpenSSH to connect securely to the Virtual I/O Server from a remote location.

  You do not need to select a physical Ethernet adapter or link aggregation for a virtual Ethernet network. If no physical adapter or link aggregation is set for a virtual Ethernet network, then the logical partitions on the virtual Ethernet network can communicate with one another, but they cannot communicate directly with a physical network.

• You can configure a Host Ethernet Adapter. A Host Ethernet Adapter is a unique Ethernet adapter that is built into system. It provides the ability to partition a physical Ethernet port. A Host Ethernet Adapter can contain one or more physical ports and each physical port can be assigned to zero or more logical partitions.
• You can assign a physical Ethernet adapter to a client logical partition.

To configure virtual Ethernet on the managed system, complete the following steps: