What Is the Difference Between a Port Based and User Based Virtual Switch?
Operational differences between USERBASED and PORTBASED VSwitch have been eliminated. A system administrator has the option to either manage the VSwitch by user, by a specific port number or a combination of the two methods. This means, for example, a user interface can be configured with NICDEF PORTNUMBER, even if the device will be coupled to a USERBASED VSWITCH. Furthermore, a user port can be configured with a VSWITCH GRANT operation, even if the device will be coupled to a PORTBASED VSWITCH. This makes it convenient for the network administrator to manage a given VSwitch by user or port without immediately changing all of the GRANT commands to PORTNUMBER syntax (or to NICDEF options).
Although a VSwitch can be managed by user or port, declaring a VSwitch as either PORTBASED or USERBASED managed affects how live guest relocation is performed for a NIC connected to the VSwitch. Essentially, USERBASED or PORTBASED determines the NIC characteristics that will be checked and preserved across a Live Guest Relocation. See Live Guest Relocation Networking Considerations
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| User Oriented Management | Configuring NIC connectivity on the VSwitch is done on a user ID basis using the SET VSWITCH GRANT and REVOKE commands. If a guest has multiple connections to the virtual switch, all connections have the exact same attributes (port type, promiscuous, VLAN id, and so-on). Port numbers for all NICs will be assigned by z/VM®. |
| Port Oriented Management | Configuring NIC connectivity on the VSwitch is done on a port basis. Each port is defined and configured with the SET VSWITCH PORTNUMBER command or NICDEF directory statement (with or without a portnumber). Connectivity to a specific port number can be specified on the COUPLE command. A guest can have multiple ports with distinct configurations connected to the same virtual switch. |