Creating a Shared Ethernet adapter for a VIOS logical partition using the HMC

You can create a Shared Ethernet Adapter on the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) logical partition by using the Hardware Management Console.

To create a Shared Ethernet Adapter, be sure you meet the following requirements:

The Hardware Management Console (HMC) must be at version 7 release 3.4.2 or later.
Ensure the VIOS has one or more physical network devices or Logical Host Ethernet Adapters assigned to the logical partition. If a Logical Host Ethernet Adapter is assigned, the VIOS partition must be configured as the promiscuous logical partition for the Host Ethernet Adapter.
Ensure a virtual Ethernet adapter is created on the VIOS. For instructions, see Configuring a virtual Ethernet adapter using the HMC.
If the physical Ethernet adapter that you want to use as the shared adapter has TCP/IP configured, the VIOS must be at version 2.1.1.0 or later. If TCP/IP is not configured, the VIOS can be at any version.
Ensure that there is a resource monitoring and control connection between the HMC and the VIOS.

Note: If you are using a prior release of the HMC or a prior version of a VIOS (with TCP/IP configured for the virtual Ethernet adapter), see Configuring virtual Ethernet on the Virtual I/O Server to create a Shared Ethernet Adapter by using the VIOS command-line interface.

The HMC Classic interface is not supported in Hardware Management Console (HMC) Version 8.7.0, or later. The functions that were previously available in the HMC Classic interface are now available in the HMC Enhanced+ interface.

For more information about adding a virtual network when the HMC is at version 8.7.0, or later, see Managing Virtual Networks.

To create a Shared Ethernet Adapter, complete the following steps:

In the navigation area, expand Systems Management > Servers, and select the server on which the VIOS logical partition is located.
In the Tasks pane, click Configuration > Virtual Resources > Virtual Network Management. The Virtual Network Management page is displayed.
From the Virtual Network Management menu, select the virtual Ethernet network (VLAN) that you want to connect to the virtual Ethernet adapter.
Click Create Shared Ethernet Adapter. The Create Shared Ethernet Adapter page is displayed.
From the Create Shared Ethernet Adapter page, select the VIOS and physical adapter on which to configure the Shared Ethernet Adapter. You can also enable and select a failover VIOS and physical adapter.
Note: If you select a failover VIOS, consider the following:
- The two VIOS logical partitions used in the failover configuration need to have different trunk priorities.
- Shared Ethernet Adapter failover requires an additional virtual Ethernet adapter on both VIOS logical partitions to be used as a control channel. The control channel allows the VIOS logical partitions to communicate with one another and know when one of the VIOS loses its connection.
- The HMC graphical interface automatically selects a suitable virtual Ethernet control channel by numerical order (from highest to lowest) from the port VLAN IDs assigned to the virtual Ethernet adapters. For example, if both VIOS logical partitions use VLAN 99 and VLAN 50, and the VIOS logical partitions in each VLAN have virtual Ethernet adapters without a trunk adapter enabled, then VLAN 99 is selected instead of VLAN 50. If you intend to use a virtual Ethernet adapter as a control channel adapter, do not select the Access external network option in the adapter properties.
Click OK to create the Shared Ethernet Adapter.

Last updated: Fri, July 05, 2019