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Shared NIC Security
The DRAC 5 on 9xxx Generation Dell servers has the capability to use the host LOM for DRAC 5
management traffic instead of a dedicated NIC. In this case, the host LOM shares the host traffic
with DRAC 5 management traffic.
This feature has an advantage for customers who do not want to maintain a separate network for
management traffic. It can reduce the cabling mess and network switch port requirements. The
shared NIC (LOM) contains two separate MAC addresses – one for the DRAC 5 traffic and
another for the host system traffic. The MAC layer is a sub-layer in the hardware data-link layer.
DRAC 5 maintains its own IP address, which ensures that a client can address DRAC 5
independently of the host system even though the host and management traffic share the same
port.
The following figure describes the shared NIC architecture in DRAC 5 hardware.
LOM 0
LOM 1
DRAC 5
MAC1
Dedicated
PHY
CPU
SHARED_NIC_MODE_N
MAC0
UMP
OPTIONAL CARD
MII_Share_LOM0
MI_Share_LOM0
MII_Dedicated
MII_Share_LOM1
Reset_N
UMP
Switches are
on DRAC 5, not
Planar
ROM0ROM1
Figure 3: Shared NIC Architecture
DRAC 5 also supports a tagged VLAN. All devices in the VLAN appear to be on the same network
segment which allows having DRAC 5 on a separate network segment. Some customers may be