Datasheet

31
5.5.5 Shared Ethernet Adapters (SEAs)
In VIOS, the same Ethernet type of device, entX, is used for logical Host Ethernet ports, physical
and virtual Ethernet adapters:
Figure 8: Example list of Ethernet ports in VIOS.
Inter-partition communication is facilitated via virtual Ethernet adapters using the same PVIDs.
VIOS provides access to external networking to client partitions by bridging a physical Ethernet
adapter and one or more virtual Ethernet adapters. The virtualization object that provides this
Ethernet bridge is called a Shared Ethernet Adapter (SEA). The SEA forwards network packets
from any client partitions on a VLAN to the physical LAN through the physical Ethernet adapter.
Because the SEA creates a Layer-2 bridge, the original MAC address of the virtual Ethernet
adapter in IBM i is used on the physical LAN. The CMNxx communications port that represents
the virtual Ethernet adapter in IBM i is configured with an externally routable IP address and a
standard network configuration is used. The physical adapter bridge by the SEA can be any
network adapter supported by VIOS, including Integrated Virtual Ethernet (IVE) ports, also known
as Host Ethernet Adapter (HEA) ports.
NOTE: When configuring redundant VIOS’s, another virtual Ethernet adapter must be created in
each VIOS which will be used as the control channel. These virtual adapters must use a PVID
that is different than the one used by the SEA and cannot be configured for Layer-2 bridging. See
the section “Redundant VIOS Networking” for more details.
5.5.5.1 Configuring an SEA using IVM
To configure the Shared Ethernet adapter (SEA), start an IVM session and log in with padmin
user ID.
 Click View/Modify Host Ethernet Adapter or the applicable Ethernet hardware option
 Ensure the option for Allow virtual Ethernet Bridging is set.
 Click View/Modify Virtual Ethernet.
 Click the Virtual Ethernet Bridge tab.
 On the Virtual Ethernet ID 1 select the physical adapter to the Ethernet port you want to
bridge to.
 Click Apply
5.5.5.2 Configuring SEAs using the HMC/SDMC
Follow the steps listed in the above HMC/SDMC sections to get to the virtual network interface.
 Select the correct managed server
 In the menu below, expand Configuration, then Virtual Resources
 Click Virtual Network Management
o Select the VLAN ID that is configured for the IBM i client partition the VIOS that
will bridge it. When you do this, you are shown the participants on the VLAN.
o Near the bottom right hand side of the window, select the Create SEA… button.
 Choose the VIOS(s) where the SEA will be created.
 Choose the physical adapter to bridge the IO to.
 For redundant VIOS’s, check the Configure virtual network failover
box and select both the Failover VIOS and the Failover physical
adapter values using the associated pull-downs.
 Click OK to create the SEA.