Tunneled Vlan And Mapped Vlans - HP Integrity BL890c - i2 Server Manual

Tunneled VLAN and Mapped VLANS

Virtual Connect provides two Ethernet networks connection methods. Both of these connection types are
discussed within the following scenarios.
vNet
A vNet is a term used to describe a network within Virtual Connect. A vNet could represent a dedicated
network within Virtual Connect, in which case it would operate in one of two modes, the first is a simple
vNet that will pass untagged frames. The second is a vNet tunnel which will pass tagged frames for one or
many VLANs. An individual "Network" as configured within a Shared Uplink Set, which would define a
specific VLAN, is also vNet.
The vNet is a network connection between one or many server NICs to one or many uplink ports. A vNet
could also exist without uplink ports, to provide connectivity between server NICs within an enclosure to for
local only communications such as, cluster a heartbeat network.
A vNet could be used to connect a single VLAN, no tagging, to one or many server NICs. If this network is
part of a VLAN, by configuring the upstream switch port as an access or untagged port, by extension, any
server connected to this vNet would reside in that VLAN, but would not need to be configured to interpret
the VLAN tags. A tunneled vNet will pass VLAN tagged frames, without the need to interpret or forward
those frames based on the VLAN tag. Within a tunneled vNet the VLAN tag is completely ignored by
Virtual Connect and the frame is forwarded to the appropriate connection (server NIC[s] or uplinks)
depending on frame direction flow. In this case, the end server would need to be configured to interpret
the VLAN tags. This could be a server with a local operating system, in which the network stack would
need to be configured to understand which VLAN the server was in, or a virtualization host with a vSwitch
supporting multiple VLANs.
The tunneled vNet has no limit to the number of VLANs it can support.
Benefits of a vNet
If no VLAN support is required, support for a single specific VLAN being presented as untagged or many
VLANs need to be presented to the server a vNet is a very simple network to configure and manage within
Virtual Connect.
A vNet can be utilized in one of two ways, a simple vNet, used to pass untagged frames and a tunneled
vNet. A tunneled vNet can be used to pass many VLANs without modifying the VLAN tags, functioning as
a transparent VLAN Pass-Thru module.
Shared Uplink Set (SUS)
The SUS provides the ability to support VLAN tagging and forward frames based on the VLAN tags of those
frames. The SUS connects one or many server NICs to one or many uplink ports. A SUS would be
configured for the specific VLANs it will support. If support for additional VLANs is required, those VLANs
need to be configured within the SUS.
When connecting a server NIC to a network within a SUS, there are two choices provided. The key
difference between these two options is the state in which the frame is passed to the server NIC;
Select a single network – which would be mapped to a specific VLAN.
1.
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