Using Flexaddress And Flexadress Plus; About Flexaddress; About Flexaddress Plus - Dell EMC PowerEdge VRTX User Manual

Using FlexAddress and FlexAdress Plus

This section provides information about FlexAddress, FlexAddress Plus, and configuring.
NOTE: An Enterprise License must be installed on the CMC to use the Flexaddress feature.

About FlexAddress

If a server is replaced, the FlexAddress for the slot remains the same for the given server slot. If the server is inserted in a new slot
or chassis, the server-assigned WWN/MAC is used unless that chassis has the FlexAddress feature enabled for the new slot. If you
remove the server, it reverts to the server-assigned address. You need not reconfigure deployment frameworks, DHCP servers, and
routers for various fabrics for identifying the new server.
Every server module is assigned unique WWN and/or MAC addresses as part of the manufacturing process. Without FlexAddress, if
a server had to be replaced with another server module, the WWN/MAC addresses changes and Ethernet network management
tools and SAN resources had to be reconfigured to identify the new server module.
FlexAddress allows CMC to assign WWN/MAC addresses to a particular slot and override the factory addresses. Hence, if the
server module is replaced, the slotbased WWN/MACaddresses remain the same. This feature eliminates the need to reconfigure
Ethernet network management tools and SAN resources for a new server module.
Also, the override action occurs only when a server module is inserted in a FlexAddress enabled chassis; no permanent changes are
made to the server module. If a server module is moved to a chassis that does not support FlexAddress, the factory-assigned
WWN/MAC addresses are used.
CMC VRTX chassis is shipped with the SD card, which supports FlexAddress, FlexAddress Plus, and Extended Storage features. If
the VRTX chassis is shipped with an optional second CMC, the second CMC has an SD card that supports only Extended Storage.
NOTE:
• Data contained on the SD card is encrypted and may not be duplicated or altered in any manner, because it may inhibit
system function and cause the system to not function properly.
• The use of an SD card is limited to one chassis only. You cannot use the same SD card on another chassis.
The FlexAddress feature card contains a range of MAC addresses. Before installing FlexAddress, you can determine the range of
MAC addresses contained on a FlexAddress feature card by inserting the SD card into a USB Memory Card Reader and viewing the
pwwn_mac.xml file. This clear text XML file on the SD card contains an XML tag mac_start that is the first starting hex MAC
address that is used for this unique MAC address range. The mac_count tag is the total number of MAC addresses that the SD card
allocates. The total MAC range allocated can be determined by:
<mac_start> + <mac_count>
For example:
(starting_mac)00188BFFDCFA + (mac_count)0xCF - 1 = (ending_mac)00188BFFDDC8
.
NOTE: Lock the SD card prior to inserting in the USB Memory Card Reader to prevent accidentally modifying any
contents. Unlock the SD card before inserting into CMC.

About FlexAddress Plus

The FlexAddress Plus is a new feature added to the feature card version 2.0. It is an upgrade from FlexAddress feature card version
1.0. FlexAddress Plus contains more MAC addresses than the FlexAddress feature. Both features allow the chassis to assign World
- 1 = <mac_end>
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