Cisco Systems UCSCPCIECSC02 User Manual 2

Managing Network Adapters

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Network Adapters, page 1

• Viewing Network Adapter Properties, page 2

• Configuring Adapter Properties, page 5

• Managing vHBAs, page 7

• Managing vNICs, page 20

• Managing VM FEX, page 31

• Backing Up and Restoring the Adapter Configuration, page 35

• Managing Adapter Firmware, page 37

• Resetting the Adapter, page 39

Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Network Adapters

Note

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The procedures in this chapter are available only when a Cisco UCS C-Series network adapter is installed
in the chassis.

A Cisco UCS C-Series network adapter can be installed to provide options for I/O consolidation and
virtualization support. The following adapters are available:

• Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card

• Cisco UCS VIC1225 Virtual Interface Card

The interactive UCS Hardware and Software Interoperability Utility lets you view the supported components
and configurations for a selected server model and software release. The utility is available at the following
URL: http://www.cisco.com/web/techdoc/ucs/interoperability/matrix/matrix.html

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Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card

The Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card is optimized for virtualized environments, for organizations that
seek increased mobility in their physical environments, and for data centers that want reduced costs through
NIC, HBA, cabling, and switch reduction and reduced management overhead. This Fibre Channel over Ethernet
(FCoE) PCIe card offers the following benefits:

• Allows up to 16 virtual Fibre Channel and 16 virtual Ethernet adapters to be provisioned in virtualized
or nonvirtualized environments using just-in-time provisioning, providing tremendous system flexibility
and allowing consolidation of multiple physical adapters.

• Delivers uncompromising virtualization support, including hardware-based implementation of Cisco
VN-Link technology and pass-through switching.

• Improves system security and manageability by providing visibility and portability of network polices
and security all the way to the virtual machine.

The virtual interface card makes Cisco VN-Link connections to the parent fabric interconnects, which allows
virtual links to connect virtual NICs in virtual machines to virtual interfaces in the interconnect. In a Cisco
Unified Computing System environment, virtual links then can be managed, network profiles applied, and
interfaces dynamically reprovisioned as virtual machines move between servers in the system.

Managing Network Adapters

Cisco UCS VIC1225 Virtual Interface Card

The Cisco UCS VIC1225 Virtual Interface Card is a high-performance, converged network adapter that
provides acceleration for the various new operational modes introduced by server virtualization. It brings
superior flexibility, performance, and bandwidth to the new generation of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount
Servers.

The Cisco UCS VIC 1225 implements the Cisco Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX), which unifies
virtual and physical networking into a single infrastructure. It provides virtual-machine visibility from the
physical network and a consistent network operations model for physical and virtual servers. In virtualized
environments, this highly configurable and self-virtualized adapter provides integrated, modular LAN interfaces
on Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers. Additional features and capabilities include:

• Supports up to 256 PCIe virtual devices, either virtual network interface cards (vNICs) or virtual host
bus adapters (vHBAs), with high I/O operations per second (IOPS), support for lossless Ethernet, and
20 Gbps to servers.

• PCIe Gen2 x16 helps assure optimal bandwidth to the host for network-intensive applications with a
redundant path to the fabric interconnect.

• Half-height design reserves full-height slots in servers for Cisco certified third-party adapters.

• Centrally managed by Cisco UCS Manager with support for Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Enterprise
Linux, SUSE Linux, VMware vSphere, and Citrix XenServer.

Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Before You Begin

• The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

• A supported Virtual Interface Card (VIC) must be installed in the chassis and the server must be powered
on.

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Procedure

Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

On the Server tab, click Inventory.

In the Inventory pane, click the Network Adapters tab.

In the Adapter Cards area, click an adapter in the table to display its properties.
The resources of the selected adapter appear in the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area.

In the Adapter Cards area, review the following information for the installed adapters:

DescriptionName

The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.PCI Slot column

The product name for the adapter.Product Name column

The serial number for the adapter.Serial Number column

The product ID for the adapter.Product ID column

The vendor for the adapter.Vendor column

CIMC Management Enabled

column

Whether the adapter is able to manage CIMC. This functionality depends
on the type of adapter installed and how it is configured. For details,
see the hardware installation guide for the type of server you are using.

Step 6

Step 7

In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab.

In the Adapter Card Properties area, review the following information for the adapter:

DescriptionName

The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.PCI Slot field

The vendor for the adapter.Vendor field

The product name for the adapter.Product Name field

The product ID for the adapter.Product ID field

The serial number for the adapter.Serial Number field

The version ID for the adapter.Version ID field

The hardware revision for the adapter.Hardware Revision field

CIMC Management Enabled

field

If this field displays yes, then the adapter is functioning in Cisco Card
Mode and passing CIMC management traffic through to the server
CIMC.

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Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Managing Network Adapters

DescriptionName

Step 8

Configuration Pending field

If this field displays yes, the adapter configuration has changed in CIMC
but these changes have not been communicated to the host operating
system.

To activate the changes, an administrator must reboot the adapter.

The user-defined description for the adapter, if any.Description field

FIP Mode field

Whether FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) mode is enabled. FIP mode
ensures that the adapter is compatible with current FCoE standards.

NIV Mode field

Whether Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) is enabled.

If NIV mode is enabled:

• vNICs and vHBAs can be assigned to a specific channel

• vNICs and vHBAs can be associated with a port profile

• vNICs can fail over to another vNIC if there are communication
problems

In the External Ethernet Interfaces area, review the following information for the adapter:

DescriptionName

Step 9

The uplink port ID.ID column

The MAC address of the uplink port.MAC Address column

Link State column

The current operational state of the uplink port. This can be one of the
following:

• Fault

• Link Up

• Link Down

• SFP ID Error

• SFP Not Installed

• SFP Security Check Failed

• Unsupported SFP

Encap column

The attribute added to the virtual network tag (VNTag) to support
Network Interface Virtualization (NIV).

In the Firmware area, review the following information for the adapter:

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Configuring Adapter Properties

DescriptionName

The firmware version that is currently active.Running Version field

Backup Version field

Startup Version field

Status field

The alternate firmware version installed on the adapter, if any. The
backup version is not currently running. To activate it, administrators
can click Activate Firmware in the Actions area.

Note

The firmware version that will become active the next time the adapter
is rebooted.

The bootloader version associated with the adapter card.Bootloader Version field

The status of the last firmware activation that was performed on this
adapter.

Note

When you install new firmware on the adapter, any existing
backup version is deleted and the new firmware becomes the
backup version. You must manually activate the new firmware
if you want the adapter to run the new version.

The status is reset each time the adapter is
rebooted.

What to Do Next

To view the properties of virtual NICs, VM FEXs, and virtual HBAs, see the following sections:

• Viewing vNIC Properties, on page 21

• Viewing Virtual FEX Properties, on page 31

• Viewing vHBA Properties, on page 7

Configuring Adapter Properties

Before You Begin

• You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

• A supported Virtual Interface Card (VIC) must be installed in the chassis and the server must be powered
on.

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Configuring Adapter Properties

Procedure

Managing Network Adapters

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

On the Server tab, click Inventory.

In the Inventory pane, click the Network Adapters tab.

In the Adapter Cards area, select the adapter card.
If the server is powered on, the resources of the selected adapter card appear in the tabbed menu below the
Adapter Cards area.

In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab.

In the Actions area of the General tab, click Set Adapter Properties.
The Modify Adapter Properties dialog box opens.

In the Modify Adapter Properties dialog box, update the following fields:

DescriptionName

Description field

A user-defined description for the adapter.

You can enter between 1 and 63 characters.

Enable FIP Mode check box

If checked, then FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) mode is enabled.
FIP mode ensures that the adapter is compatible with current FCoE
standards.

Note

We recommend that you use this option only when explicitly
directed to do so by a technical support representative.

Enable NIV Mode check box

If checked, then Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode is enabled.

If NIV mode is enabled:

Step 8

Number of VM FEX Interfaces

field

Click Save Changes.

• vNICs and vHBAs can be assigned to a specific channel

• vNICs and vHBAs can be associated with a port profile

• vNICs can fail over to another vNIC if there are communication
problems

The number of VM FEX interfaces you want CIMC to create.

Enter an integer between 0 and 112.

Note

NIV mode is required for this
option.

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Managing vHBAs

Guidelines for Managing vHBAs

When managing vHBAs, consider the following guidelines and restrictions:

• The Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card and Cisco UCS VIC1225 Virtual Interface Card provide
two vHBAs (fc0 and fc1). You can create up to 16 additional vHBAs on these adapter cards.

Managing vHBAs

Note

• When using the Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card or Cisco UCS VIC1225 Virtual Interface Card
in an FCoE application, you must associate the vHBA with the FCoE VLAN. Follow the instructions
in Modifying vHBA Properties, on page 11 to assign the VLAN.

• After making configuration changes, you must reboot the host for settings to take effect.

If Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode is enabled for the adapter, you must
assign a channel number to a vHBA when you create it.

Viewing vHBA Properties

Procedure

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

On the Server tab, click Inventory.

In the Inventory pane, click the Network Adapters tab.

In the Adapter Cards area, select the adapter card.
If the server is powered on, the resources of the selected adapter card appear in the tabbed menu below the
Adapter Cards area.

In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab.

In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table.

Click Properties to open the vHBA Properties dialog box.

In the General area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

Name field

World Wide Node Name field

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The name of the virtual HBA.

This name cannot be changed after the vHBA has been created.

The WWNN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWNN, select AUTO. To specify a
WWNN, click the second radio button and enter the WWNN in the
corresponding field.

Viewing vHBA Properties

Managing Network Adapters

DescriptionName

World Wide Port Name field

Enable Persistent LUN Binding

check box

Uplink Port field

MAC Address field

Default VLAN field

Class of Service drop-down list

The WWPN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWPN, select AUTO. To specify a
WWPN, click the second radio button and enter the WWPN in the
corresponding field.

If checked, the vHBA can be used to perform a SAN boot.FC SAN Boot check box

If checked, any LUN ID associations are retained in memory until they
are manually cleared.

The uplink port associated with the vHBA.

Note

This value cannot be changed for the system-defined vHBAs
fc0 and fc1.

The MAC address associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the MAC address, select AUTO. To specify
an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in
the corresponding field.

If there is no default VLAN for this vHBA, click NONE. Otherwise,
click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094
in the field.

The CoS for the vHBA.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6
being the highest priority.

Note

This option cannot be used in NIV
mode.

Rate Limit field

The data rate limit for traffic on this vHBA, in Mbps.

If you want this vHBA to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF.
Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter an integer between
1 and 10,000.

Note

This option cannot be used in NIV
mode.

PCIe Device Order field

The order in which this vHBA will be used.

To let the system set the order, select ANY. To specify an order, select
the second radio button and enter an integer between 0 and 17.

EDTOV field

The error detect timeout value (EDTOV), which is the number of
milliseconds to wait before the system assumes that an error has
occurred.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 100,000. The default is 2,000
milliseconds.

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Viewing vHBA Properties

DescriptionName

RATOV field

Max Data Field Size field

Channel Number field

Port Profile drop-down list

The resource allocation timeout value (RATOV), which is the number
of milliseconds to wait before the system assumes that a resource cannot
be properly allocated.

Enter an integer between 5,000 and 100,000. The default is 10,000
milliseconds.

The maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the
vHBA supports.

Enter an integer between 256 and 2112.

The channel number that will be assigned to this vHBA.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,000.

Note

NIV mode is required for this
option.

The port profile that should be associated with the vHBA, if any.

This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this
server is connected.

Note

NIV mode is required for this
option.

Step 9

Step 10

In the Error Recovery area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

Enable FCP Error Recovery

check box

Link Down Timeout field

If checked, the system uses FCP Sequence Level Error Recovery
protocol (FC-TAPE).

The number of milliseconds the uplink port should be offline before it
informs the system that the uplink port is down and fabric connectivity
has been lost.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240,000.

Port Down I/O Retries field

The number of times an I/O request to a port is returned because the
port is busy before the system decides the port is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255.

Port Down Timeout field

The number of milliseconds a remote Fibre Channel port should be
offline before informing the SCSI upper layer that the port is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240,000.

In the Fibre Channel Interrupt area, review the information in the following fields:

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Managing Network Adapters

DescriptionName

Step 11

Step 12

Interrupt Mode drop-down list

The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:

• MSIx—Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) with the optional
extension. This is the recommended option.

• MSI—MSI only.

• INTx—PCI INTx interrupts.

In the Fibre Channel Port area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

I/O Throttle Count field

The number of I/O operations that can be pending in the vHBA at one
time.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,024.

LUNs per Target field

The maximum number of LUNs that the driver will export. This is
usually an operating system platform limitation.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,024. The recommended value is 1024.

In the Fibre Channel Port FLOGI area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

Step 13

FLOGI Retries field

The number of times that the system tries to log in to the fabric after
the first failure.

To specify an unlimited number of retries, select the INFINITE radio
button. Otherwise select the second radio button and enter an integer
into the corresponding field.

FLOGI Timeout field

The number of milliseconds that the system waits before it tries to log
in again.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 255,000.

In the Fibre Channel Port PLOGI area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

PLOGI Retries field

The number of times that the system tries to log in to a port after the
first failure.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255.

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Modifying vHBA Properties

DescriptionName

Step 14

Step 15

PLOGI Timeout field

The number of milliseconds that the system waits before it tries to log
in again.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 255,000.

In the SCSI I/O area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

CDB Transmit Queue Count

field

CDB Work Queue Ring Size field

The number of SCSI I/O queue resources the system should allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 8.

The number of descriptors in each SCSI I/O queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 512.

In the Receive/Transmit Queues area, review the information in the following fields:

DescriptionName

FC Work Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 128.

FC Receive Queue Ring Size field

Modifying vHBA Properties

Procedure

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

On the Server tab, click Inventory.

In the Inventory pane, click the Network Adapters tab.

In the Adapter Cards area, select the adapter card.
If the server is powered on, the resources of the selected adapter card appear in the tabbed menu below the
Adapter Cards area.

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 128.

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Modifying vHBA Properties

Managing Network Adapters

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab.

In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table.

Click Properties to open the vHBA Properties dialog box.

In the General area, update the following fields:

DescriptionName

Name field

The name of the virtual HBA.

This name cannot be changed after the vHBA has been created.

World Wide Node Name field

The WWNN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWNN, select AUTO. To specify a
WWNN, click the second radio button and enter the WWNN in the
corresponding field.

World Wide Port Name field

The WWPN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWPN, select AUTO. To specify a
WWPN, click the second radio button and enter the WWPN in the
corresponding field.

If checked, the vHBA can be used to perform a SAN boot.FC SAN Boot check box

Enable Persistent LUN Binding

check box

If checked, any LUN ID associations are retained in memory until they
are manually cleared.

Uplink Port field

MAC Address field

Default VLAN field

Class of Service drop-down list

The uplink port associated with the vHBA.

Note

This value cannot be changed for the system-defined vHBAs
fc0 and fc1.

The MAC address associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the MAC address, select AUTO. To specify
an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in
the corresponding field.

If there is no default VLAN for this vHBA, click NONE. Otherwise,
click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094
in the field.

The CoS for the vHBA.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6
being the highest priority.

Note

This option cannot be used in NIV
mode.

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