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Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Integrated Management Controller GUI Configuration Guide, Release 1.5
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Preface
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Overview
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Installing the Server OS
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Managing the Server
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Viewing Server Properties
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Viewing Server Sensors
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Managing Remote Presence
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Managing User Accounts
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Configuring Network-Related Settings
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Managing Network Adapters
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Configuring Communication Services
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Managing Certificates
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Configuring Platform Event Filters
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CIMC Firmware Management
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Viewing Faults and Logs
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Server Utilities
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BIOS Parameters by Server Model
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Index
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Feedback
Contents
- Managing Network Adapters
- Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Network Adapters
- Viewing Network Adapter Properties
- Viewing VIC Adapter Properties
- Viewing Storage Adapter Properties
- Managing vHBAs
- Guidelines for Managing vHBAs
- Viewing vHBA Properties
- Modifying vHBA Properties
- Creating a vHBA
- Deleting a vHBA
- vHBA Boot Table
- Creating a Boot Table Entry
- Deleting a Boot Table Entry
- vHBA Persistent Binding
- Viewing Persistent Bindings
- Rebuilding Persistent Bindings
- Managing vNICs
- Guidelines for Managing vNICs
- Viewing vNIC Properties
- Modifying vNIC Properties
- Creating a vNIC
- Deleting a vNIC
- Managing Cisco usNIC
- Overview of Cisco usNIC
- Configuring Cisco usNIC Using the CIMC GUI
- Viewing usNIC Properties
- Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability
- Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability for vNICs
- Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability on a vNIC
- Removing iSCSI Boot Configuration from a vNIC
- Managing VM FEX
- Virtual Machine Fabric Extender
- Viewing Virtual FEX Properties
- Managing Storage Adapters
- Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives
- Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Drive Group
- Clearing Foreign Configuration
- Preparing a Drive for Removal
- Undo Preparing a Drive for Removal
- Making a Dedicated Hot Spare
- Making a Global Hot Spare
- Removing a Drive from Hot Spare Pools
- Initializing a Virtual Drive
- Set as Boot Drive
- Deleting a Virtual Drive
- Enabling Auto Learn Cycle for a Battery Backup Unit
- Disabling Auto Learn Cycle for a Battery Backup Unit
- Starting Learn Cycles for a Battery Backup Unit
- Toggling Locator LED for a Physical Drive
- Viewing Storage Controller Logs
- Backing Up and Restoring the Adapter Configuration
- Exporting the Adapter Configuration
- Importing the Adapter Configuration
- Restoring Adapter Defaults
- Managing Adapter Firmware
- Adapter Firmware
- Installing Adapter Firmware From a Local File
- Installing Adapter Firmware From a Remote Server
- Activating Adapter Firmware
- Resetting the Adapter
Managing Network Adapters
This chapter includes the following sections:
- Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Network Adapters
- Viewing Network Adapter Properties
- Viewing VIC Adapter Properties
- Viewing Storage Adapter Properties
- Managing vHBAs
- Managing vNICs
- Managing VM FEX
- Managing Storage Adapters
- Backing Up and Restoring the Adapter Configuration
- Managing Adapter Firmware
- Resetting the Adapter
Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Network Adapters
Note
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:
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
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.
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
Procedure
Viewing VIC Adapter Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the Adapter Cards area, review the following information for the installed adapters:
Name Description PCI Slot column
The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.
Product Name column
The product name for the adapter.
Serial Number column
The serial number for the adapter.
Product ID column
The product ID for the adapter.
Vendor column
The vendor for the adapter.
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 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 7 In the Adapter Card Properties area, review the following information for the adapter:
Name Description PCI Slot field
The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.
Vendor field
The vendor for the adapter.
Product Name field
The product name for the adapter.
Product ID field
The product ID for the adapter.
Serial Number field
The serial number for the adapter.
Version ID field
The version ID for the adapter.
Hardware Revision field
The hardware revision for the adapter.
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.
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.
Description field
The user-defined description for the adapter, if any.
FIP Mode field
Whether FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) mode is enabled. FIP mode ensures that the adapter is compatible with current FCoE standards.
VNTAG Mode field
Whether virtual network tag (VNTAG) is enabled.
ISCSI Boot Capable field
Whether iSCSI boot is supported on the adapter.
usNIC Capable field
Whether the adapter and the firmware running on the adapter support the usNIC.
Step 8 In the External Ethernet Interfaces area, review the following information for the adapter:
Name Description ID column
The uplink port ID.
MAC Address column
The MAC address of the uplink port.
Link State column
The current operational state of the uplink port. This can be one of the following:
Encap column
The mode in which adapter operates. This can be one of the following:
Admin Speed column
The data transfer rate for the port. This can be one of the following:
Note This option is only available for some adapter cards.
Operating Speed column
The operating rate for the port. This can be one of the following:
Note This option is only available for some adapter cards.
Step 9 In the Firmware area, review the following information for the adapter:
Name Description Running Version field
The firmware version that is currently active.
Backup Version 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 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.
Startup Version field
The firmware version that will become active the next time the adapter is rebooted.
Bootloader Version field
The bootloader version associated with the adapter card.
Status field
The status of the last firmware activation that was performed on this adapter.
Note 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 Storage Adapter Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click Storage Adapters tab and review the following information:
Name Description Controller field
The type of controller.
PCI Slot field
The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.
Product Name field
The product name for the adapter.
Serial Number field
The serial number for the adapter.
Firmware Package Build field
The installed firmware package for the adapter.
Product ID field
The product ID for the adapter.
Battery Status field
The vendor for the adapter.
Cache Memory Size field
The size of the cache memory, in megabytes.
Health field
The health of the adapter. This can be one of the following:
Details link
Click the Details link to view the Storage tab.
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.
NoteIf Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode is enabled for the adapter, you must assign a channel number to a vHBA when you create it.
- 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 to assign the VLAN.
- After making configuration changes, you must reboot the host for settings to take effect.
Viewing vHBA Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table. Step 7 Click Properties to open the vHBA Properties dialog box. Step 8 In the General area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description 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.
FC SAN Boot check box
If checked, the vHBA can be used to perform a SAN boot.
Enable Persistent LUN Binding check box
If checked, any LUN ID associations are retained in memory until they are manually cleared.
Uplink Port field
The uplink port associated with the vHBA.
Note This value cannot be changed for the system-defined vHBAs fc0 and fc1.
MAC Address field
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.
Default VLAN 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.
Class of Service drop-down list
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 VNTAG 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 VNTAG 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.
RATOV field
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.
Max Data Field Size field
The maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the vHBA supports.
Enter an integer between 256 and 2112.
Channel Number field
The channel number that will be assigned to this vHBA.
Enter an integer between 1 and 1,000.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Port Profile drop-down list
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 VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Step 9 In the Error Recovery area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Enable FCP Error Recovery check box
If checked, the system uses FCP Sequence Level Error Recovery protocol (FC-TAPE).
Link Down Timeout field
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.
Step 10 In the Fibre Channel Interrupt area, review the information in the following fields: Step 11 In the Fibre Channel Port area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description 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.
Step 12 In the Fibre Channel Port FLOGI area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description 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.
Step 13 In the Fibre Channel Port PLOGI area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description 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.
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.
Step 14 In the SCSI I/O area, review the information in the following fields: Step 15 In the Receive/Transmit Queues area, review the information in the following fields:
Modifying vHBA Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table. Step 7 Click Properties to open the vHBA Properties dialog box. Step 8 In the General area, update the following fields:
Name Description 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.
FC SAN Boot check box
If checked, the vHBA can be used to perform a SAN boot.
Enable Persistent LUN Binding check box
If checked, any LUN ID associations are retained in memory until they are manually cleared.
Uplink Port field
The uplink port associated with the vHBA.
Note This value cannot be changed for the system-defined vHBAs fc0 and fc1.
MAC Address field
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.
Default VLAN 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.
Class of Service drop-down list
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 VNTAG 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 VNTAG 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.
RATOV field
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.
Max Data Field Size field
The maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the vHBA supports.
Enter an integer between 256 and 2112.
Channel Number field
The channel number that will be assigned to this vHBA.
Enter an integer between 1 and 1,000.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Port Profile drop-down list
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 VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Step 9 In the Error Recovery area, update the following fields:
Name Description Enable FCP Error Recovery check box
If checked, the system uses FCP Sequence Level Error Recovery protocol (FC-TAPE).
Link Down Timeout field
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.
Step 10 In the Fibre Channel Interrupt area, update the following fields: Step 11 In the Fibre Channel Port area, update the following fields:
Name Description 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.
Step 12 In the Fibre Channel Port FLOGI area, update the following fields:
Name Description 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.
Step 13 In the Fibre Channel Port PLOGI area, update the following fields:
Name Description 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.
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.
Step 14 In the SCSI I/O area, update the following fields: Step 15 In the Receive/Transmit Queues area, update the following fields: Step 16 Click Save Changes.
Creating a vHBA
ProcedureThe adapter provides two permanent vHBAs. If NIV mode is enabled, you can create up to 16 additional vHBAs.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, choose one of these actions:
- To create a vHBA using default configuration settings, click Add.
- To create a vHBA using the same configuration settings as an existing vHBA, select that vHBA and click Clone.
The Add vHBA dialog box appears.
Step 7 In the Add vHBA dialog box, enter a name for the vHBA in the Name entry box. Step 8 Click Add vHBA.
What to Do Next
- Reboot the server to create the vHBA.
- If configuration changes are required, configure the new vHBA as described in Modifying vHBA Properties.
Deleting a vHBA
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table.
Note You cannot delete either of the two default vHBAs, fc0 or fc1. Step 7 Click Delete and click OK to confirm.
vHBA Boot Table
In the vHBA boot table, you can specify up to four LUNs from which the server can boot.
Creating a Boot Table Entry
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table. Step 7 Click Boot Table to open the Boot Table dialog box for the selected vHBA. Step 8 In the Boot Table dialog box, click Add to open the Add Boot Entry dialog box. Step 9 In the Add Boot Entry dialog box, update the following fields:
Name Description Target WWPN field
The World Wide Port Name (WWPN) that corresponds to the location of the boot image.
Enter the WWPN in the format hh:hh:hh:hh:hh:hh:hh:hh.
LUN ID field
The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.
Enter an ID between 0 and 255.
Add Boot Entry button
Adds the specified location to the boot table.
Reset Values button
Clears the values currently entered in the fields.
Cancel button
Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.
Step 10 Click Add Boot Entry.
Deleting a Boot Table Entry
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table. Step 7 Click Boot Table to open the Boot Table dialog box for the selected vHBA. Step 8 In the Boot Table dialog box, click the entry to be deleted. Step 9 Click Delete and click OK to confirm.
vHBA Persistent Binding
Persistent binding ensures that the system-assigned mapping of Fibre Channel targets is maintained after a reboot.
Viewing Persistent Bindings
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table. Step 7 Click Persistent Bindings to open the Persistent Bindings dialog box for the selected vHBA. Step 8 In the Persistent Bindings dialog box for the selected vHBA, review the following information:
Name Description Index column
The unique identifier for the binding.
Target WWPN column
The target World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.
Host WWPN column
The host World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.
Bus ID column
The bus ID with which the binding is associated.
Target ID column
The target ID on the host system with which the binding is associated.
Rebuild Persistent Bindings button
Clears all unused bindings and resets the ones that are in use.
Close button
Closes the dialog box and saves your changes.
Step 9 Click Close.
Rebuilding Persistent Bindings
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vHBAs tab. Step 6 In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA from the table. Step 7 Click Persistent Bindings to open the Persistent Bindings dialog box for the selected vHBA. Step 8 In the Persistent Bindings dialog box for the selected vHBA, click Rebuild Persistent Bindings. Step 9 Click Close.
Managing vNICs
Guidelines for Managing vNICs
When managing vNICs, consider the following guidelines and restrictions:
- The Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card and Cisco UCS VIC1225 Virtual Interface Card provide two default vNICs (eth0 and eth1). You can create up to 16 additional vNICs on these adapter cards.
NoteIf Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode is enabled for the adapter, you must assign a channel number to a vNIC when you create it.
- After making configuration changes, you must reboot the host for settings to take effect.
Viewing vNIC Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table. Step 7 Click Properties to open the vNIC Properties dialog box. Step 8 In the General area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Name field
The name for the virtual NIC.
This name cannot be changed after the vNIC has been created.
MTU field
The maximum transmission unit, or packet size, that this vNIC accepts.
Enter an integer between 1500 and 9000.
Uplink Port drop-down list
The uplink port associated with this vNIC. All traffic for this vNIC goes through this uplink port.
MAC Address field
The MAC address associated with the vNIC.
To let the adapter select an available MAC address from its internal pool, select Auto. To specify an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in the corresponding field.
Class of Service drop-down list
The class of service to associate with traffic from this vNIC.
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 VNTAG mode.
Trust Host CoS check box
Check this box if you want the vNIC to use the class of service provided by the host operating system.
PCI Order field
The order in which this vNIC 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.
Default VLAN field
If there is no default VLAN for this vNIC, click NONE. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094 in the field.
Note This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.
VLAN Mode drop-down list
If you want to use VLAN trunking, select TRUNK. Otherwise, select ACCESS.
Note This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.
Rate Limit field
If you want this vNIC to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a rate limit in the associated field.
Enter an integer between 1 and 10,000 Mbps.
Note This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.
Enable PXE Boot check box
Check this box if the vNIC can be used to perform a PXE boot.
Channel Number field
Select the channel number that will be assigned to this vNIC.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Port Profile drop-down list
Select the port profile that should be associated with the vNIC.
This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this server is connected.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Enable Uplink Failover check box
Check this box if traffic on this vNIC should fail over to the secondary interface if there are communication problems.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Failback Timeout field
After a vNIC has started using its secondary interface, this setting controls how long the primary interface must be available before the system resumes using the primary interface for the vNIC.
Enter a number of seconds between 0 and 600.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Step 9 In the Ethernet Interrupt area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Interrupt Count field
The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.
Enter an integer between 1 and 514.
Coalescing Time field
The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.
Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.
Coalescing Type drop-down list
This can be one of the following:
Interrupt Mode drop-down list
The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:
Step 10 In the Ethernet Receive Queue area, review the information in the following fields: Step 11 In the Ethernet Transmit Queue area, review the information in the following fields: Step 12 In the Completion Queue area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Completion Queue Count field
The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.
Enter an integer between 1 and 512.
Completion Queue Ring Size field
The number of descriptors in each completion queue.
This value cannot be changed.
Step 13 In the TCP Offload area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Enable TCP Segmentation Offload check box
If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.
If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.
Note This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).
Enable TCP Rx Offload Checksum Validation check box
If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.
If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.
Enable TCP Tx Offload Checksum Generation check box
If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.
If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.
Enable Large Receive check box
If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.
If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.
Step 14 In the Receive Side Scaling area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Enable TCP Receive Side Scaling check box
Receive Side Scaling (RSS) distributes network receive processing across multiple CPUs in multiprocessor systems.
If checked, network receive processing is shared across processors whenever possible.
If cleared, network receive processing is always handled by a single processor even if additional processors are available.
Enable IPv4 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv4 networks.
Enable TCP-IPv4 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv4 networks.
Enable IPv6 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv6 networks.
Enable TCP-IPv6 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.
Enable IPv6 Extension RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for IPv6 extensions.
Enable TCP-IPv6 Extension RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.
Modifying vNIC Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table. Step 7 Click Properties to open the vNIC Properties dialog box. Step 8 In the General area, update the following fields:
Name Description Name field
The name for the virtual NIC.
This name cannot be changed after the vNIC has been created.
MTU field
The maximum transmission unit, or packet size, that this vNIC accepts.
Enter an integer between 1500 and 9000.
Uplink Port drop-down list
The uplink port associated with this vNIC. All traffic for this vNIC goes through this uplink port.
MAC Address field
The MAC address associated with the vNIC.
To let the adapter select an available MAC address from its internal pool, select Auto. To specify an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in the corresponding field.
Class of Service drop-down list
The class of service to associate with traffic from this vNIC.
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 VNTAG mode.
Trust Host CoS check box
Check this box if you want the vNIC to use the class of service provided by the host operating system.
PCI Order field
The order in which this vNIC 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.
Default VLAN field
If there is no default VLAN for this vNIC, click NONE. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094 in the field.
Note This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.
VLAN Mode drop-down list
If you want to use VLAN trunking, select TRUNK. Otherwise, select ACCESS.
Note This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.
Rate Limit field
If you want this vNIC to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a rate limit in the associated field.
Enter an integer between 1 and 10,000 Mbps.
Note This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.
Enable PXE Boot check box
Check this box if the vNIC can be used to perform a PXE boot.
Channel Number field
Select the channel number that will be assigned to this vNIC.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Port Profile drop-down list
Select the port profile that should be associated with the vNIC.
This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this server is connected.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Enable Uplink Failover check box
Check this box if traffic on this vNIC should fail over to the secondary interface if there are communication problems.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Failback Timeout field
After a vNIC has started using its secondary interface, this setting controls how long the primary interface must be available before the system resumes using the primary interface for the vNIC.
Enter a number of seconds between 0 and 600.
Note VNTAG mode is required for this option.
Step 9 In the Ethernet Interrupt area, update the following fields:
Name Description Interrupt Count field
The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.
Enter an integer between 1 and 514.
Coalescing Time field
The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.
Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.
Coalescing Type drop-down list
This can be one of the following:
Interrupt Mode drop-down list
The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:
Step 10 In the Ethernet Receive Queue area, update the following fields: Step 11 In the Ethernet Transmit Queue area, update the following fields: Step 12 In the Completion Queue area, update the following fields:
Name Description Completion Queue Count field
The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.
Enter an integer between 1 and 512.
Completion Queue Ring Size field
The number of descriptors in each completion queue.
This value cannot be changed.
Step 13 In the TCP Offload area, update the following fields:
Name Description Enable TCP Segmentation Offload check box
If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.
If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.
Note This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).
Enable TCP Rx Offload Checksum Validation check box
If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.
If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.
Enable TCP Tx Offload Checksum Generation check box
If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.
If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.
Enable Large Receive check box
If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.
If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.
Step 14 In the Receive Side Scaling area, update the following fields:
Name Description Enable TCP Receive Side Scaling check box
Receive Side Scaling (RSS) distributes network receive processing across multiple CPUs in multiprocessor systems.
If checked, network receive processing is shared across processors whenever possible.
If cleared, network receive processing is always handled by a single processor even if additional processors are available.
Enable IPv4 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv4 networks.
Enable TCP-IPv4 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv4 networks.
Enable IPv6 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv6 networks.
Enable TCP-IPv6 RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.
Enable IPv6 Extension RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for IPv6 extensions.
Enable TCP-IPv6 Extension RSS check box
If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.
Step 15 Click Save Changes.
Creating a vNIC
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, choose one of these actions:
- To create a vNIC using default configuration settings, click Add.
- To create a vNIC using the same configuration settings as an existing vNIC, select that vNIC and click Clone.
The Add vNIC dialog box appears.
Step 7 In the Add vNIC dialog box, enter a name for the vNIC in the Name entry box. Step 8 (Optional)In the Add vNIC dialog box, enter a channel number for the vNIC in the Channel Number entry box.
Note If NIV is enabled on the adapter, you must assign a channel number for the vNIC when you create it.
Step 9 Click Add vNIC.
What to Do Next
If configuration changes are required, configure the new vNIC as described in Modifying vNIC Properties.
Deleting a vNIC
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table.
Note You cannot delete either of the two default vNICs, eth0 or eth1. Step 7 Click Delete and click OK to confirm.
Managing Cisco usNIC
Overview of Cisco usNIC
The Cisco user-space NIC (Cisco usNIC) feature improves the performance of software applications that run on the Cisco UCS servers in your data center by bypassing the kernel when sending and receiving networking packets. The applications interact directly with a Cisco UCS VIC second generation adapter, such as the Cisco UCS VIC-1280, which improves the networking performance of your high-performance computing cluster. To benefit from Cisco usNIC, your applications must use the Message Passing Interface (MPI) instead of sockets or other communication APIs.
Cisco usNIC offers the following benefits for your MPI applications:
- Provides a low-latency and high-throughput communication transport.
- Employs the standard and application-independent Ethernet protocol.
Standard Ethernet applications use user-space socket libraries, which invoke the networking stack in the Linux kernel. The networking stack then uses the Cisco eNIC driver to communicate with the Cisco VIC hardware. The following figure shows the contrast between a regular software application and an MPI application that uses usNIC.
Configuring Cisco usNIC Using the CIMC GUI
Before You BeginProcedureYou must log in to the CIMC GUI with administrator privileges to perform this task.
Step 1 Log into the CIMC GUI. For more information about how to log into CIMC, see the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Integrated Management Controller GUI Configuration Guide available at this URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10739/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.html .
Step 2 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 3 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 4 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 5 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.
Step 6 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 7 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table.
Note For each vNIC that you want to configure as a usNIC, select the vNIC entry from the table and specify its properties as explained in steps 9 through step 18. Step 8 Click usNIC to open the usNIC Properties dialog box. Step 9 In the usNICs property, specify the number of Cisco usNICs that you want to create. Each MPI process that is running on the server requires a dedicated usNIC. You might need to create up to 64 usNICs to sustain 64 MPI processes running simultaneously. We recommend that you create at least as many usNICs, per usNIC-enabled vNIC, as the number of physical cores on your server. For example, if you have 8 physical cores on your server, create 8 usNICs.
Step 10 In the Properties area, update the following fields:
Field Name Description Transmit Queue Count
The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.
MPI will use 2 transmit queues per process. Therefore, Cisco recommends that you set this value to 2.
Receive Queue Count
The number of receive queue resources to allocate.
MPI will use 2 receive queues per process. Therefore, Cisco recommends that you set this value to 2.
Completion Queue Count
The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.
Cisco recommends that you set this value to 4.
Step 11 Click Apply. Step 12 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 13 On the Server tab, click BIOS. Step 14 In the Actions area, click Configure BIOS. Step 15 In the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box, click the Advanced tab. Step 16 In the Processor Configuration area, set the following properties to Enabled: Step 17 Click Save Changes. The changes take effect upon the next server reboot.
Viewing usNIC Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interface area, select the usNIC that is assigned to vNIC, to open the usNIC properties dialog box. Step 7 In the usNIC area, review or update the information in the following fields:
Name Description Name
The name for the vNIC that is the parent of the usNIC.
Note This field is read-only.
usNIC field
The number of usNICs assigned to the specific vNIC.
Enter an integer between 0 and 225.
To assign additional usNICs to a specified vNIC, enter value higher than the existing value.
To delete usNICs from a specified vNIC, enter value smaller than the existing value.
To delete all the usNICs assigned to a vNIC, enter zero.
Step 8 In the Properties area, review or update the information in the following fields:
Name Description Transmit Queue Count field
The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.
Enter an integer between 1 and 256.
Receive Queue Count field
The number of receive queue resources to allocate.
Enter an integer between 1 and 256.
Completion Queue Count field
The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.
Enter an integer between 1 and 512.
Transmit Queue Ring Size field
The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.
Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.
Receive Queue Ring Size field
The number of descriptors in each receive queue.
Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.
Interrupt Count field
The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.
Enter an integer between 1 and 514.
Interrupt Coalescing Type drop-down list
This can be one of the following:
Interrupt Coalescing Timer Time field
The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.
Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.
Class of Service field
The class of service to associate with traffic from this usNIC.
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 VNTAG mode.
TCP Segment Offload check box
If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.
If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.
Note This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).
Large Receive check box
If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.
If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.
TCP Tx Checksum check box
If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.
If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.
TCP Rx Checksum check box
If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.
If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.
Name Description Apply button
Applies changes to all the usNICs associated with the vNIC device.
Reset values button
Restores the values for the usNIC to the settings that were in effect when this dialog box was first opened.
Cancel button
Closes the dialog box without making any changes.
Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability
Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability for vNICs
When the rack-servers are configured in a standalone mode, and when the VIC adapters are directly attached to the Nexus 5000 family of switches, you can configure these VIC adapters to boot the servers remotely from iSCSI storage targets. You can configure Ethernet vNICs to enable a rack server to load the host OS image from remote iSCSI target devices.
To configure the iSCSI boot capability on a vNIC:
- You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
- To configure a vNIC to boot a server remotely from an iSCSI storage target, you must enable the PXE boot option on the vNIC.
NoteYou can configure a maximum of 2 iSCSI vNICs for each host.
Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability on a vNIC
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table, and click iSCSI Boot. Step 7 In the General Area, update the following fields:
Name Description Name field
The name of the vNIC.
DHCP Network check box
Whether DHCP Network is enabled for the vNIC.
If enabled, the initiator network configuration is obtained from the DHCP server.
DHCP iSCSI check box
Whether DHCP iSCSI is enabled for the vNIC. If enabled and the DHCP ID is set, the initiator IQN and target information are obtained from the DHCP server.
Note If DHCP iSCSI is enabled without a DHCP ID, only the target information is obtained.
DHCP ID field
The vendor identifier string used by the adapter to obtain the initiator IQN and target information from the DHCP server.
Enter a string up to 64 characters.
DHCP Timeout field
The number of seconds to wait before the initiator assumes that the DHCP server is unavailable.
Enter an integer between 60 and 300 (default: 60 seconds)
Link Timeout field
The number of seconds to wait before the initiator assumes that the link is unavailable.
Enter an integer between 0 and 255 (default: 15 seconds)
LUN Busy Retry Count field
The number of times to retry the connection in case of a failure during iSCSI LUN discovery.
IP Version field
The IP version to use during iSCSI boot.
Step 8 In the Initiator Area, update the following fields:
Name Description Name field
A regular expression that defines the name of the iSCSI initiator.
You can enter any alphanumeric string as well as the following special characters:
Note The name is in the IQN format.
IP Address field
The IP address of the iSCSI initiator.
Subnet Mask field
The subnet mask for the iSCSI initiator.
Gateway field
The default gateway.
Primary DNS field
The primary DNS server address.
Secondary DNS field
The secondary DNS server address.
TCP Timeout field
The number of seconds to wait before the initiator assumes that TCP is unavailable.
Enter an integer between 0 and 255 (default: 15 seconds)
CHAP Name field
The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name of the initiator.
CHAP Secret field
The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) shared secret of the initiator.
Step 9 In the Primary Target Area, update the following fields:
Name Description Name field
The name of the primary target in the IQN format.
IP Address field
The IP address of the target.
TCP Port field
The TCP port associated with the target.
Boot LUN field
The Boot LUN associated with the target.
CHAP Name field
The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name of the initiator.
CHAP Secret field
The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) shared secret of the initiator.
Step 10 In the Secondary Target Area, update the following fields:
Name Description Name field
The name of the secondary target in the IQN format.
IP Address field
The IP address of the target.
TCP Port field
The TCP port associated with the target.
Boot LUN field
The Boot LUN associated with the target.
CHAP Name field
The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name of the initiator.
CHAP Secret field
The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) shared secret of the initiator.
Name Description Configure ISCSI button
Configures iSCSI boot on the selected vNIC.
Unconfigure ISCSI button
Removes the configuration from the selected vNIC.
Reset Values button
Restores the values for the vNIC to the settings that were in effect when this dialog box was first opened.
Cancel button
Closes the dialog box without making any changes.
Step 11 Click Configure ISCSI.
Removing iSCSI Boot Configuration from a vNIC
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the vNICs tab. Step 6 In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table, and click iSCSI Boot. Step 7 In the dialog box that appears, click Unconfigure ISCSI.
Managing VM FEX
Virtual Machine Fabric Extender
Cisco Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM FEX) extends the (prestandard) IEEE 802.1Qbh port extender architecture to virtual machines. In this architecture, each VM interface is provided with a virtual Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) device and a virtual port on a switch.
Viewing Virtual FEX Properties
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the VM FEXs tab. Step 6 In the Virtual FEXs area, review the following information:
Name Description Properties button
Opens a dialog box that allows you to view the properties for the selected VM FEX.
Name column
The name of the VM FEX.
MTU column
The maximum transmission unit, or packet size, that this VM FEX accepts.
CoS column
If enabled, the VM FEX uses the class of service provided by the host operating system.
VLAN column
The VLAN associated with the VM FEX.
VLAN Mode column
The mode for the associated VLAN.
Uplink Failover column
If VNTAG mode is enabled for the adapter, this column displays whether traffic on this VM FEX will fail over to a secondary interface if the primary interface fails.
Step 7 In the Virtual FEXs area, select a VM FEX from the table. Step 8 Click Properties to open the VM FEX Properties dialog box for the selected VM FEX. Step 9 In the General Properties area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Name field
The name of the VM FEX.
MTU field
The maximum transmission unit, or packet size, that this VM FEX accepts.
Trust Host CoS field
If enabled, the VM FEX uses the class of service provided by the host operating system.
PCI Order field
The order in which this VM FEX will be used, if any.
Default VLAN field
The VLAN associated with the VM FEX.
Rate Limit field
The data rate limit associated with this VM FEX, if any.
PXE Boot field
Whether PXE boot is enabled or disabled for this VM FEX.
Step 10 In the Ethernet Interrupt area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Interrupt Count field
The number of interrupt resources allocated to this VM FEX.
Coalescing Time field
The time CIMC waits between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.
Coalescing Type field
This can be one of the following:
Interrupt Mode field
The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:
Step 11 In the Ethernet Receive Queue area, review the information in the following fields: Step 12 In the Ethernet Transmit Queue area, review the information in the following fields: Step 13 In the Completion Queue area, review the information in the following fields: Step 14 In the TCP Offload area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Enable TCP Segmentation Offload field
If enabled, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. If disabled, the CPU segments large packets.
Note This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).
Enable TCP Rx Offload Checksum Validation field
If enabled, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. If disabled, the CPU validates all packet checksums.
Enable TCP Tx Offload Checksum Generation field
If enabled, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. If disabled, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.
Enable Large Receive field
If enabled, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. If disabled, the CPU processes all large packets.
Step 15 In the Receive Side Scaling area, review the information in the following fields:
Name Description Enable TCP Receive Side Scaling field
Receive Side Scaling (RSS) distributes network receive processing across multiple CPUs in multiprocessor systems.
If enabled, network receive processing is shared across processors whenever possible. If disabled, network receive processing is always handled by a single processor even if additional processors are available.
Enable IPv4 RSS field
If enabled, RSS is enabled on IPv4 networks.
Enable TCP-IPv4 RSS field
If enabled, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv4 networks.
Enable IPv6 RSS field
If enabled, RSS is enabled on IPv6 networks.
Enable TCP-IPv6 RSS field
If enabled, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.
Enable IPv6 Extension RSS field
If enabled, RSS is enabled for IPv6 extensions.
Enable TCP-IPv6 Extension RSS field
If enabled, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.
Managing Storage Adapters
Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Actions area, click Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives. The Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives dialog box displays.
Step 5 In the Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives dialog box, select the RAID level for the new virtual drives: This can be one of the following:
Step 6 In the Create Drive Groups area, choose one or more physical drives to include in the group. Use the >> button to add the drives to the Drive Groups table. Use the << button to remove physical drives from the drive group.
Note The size of the smallest physical drive in the drive group defines the maximum size used for all the physical drives. To ensure maximum use of space for all physical drives, it is recommended that the size of all the drives in the drive group are similar.
Step 7 In the Virtual Drive Properties area, update the following properties:
Name Description Name field
The name of the new virtual drive you want to create.
Read Policy drop-down list
The read-ahead cache mode.
This value cannot be changed.
Cache Policy drop-down list
The cache policy used for buffering reads.
This value cannot be changed.
Strip Size drop-down list
The size of each strip, in KB.
This value cannot be changed.
Write Policy drop-down list
This can be one of the following
- Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.
- Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.
- Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.
Size field
The size of the virtual drive you want to create. Enter a value and select one of the following units:
Step 8 Click Create Virtual Drive.
Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Drive Group
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab. Step 4 In the Actions area, click Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group. The Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group dialog box displays.
Step 5 In the Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group dialog box, select the virtual drive whose drive group you want to use to create a new virtual drive. Step 6 In the Virtual Drive Properties area, update the following properties:
Name Description Name field
The name of the new virtual drive you want to create.
Read Policy drop-down list
The read-ahead cache mode.
This value cannot be changed.
Cache Policy drop-down list
The cache policy used for buffering reads.
This value cannot be changed.
Strip Size drop-down list
The size of each strip, in KB.
This value cannot be changed.
Write Policy drop-down list
This can be one of the following
- Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.
- Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.
- Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.
Size field
The size of the virtual drive you want to create. Enter a value and select one of the following units:
Step 7 Click Create Virtual Drive.
Clearing Foreign Configuration
Preparing a Drive for Removal
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to remove. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Prepare for Removal. Step 6 Click OK to confirm.
Undo Preparing a Drive for Removal
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Physical Drives area, select a drive with a status of Ready to Remove. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Undo Prepare for Removal. Step 6 Click OK to confirm.
Making a Dedicated Hot Spare
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Physical Drives area, select the physical drive you want to make a dedicated hot spare. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Make Dedicated Hot Spare. The Make Dedicated Hot Spare dialog box displays.
Step 6 In the Virtual Drive Details area, update the following properties: Step 7 Click Make Dedicated Hot Spare to confirm.
Making a Global Hot Spare
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Physical Drives area, select the physical drive you want to make a global hot spare. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Make Global Hot Spare.
Removing a Drive from Hot Spare Pools
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Physical Drives area, select the global or dedicated hot spare you want to remove from the hot spare pools. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Remove From Hot Spare Pools.
Initializing a Virtual Drive
ProcedureAll data on a virtual drive is lost when you initialize the drive. Before you run an initialization, back up any data on the virtual drive that you want to save.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive that you want to initialize. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Initialize. The Initialize Virtual Drive dialog box displays.
Step 6 Choose the type of initialization you want to use for the virtual drive. This can be one of the following:
Step 7 Click Initialize VD to initialize the drive, or Cancel to close the dialog box without making any changes. Step 8 To view the status of the task running on the drive, in the Operations area, click Refresh. The following details are displayed:
Set as Boot Drive
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive from which the controller must boot. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Set as Boot Drive. Step 6 Click OK to confirm.
Deleting a Virtual Drive
ProcedureImportant:This task deletes a virtual drive, including the drives that run the booted operating system. So back up any data that you want to retain before you delete a virtual drive.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab. Step 4 In the Virtual Drives area, select the virtual drive you want to delete. Step 5 In the Actions area, click Delete Virtual Drive. Step 6 Click OK to confirm.
Enabling Auto Learn Cycle for a Battery Backup Unit
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Battery Backup Unit tab. Step 4 From the Actions pane, click Enable Auto Learn Mode. A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.
Step 5 Click OK.
Disabling Auto Learn Cycle for a Battery Backup Unit
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Battery Backup Unit tab. Step 4 From the Actions pane, click Disable Auto Learn Mode. A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.
Step 5 Click OK.
Starting Learn Cycles for a Battery Backup Unit
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab. Step 2 On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller. Step 3 On the Work pane, click the Battery Backup Unit tab. Step 4 From the Actions pane, click Start Learn Cycle. A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.
Step 5 Click OK.
Backing Up and Restoring the Adapter Configuration
Exporting the Adapter Configuration
ProcedureThe adapter configuration can be exported as an XML file to a remote server which can be one of the following:
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Export Configuration. The Export Adapter Configuration dialog box opens.
Step 7 In the Export Adapter Configuration dialog box, update the following fields:
Name Description Export to drop-down list
The remote server type. This can be one of the following:
Server IP/Hostname field
The IP address or hostname of the server to which the adapter configuration file will be exported. Depending on the setting in the Export to drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.
Path and Filename field
The path and filename CIMC should use when exporting the file to the remote server.
Username
The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.
Password
The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.
Step 8 Click Export Configuration.
Importing the Adapter Configuration
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Import Configuration. The Import Adapter Configuration dialog box opens.
Step 7 In the Import Adapter Configuration dialog box, update the following fields:
Name Description Import from drop-down list
The remote server type. This can be one of the following:
Server IP/Hostname field
The IP address or hostname of the server on which the adapter configuration file resides. Depending on the setting in the Import from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.
Path and Filename field
The path and filename of the configuration file on the remote server.
Username
The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.
Password
The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.
Step 8 Click Import Configuration. The adapter downloads the configuration file from the specified path on the TFTP server at the specified IP address. The configuration will be installed during the next server reboot.
What to Do Next
Reboot the server to apply the imported configuration.
Restoring Adapter Defaults
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Reset To Defaults and click OK to confirm.
Managing Adapter Firmware
Adapter Firmware
A Cisco UCS C-Series network adapter contains the following firmware components:
- Adapter firmware—The main operating firmware, consisting of an active and a backup image, can be installed from the CIMC GUI or CLI interface or from the Host Upgrade Utility (HUU). You can upload a firmware image from either a local file system or a TFTP server.
- Bootloader firmware—The bootloader firmware cannot be installed from the CIMC GUI or CLI. You can install this firmware using the Host Upgrade Utility.
Installing Adapter Firmware From a Local File
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Install Firmware to open the Install Adapter Firmware dialog box. Step 7 In the Install Adapter Firmware dialog box, select Install from local file, then click Next. Step 8 Click Browse... and locate the adapter firmware file. Step 9 Click Install Firmware.
What to Do Next
To activate the new firmware, see Activating Adapter Firmware.
Installing Adapter Firmware From a Remote Server
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Install Firmware to open the Install Adapter Firmware dialog box. Step 7 In the Install Adapter Firmware dialog box, select Install from Remote Server, then click Next. Step 8 In the Install Adapter Firmware dialog box, update the following fields:
Name Description Install from drop-down list
The remote server type. This can be one of the following:
Server IP/Hostname field
The IP address or hostname of the server on which the adapter configuration file resides. Depending on the setting in the Install from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.
Path and Filename field
The path and filename of the configuration file on the remote server.
Username
The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.
Password
The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.
Back button
Click this button if you want to specify a local path for the firmware package.
Install Firmware button
Click this button to install the selected firmware package in the adapter's backup memory slot.
Close button
Click this button to close the wizard without making any changes to the firmware versions stored on the server.
Step 9 Click Install Firmware.
What to Do Next
To activate the new firmware, see Activating Adapter Firmware.
Activating Adapter Firmware
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Activate Firmware to open the Activate Adapter Firmware dialog box. Step 7 In the Activate Adapter Firmware dialog box, select the image to run the next time the firmware starts up. Step 8 Click Activate Adapter Firmware.
Resetting the Adapter
Procedure
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab. Step 2 On the Server tab, click Inventory. Step 3 In the Inventory pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab. Step 4 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.
Step 5 In the tabbed menu below the Adapter Cards area, click the General tab. Step 6 In the Actions area of the General tab, click Reset and click Yes to confirm.
Note Resetting the adapter also resets the host.
