Network Pools

MAC Pools

A MAC pool is a collection of network identities or MAC addresses that are unique in their layer 2 environment and are available to be assigned to vNICs on a server. MAC pools created in Cisco UCS Central can be shared between Cisco UCS domains. If you use MAC pools in service profiles, you do not have to manually configure the MAC addresses to be used by the server associated with the service profile.

In a system that implements multi-tenancy, you can use the organizational hierarchy to ensure that MAC pools can only be used by specific applications or business services. Cisco UCS Central uses the name resolution policy to assign MAC addresses from the pool.

To assign a MAC address to a server, you must include the MAC pool in a vNIC policy. The vNIC policy is then included in the service profile assigned to that server.

You can specify your own MAC addresses or use a group of MAC addresses provided by Cisco.

Creating and Editing a MAC Pool

After creating a MAC pool you can edit it by selecting the Edit icon on the overall summary page of the selected MAC pool. To select a MAC pool, go to All Pools page and select the MAC pool that you want to edit. The page redirects you to the overall summary page of the selected MAC pool.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Actions bar, type Create MAC Pool and press Enter.

This launches the Create MAC Pool dialog box.

Step 2

In Basic, complete the following:

  1. From the Organization drop-down list, select an organization or a sub-organization in which you want to create or access a MAC pool.

  2. Enter name and description of the pool.

Step 3

In MAC Blocks, complete the following:

  1. Click the Plus icon to create a block of MAC addresses.

  2. In the MAC Block Start column, enter the first MAC address in the block.

  3. In the Size column, enter the number of MAC addresses in the block.

  4. Click the Apply icon.

    Additional fields related to the MAC pools are displayed.

  5. In MAC Addresses, you can view a graphical representation of the number if MAC addresses in the pool, the number of assigned MAC addresses, duplicate MAC addresses, and MAC summary.

  6. In Access Control, select the ID range access control policy to apply to this block. If you do not have a policy, you can create one by typing Create ID Range Access Control Policy in the task bar.

Step 4

Click Create.

What to do next

Include the MAC pool in a vNIC template.

Deleting a Pool

If you delete a pool, Cisco UCS Central does not reallocate any addresses from that pool that have been assigned to vNICs or vHBAs in Cisco UCS Manager. All assigned addresses from a deleted pool remain with the vNIC or vHBA to which they are assigned until one of the following occurs:

  • The associated service profiles are deleted.

  • The vNIC or vHBA to which the address is assigned is deleted.

  • The vNIC or vHBA is assigned to a different pool.

Procedure

Step 1

Click the Browse Tables icon and choose Pools.

Step 2

In the Pool Name column, locate the pool that you want to delete.

You can search for the pool in one of the following ways:

  • Browse through the list of pools.

  • Click the Search icon and enter the pool name.

  • Select a pool type from the Filters column.

Step 3

Click the pool.

This launches the overall summary page of the selected pool.

Step 4

Click the Delete icon.

If Cisco UCS Central displays a confirmation dialog box, click Delete.