Networking for your service environment

Learn about the networking options for your service environment.

1. Verify the physical connection between the service processor and the HMC.

   The service processor is part of your platform hardware and monitors hardware attributes and conditions on your server. The service processor is controlled by server firmware (Licensed Internal Code) and does not require an operating system to perform its tasks. The connection to the service processor is recommended for all servers, whether or not you have logical partitions. This connection is represented in the following illustration:

   Figure 1. This diagram shows the Ethernet connection between your HMC and the service processor on your server.

   
   
   

2. Verify the physical connection between the HMC and the server (AIX^® and Linux^®).

   This connection allows your server to communicate with your HMC.

   How you set up this connection depends on your configuration:

   • If your server is in its manufacturing default configuration, you will make this connection when you set up your server.
   • If your server has multiple logical partitions, you must ensure that your HMC can communicate with each logical partition and that the logical partitions can communicate with each other. You will set up these connections as you create your logical partitions.
   You can use either of the following methods:

   Note: Both of the following networking methods require basic TCP/IP configuration on your logical partitions. For instructions on how to configure TCP/IP, see your operating system documentation.

   • Have an Ethernet adapter for one logical partition, most likely your service partition, and then use virtual Ethernet to enable the logical partitions to communicate with each other and with the HMC. This option is the preferred option because it requires that you have only one physical adapter in the system. The following illustration shows this configuration:
     Figure 2. This diagram shows the Virtual Ethernet connection between your logical partitions and the physical Ethernet connection between your service partition and the HMC.

     
     
     

   • Have a LAN adapter for each logical partition then have a physical connection between each logical partition and the HMC. This option requires that you have a router and a physical LAN adapter for each logical partition. The following illustration shows this configuration:
     Figure 3. This diagram shows physical Ethernet connections between your logical partitions and your HMC through a router.

     
     
     

3. Verify the physical connection from your site to service and support.
   This connection enables you to report hardware problems and other server information to service and support. It also enables you to install fixes. This connection is represented in the following illustration:

   Figure 4. This diagram shows the connection between service and support and a company that has a server and an HMC.