Configuring a Shared Ethernet Adapter

Find instructions for configuring Shared Ethernet Adapters.

Before you can configure a Shared Ethernet Adapter, you must first create the adapter using the Hardware Management Console (HMC). For instructions, see Creating a virtual Ethernet adapter using HMC version 7.

To configure a Shared Ethernet Adapter using the HMC, version 7 release 3.4.2 or later, see Creating a shared Ethernet adapter for a Virtual I/O Server logical partition using the Hardware Management Console .

To configure a Shared Ethernet Adapter using versions prior to the HMC, version 7 release 3.4.2, complete the following steps from the Virtual I/O Server command-line interface:

Verify that the virtual Ethernet trunk adapter is available by running the following command:
```
lsdev -virtual
```
Identify the appropriate physical Ethernet adapter that will be used to create the Shared Ethernet Adapter by running the following command:
```
lsdev -type adapter
```
Notes:
- Ensure that TCP/IP is not configured on the interface for the physical Ethernet adapter. If TCP/IP is configured, the mkvdev command in the next step fails.
- You can also use a Link Aggregation, or EtherChannel, device as the Shared Ethernet Adapter.
- If you plan to use the Host Ethernet Adapter or Integrated Virtual Ethernet with the Shared Ethernet Adapter, ensure that you use the Logical Host Ethernet Adapter to create the Shared Ethernet Adapter.
Configure the Shared Ethernet Adapter by running the following command:
```
mkvdev -sea target_device -vadapter virtual_ethernet_adapters \
-default DefaultVirtualEthernetAdapter -defaultid SEADefaultPVID
```
Where:
target_device

The physical adapter being used as part of the Shared Ethernet Adapter device.

virtual_ethernet_adapters

The virtual Ethernet adapter or adapters that will use the Shared Ethernet Adapter.

DefaultVirtualEthernetAdapter

The default virtual Ethernet adapter used to handle untagged packets. If you have only one virtual Ethernet adapter for this logical partition, use it as the default.

SEADefaultPVID

The PVID associated with your default virtual Ethernet adapter.

For example, to create Shared Ethernet Adapter ent3 with ent0 as the physical Ethernet adapter (or Link Aggregation) and ent2 as the only virtual Ethernet adapter (defined with a PVID of 1), type the following command:
```
mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1
```
Verify that the Shared Ethernet Adapter was created by running the following command:
```
lsdev -virtual
```
Do you plan to access the Virtual I/O Server from the network with the physical device used to create the Shared Ethernet Adapter?
- Yes: Go to step 6.
- No: You are finished with this procedure and do not need to complete the remaining steps.
Do you plan to set bandwidth apportioning by defining a Quality of Service (QoS)?
- Yes: Go to step 11 to enable the Shared Ethernet Adapter device to prioritize traffic.
- No: Go to step 9 to configure a TCP/IP connection.
Do you plan to define IP addresses on any VLANs other than the VLAN specified by the PVID of the Shared Ethernet Adapter?
- Yes: Go to step 8 to create VLAN pseudo-devices.
- No: Go to step 9 to configure a TCP/IP connection.
To configure VLAN pseudo-devices, complete the following steps:
1. Create a VLAN pseudo-device on the Shared Ethernet Adapter by running the following command:
```
mkvdev -vlan TargetAdapter -tagid TagID
```
  Where:
  - TargetAdapter is the Shared Ethernet Adapter.
  - TagID is the VLAN ID that you defined when creating the virtual Ethernet adapter associated with the Shared Ethernet Adapter.
  For example, to create a VLAN pseudo-device using the Shared Ethernet Adapter ent3 that you just created with a VLAN ID of 1, type the following command:
```
mkvdev -vlan ent3 -tagid 1
```
2. Verify that the VLAN pseudo-device was created by running the following command:
```
lsdev -virtual
```
3. Repeat this step for any additional VLAN pseudo-devices that you need.
Run the following command to configure the first TCP/IP connection. The first connection must be on the same VLAN and logical subnet as the default gateway.
```
mktcpip -hostname Hostname -inetaddr Address -interface Interface -netmask \
SubnetMask -gateway Gateway -nsrvaddr NameServerAddress -nsrvdomain Domain
```
Where:
- Hostname is the host name of the Virtual I/O Server
- Address is the IP address you want to use for the TCP/IP connection
- Interface is the interface associated with either the Shared Ethernet Adapter device or a VLAN pseudo-device. For example, if the Shared Ethernet Adapter device is ent3, the associated interface is en3.
- Subnetmask is the subnet mask address for your subnet.
- Gateway is the gateway address for your subnet.
- NameServerAddress is the address of your domain name server.
- Domain is the name of your domain.
If you do not have additional VLANs, then you are finished with this procedure and do not need to complete the remaining step.
Run the following command to configure additional TCP/IP connections:
```
chdev -dev interface -perm -attr netaddr=IPaddress -attr netmask=netmask 
-attr state=up
```
When using this command, enter the interface (enX) associated with either the Shared Ethernet Adapter device or VLAN pseudo-device.
Enable the Shared Ethernet Adapter device to prioritize traffic. Client logical partitions must insert a VLAN priority value in their VLAN header. For AIX® clients, a VLAN pseudo-device must be created over the Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter, and the VLAN priority attribute must be set (the default value is 0). Do the following steps to enable traffic prioritization on an AIX client:
1. Set the Shared Ethernet Adapter qos_mode attribute to either strict or loose mode. Use one of the following commands: chdev -dev <SEA device name> -attr qos_mode=strict or chdev -dev <SEA device name> -attr qos_mode=loose. For more information about the modes, see Shared Ethernet Adapter.
2. From the HMC, create a Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter for the AIX client with all of the tagged VLANs that are required (specified in the Additional VLAN ID list). Packets sent over the default VLAN ID (specified in the Adapter ID or Virtual LAN ID field) will not be tagged as VLAN; therefore, a VLAN priority value cannot be assigned to them.
3. On the AIX client, run the smitty vlan command.
4. Select Add a VLAN.
5. Select the name of the Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter created in step 1.
6. In the VLAN Tag ID attribute, specify one of the tagged VLANs that are configured on the Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter that you created in step 1.
7. Specify an attribute value (0 - 7) in the VLAN Priority attribute, which corresponds to the importance the VIOS should give to the traffic sent over that VLAN pseudo-device.
8. Configure the interface over the VLAN pseudo-device created in step 6.
Traffic sent over the interface created in step 7 will be tagged as VLAN and its VLAN header will have the VLAN priority value specified in step 6. When this traffic is bridged by a Shared Ethernet Adapter that has been enabled for bandwidth apportioning, the VLAN priority value is used to determine how quickly it should be sent in relation to other packets at different priorities.

The Shared Ethernet Adapter is now configured. After you configure the TCP/IP connections for the virtual adapters on the client logical partitions using the client logical partitions' operating systems, those logical partitions can communicate with the external network.