HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 10Gb Ethernet Module for c-Class BladeSystem - Manual (Page 79)

Network management 79
o Degraded indicates that additional stacking cables should be connected to provide full
redundancy.
The table on this screen lists all of the Ethernet stacking links found within the Virtual Connect domain.
Each row of the table identifies the link speed and the connections on both sides of the link, identified by
the module and port number.
Port X0 indicates the 10Gb port connected through the midplane of horizontally-adjacent VC-Enet
modules.
Ports X7 and X8 connect to the internal link between horizontally-adjacent Flex-10 enabled VC-Enet
modules.
NOTE: Virtual Connect does not support stacking for FC modules, so each VC-FC module
requires uplink connections to the external FC SAN environment.
For additional information on connecting stacking links, and stacking links in a multi-enclosure
environment, see the HP Virtual Connect for c-Class BladeSystem Setup and Installation Guide.
Shared uplink sets and VLAN tagging
A shared uplink set is a way of identifying Virtual Connect Ethernet module uplinks that will carry multiple
networks over the same cable. In this case, each Ethernet packet carries a VLAN tag (IEEE 802.1Q) to
identify the specific network to which it belongs. On shared uplinks, the VLAN tags are added when
packets leave the VC-enabled enclosure and are removed when packets enter the enclosure. The external
Ethernet switch and the Virtual Connect Manager must be configured to use the same VLAN tag identifier
(a number between 1 and 4094) for each network on the shared uplink(s).
Virtual Connect places no special restrictions on which VLAN identifiers can be used, so the VLAN IDs
already used for the networks in the data center can be used on these shared uplinks. To configure a
shared uplink set for VLAN tagging, obtain a list of the network names and their VLAN IDs.
A shared uplink set enables multiple ports to be included to support port aggregation and link failover
with a consistent set of VLAN tags.
Because VLAN tags are added or removed when Ethernet packets leave or enter the VC-Enet shared
uplink, the VLAN tags have no relevance after the Ethernet packet enters the enclosure.
IMPORTANT: If you are deploying a server where VLAN tags will be used (added) on the
server itself, do not connect the server Ethernet port carrying VLAN-tagged traffic to a shared
uplink set.
Identifying an associated network as the native VLAN causes all untagged incoming Ethernet packets to
be placed onto this network. Only one associated network can be designated as the native VLAN. All out-
going Ethernet packets are VLAN tagged.
To enable native VLAN when defining a shared uplink set, select the box under Native. To enable or
disable native VLAN on an existing network, go to the Edit a Shared Uplink Set screen ("Edit Shared
Uplink Set screen" on page 83). Click on the edit icon, and then select or deselect the box under Native.
Define New Shared Uplink Set screen
To access this screen, click the Shared Uplink Sets link in the left VC Manager navigation window, and
then click Define Uplink Set, or select Define Uplink Set from the Define pull-down menu.