QLogic OFED+ Host Software User Guide, Rev. B

C
VirtualNIC Interface
Configuration and
Administration
VirtualNIC Interface Configuration and
Administration
The VirtualNIC (VNIC) Upper Layer Protocol (ULP) works in conjunction with
firmware running on Virtual Input/Output (VIO) hardware such as the QLogic
Ethernet Virtual I/O Controller (EVIC) or the InfiniBand/Ethernet Bridge Module
for IBM ® BladeCenter ® , providing virtual Ethernet connectivity.
The VNIC driver, along with QLogic EVIC’s two 10 Gigabit ethernet ports, enables
Infiniband clusters to connect to Ethernet networks. This driver also works with the
earlier version of the I/O controller, the VEx.
The QLogic VNIC driver creates virtual Ethernet interfaces and tunnels the
Ethernet data to/from the EVIC over InfiniBand using an InfiniBand reliable
connection.
The virtual Ethernet interface supports any Ethernet protocol. It operates like any
other interface: ping, ssh, scp, netperf, etc.
The VNIC interface must be configured before it can be used. Perform the steps in
the following sub-sections to set up and configure the VNIC interface:
Getting Information about Ethernet IOCs on the Fabric
When ib_qlgc_vnic_query is executed without any options, it displays detailed
information about all Virtual I/O IOCs present on the fabric including the EVIC/VEx
Input/Output Controllers (IOCs) present on the fabric.
For writing the configuration file, you will need information about the EVIC/VEx
IOCs present on the fabric, such as their IOCGUID, IOCSTRING, etc.
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