This document describes the connectivity options that are available for VMware ESX and the Microsoft Windows Server Version 2008 or 2012 when you use the Cisco Virtual Interface Card (VIC) adapters on the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) C-Series rack servers.
Cisco recommends that you have knowledge of these topics:
The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:
The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, make sure that you understand the potential impact of any command.
This section provides general information about VIC switching.
The VIC card has only two ports that face externally. These are not seen by the Operating System (OS) that is installed on the server and are used in order to connect to the upstream switches. The VIC always tags packets with an 802.1p header. While the upstream switchport can be an access port, different switch platforms behave differently when a 802.1p packet is received without a VLAN tag. Therefore, Cisco recommends that you have the upstream switchport configured as a trunk port.
The Virtual Network Interface Cards (vNICs) that are created are presented to the OS that is installed on the server, which can be configured as an access port or trunk port. The access port removes the VLAN tag when it sends the packet to the OS. The trunk port sends the packet to the OS with the VLAN tag, so the OS on the server must have a trunking driver in order to understand it. The trunk port removes the VLAN tag only for the default VLAN.
This section describes the connectivity options that are available for VMware ESX.
These examples show the connectivity options that are available for upstream switch-independent teaming.
These examples show the connectivity options that are available for upstream switch-dependent teaming.
This section describes the connectivity options that are available for the Microsoft Windows Server Version 2008.
This section describes the connectivity options that are available for the Microsoft Windows Server Version 2012.
You can use either active-backup or active-active for upstream switch-independent teaming.
The load balancing method can be either Hyper-V Port or Address Hash.
The load balancing method can be either Hyper-V Port or Address Hash. The Hyper-V Port method is the preferred option because it load balances among the available interfaces. The Address Hash method usually chooses only one interface in order to transmit the packets from the server.
You can use either static or dynamic teaming for upstream switch-independent teaming.
The load balancing method can be either Hyper-V Port or Address Hash.
For dynamic teaming, or Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), the load balancing method can be either Hyper-V Port or Address Hash.
When Hyper-V is used, the teamed NIC can be used inside the Hyper-V virtual switch. You can use any of the teaming methods previously described.
This section describes the failure scenarios that you might encounter when switching is performed between two VMs on the same server and when two LACP teams are on the server-side.
If the source and destination are on the same host and if the packet must be switched by the upstream switch, then a failure occurs if the source and destination are connected to the same interface from the switch perspective.
There can be only one LACP team from the sever towards the upstream switch. If there are multiple teams on the server, it causes the LACP to flap on the upstream switch.
Here are the known caveats for the information in this document: