IBM eserver xSeries 440, User Manual

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Chapter 2. Configuring your server
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VLANs offer you the ability to group users and devices together into logical
workgroups. This can simplify network administration when connecting clients to
servers that are geographically dispersed across a building, campus, or enterprise
network.
Typically, VLANs are configured at the switch and any computer can be a member of
one VLAN per installed network adapter. Your Ethernet controller supersedes this by
communicating directly with the switch, enabling multiple VLANs on a single network
adapter (up to 64 VLANs).
To set up VLAN membership, your Ethernet controller must be attached to a switch
that has VLAN capability.
To join a VLAN from Microsoft Windows NT 4.0:
1. Create a VLAN on the switch. Use the parameters you assign there to join the
VLAN from the server. See your switch documentation for more information.
2. Double-click the Network icon in the Control Panel window.
3. On the Adapters page, select the adapter you want to be on the VLAN and click
Properties.
4. Select the Load Balance/Virtual LAN tab.
5. Type the VLAN ID and VLAN name. The VLAN ID must match the VLAN ID of the
switch. The ID range is from 1 to 1000. The VLAN name is for information only
and does not need to match the name on the switch.
6. Click OK. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each VLAN that you want the server to
join. The VLANs that you add are listed on the Configuration page.
7. Click Close and restart the computer.
Priority Packet mode:
Priority Packet is a traffic-prioritization utility that enables
you to set up filters to process high-priority traffic before normal traffic. You can send
information from critical nodes or applications with an indicated priority. Because you
set this priority at the host or entry point of the network, the network devices can base
forwarding decisions on priority information defined in the packet.
IEEE 802.1p is an IEEE standard for tagging, or adding additional bytes of information
to packets with different priority levels. Packets are tagged with 4 additional bytes,
which increase the packet size and indicate a priority level. When you send these
packets out on the network, the higher priority packets are transferred first. Priority
packet tagging (also known as Traffic Class Expediting) enables the Ethernet
controller to work with other elements of the network (such as switches and routers) to
deliver priority packets first. You can assign values to packets based on their priorities
when you use the IEEE 802.1p standard for packet tagging. This method requires a
network infrastructure that supports packet tagging. The routing devices receiving and
transferring these packets on your network must support 802.1p for tagging to be
effective.
To enable support for priority packets, you must go to the integrated Ethernet
controller Properties Advanced tab and enable the 802.1p QOS feature.