Scenario 1:5 – VLAN Tagging (802.1Q) with a Shared Uplink Set (SUS) with Link Aggregation using LACP (802.3ad) –
VMware ESX 70
Figure 1-62
Configuring NIC Port 1 with Multiple Networks, note PROD-A is not tagged, Note; that both NICs are configured
with the same settings below.
Note: the above graphic is an example of a how an ESX hypervisor might be configured for multiple
VLANs. In this case both NICs are configured for networks PROD-A though PROD-D which are mapped to
VLANs 101-104. Any frames received by Virtual Connect for this server will have their tags intact and
forward to the server NICs, therefore acting as a TRUNK port. This works well for a hypervisor
host/vSwitch that can be configured to interpret the tag. In addition, PROD-A is defined as the default
VLAN, therefore any frames received by VC for VLAN 101 will be forwarded to the server NIC, with the
tags removed. This would work well for the console NICs, so that the console does not need to be
configured to understand the VLAN tags. It we did not un-tag VLAN 101, then the ESX console would need
to be configured for this VLAN.
Summary
We created a Virtual Connect Shared Uplink Set (SUS) to support 4 VLANs (101-104). The SUS was
created with Active and standby uplinks, to provide both additional bandwidth and availability.
When VC profile ESX-1 is applied to the server in bay1 and is powered up, it has two NICs configured
for “Multiple Networks” which connects to the network infrastructure through two (active) 1Gb uplinks.
These NICs are configured to support LANs 101 through 104 with VLAN 101 configured as Default
(untagged), so the operating system does not need to understand which VLAN it is on.
As additional servers are added to the enclosure, simply create additional profiles, configure the NICs for
Multiple Networks and apply them to the appropriate server bays.
