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Configuring the Ethernet settings

Use the information in this topic to view or change how the XClarity Controller communicates by way of an Ethernet connection.

The XClarity Controller uses two network controllers. One network controller is connected to the dedicated management port and the other network controller is connected to the shared port. Each of the network controllers is assigned its own burned in MAC address. If DHCP is being used to assign an IP address to the XClarity Controller, when a user switches between network ports or when a failover from the dedicated network port to the shared network port occurs, a different IP address may be assigned to the XClarity Controller by the DHCP server. It is recommended that when using DHCP, users should use the host name to access the XClarity Controller rather than relying on an IP address. Even if the XClarity Controller network ports are not changed, the DHCP server could possibly assign a different IP address to the XClarity Controller when the DHCP lease expires, or when the XClarity Controller reboots. If a user needs to access the XClarity Controller using an IP address that will not change, the XClarity Controller should be configured for a static IP address rather than DHCP.

Click Network under BMC Configuration to modify XClarity Controller Ethernet settings.

Configuring the XClarity Controller Host Name​

The default XClarity Controller host name is generated using a combination of the string “XCC-“ followed by the server machine type and server serial number (for example. “XCC-7X03-1234567890”). You can change the XClarity Controller host name by entering up to a maximum of 63 characters in this field. The host name must not include a period (.) and can contain only alphabet, numeric, hyphen and underscore characters.

Ethernet Ports​

This setting controls the enablement of Ethernet ports used by management controller, including the shared and dedicated ports.

Once disabled, all Ethernet ports will not be assigned any IPv4 or IPv6 addresses, and prevents any further changes to any Ethernet configurations.

Note
This setting does not affect the USBLAN interface or the USB management port at the front of the server. Those interfaces have their own dedicated enablement settings.

Configuring IPv4 network settings​

To use an IPv4 Ethernet connection, complete the following steps:
  1. Enable the IPv4 option.
    Note
    Disabling the Ethernet interface prevents access to the XClarity Controller from the external network.
  2. From the Method field, select one of the following options:
    • Obtain IP from DHCP: The XClarity Controller will obtain its IPv4 address from a DHCP server.
    • Use static IP address: The XClarity Controller will use the user specified value for its IPv4 address.
    • First DHCP, then static IP address: The XClarity Controller will attempt to obtain its IPv4 address from a DHCP server, but if that attempt fails, the XClarity Controller will use user specified value for its IPv4 address.
  3. In the Static address field, type the IP address that you want to assign to the XClarity Controller.
    Note
    The IP address must contain four integers from 0 to 255 with no spaces and separated by periods. This field will not be configurable if the method is set to Obtain IP from DHCP.
  4. In the Network mask field, type the subnet mask that is used by the XClarity Controller.
    Note
    The subnet mask must contain four integers from 0 to 255 with no spaces or consecutive periods and separated by periods. The default setting is 255.255.255.0. This field will not be configurable if the method is set to Obtain IP from DHCP.
  5. In the Default Gateway field, type your network gateway router.
    Note
    The gateway address must contain four integers from 0 to 255 with no spaces or consecutive periods and separated by periods. This field will not be configurable if the method is set to Obtain IP from DHCP.

Configuring advanced Ethernet settings​

Click the Advanced Ethernet tab to set additional Ethernet settings.
Note
In a Flex System, the VLAN settings are managed by a Flex System CMM and cannot be modified on the XClarity Controller.

To enable Virtual LAN (VLAN) tagging select the Enable VLAN check box. When VLAN is enabled and a VLAN ID is configured, the XClarity Controller only accepts packets with the specified VLAN IDs. The VLAN IDs can be configured with numeric values between 1 and 4094.

From the MAC selection list choose one of the following selections:
  • Use burned in MAC address

    The Burned-in MAC address option is a unique physical address that is assigned to this XClarity Controller by the manufacturer. The address is a read-only field.

  • Use custom MAC address

    If a value is specified, the locally administered address overrides the burned-in MAC address. The locally administered address must be a hexadecimal value from 000000000000 through FFFFFFFFFFFF. This value must be in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx where x is a hexadecimal number from 0 to 9 or “a” through “f”. The XClarity Controller does not support the use of a multicast address. The first byte of a multicast address is an odd number (the least significant bit is set to 1); therefore, the first byte must be an even number.

In the Maximum transmission unit field, specify the maximum transmission unit of a packet (in bytes) for your network interface. The maximum transmission unit range is from 60 to 1500. The default value for this field is 1500.

To use an IPv6 Ethernet connection, complete the following steps:

Configuring IPv6 network settings​

  1. Enable the IPv6 option.
  2. Assign an IPv6 address to the interface using one of the following assignment methods:
    • Use stateless address autoconfiguration
    • Use stateful address configuration (DHCPv6)
    • Use statically assigned IP address
      Note
      When the Use statically assigned IP addres is chosen, you will be asked to type the following information:
      • IPv6 Address
      • Prefix length
      • Gateway