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How to Configure Network Settings on a Host by Applying a Logical Switch in VMM

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager

You can use the procedures in this topic to configure network adapters on Hyper-V hosts in System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or System Center 2012 R2, by applying a logical switch and port profiles to the adapters. Before you use the procedures, you must configure the logical switch and port profiles that you will apply. The network adapters that you configure can be physical network adapters or virtual network adapters on the hosts.

This topic describes one way of configuring network adapters on hosts, but there are other topics that describe different ways, as outlined in the following table:

If you have... And you want to... Follow steps in...
System Center 2012 SP1 or
System Center 2012 R2		 Assign the same logical networks and other network settings consistently to multiple network adapters across multiple hosts by using the VMM console This topic
System Center 2012 SP1 or
System Center 2012 R2		 Assign the same logical networks and other network settings consistently to multiple network adapters during bare-metal provisioning of hosts by using Windows PowerShell Bare Metal Deploy through VMM PowerShell (Part 1) 
 Bare Metal Deploy through VMM PowerShell (Part 2) 
 Hyper-V Host Network Settings through VMM PowerShell (Part 3) 
For background, see End-to-End Bare-Metal Provisioning with SCVMM 2012 SP1/R2
System Center 2012 Assign logical networks to a physical network adapter How to Configure Network Settings on a Hyper-V Host in VMM
System Center 2012 SP1 or
System Center 2012 R2		 Assign logical networks manually to each physical network adapter How to Configure Network Settings on a Hyper-V Host in VMM

Do the tasks in this topic in this order:

  1. Specify whether a network adapter is used for virtual machines, host management, neither, or both

  2. Configure network settings on a host by applying a logical switch

After you perform the procedures in this topic, as a best practice, review the procedures in How to View Host Network Adapter Settings and Increase Compliance with Logical Switch Settings in VMM.

Specify whether a network adapter is used for virtual machines, host management, neither, or both

Regardless of any port profiles and logical switches you are using in your network configuration, you must specify whether a network adapter in a host is used for virtual machines, host management, neither, or both. (The host must already be under management in VMM.)

To specify whether a network adapter is used for virtual machines, host management, neither, or both

  1. Open the Fabric workspace.

  2. In the Fabric pane, expand Servers, expand All Hosts, and then locate and click the host group where the host resides.

  3. In the Hosts pane, click the host that you want to configure.

  4. On the Host tab, in the Properties group, click Properties.

  5. In the Host Name Properties dialog box, click the Hardware tab.

  6. Under Network adapters, click the physical network adapter that you want to configure. If you want to use this network adapter for virtual machines, ensure that Available for placement is checked. If you want to use this network adapter for communication between the host and the VMM management server, ensure that Used by management is checked.

Important

  • You must make sure that you have at least one network adapter available for communication between the host and the VMM management server. Make sure that Used by management is checked for this network adapter.
  • If you have already applied a logical switch and an uplink port profile to a network adapter, if you click Logical network connectivity, you can see the resulting connectivity. However, if you plan to apply a logical switch and an uplink port profile, do not make individual selections in Logical network connectivity. Instead, use the following procedure.

Configure network settings on a host by applying a logical switch

Before you begin the following procedure, make sure you have configured the building blocks that are needed in the procedure, including logical networks, port profiles, and logical switches. For more information, see Configuring Ports and Switches for VM Networks in VMM. If you want to configure single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) for network adapters on the host, it’s especially important to review the “Settings” section in that topic, because SR-IOV has specific requirements.

To configure network settings on a host by applying a logical switch

  1. Open the Fabric workspace.

  2. In the Fabric pane, expand Servers, expand All Hosts, and then locate and click the host group that contains the host.

  3. In the Hosts pane, click the host that you want to configure.

  4. On the Host tab, in the Properties group, click Properties.

  5. In the Host Name Properties dialog box, click the Virtual Switches tab.

  6. On the Virtual Switches tab, do the following:

    1. Select an existing logical switch from the list, or click New Virtual Switch and then click New Logical Switch.

    2. In the Logical switch list, select the logical switch that you want to use.

    3. Under Adapter, select the physical adapter that you want to apply the logical switch to.

    4. In the Uplink Port Profile list, select the uplink port profile that you want to apply. The list contains the uplink port profiles that have been added to the logical switch that you selected. If a profile seems to be missing, review the configuration of the logical switch and then return to this property tab.

    5. As needed, repeat the steps for applying a new logical switch.

      Important

      If you apply the same logical switch and uplink port profile to two or more adapters, the two adapters might be teamed, depending on a setting in the logical switch. To find out if they will be teamed, open the logical switch properties, click the Uplink tab, and view the Uplink mode setting. If the setting is Team, the adapters will be teamed. The specific mode in which they will be teamed is determined by a setting in the uplink port profile.

    6. When you have finished configuring settings, click OK.

      Warning

      While VMM creates the virtual switch, the host may temporarily lose network connectivity. This may have an adverse effect on other network operations in progress.

The following tips may also be useful:

Tip

Network optimizations: VMM can detect whether the operating system on your host provides the network optimizations called Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ) or TCP Chimney Offload. If VMM detects either of them, it displays a message saying Network optimization is available. Look for the message in the Host Properties dialog box, on the Virtual Switches tab.

For more information, see Using TCP Chimney Offload and Using Virtual Machine Queue. For information about these network optimizations in the context of VMM, see the “Network Optimization Support” section in Configuring Virtual Networks in VMM (which describes the optimizations in an earlier version of VMM).

Tip

Compliance of network settings: After you apply logical switches, you can later check to see if the network adapter settings on a host are still in compliance with the logical switch settings. If they’re not, you can use VMM to bring them back into compliance. For more information, see How to View Host Network Adapter Settings and Increase Compliance with Logical Switch Settings in VMM.

See Also

Configuring Ports and Switches for VM Networks in VMM
Configuring Hyper-V Host Properties in VMM