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SmartConnect User’s Guide
26
Chapter 3: Switch Virtualization BMD00082, February 2009
Virtual Switch Groups
Switch resources can be assigned to VSGs. Up to 32 VSGs are available. Each VSG behaves
independently, which allows for segmenting the switch into smaller logical entities. Within
each VSG, member ports can be aggregated into trunks, combining their bandwidth.
Two different types of resources can be assigned to VSGs:
Ports (internal and external)
VMs
Port Groups
Each internal and external port can be independently assigned to one of the 32 available VSGs.
Each VSG can contain multiple ports, but each port can belong to only one VSG.
VSGs for port groups must have the following characteristics:
It is recommended that each VSG contain internal server ports and external ports for
proper network operation.
By default, all external ports in the same VSG are placed into one trunk to aggregate their
bandwidth. For more information, see “Trunking” on page 30.
For VSG port group and trunk configuration, see “Assigning Ports to VSGs” on page 97.
Virtual Machine Groups
The switch automatically discovers VMs that reside in the hypervisor directly connected to the
switch. As with ports, VMs can be independently assigned to VSGs in order to group or sepa-
rate them. Optionally, uplink ports can also be assigned to VSGs that include VMs.
The switch will accept a maximum of 1024 VMs. Once this limit is reached, the switch will
reject additional VMs.
Note – In some rare situations, the switch may reject the addition of new VMs prior to reach-
ing the 1024 VM limit. This can occur when the hash bucket corresponding to the new VM is
already full. If this occurs, change the virtual machine’s MAC address and retry the operation.
The MAC address can usually be changed from the virtualization platform’s management con-
sole (such as the VMware Virtual Center). This limitation is independent of whether switches
are acting alone or as part of a stack.