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1 HPE Knowledge Article HPE Virtual Connect Flex Ethernet Module for c-class BladeSystem - The Connection Speed in the Virtual Connect Server Profile Does Not Match the NIC Speed of the Operating System Article Number mmr_sf-en_us Environment HPE Virtual Connect Flex-10 10Gb Ethernet Module for c-class BladeSystem Virtual Connect running 4.01 or later. Issue The connection speed in the Virtual Connect server profile does not match the NIC speed of the Operating System. Cause New behavior of Virtual Connect 4.01 Resolution The following information is from the Enhancements section, page 5 of the HPE Virtual Connect 4.01 Release Notes: Minimum and maximum bandwidth optimization for efficient allocation of bandwidth in virtualized environments with Flex-10 and FlexFabric adapters. Flex-10 and FlexFabric adapter firmware and drivers must be updated to SPP version , or the latest hotfix thereafter, to take advantage of this enhancement. This feature excludes support for the following adapters: HPE NC551i Dual Port FlexFabric 10Gb Converged Network Adapter HPE NC551m Dual Port FlexFabric 10Gb Converged Network Adapter HPE NC550m 10Gb 2-port PCIe x8 Flex-10 Ethernet Adapter One of the changes related to the above enhancement changed the allocation header of the server profile from Allocated Bandwidth in pre-4.01 to Allocated Port Speed (min-max) in 4.01 and later. The max value is the value advertised to the NIC, and is explained below. The following is from the 4.01 Virtual Connect Help Index under Bandwidth Assignment : In Flex-10 environments, four FlexNICs must share a single 10Gb link. Each FlexNIC is allocated a guaranteed portion of that 10Gb link's bandwidth and can transmit up to 10Gb. The network adapter automatically adjusts the FlexNIC port speed between the guaranteed minimum speed and the maximum speed based on the server's transmit demand and unutilized physical port

2 bandwidth. Each FlexNIC is assigned two port speeds: minimum and maximum. The requested bandwidth is translated to a minimum allocated speed. The sum of the minimum allocated speed assigned to the four FlexNICs in a single physical port is equal to 10Gb, but the requested bandwidth settings specified in the profile might exceed 10Gb. For all requested bandwidth settings, the maximum allocated speed is determined by the maximum configured speed for the network or fabric. For example, FlexNIC a and b are assigned a minimum port speed of 5Gb and a maximum port speed of 10Gb. When one of the FlexNICs does not use the port bandwidth or does not achieve the minimum 5Gb actual throughput, the other FlexNIC can use the unused bandwidth, up to 10Gb. To further explain differences between pre-4.01 and the 4.01 and later releases, the following is from page 118 of the User Guide for 4.01: Advanced Network Settings These settings affect only newly created profiles. Versions of VC prior to v4.01 used the \"preferred speed\" to control bandwidth allocation. When existing profiles are upgraded to VC v4.01, the \"maximum speed\" from the network is set automatically on the connection. If no maximum speed was configured prior to the upgrade, then the maximum speed will be 10Gb for Ethernet connections and 8Gb for FCoE connections. The pre-4.01 behavior can be retained by setting \"maximum speed\" to the same value as \"preferred speed\". Breaking down the above description: Versions of VC prior to v4.01 used the \"preferred speed\" to control bandwidth allocation. When existing profiles are upgraded to VC v4.01, the \"maximum speed\" previously defined under 'Advanced Settings' for the network is automatically set on the connection as the max value. Prior to 4.01 when defining a preferred network speed, or defining a preferred speed for the global Multiple Networks setting, the maximum speed value was the maximum speed that could be specified by a server administrator as a custom speed in a server profile. With 4.01 and later, the maximum value is now the maximum connection speed listed in the min-max of the Allocated Port Speed header. This will be the advertised Connection speed to the OS. Note: Pre-4.01 configurations that did not have a maximum value defined for a network or the global 'Multiple Networks' setting, will default to 10Gb max value, which will be displayed in the Allocated Port Speed column, and will be the advertised speed to the operating system. The pre-4.01 'Custom' speed behavior can be retained by defining preferred and maximum speeds in the specific network or the global 'Multiple Networks' setting to be the same value. This can be accomplished by editing the advanced network settings on an individual network, or editing the Multiple Networks Link Speed Settings under Ethernet > Advanced Settings. Figure 1 below is showing the popup window when selecting custom for the port speed type. This will show a range from 0.1Gb to the maximum speed defined in the advanced settings for VC network. Vlan120_A in this instance has a preferred speed of 4Gb, but no maximum speed defined. Thus the maximum will default to 10Gb. As noted above, if the vlan120_a network had been defined with a preferred and maximum speed, then that range would be displayed in the 'Custom Port Speed' window. In either case, the value maximum value is advertised to the NIC in the operating system.

3 Examples: Figure 2 is an example of vlan10_a network created in VC 4.01 with preferred speed and maximum speed both equal to 2Gb. With the 'Port Speed Type' set to preferred, this limits the speed for all connections using vlan10_a and vlan10_b to 2Gb min and 2Gb max. With a 'Port Speed Type' defined to custom, the range for the speed will be 0.1Gb to 2Gb, with 2Gb reported to the OS NIC. Figure 3 below shows a screenshot for vlan120_a network created in VC 4.01 without a preferred speed. The maximum box is checked for this example to show thedefault max is 10Gb.

4 . Figure 4 below shows how the speeds of the connections will appear in the profile. Keep in mind that the advertised connection speed will be the value of the max. Notice that connections 1 and 2, assigned to vlan10_a and vlan10_b respectively, have a minimum equal to the maximum, which was defined in the vlan10_a and vlan10_b networks. Connections 5 and 6 assigned to vlan120_a and vlan120_b have the remaining requested minimum of 4Gb. 8Gb remained after ports 1 and 2 each allocated 2Gb and the FCoE ports each allocated 4Gb. As no preferred speed was defined for vlan120_a and vlan120_b, they default to auto, with maximum speed of 10Gb. Important notes: When preferred and maximum values are defined in the Multiple Networks Link Speed Settings under Ethernet > Advanced Settings, these values will override any values that may have been specified for individual networks that are part of a multiple network set in a server profile. For example, An administrator selects multiple networks for a network name in a server profile. He then adds two VC networks to the miltiple network set, which have preferred and maximum speeds defined for their respective networks. The values in the

5 Multiple Networks Link Speed Settings under Ethernet > Advanced Settings will override the preferred and maximum speeds for those two individual networks. Lastly, when the advanced settings of a network is initially configured or changed, the new settings will not propagate to existing server profiles until the server profile is re-applied. The server profile can be re-applied after taking any action that ungreys the 'Apply' button, then clicking the 'Apply' button. ********** Keywords: virtual connect NIC speed on host VMware Copyright 2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.the only warranties for Hewlett Packard Enterprise products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services.nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.