- Preface
- Overview of Cisco Unified Computing System
- Overview of Cisco UCS Manager
- Overview of Cisco UCS Manager GUI
- Configuring the Fabric Interconnects
- Configuring Ports and Port Channels
- Configuring Communication Services
- Configuring Authentication
- Configuring Organizations
- Configuring Role-Based Access Control
- Configuring DNS Servers
- Configuring System-Related Policies
- Managing Licenses
- Managing Virtual Interfaces
- Registering Cisco UCS Domains with Cisco UCS Central
- LAN Uplinks Manager
- VLANs
- Configuring LAN Pin Groups
- Configuring MAC Pools
- Configuring Quality of Service
- Configuring Network-Related Policies
- Configuring Upstream Disjoint Layer-2 Networks
- Configuring Named VSANs
- Configuring SAN Pin Groups
- Configuring WWN Pools
- Configuring Storage-Related Policies
- Configuring Fibre Channel Zoning
- Configuring Server-Related Pools
- Setting the Management IP Address
- Configuring Server-Related Policies
- Configuring Server Boot
- Deferring Deployment of Service Profile Updates
- Configuring Service Profiles
- Managing Power in Cisco UCS
- Managing Time Zones
- Managing the Chassis
- Managing Blade Servers
- Managing Rack-Mount Servers
- Starting the KVM Console
- CIMC Session Management
- Backing Up and Restoring the Configuration
- Recovering a Lost Password
- Configuring vHBA Templates
- Configuring Fibre Channel Adapter Policies
- Configuring the Default vHBA Behavior Policy
- Configuring SAN Connectivity Policies
- About the LAN and SAN Connectivity Policies
- Privileges Required for LAN and SAN Connectivity Policies
- Interactions between Service Profiles and Connectivity Policies
- Creating a SAN Connectivity Policy
- Creating a vHBA for a SAN Connectivity Policy
- Deleting a vHBA from a SAN Connectivity Policy
- Creating an Initiator Group for a SAN Connectivity Policy
- Deleting an Initiator Group from a SAN Connectivity Policy
- Deleting a SAN Connectivity Policy
Configuring Storage-Related Policies
This chapter includes the following sections:
- Configuring vHBA Templates
- Configuring Fibre Channel Adapter Policies
- Configuring the Default vHBA Behavior Policy
- Configuring SAN Connectivity Policies
Configuring vHBA Templates
vHBA Template
This template is a policy that defines how a vHBA on a server connects to the SAN. It is also referred to as a vHBA SAN connectivity template.
You must include this policy in a service profile for it to take effect.
Creating a vHBA Template
This policy requires that one or more of the following resources already exist in the system:
What to Do Next
Include the vHBA template in a service profile.
Creating vHBA Template Pairs
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the SAN tab. On the SAN tab, expand SAN > Policies. | ||
| Step 2 | Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. | ||
| Step 3 | Right-click the vHBA Templates node and choose Create vHBA Template. In the Create vHBA Template dialog box, assign a Name, Description, and select the Fabric ID for the template. | ||
| Step 4 | Select the Redundancy Type as Primary, Secondary or No Redundancy. See the redundancy type descriptions below. | ||
| Step 5 | Select the
Peer
Redundancy Template—to choose the name of the corresponding
Primary or
Secondary redundancy template to perform the
template pairing using the
Primary or
Secondary redundancy template.
| ||
| Step 6 | Click OK. |
What to Do Next
After you create the vHBA redundancy template pair, you can use the redundancy template pair to create redundancy vHBA pairs for any service profile in the same organization or sub-organization.
Undo vHBA Template Pairs
You can undo the vHBA template pair by changing the Peer Redundancy Template so that there is no peer template for the Primary or the Secondary template. When you undo a vHBA template pair, the corresponding vHBA pairs also becomes undone.
|
Binding a vHBA to a vHBA Template
You can bind a vHBA associated with a service profile to a vHBA template. When you bind the vHBA to a vHBA template, Cisco UCS Manager configures the vHBA with the values defined in the vHBA template. If the existing vHBA configuration does not match the vHBA template, Cisco UCS Manager reconfigures the vHBA. You can only change the configuration of a bound vHBA through the associated vHBA template. You cannot bind a vHBA to a vHBA template if the service profile that includes the vHBA is already bound to a service profile template.
If the vHBA is reconfigured when you bind it to a template, Cisco UCS Manager reboots the server associated with the service profile.
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click Servers. |
| Step 2 | Expand . |
| Step 3 | Expand the node for the organization that includes the
service profile
with the vHBA you want to bind.
If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
| Step 4 | Expand . |
| Step 5 | Click the vHBA you want to bind to a template. |
| Step 6 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. |
| Step 7 | In the Actions area, click Bind to a Template. |
| Step 8 | In the Bind to a vHBA Template dialog box, do the following: |
| Step 9 | In the warning dialog box, click Yes to acknowledge that Cisco UCS Manager may need to reboot the server if the binding causes the vHBA to be reconfigured. |
Unbinding a vHBA from a vHBA Template
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click Servers. |
| Step 2 | Expand . |
| Step 3 | Expand the node for the organization that includes the
service profile
with the vHBA you want to unbind.
If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
| Step 4 | Expand . |
| Step 5 | Click the vHBA you want to unbind from a template. |
| Step 6 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. |
| Step 7 | In the Actions area, click Unbind from a Template. |
| Step 8 | If a confirmation dialog box displays, click Yes. |
Deleting a vHBA Template
Configuring Fibre Channel Adapter Policies
Ethernet and Fibre Channel Adapter Policies
These policies govern the host-side behavior of the adapter, including how the adapter handles traffic. For example, you can use these policies to change default settings for the following:
-
Queues
-
Interrupt handling
-
Performance enhancement
-
RSS hash
-
Failover in a cluster configuration with two fabric interconnects
![]() Note | For Fibre Channel adapter policies, the values displayed by Cisco UCS Manager may not match those displayed by applications such as QLogic SANsurfer. For example, the following values may result in an apparent mismatch between SANsurfer and Cisco UCS Manager:
|
Operating System Specific Adapter Policies
By default, Cisco UCS provides a set of Ethernet adapter policies and Fibre Channel adapter policies. These policies include the recommended settings for each supported server operating system. Operating systems are sensitive to the settings in these policies. Storage vendors typically require non-default adapter settings. You can find the details of these required settings on the support list provided by those vendors.
We recommend that you use the values in these policies for the applicable operating system. Do not modify any of the values in the default policies unless directed to do so by Cisco Technical Support.
However, if you are creating an Ethernet adapter policy for a Windows OS (instead of using the default Windows adapter policy), you must use the following formulas to calculate values that work with Windows:
- Completion Queues = Transmit Queues + Receive Queues
- Interrupt Count = (Completion Queues + 2) rounded up to nearest power of 2
For example, if Transmit Queues = 1 and Receive Queues = 8 then:
- Completion Queues = 1 + 8 = 9
- Interrupt Count = (9 + 2) rounded up to the nearest power of 2 = 16
Creating a Fibre Channel Adapter Policy
![]() Tip | If the fields in an area do not display, click the Expand icon to the right of the heading. |
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click Servers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Step 2 | Expand . | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Step 3 | Expand the
node for the organization where you want to create the policy.
If the system does not include multitenancy, expand the root node. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Step 4 | Right-click Fibre Channel Policies and choose Create Fibre Channel Adapter Policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Step 5 | Enter a name and
description for the policy in the following fields:
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| Step 6 | (Optional)
In the
Resources area, adjust the following values:
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| Step 7 | (Optional)
In the
Options area, adjust the following values:
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| Step 8 | Click OK. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Step 9 | If a confirmation dialog box displays, click Yes. |
Deleting a Fibre Channel Adapter Policy
Configuring the Default vHBA Behavior Policy
Default vHBA Behavior Policy
Default vHBA behavior policy allow you to configure how vHBAs are created for a service profile. You can choose to create vHBAs manually, or you can allow them to be created automatically.
You can configure the default vHBA behavior policy to define how vHBAs are created. This can be one of the following:
-
None—Cisco UCS Manager does not create default vHBAs for a service profile. All vHBAs must be explicitly created.
-
HW Inherit—If a service profile requires vHBAs and none have been explicitly defined, Cisco UCS Manager creates the required vHBAs based on the adapter installed in the server associated with the service profile.
![]() Note | If you do not specify a default behavior policy for vHBAs, none is used by default. |
Configuring a Default vHBA Behavior Policy
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click SAN. |
| Step 2 | Expand . |
| Step 3 | Expand the root node.
You can configure only the default vHBA behavior policy in the root organization. You cannot configure the default vHBA behavior policy in a sub-organization. |
| Step 4 | Click Default vHBA Behavior. |
| Step 5 | On the General Tab, in the Properties area, click one of the following radio buttons in the Action field:
|
| Step 6 | Click Save Changes. |
Configuring SAN Connectivity Policies
About the LAN and SAN Connectivity Policies
Connectivity policies determine the connections and the network communication resources between the server and the LAN or SAN on the network. These policies use pools to assign MAC addresses, WWNs, and WWPNs to servers and to identify the vNICs and vHBAs that the servers use to communicate with the network.
![]() Note | We do not recommend that you use static IDs in connectivity policies, because these policies are included in service profiles and service profile templates and can be used to configure multiple servers. |
Privileges Required for LAN and SAN Connectivity Policies
Connectivity policies enable users without network or storage privileges to create and modify service profiles and service profile templates with network and storage connections. However, users must have the appropriate network and storage privileges to create connectivity policies.
Privileges Required to Create Connectivity Policies
Connectivity policies require the same privileges as other network and storage configurations. For example, you must have at least one of the following privileges to create connectivity policies:
Privileges Required to Add Connectivity Policies to Service Profiles
After the connectivity policies have been created, a user with ls-compute privileges can include them in a service profile or service profile template. However, a user with only ls-compute privileges cannot create connectivity policies.
Interactions between Service Profiles and Connectivity Policies
You can configure the LAN and SAN connectivity for a service profile through either of the following methods:
LAN and SAN connectivity policies that are referenced in the service profile
Local vNICs and vHBAs that are created in the service profile
Local vNICs and a SAN connectivity policy
Local vHBAs and a LAN connectivity policy
Cisco UCS maintains mutual exclusivity between connectivity policies and local vNIC and vHBA configuration in the service profile. You cannot have a combination of connectivity policies and locally created vNICs or vHBAs. When you include a LAN connectivity policy in a service profile, all existing vNIC configuration is erased, and when you include a SAN connectivity policy, all existing vHBA configuration in that service profile is erased.
Creating a SAN Connectivity Policy
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click SAN. |
| Step 2 | Expand . |
| Step 3 | Expand the
node for the organization where you want to create the policy.
If the system does not include multitenancy, expand the root node. |
| Step 4 | Right-click SAN Connectivity Policies and choose Create SAN Connectivity Policy. |
| Step 5 | In the Create SAN Connectivity Policy dialog box, enter a name and optional description. |
| Step 6 | From the
WWNN
Assignment drop-down list in the
World Wide Node Name area, choose one of the following:
|
| Step 7 | In the vHBAs table, click Add. |
| Step 8 | In the Create vHBAs dialog box, enter the name and optional description. |
| Step 9 | Choose the
Fabric ID,
Select VSAN,
Pin Group,
Persistent Binding, and
Max Data Field Size.
You can also create a VSAN or SAN pin group from this area. |
| Step 10 | In the Operational Parameters area, choose the Stats Threshold Policy. |
| Step 11 | In the
Adapter Performance Profile area, choose the
Adapter Policy and
QoS Policy.
You can also create a fibre channel adapter policy or QoS policy from this area. |
| Step 12 | After you have created all the vHBAs you need for the policy, click OK. |
What to Do Next
Include the policy in a service profile or service profile template.
Creating a vHBA for a SAN Connectivity Policy
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click SAN. |
| Step 2 | On the SAN tab, expand . |
| Step 3 | Choose the policy for which you want to create a vHBA. |
| Step 4 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. |
| Step 5 | In the table icon bar, click the + button. |
| Step 6 | In the Create vHBAs dialog box, enter the name and optional description. |
| Step 7 | Choose the
Fabric ID,
Select VSAN,
Pin Group,
Persistent Binding, and
Max Data Field Size.
You can also create a VSAN or SAN pin group from this area. |
| Step 8 | In the Operational Parameters area, choose the Stats Threshold Policy. |
| Step 9 | In the
Adapter Performance Profile area, choose the
Adapter Policy and
QoS Policy.
You can also create a fibre channel adapter policy or QoS policy from this area. |
| Step 10 | Click Save Changes. |
Deleting a vHBA from a SAN Connectivity Policy
Creating an Initiator Group for a SAN Connectivity Policy
| Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click SAN. | ||||||||||||
| Step 2 | Expand . | ||||||||||||
| Step 3 | Choose the policy for which you want to create an initiator group. | ||||||||||||
| Step 4 | In the Work pane, click the vHBA Initiator Groups tab. | ||||||||||||
| Step 5 | In the table icon bar, click the + button. | ||||||||||||
| Step 6 | In the Create vHBA Initiator Group dialog box, complete the following fields:
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| Step 7 | Click OK. |
Deleting an Initiator Group from a SAN Connectivity Policy
Deleting a SAN Connectivity Policy
If you delete a SAN connectivity policy that is included in a service profile, it also deletes all vHBAs from that service profile and disrupts SAN data traffic for the server associated with the service profile.


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