About network sets

A network set is a collection of tagged Ethernet networks that form a named group to simplify server profile creation. Network sets are useful in virtual environments where each server profile connection needs to access multiple networks. Use network sets in server profile connections to make all networks on a connection's downlink port available. Network sets define how packets will be delivered to the server when a server Ethernet connection is associated with the network set. Network sets also enable you to define a VLAN trunk and associate it with a server connection.

Instead of assigning a single network to a connection in a server profile, you can assign a network set to that connection.

  • Using network sets, you can quickly deploy changes to the network environment to multiple servers. For example, you have 16 servers connected to a network set. To add a new network to all 16 servers, you only need to add it to the network set instead of each server individually.

  • You can create a network set for your production networks and one for your development networks.

  • You can configure a hypervisor with a vSwitch to access multiple VLANs by creating a network set as a trunk that includes these networks.

Network set prerequisites

  • All networks in a network set must be Ethernet networks and must have unique external VLAN IDs. Untagged and tunnel networks are single networks and do not use network sets.

  • All networks in a network set must be configured in the same appliance.

  • A network can be a member of multiple network sets.

  • All networks in a network set must be added to uplink sets or internal networks in the logical interconnect group (and its logical interconnects) to be used in server profiles with connections to the logical interconnect.

  • A network set can be empty (contain no networks) or can contain one or more of the networks configured in the logical interconnect group and logical interconnect. Empty network sets enable you to create network sets in the configuration before you create the member networks, or to remove all the member networks before you add their replacements. However, if a server profile adds a connection to an empty network set, the server cannot connect to any data center networks using that connection.

Network set types

You can select either a Regular or Large network set type. You can deploy Large network sets on rack servers. You cannot deploy Large network sets on blade servers. If the network set type is selected for blade sever profiles or server profile templates, you cannot convert the network set type from Regular to Large.

Regular network sets can contain up to 162 networks. Large network sets can contain up to a maximum of 4,000 networks. Network sets with more than 4,000 networks are not supported on rack servers. VLANs with VLAN IDs above 4,000 are reserved for use by the HPE Composable Fabric Manager.

Creating, editing, and deleting network sets

  • When you create or modify a network set, you can designate a network for untagged packets. If you do not designate an untagged network, untagged packets are rejected on the profile connection associated with this network set.

  • Server traffic must be tagged with the VLAN ID of one of the Ethernet networks in the network set. Untagged server traffic is either sent to the untagged network (if an untagged network is defined) or is rejected (if no untagged network is defined).

  • The untagged network can send tagged and untagged traffic between the server and the interconnect simultaneously.

    When you create or modify a network set, you define the maximum bandwidth and the preferred bandwidth for connections to that network set. A server profile can override the preferred bandwidth but not the maximum bandwidth.

  • Private VLAN networks can be added or removed only in pairs. Both primary and secondary networks need to be added or removed together.

  • When a network is deleted, it is automatically deleted from all network sets to which it belonged.

  • When you delete a network set, the networks that belong to the network set are not affected. However, any servers with a connection to that network set are affected because their connections are defined as being to the network set and not to the individual networks. Because the network set is no longer available, the network traffic to and from that server through that connection is stopped. When you delete a network set, any server profile connections that specified that network set become disconnected.

  • When deleting networks in a network set, if all in-use networks are removed from the network set, all assigned profiles using this network set are in error and the server profile connections lose connectivity. To avoid connectivity loss, either leave at least one network in the network set or disassociate the network set from all server profiles.