Server profile advanced settings

Serial number/UUID

Enables you to associate either a virtual or physical serial number or UUID with the server.

  • Virtual serial numbers and UUIDs are assigned by the appliance and enable flexibility.

    The benefit of virtual serial numbers is that when you use a virtual serial in a server profile or a server profile template and assign the profile to a server bay, any server that is inserted in that server bay uses the same serial number.

  • Physical serial numbers are reported by the server BIOS and associate a serial number to the server.

  • When you create an unassigned profile and set the profile to use a physical serial number or UUID, the value displays pending assignment until you set a server in the profile.

  • The server profile option for serial numbers or UUIDs defaults to virtual if the global setting for virtual serial numbers is enabled. The server profile option for virtual serial numbers or UUIDs is disabled if the global setting for virtual serial numbers is disabled. For more information, see Settings: Addresses and Identifiers

MAC addresses

Enables you to specify if the server uses physical or virtual MAC addresses.

  • Virtual MAC addresses are generated by the appliance and are used by the servers.

    The benefit of specifying virtual MAC addresses in a server profile is that when you assign the profile to a server, any server that is inserted in that server bay uses the same MAC addresses.

    Thus, a server replacement does not affect the data center interconnects because they do not detect any change in MAC address.

  • Physical MAC addresses are reported by the server BIOS and associate a MAC address to the server.

    Physical MAC addresses are burned in on the server NICs. If you replace a server, the physical MAC changes and you must update the data center interconnects.

  • When you create an unassigned profile and set the profile to use a physical address, the value displays pending assignment until you set a server in the profile.

  • The server profile option for MAC addresses defaults to virtual if the global setting for virtual MAC addresses is enabled. The server profile option for virtual MAC address is disabled if the global setting for virtual MAC addressed is disabled. For more information, see Settings: Addresses and Identifiers

WWN addresses

Enables you to specify if the server uses physical or virtual World Wide Name (WWN) addresses (for Fibre Channel connections).

  • WWN addresses are generated by the appliance and are used by the servers.

    The benefit of specifying virtual WWN addresses in a server profile is that when you assign the profile to a server, any server that is inserted in that server bay uses the same WWN addresses.

    Thus, a server replacement does not affect the data center interconnects because they do not detect any change in WWN address.

  • Physical WWN addresses are reported by the server BIOS and associate a WWN address to the server.

    Physical WWN addresses are burned in on the server NICs. If you replace a server, the physical WWN changes and you must update the data center interconnects.

  • If you create a server profile with a virtual serial number, MAC, or WWN address, you cannot change these to a physical address later.

  • If you disable the option to enable virtual serial number, MAC, or WWN addresses in Settings > Addresses and Identifiers, you can set only their physical addresses when you create a server profile.

  • When you create an unassigned profile and set the profile to use a physical address, the value displays pending assignment until you set a server in the profile.

  • The server profile option for WWN addresses defaults to virtual if the global setting for virtual WWN addresses is enabled. The server profile option for virtual WWN address is disabled if the global setting for virtual WWN addressed is disabled. For more information, see Settings: Addresses and Identifiers

Hide unused FlexNICs

This setting allows you to hide unused FlexNICs from the operating system.

If Hide Unused FlexNICs is selected (enabled), FlexNICs that do not map to any server profile connections are not presented to the operating system. For example, if the server hardware supports 8 FlexNICs, but only four connections are defined in the server profile, the operating system will see only four network interfaces.

If Hide Unused FlexNICs is not selected (disabled), FlexNICs are enumerated in the operating system as network interfaces for each Flex-10 or FlexFabric adapter.

Configuring Fibre Channel connections on a FlexFabric adapter can enumerate two storage interfaces, reducing the number of network interfaces to six.

FlexNICs are hidden in pairs, starting with the fourth pair. For example, if the fourth FlexNIC on either physical port corresponds to a profile connection, all eight physical functions are enumerated. If a profile connection corresponds to the second FlexNIC on either physical port, but no connection corresponds to the third or fourth FlexNIC on either physical port, only the first and second physical functions are enumerated in the operating system.

By default, Hide Unused FlexNICs is enabled. This setting can be changed only when the server is powered off.