Learn how to use the HMC remote
management and service functions using your network.
The
HMC supports the
following types of logical communications:
- HMC to
managed system
- This type of communications is used to perform most of the hardware management
functions, in which HMC issues
control function requests through the service processor of the managed system.
- HMC to
logical partition
- This type of communications is used to collect platform-related information
(hardware error events, hardware inventory) from the operating systems running
in the logical partitions, as well as to coordinate certain platform activities
(dynamic LPAR, concurrent repair) with those operating systems. If you want
to use service and error notification features, it is important that you make
this connection.
- HMC to
remote users
- This type of communications provides remote users with access to HMC functionality. Remote users
can access the HMC in
the following ways:
- By using the remote client (if you are using an HMC
Version 6 or earlier) or web browser
(if you are using a an HMC Version 7 or later) to access all the HMC GUI functions remotely
- By using SSH to access the HMC command
line functions remotely
- By using a virtual terminal server for remote access
to virtual logical partition consoles
- HMC to
service and support
- This type of communications is used to transmit data, such as hardware
error reports, inventory data, and microcode updates, to and from your service
provider. You can use this communications path to make automatic service calls.
The HMC supports up
to four separate physical Ethernet interfaces. In the desktop version of the HMC, this consists of one integrated
Ethernet and up to two plug-in adapters. In the rack-mounted version, this
consists of two integrated Ethernet adapters and up to one plug-in adapter.
Use each of these interfaces in the following ways:
- One network interface can be used exclusively for HMC-to-managed system communications,
which means that only the HMC and
service processors of the managed systems would be on that network. Even
though the network interfaces into the service processors are encrypted for
the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and password-protected, having a separate
dedicated network can provide a higher level of security for these interfaces.
- Another network interface would typically be used for the network connection
between the HMC and the
logical partitions on the managed systems, for the HMC-to-logical
partition communications. For more information about configuring the HMC to connect to a network, see Configuring the HMC using the HMC configuration checklist. For more
information about the communications options you have for logical partitions,
see Communications
options for logical partitions.
- The third interface is an optional additional Ethernet connection that
can be used for remote management of the HMC.
This third interface can also be used to have a separate HMC connection
to different groups of logical partitions. For example, you might want to
have an administrative LAN that is separate from the LAN on which all the
usual business transactions are running. Remote administrators could access HMCs and other managed units using
this method. Sometimes the logical partitions are in different network security
domains, perhaps behind a firewall, and you might want to have different HMC network connections into each
of those two domains.
For more information about physically cabling the HMC to the managed system, see Cabling your
server.
Subscribe to this information