International Business Machines Corporation

Dennis Ray Musselwhite

Angelo Macchiano

Richard P Tarcza

Susan Marie Farrell

Mary Ellen Carollo

Tracy Jo Adams

Bruce H Ratcliff

Utz Bacher

Stephen R Valley

Gary S Beck

Joseph Michael Hust

Warren K Jones

W Romney White

A method for communicating from a first virtual machine, defined by a virtual machine operating system, to an external device via a local area network (LAN). The virtual machine operating system also defines other virtual machines and a base portion common to all of the virtual machines. The first virtual machine writes an IP datagram to an output buffer allocated to the first virtual machine. The IP datagram comprises data and a destination IP address associated with the external device. The program functions in the base portion read the IP datagram from the output buffer to determine the destination IP address and then copy the IP datagram from the output buffer into storage allocated to the common base portion whereby the IP datagram passes from the first virtual machine into the common base portion storage without passing through any other virtual machines. Then, the program functions request a tangible adapter card for the network to send the IP datagram to the IP destination address.

Virtual machine connection to a tangible network

A system and method of managing networks and, more particularly, to a system and method for interfacing with virtual networking devices using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). A system comprises a configuration statement configured to provide an identity to a virtual device. An SNMP subagent is configured to interface between an SNMP agent and a control program of the virtual device. The SNMP subagent acquires information extracted by the control program for the identified virtual device and provides the acquired information to the SNMP agent to be returned to the SNMP client.

System and method for providing SNMP data for virtual networking devices

A method, system and program product for managing assignment of virtual physical addresses. The method includes requesting, using a services function provided by a virtual machine operating system, a MAC address assignment for a real device and searching, in a MAC assignment table created and stored within a virtual memory space, to determine whether or not an explicit MAC address is assigned to the device. If an explicit MAC address is determined to be assigned to the device, retrieving the explicit MAC address upon verifying that the MAC address is not in use by another device and forwarding, using the services function, the explicit MAC address retrieved for assignment to the real device. If an explicit MAC address is not assigned to the device, retrieving an available MAC address from a MAC address pool table and forwarding the available MAC address retrieved for assignment to the real device.

Method, system and program product for managing assignment of MAC addresses in a virtual machine environment

A network virtualization layer for an information handling system in which a physical machine coupled to a network is divided into a plurality of logical partitions, each of which has a host system residing thereon. In response to receiving a set command from one of the host systems specifying a data link layer (layer 2) address, the virtualization layer associates the data link layer address with the host system and forwards to the host system data packets specifying the data link layer address as a destination address. Unicast packets are forwarded to the single host system specifying the destination address as an individual MAC address, while multicast packets are forwarded to each host system specifying the destination address as a group MAC address. A host system may also specify a virtual LAN (VLAN) ID, which is used to scope the forwarding of packets to host systems sharing that VLAN ID.

Method and apparatus for providing network virtualization

Virtual machine communicating to external device without going through other virtual machines by using a list of IP addresses managed only by a single virtual machine monitor

A virtual machine operating system for communication between first and second applications which execute in different user portions of the virtual machine operating system and use Internet Protocol (IP). The virtual machine operating system comprises a first user portion, a second user portion and a base portion. The first user portion executes the first application and includes a first device driver for a first virtual network interface card (NIC). The second user portion executes the second application and includes a second device driver for a second virtual NIC. The base portion is shared by the first and second user portions and includes the first and second virtual NICs. The base portion maintains a table of IP addresses by which each device driver addresses its respective NIC and other, corresponding addresses by which the base portion addresses the virtual NIC. The first device driver is programmed to receive an IP datagram from the first application and pass it to the first NIC using IP. The datagram includes an IP address of the second virtual NIC and an indication that the second application should receive the datagram. The base portion is programmed to determine the other address of the second NIC based on the table and transfer the datagram to a storage location associated with the second virtual NIC or the second device driver.

Virtual machine operating system LAN

A system for reconfiguring a multiple user VM computing system is described. A CMS source file is used to generate new nucleus system definitions for a control program of an operating VM system. The CMS source file is edited and converted to a tag entry format for use in a diagnose interface. Using the diagnose interface, an override disk under control of the control program may be updated with new override data. In a subsequent system IPL, or upon issuance of an OVERRIDE command with the IMMEDIATE option from the CMS application, the newly-stored data from the CP override DASD may be loaded in the control program memory.

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Hallstead, PA, United States of America

Dennis Ray Musselwhite