Using OnBoard NICs with C240M5L hosts connected via FI.

[DonTharrett]

This may be an odd request. We have a vendor that insists they need direct connect copper network path between C240M5L standalone servers connected to FI switches and are configured through UCS Central. I have recommended just creating an additional vNIC and running the heartbeat through that interface. 

It thought I would pose the question, to see if anyone is away of whether or not the on-board 10GB NICs, can be used inside UCSCentral as network interfaces. I don't see a provision in UCS Central, only vNICs.

Thanks and Regards,

Don Tharrett

[amarino2]

The LAN On Motherboard (LOM) ports are disabled when Integrated to UCS Manager. 

The LOM ports on Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers integrated with Cisco UCS Manager can not be used for data traffic. The LOM ports are disabled when the C-Series Rack-Mount Servers are in Cisco UCS Manager mode.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/c-series_integration/ucsm3-1/b_C-Series-Integration_UCSM3-1/b_C-Series-Integration_UCSM3-1_chapter_01.html

You can install a non-VIC PCIe NIC and connect those to an external network. They are not managed by UCS Manager / Central but via the OS.