Configuring a multi-VLAN workstation

In an M580 hot standby system, when the application requires connection from the control room to both primary and standby systems, some precautions must be taken in order to prevent an uncontrolled loop in the network. One method to keep transparency without creating loops on a hot standby system is to segregate the traffic from the control room to the two BMENOC0301 modules in the primary and standby systems.

This application note will guide you through configuration of both the workstation and the ConneXium managed switch that the workstation and the BMENOC0301 modules are connected to.

The network example below demonstrates an engineering workstation that can communicate on multiple VLANs.

Figure 1: Engineering station with multiple VLAN IDs

Legend

1. Layer 2 switch linking control network to Ethernet RIO main ring

2. Primary local rack with primary CPU

3. Standby local rack with standby CPU

4. Hot Standby communication link

5. Ethernet RIO main ring

6. (e)X80 RIO drop

7. Redundant link to the Hot Standby system

8. Engineering tool resident on PC

NOTE: The above network architecture is the final design hence, during the network installation and configuration the link to between the switch and the second BMENOC0301 (7) must be broken till all parameter and configurations have been complete.

In order to configure a workstation that can communicate on multiple VLANs, you must install additional drivers. The following solution and configuration is based on network interface card (NIC) “Intel Ethernet I218-LM, Intel 82579V, and Intel 82579LM” with Intel Advanced Network Protocol support. The drivers for Intel Ethernet card which allow for advanced networking services can be found from the Intel website The network card used in the example is I218-LM. . The URL below will guide you to the drivers for Windows 7 OS, Windows 32 and Windows 64 install.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18713/Network-Adapter-Driver-for-Windows-7-

Note: as stated above this example is based on a flat network therefore all network devices are in the same subnet.

Below are the steps to configure the workstation with Intel Ethernet I218-LM to support communication on multiple VLANs.

Step / Notes / Description
1 / Identify the NIC card installed on work station / From the Control Panel à Network and Sharing Center, click on Change adapter settings. Identify the Local Area Connection and verify the Device Name of the NIC card.

Details of the NIC card can be seen by double clicking on the NIC card and choosing Details…

2 / Check your system type / From the Control Panel à System and Security, choose System. Verity the workstation’s system type either a 32-bit or 64-bit system. This information is essential for choosing the correct driver version for the workstation.

3 / Choose the correct driver for workstation / Download and install additional drivers for 32-bit or 64-bit OS
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18713/Network-Adapter-Driver-for-Windows-7-
4 / Add VLANs to the NIC card / From the Control Panel à Network and Intranet à Network Connections.
Double click on the appropriate NIC card and click on Properties.

From the Properties window click on Configure…
5 / Creating multiple VLANs / As noted in Figure 1, each eNOC will be on a designated VLAN and the workstation must support both VLANs. Using the VLANs tab, create the new assigned VLANs. In this example VLAN 3 and VLAN 5 are used to demonstrate the configuration steps.
Provide a VLAN # for each of the VLANs and click OK.


In order to avoid communication disruption to devices that are not part of any VLANs, create an untagged interface.

The figure below depicts all the configured VLANs on the Intel Ethernet I218-LM interface.

6 / Assigning an IP address to each VLAN / Each VLAN interface will require a unique IP address in the same subnet as the hot standby system.
From Control PanelàNetwork and Intranet àNetwork Connections
Select each of the VLAN interface individually and assign a unique IP address.
For the example shown below, double click VLAN3 interface, choose Properties from the status window. Double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Select Use the following IP address: and populate the relevant network parameters. The following is an example of IP address assignment to interface for VLAN3.

Follow the same steps as above to assign the other 2 VLAN interfaces.
7 / Verify IP addresses / To quickly verify all IP addresses to the three new interfaces have been assigned, open a command line window and type in ipconfig.

8 / Modifying Registry entries / From your start menu type in Regedit

Choose HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, CurrentControlSet, Control, Class.

Expand Class and look for “4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318”
Right click on the {4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} and choose Find…
Type in the full or partial name of the network interface card.
In this example searching for I218-LM results in instance 007 and provided all the parameters of the Intel Ethernet card. You would use your Intel Ethernet device name.

8 / Continuation of Regedit / If the entry does not exist, create the following new values
Right click, choose New, and create the correct data type value.
Variable Name / Data Type / Value
TaggingMode / REG_SZ / 1
VlanMode / REG_DWORD / 1
VlanFiltering / REG_SZ / 1
MonitorMode / REG_DWORD / 0
MonitorModeEnabled / REG_DWORD / 1

The configuration of the workstation is now complete. Using a web browser, log into the switch as an administrator and follow the steps below to configure the ConneXium Managed switch, TCSESM163F2CU0 for the required VLANs. Make note of the ports that the workstation and the BMENOC03x1 are connected to on the switch.

Step / Notes / Description
1 / Assigning the switch management VLAN / The VLAN shown in the Network parameter is the VLAN assigned to the management CPU of the switch. If 0 is entered for VLAN ID, the switch can be accessible and configurable from all VLANs. This will also prevent you from locking yourself out of the switch.

2 / VLANs / From the switch’s tree browser, select Switching à VLAN à Global choose Shared VLAN in the VLAN Global window and click on Set.

3 / Configure egress traffic / Next the VLANs for Port 3,4, and 5 must be configured.

From the tree browser choose Switching à VLAN à Static.
In this window, the traffic from the specified ports to the attached workstation and devices are (T) tagged, (U) untagged, (-) or marked for not being part of any VLAN.

From the configuration example below, VLAN3 traffic going to port 3 will be untagged similarly VLAN5 traffic going to port 5 will be untagged. Port 4 is a trunk port which means that all traffic through this port will be tagged. The workstation is connected to a trunk port, in this example port 4.

Once all the ports are assigned the correct action click on Set to confirm the changes.
4 / Assign VLANs to the ports / From the tree browser choose Switching à VLANàPort. Assign a VLAN to the respective ports. In this example VLAN3 is assigned to port 3, VLAN5 is assigned to port 5. This configuration will associate any packets from attached device (BMENOC03x1) on port 3 and 5 with their corresponding VLANs. Trunk port 4 is marked to only admit VLAN tagged packets only.

Once all the ports are assigned the correct action click on Set to confirm the changes.
6 / Save Configuration / Once all the above changes are complete, navigate to Basic settings à Load/Save, and click on Save button to save the above configuration changes.
WARNING /
UNEXPECTED LoSS OF COMMUNICATION
·  Testing this solution showed occasional loss of communication for 30 to 45 seconds.
·  Use this solution as a monitoring method and not for controlling devices.
Failure to follow these instructions can cause death, serious injury or equipment damage.