This section identifies the Lab Management network requirements.
In any type of deployment, Lab Management reserves the first 10 available IP addresses for all of the Infrastructure nodes. When allocating hostnames and IP addresses for the Client nodes, Lab Management prefers to have the Infrastructure nodes at the beginning of the range. This structure provides for a block of continuous IP addresses for the Client nodes. Hostnames and IP addresses can then be assigned from the first available IP address to the last available one.
The Lab Management Manager needs a way to start and stop or powercycle a Client node, which must be able to be booted (powercycled) remotely. On a high-end server, this capability to reboot machines remotely is called a Lights-Out Management (LOM) facility. Different hardware vendors have various names for this capability such as Advanced Lights-Out Management and Integrated Lights Out.
If the LOM network is routable , then Lab Management does not require a separate network interface on the LOM network. If, however, the LOM network is non-routable , then the Lab Management Manager needs a network interface on that subnet.
If you are using hosts that have an out-of-band, LOM network, it is recommended that you have a separate location or subnet for that network. A separate and protected network means a more secure deployment. It keeps the users from directly accessing the out-of-band management capability of these machines. Employing the Lab Management console or the API to conduct LOM procedures ensures that only those users who have the proper privileges or permissions can access the machines.
If you choose not to have a separate network, be aware of the risks associated with that decision, which is to have a less secure deployment.
To successfully build Lab Management Hosts, you should configure all network switch ports where Lab Management Infrastructure Hosts and Client nodes are connected according to these guidelines: