For an InfiniBand switch to be configured as an InfiniBand-Ethernet gateway switch, the switch requires a gateway license. A gateway license is specific to the serial number of a particular InfiniBand switch, and is not transferable. If you select the optional package of an InfiniBand-Ethernet gateway switch, the gateway license is pre-installed at the factory.
With the gateway license installed and applied, the InfiniBand switch can run in gateway mode, and you can choose which switch ports operate in InfiniBand mode and which operate in Ethernet mode (see Configuring InfiniBand-Ethernet Gateway Switch Port Type). This enables InfiniBand and Ethernet traffic to coexist in the switch, effectively splitting the hardware into two separate switches—an InfiniBand switch and an Ethernet switch—and network traffic does not pass between these two switches unless deliberately enabled through a Proxy ARP communication path.
With a switch configured in gateway mode, the network interfaces are split into two groups:
The InfiniBand set of ports that are connected to the InfiniBand hosts or other switches
The Ethernet set of ports that are connected to the customer corporate LAN Ethernet switch
While operating in this configuration, gateway capabilities can be configured to enable passing traffic between the InfiniBand and Ethernet hosts as follows:
Define one or more Ethernet Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) within the InfiniBand-Ethernet gateway switch; and for each Ethernet port of the InfiniBand-Ethernet gateway switch that will be communicating with a secure fabric, configure the port to allow VLANs to go through it.
For more information, see Configuring Ethernet VLANs.
Create a mapping of Ethernet VLANs to secure fabric Subnet Tags (referred to as pkeys in InfiniBand terminology).
For more information, see Associating Ethernet VLAN with Subnet Tag.
If desired, verify that communication between InfiniBand and Ethernet ports is allowed by issuing a ping command from a host to another.
For more information, see Verifying Communication Between Ports on InfiniBand-Ethernet Gateway Switch.
Note: In a ClearPath Forward fabric, an InfiniBand switch functions as a fabric switch, and is configured to run Subnet Manager (SM) by default. When an InfiniBand switch is configured as an InfiniBand-Ethernet gateway switch (that is, its gateway function is active), the switch is no longer able to run Subnet Manager. InfiniBand switches that continue their function as fabric switches are not affected, and continue to run Subnet Manager.