Dave,

This is just a guess, but I suspect that you are falling into the trap
that many of us fell into when the guest lan and vswitch capability first
appeared in VM.  Network guys, as well as other people, tend to think of
mainframes as big PC's, a "thing" on the network that needs an IP.  So,
they assign individual IPs to interfaces as needed.  That may have been
fine when all you had were some z/OS guests, etc.  However, now that you
are getting into vswitch territory, you are moving into a whole new world.
You aren't setting up some "things" that need IPs, you are setting another
network.

You need to get your network guys to understand that they need to treat this
like a new segment on their LAN, not an individual object.  You'll need to
be assigned a whole subnet of addresses with a subnet mask greater than
just .252 .  For 200 guests, you'll need at least a class C subnet
(255.255.255.0).  However, I would go for a larger subnet, to allow for
growth.  (These Linux systems tend to multiply if not chaparoned.)

We use guest lans extensively, though the same principle applies to
vswitches.  I actually have control of a subnet of over 4000 IPs just for
the public side of our z/900.  I have an entire class B on our local side
(10.x.x.x).

OSPF is definately doable.  We've been doing it that way for 3 years now.
The VM TCPIP stack can talk OSPF to the real network without a problem.
We also have it enabled on a few of our Linux guests, though we are relying
primarily on VM for the routing at this point.  However, whoever manages
the subareas on the network needs to allocate one specifically for your new
segment on the network.

You really need to sit down with your network guys and lay this out
(i.e. diagram it) just like they were putting in a new network.  Don't let
them get hung up on the fact that there are no cables.  Treat it just like
it were adding a new building to your company, etc.  When you put it in those
terms, it is usually easier for non-VMers to grasp.

Good luck,
Martha

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