APPARATUS AND METHOD OF ALLOWING MULTIPLE PARTITIONS OF A PARTITIONED COMPUTER SYSTEM TO USE A SINGLE NETWORK ADAPTER

摘要

A method, system and apparatus for allowing a single network adapter to be used by a plurality of partitions of a logically partitioned computer system LPAR are provided. Each partition assigns a different IP address to the network adapater. The different IP addresses are stored in a table. The table cross-references each IP address with its partition. When a piece of data is received by the computer system, the data is examined to find out the IP address associated with the data. Once done, the table is consulted to determine to which one of the plurality of partitions the data is to be forwarded. The data is then forwarded to the partition.