Replace a NIC with the same vendor and device-id

The following procedure allows the replacement of a NIC on a system without requiring a system re-install and re-configuration, in the case of the replaced NIC having the same vendor or device ID information.

Since this procedure reuses same vendor and device ID information and capabilities, the interface’s new MAC will be updated internally and no reconfiguration is required. Assuming that the replacement will occur on the same PCI slot of the previous card, the procedure can be executed for all types of NIC classes (pci-sriov, data, pci-passthrough, and platform).

Procedure

  1. Lock the host.

    ~(keystone_admin)]$ system host-lock <hostname>

    1. Wait for the host to be reported as locked.

  2. Power down the host manually and make the NIC card replacement.

  3. Power up the host.

  4. Unlock the host.

    ~(keystone_admin)]$ system host-unlock <hostname>

Results

The host is rebooted, and its Availability State is reported as In-Test. After a few minutes, it is reported as Unlocked, Enabled, and Available.