→ Applies to: Hyperion 9.x and above

In Syneto Hyperion, virtual networks (similar to port groups in VMware) allow VMs to connect to isolated or VLAN-tagged segments.

These networks are defined at the hypervisor level and use Linux bridges managed via NetworkManager (nmcli); using the Management Network interface as an uplink, you can create VLAN-backed virtual networks for your VMs.

This configuration enables logical isolation of traffic, supports trunked physical switch ports, provides clean separation between test, development, and production environments, and improves security by reducing broadcast domains.

Ensure the following prerequisites are met before starting:

- Switch port must be in trunk mode with VLAN number allowed

Step 1. Connect to Hyperion appliance via SSH as admin

ssh admin@<your_ip_address_or_hostname>

Step 2. Become Super User

sudo su

Identify active bridge

Check details of the Management Network

nmcli con show "Management Network"

EXAMPLE 

connection.interface-name: vswitch0
connection.type: bridge

This confirms that vswitch0 is the Linux bridge associated with the Management Network

Identify uplink

Check details of the physical uplink interface

bridge link show

EXAMPLE 

3: em1 state UP : <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 master vswitch0 ...

This confirms that em1 is the physical interface linked to the vswitch0 bridge

Create a VLAN Interface

Check details of the physical uplink interface (replace <vlan_name>, <interface_name>, <physical_uplink> and <vlan_id> with the correct information)

nmcli connection add type vlan con-name <vlan_name> \
  ifname <interface_name> dev <physical_uplink> id <vlan_id>

EXAMPLE

nmcli connection add type vlan con-name vlan110-dev \
  ifname vlan110-dev dev em1 id 110

This adds a VLAN-tagged interface layered on the identified physical network interface

Create a bridge for the VLAN

Step 1. Create bridge interface (replace <bridge_name> and <bridge_interface_name> with the correct information)

nmcli connection add type bridge con-name <bridge_name> ifname <bridge_interface_name>

EXAMPLE

nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br-vlan110 ifname br-vlan110

Step 2. Attach the VLAN interface to the bridge (replace <bridge_name> and <bridge_interface_name> with the correct information)

nmcli connection add type bridge con-name <bridge_name> ifname <bridge_interface_name>

EXAMPLE

nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br-vlan110 ifname br-vlan110

Step 3. Activate the bridge and the VLAN interface (replace <bridge_name> and <interface_name> with the correct information)

nmcli con up <bridge_name>

nmcli con up <interface_name>

EXAMPLE

nmcli con up br-vlan110

nmcli con up vlan110-dev

Create a virtual network

Step 1. Create a file that defines the new virtual network (replace <file_name>, <network_name> and <bridge_name> with the correct information)

cat > /tmp/<file_name>.xml <<EOF
<network>
  <name><network_name></name>
  <forward mode='bridge'/>
  <bridge name='<bridge_name>'/>
</network>
EOF

EXAMPLE

cat > /tmp/vlan110-network.xml <<EOF
<network>
  <name>vlan110-network</name>
  <forward mode='bridge'/>
  <bridge name='br-vlan110'/>
</network>
EOF

This XML tells the hypervisor to forward VM traffic through the bridge br-vlan110.

Step 2. Define the network in the Syneto Hyperion (replace <file_name> with the correct information)

virsh net-define /tmp/<file_name>.xml

EXAMPLE

virsh net-define /tmp/vlan110-network.xml

Step 3. Set the network to autostart (replace <network_name> with the correct information)

virsh net-autostart <network_name>

EXAMPLE

virsh net-autostart vlan110-network

IMPORTANT
After running the net-autostart and net-start commands, you should expect output similar to the following:

Network vlan110-network marked as autostarted Network vlan110-network started

Step 4. Start the network (replace <network_name> with the correct information)

virsh net-start <network_name>

EXAMPLE

virsh net-start vlan110-network

 

IMPORTANT
After running the net-autostart and net-start commands, you should expect output similar to the following:

Network vlan110-network marked as autostarted Network vlan110-network started

Add a VLAN-backed virtual network

How to add a VLAN-backed virtual network to a VM on Syneto Hyperion