Fabric-backplane enterprise servers with VNICs and VLANs

Virtual Network Interface Controllers (vNICs) provide for communication among modules of Enterprise Server (ES) embodiments via a switch fabric dataplane. Processes executing on compute complexes of the servers exchange data as packets or messages by interfaces made available through vNICs. The vNICs further provide for transparent communication with network and storage interfaces. vNIC provisioning capabilities include programmable bandwidth, priority scheme selection, and detailed priority control (such as round-robin weights). In some embodiments, vNICs are implemented in Virtual Input/Output Controllers (VIOCs). In another aspect, Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) enable access to layer-2 and selected layer-3 network functions while exchanging the packets and messages. VLAN identification is provided in each vNIC, and VLAN processing is partially performed in VIOCs implementing vNICs. The compute complexes and interfaces are typically configured as pluggable modules inserted into a backplane included in a chassis.