Broadcast and Multicast Packet Management

A system comprising:

• an Ethernet adapter shared by a plurality of applications executing on a plurality of virtual systems, the Ethernet adapter including a plurality of logical ports;
• and
• a hypervisor in communication with the Ethernet adapter and the plurality of applications, the hypervisor including
• a first function operable to register a logical port of the Ethernet adapter as a recipient of any broadcast packet received by the Ethernet adapter satisfying a first predefined criterion, and
• a second function operable to register the logical port of the Ethernet adapter as a recipient of any multicast packet received by the Ethernet adapter satisfying a second predefined criterion,
• wherein the first function and the second function are invocable by an application assigned to the logical port.

A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium including a computer readable program for managing broadcast packets or multicast packets received by an Ethernet adapter comprising a plurality of logical ports, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

• provide a first function operable to register a logical port of the Ethernet adapter as a recipient of any broadcast packet received by the Ethernet adapter satisfying a first predefined criterion;
• and
• provide a second function operable to register the logical port of the Ethernet adapter as a recipient of any multicast packet received by the Ethernet adapter satisfying a second predefined criterion,
• wherein the Ethernet adapter is shared by a plurality of applications executing on a plurality of virtual systems, the first function and the second function being invocable by an application assigned to the logical port.