diff --git a/xCAT-buildkit/bin/buildkit b/xCAT-buildkit/bin/buildkit
index 516a6c8da..af40aa41a 100755
--- a/xCAT-buildkit/bin/buildkit
+++ b/xCAT-buildkit/bin/buildkit
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ BEGIN
 }
 
 if ($^O =~ /^aix/i) {
-        print "ERROR - buildkit is not supported on AIX \n";
+        print "ERROR - the buildkit command is not supported on AIX \n";
         exit 1;
 }
 
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ use Cwd 'abs_path';
 use File::Path;
 use File::Basename;
 
-
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Main
 
@@ -393,7 +392,7 @@ while ($arg) {
             $::current_dir = $::workdir;
         }
         if ( ! $::KIT_CREATE ) {
-          print "kit basename not specified for buildkit create command \n";
+          print "The Kit basename was not specified for the buildkit create command.\n";
           &usage;
           exit 1;
         }
@@ -402,7 +401,7 @@ while ($arg) {
     } elsif ( $command eq 'buildrepo' ) {
         $::KIT_BUILDREPO=shift(@ARGV);
         if ( ! $::KIT_BUILDREPO ) {
-          print "kit package repository name not specified for buildkit buildrepo command \n";
+          print "The Kit package repository name was not specified for buildkit buildrepo command.\n";
           &usage;
           exit 1;
         }
@@ -424,17 +423,17 @@ while ($arg) {
     } elsif ( $command eq 'addpkgs' ) {
         $::KIT_ADDPKGS=shift(@ARGV);
         if (!($::KIT_ADDPKGS)){
-            print "Missing parameter:  <kit tarfile>  must be specified with \'buildkit addpkgs\' \n";
+            print "Missing parameter:  the <kit tarfile> name  must be specified when using the \'buildkit addpkgs\' command.\n";
             &usage;
             exit (1); 
         }
         if (!($::PKGDIR)){
-            print "Missing option:  -p <pkgdir> must be specified with \'buildkit addpkgs\' \n";
+            print "Missing option:  the -p <pkgdir> option must be specified with \'buildkit addpkgs\' command. \n";
             &usage;
             exit (1); 
         }
     } else {
-        print "buildkit command $arg not recognized \n";
+        print "The buildkit command $arg is not recognized.\n";
         &usage;
         exit (1); 
     } 
@@ -470,8 +469,6 @@ if ( $::KIT_CLEANALL ) {
 }
 if ( $::KIT_ADDPKGS ) { $rc = &kit_addpkgs; }
 
-
-
 exit $rc;
 
 #####################################
@@ -619,20 +616,20 @@ sub kit_chkconfig
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 sub kit_buildrepo
-
 {
-
     my $rc = 0;
     my $repoid = $::KIT_BUILDREPO;
 
     if ( !$debianflag ){
-
-        # Check if createrepo bin exists or not.  Fail at the beginning.
-        if (! (-e "/usr/bin/createrepo") ) {
-            print "Error: /usr/bin/createrepo does not exist, install createrepo first\n";
+        # Check if createrepo exists or not.  Fail at the beginning.
+        #- don't use specific path - may not be correct in build env
+	my $rcmd = "createrepo -h > /dev/null";
+	if ( system( $rcmd ) ) {
+            print "Error: the createrepo command does not seem to be installed.  Make sure createrepo is installed before running the buildkit command. \n";
             return 1;
         }
     }
+
     $repoid =~ s/\s+//g;
     $repoid =~ tr/A-Z/a-z/;   # convert to lowercase
     if ( $repoid ne 'all' ) { 
@@ -654,11 +651,8 @@ sub kit_buildrepo
 =cut
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 sub kit_buildrepo1
-
 {
-
     my $rc = 0;
     my $repoid = shift;
     $repoid =~ s/\s+//g;
@@ -818,8 +812,6 @@ sub kit_buildrepo1
     return 0;
 }
 
-
-
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 =head3    kit_listrepo
@@ -829,9 +821,7 @@ sub kit_buildrepo1
 =cut
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 sub kit_listrepo
-
 {
     # print "Kit Repository:  Status \n";
     foreach my $kr (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitrepo}{entries}}) {
@@ -853,9 +843,7 @@ sub kit_listrepo
 =cut
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 sub kit_cleanrepo
-
 {
     my $repoid = $::KIT_CLEANREPO;
     my $tmp_repoid = $repoid;
@@ -915,9 +903,7 @@ sub kit_cleanrepo
 =cut
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 sub kit_buildtar
-
 {
     foreach my $kr (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitrepo}{entries}}) {
         if (&validate_repo($kr)) {
@@ -1904,7 +1890,7 @@ sub build_kitcomp
         }
         return 0;
     }
-        
+
     # find the kitrepo hash for this component
     foreach my $kr (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitrepo}{entries}}) {
         if ($comp->{kitrepoid} eq $kr->{kitrepoid}) { 
@@ -1913,7 +1899,7 @@ sub build_kitcomp
         }
     }
     my $repodir = $::base_repodir."/".$repo{kitreponame};
- 
+
     # Fix the kitpkgdeps value for this kitcomponent
     #   For any kitpkgdep that has an rpm file in the repo,
     #   specifically reference it's version-release
@@ -2056,34 +2042,63 @@ sub update_kitcomp_kitpkgdeps
     my $repodir = shift;
 
     if (defined($comp->{kitpkgdeps})) {
-      my $new_kitpkgdeps = '';
-      foreach my $d (split(/,/, $comp->{kitpkgdeps})) {
-        $d =~ s/\s+//g;
-        my $d_short = $d;
-        $d_short =~ s/^([\w\.\-]+)[<>=]*.*$/$1/;
-        if ( $d_short eq $d ) {
-            # no version-release comparisons specified for this kitpkgdep
-            # do we have an rpm file in the repo?
-            my $cmd = "rpm -q --qf \"%{NAME} >= %{VERSION}-%{RELEASE},\" -p $repodir/$d-\[0-9\]\*.rpm 2>/dev/null";
-            if ($::VERBOSE) {
-               print "running rpm query to get version-release info: \n $cmd \n";
-            }
-            my $new_d = `$cmd`;
-            chomp($new_d);
-            if ($::VERBOSE) {
-                 print "output: \n \'$new_d\' \n";
-            }
-            if ( $new_d ne '' ) {
-               $new_kitpkgdeps .= "$new_d,";
+        # we have some rpms listed -n buildkit.conf file
+        my $new_kitpkgdeps = '';
+        foreach my $d (split(/,/, $comp->{kitpkgdeps})) {
+            $d =~ s/\s+//g;
+            my $d_short = $d;
+            # strip off everything after ">="
+            $d_short =~ s/^([\w\.\-]+)[<>=]*.*$/$1/;
+
+            # if they are the same then there was no v/r info provided
+            if ( $d_short eq $d ) {
+                # no version-release comparisons specified for this kitpkgdep
+                # do we have this rpm file?
+                # get a list of any matches
+                my $lscmd = "cd $repodir; /bin/ls $d-\[0-9\]\*.rpm 2>/dev/null";
+                my @rpmlist = `$lscmd`;
+
+                if ( scalar(@rpmlist) == 0) {
+                    print "Error: Could not find rpm named $d in $repodir. \n";
+                    next;
+                } 
+
+                # get the newest version there is 
+                my $newestrpm = xCAT::BuildKitUtils->get_latest_version($repodir, \@rpmlist);
+
+                if (!$newestrpm) {
+                    print "Error: Could not determine the latest version of rpm $d contained in $repodir. \n";
+                    next;
+                }
+
+                # get the Version and release values for this rpm 
+                my $cmd = "rpm -q --qf \"%{NAME} >= %{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}\" -p $repodir/$newestrpm 2>/dev/null";
+                if ($::VERBOSE) {
+                   print "running rpm query to get version-release info: \n $cmd \n";
+                }
+
+                my $new_d = `$cmd`;
+                if (!$new_d) {
+                    print "Error: Could not determine the latest version of rpm $d. \n";
+                    next;
+                }
+
+                chomp($new_d);
+                if ($::VERBOSE) {
+                    print "output: \n \'$new_d\' \n";
+                }
+                if ( $new_d ne '' ) {
+                   $new_kitpkgdeps .= "$new_d,";
+                } else {
+                   $new_kitpkgdeps .= "$d,";
+                }
             } else {
                $new_kitpkgdeps .= "$d,";
             }
-        } else {
-           $new_kitpkgdeps .= "$d,";
         }
-      }
-      $new_kitpkgdeps =~ s/(\,)*$//;
-      $comp->{kitpkgdeps} = $new_kitpkgdeps;
+
+        $new_kitpkgdeps =~ s/(\,)*$//;
+        $comp->{kitpkgdeps} = $new_kitpkgdeps;
     }
     return 0;
 }
@@ -2091,7 +2106,7 @@ sub update_kitcomp_kitpkgdeps
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 =head3    gen_kitcomp_spec
-	
+
    generate the rpm spec file for the kitcomponent  metapkg rpm 
       input:  kitcomponent hash
               kitrepo hash
@@ -2504,9 +2519,7 @@ sub gen_kitcomp_debdir{
 =cut
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 sub load_script
-
 {
     my $scriptname = shift;
     my $SF;
@@ -2524,8 +2537,6 @@ sub load_script
     return $script_contents;
 }
 
-
-
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 =head3    create_kitconf
@@ -3075,13 +3086,14 @@ sub kit_addpkgs
 {
     # add RPM pkgs to an existing kit tarfile 
     my $kittarfile=$::KIT_ADDPKGS;
-    my $rpmdir = $::PKGDIR;
     my $kitbfname = basename($kittarfile);
     $kitbfname =~ s/.tar.bz2$//;
     $kitbfname =~ s/.NEED_PRODUCT_PKGS$//;
-
     my $tmpdir_base = "/tmp/$kitbfname";
 
+    #  - could be list of pkgdir s
+    my @pkgdirlist = split(",", $::PKGDIR);
+
     # Cleanup - should have been removed when last command ran
     #            - but just in case
     system ("rm -Rf $tmpdir_base");
@@ -3095,9 +3107,11 @@ sub kit_addpkgs
     }
     $kittarfile = abs_path($kittarfile);
 
-    if ( !(-d $rpmdir) ) {
-        print  "The package directory $rpmdir could not be read. \n";
-        return 1;
+    foreach my $rpmdir (@pkgdirlist) {
+        if ( !(-d $rpmdir) ) {
+            print  "The package directory $rpmdir could not be read. \n";
+            return 1;
+        }
     }
 
     # Create work directory
@@ -3159,6 +3173,8 @@ sub kit_addpkgs
         exit 1;
     }
 
+    my $rpmdir=$::PKGDIR;
+
     my $ext_filename = '';
     my $ext_reponames = '';
     my $non_native_filename = '';
@@ -3435,7 +3451,9 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
     # add RPM pkgs to an existing kit tarfile 
     my $tmpdir_base = shift;
     my $tmpdir = shift;
-    my $rpmdir = $::PKGDIR;
+
+    # - could be list of pkgdir dirs
+    my @pkgdirlist = split(",", $::PKGDIR);
 
     $::NEW_PARTIAL_KIT = 1;
     $::workdir = "$tmpdir_base/build_input";
@@ -3447,12 +3465,13 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
     if ($tmp_buildkit_conf ne $::full_buildkit_conf) {
         print "$tmp_buildkit_conf should match $::full_buildkit_conf  .... error??? \n";
     }
+
     my $loadrc = &load_bldkitconf($tmp_buildkit_conf);
     if ( $loadrc != 0 ) {
         print "Error reading buildkit config file $tmp_buildkit_conf \n";
         return 1; 
     }
- 
+    
     if ( defined($::KITVERSION) ) {
         $::bldkit_config->{kit}{entries}[0]->{version} = $::KITVERSION;
     }
@@ -3465,6 +3484,7 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
         print "Error validating buildkit config file $tmp_buildkit_conf \n";
         return 1; 
     }
+
     if ($tmpdir ne $::deploy_dir) {
         if (system ("mv $tmpdir $::deploy_dir ") ) {
             print "Error moving $tmpdir to $::deploy_dir \n";
@@ -3475,20 +3495,23 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
     $::base_repodir = "$::deploy_dir/repos";
     my $kitname = $::bldkit_config->{kit}{entries}[0]->{kitname};
 
-
-   # Handle external packages
+    # Handle external packages
     if ($::HAVE_EXTERNAL_PKG) {
       foreach my $kp (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitpackage}{entries}}) {
         if ($kp->{isexternalpkg} eq 'yes') {
            my $ext_filename = $kp->{filename};
            my $ext_reponames = $kp->{kitreponame};
-           my $fromfile = $rpmdir."/".$ext_filename;
-           if ( system("ls $fromfile > /dev/null") ){
-             print  "The product package file $ext_filename could not be read from the package directory $rpmdir. \n";
+
+           my $files = xCAT::BuildKitUtils->find_latest_pkg(\@pkgdirlist, $ext_filename);
+           my @fromfiles=@$files;
+
+           if (scalar(@fromfiles) ==0  ) {
+             print  "Error: The product package file $ext_filename was not found in the package directory(s) @pkgdirlist.\n";
              # Cleanup
              system ("rm -Rf $tmpdir_base");
              return 1;
            }
+
            foreach my $repo (split(/,/, $ext_reponames)) {
              my $repodir = $::base_repodir."/".$repo;
              if ( ! -d ($repodir) && (! mkpath($repodir)) ) {
@@ -3497,18 +3520,28 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
                system ("rm -Rf $tmpdir_base");
                return 1;
              }
+
+             foreach my $fromfile (@fromfiles) {
              if (system("cp -fp $fromfile $repodir")) {
                print "Error copying package file $fromfile to $repodir \n";
                # Cleanup
                system ("rm -Rf $tmpdir_base");
                return 1;
              }
+             }
+             if ($::VERBOSE) { 
+                 print "Copied @fromfiles\n to $repodir\n";
+             }
            }
         }
       }
     }
 
     # Handle non_native_pkgs
+    # Comma-separated list of non-native package
+    #   paths that will be included as files in this kit
+    #   component.
+    #  these are not RPMs!
     my $to_source_dir = "$::workdir/source_packages";
     mkpath("$to_source_dir");
     foreach my $kc (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitcomponent}{entries}}) {
@@ -3519,16 +3552,28 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
           if ("$key" =~ /EXTERNALPKGS/) {
             #the $non_native_filename may contain several pkgs, can check and copy at the same time
             foreach my $nnpkg (split(/,/, $value)){
-
-              my $fromfile = $rpmdir."/".$nnpkg;
-              if ( system("ls $fromfile > /dev/null") ){
-                print  "The product package file $nnpkg could not be read from the package directory $rpmdir. \n";
-                return 1;
-              }
-              if (system("cp -fp $fromfile $to_source_dir")) {
-                print "Error copying package file $fromfile to $to_source_dir \n";
-                return 1;
-              }
+                my $found=0;
+                foreach my $pdir (@pkgdirlist) {
+                    my $fromfile = $pdir."/".$nnpkg;
+                    if ( system("ls $fromfile > /dev/null") ){
+                        next;
+                    } else {
+                        $found++;
+                        if (system("cp -fp $fromfile $to_source_dir")) {
+                            print "Error copying package file $fromfile to $to_source_dir \n"; 
+                            # Cleanup
+                            system ("rm -Rf $tmpdir_base");
+                            next;
+                        } else {
+                            if ($::VERBOSE) {
+                                print "Copied $fromfile to $to_source_dir\n";
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                if (!$found) {
+                    print "Could not find $nnpkg.\n";
+                }
             }
           }
         }
@@ -3539,6 +3584,7 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
     $::HAVE_EXTERNAL_PKG = '';
     $::HAVE_NON_NATIVE_PKGS = '';
     $::NON_NATIVE_PKGS = {};
+
     foreach my $kc (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitcomponent}{entries}}) {
         my $rc=0;
         if ( $debianflag ){
@@ -3552,6 +3598,7 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
             return 1;
         }
     }
+
     # run createrepo
     foreach my $kr (@{$::bldkit_config->{kitrepo}{entries}}) {
         my $repodir = "$::base_repodir/$kr->{kitreponame}";
@@ -3575,7 +3622,6 @@ sub NEW_kit_addpkgs
         }
     }
 
-
     # Build the full kit tar file
     my $buildtar_rc = &kit_buildtar;
 
diff --git a/xCAT-buildkit/lib/perl/xCAT/BuildKitUtils.pm b/xCAT-buildkit/lib/perl/xCAT/BuildKitUtils.pm
index 644837924..ee99d7905 100644
--- a/xCAT-buildkit/lib/perl/xCAT/BuildKitUtils.pm
+++ b/xCAT-buildkit/lib/perl/xCAT/BuildKitUtils.pm
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ sub get_latest_version
         my $fullrpmpath = "$repodir/$rpm*";
 
         # get the basename, version, and release for this rpm
-        my $rcmd = "rpm -qp --queryformat '%{N} %{V} %{R}\n' $repodir/$rpm*";
+        my $rcmd = "rpm -qp --queryformat '%{N} %{V} %{R}\n' $repodir/$rpm";
         my $out  = `$rcmd`;
 
         my ($rpkg, $VERSION, $RELEASE) = split(' ', $out);
@@ -125,10 +125,107 @@ sub get_latest_version
         $i++;
     }
 
-    return ($file_name_hash{$versionout}{$releaseout});
+    if ($i == 0)
+    {
+        print "Error: Could not determine the latest version for the following list of rpms: @rpmlist\n";
+        return undef;
+    } else {
+        return ($file_name_hash{$versionout}{$releaseout});
+    }
+}
+
+#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+=head3    find_latest_pkg
+
+          Find the latest rpm package give the rpm name and a list of 
+                 possible package locations.
+
+        Arguments:
+                - a list of package directories
+                - the name of the rpm
+        Returns:
+                - \@foundrpmlist
+                - undef
+        Example:
+                  my $newrpm = xCAT::BuildKitUtils->find_latest_pkg(\@pkgdirs, $rpmname);
+        Comments:
+
+=cut
+#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+sub find_latest_pkg
+{
+    my ($class, $pkgdirs, $rpmname) = @_;
+    my @pkgdirlist = @$pkgdirs;
+
+    my @rpms;
+    my %foundrpm;
+
+    #  need to check each pkgdir for the rpm(s)
+    #  - if more than one match need to pick latest
+    # find all the matches in all the directories
+    foreach my $rpmdir (@pkgdirlist) {
+        my $ffile = $rpmdir."/".$rpmname;
+
+        if ( system("/bin/ls $ffile > /dev/null 2>&1") ){
+            # if not then skip to next dir
+            next;
+        } else {
+            # if so then get the details and add it to the %foundrpm hash
+            my $cmd = "/bin/ls $ffile 2>/dev/null";
+            my $output = `$cmd`;
+            my @rpmlist = split(/\n/, $output);
+
+            if ( scalar(@rpmlist) == 0) {
+                # no rpms to check
+                next;
+            }
+
+            foreach my $r (@rpmlist) {
+                my $rcmd = "rpm -qp --queryformat '%{N} %{V} %{R}\n' $r*";
+                my $out  = `$rcmd`;
+                my ($name, $fromV, $fromR) = split(' ', $out);
+                chomp $fromV;
+                chomp $fromR;
+
+                # ex. {ppe_rte_man}{/tmp/rpm1/ppe_rte_man-1.3.0.5-s005a.x86_64.rpm}{version}=$fromV; 
+                $foundrpm{$name}{$r}{version}=$fromV;
+                $foundrpm{$name}{$r}{release}=$fromR;
+
+#print "name=$name, full=$r, verson= $fromV, release=$fromR\n";
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    # for each unique rpm basename
+    foreach my $r (keys %foundrpm ) {
+        # if more than one with same basename then find the latest
+        my $latestmatch="";
+        foreach my $frpm (keys %{$foundrpm{$r}} ) {
+            # if we already found a match in some other dir
+            if ($latestmatch) {
+                # then we need to figure out which is the newest
+                # if the $frpm is newer than use it
+                if ( xCAT::BuildKitUtils->testVersion($foundrpm{$r}{$frpm}{version}, ">", $foundrpm{$r}{$latestmatch}{version}, $foundrpm{$r}{$frpm}{release}, $foundrpm{$r}{$latestmatch}{release}) ) {
+                    $latestmatch = $frpm;
+                }
+
+            } else {
+                $latestmatch = $frpm;
+            }
+        }
+	push(@rpms, $latestmatch);
+    }
+
+    if (scalar(@rpms)) {
+        return \@rpms;
+    } else {
+        return undef;
+    }
 }
 
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
 =head3    testVersion
 
         Compare version1 and version2 according to the operator and
diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/esx.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/esx.pm
index b5af9ea99..7de5f2fda 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/esx.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/esx.pm
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ use File::Temp qw/tempdir/;
 use File::Copy;
 use Fcntl qw/:flock/;
 use IO::Socket; #Need name resolution
+use Scalar::Util qw/looks_like_number/;
 #use Data::Dumper;
 Getopt::Long::Configure("bundling");
 Getopt::Long::Configure("pass_through");
@@ -2087,11 +2088,16 @@ sub chhypervisor {
     my $maintenance;
 	my $online;
     my $stat;
+    my $vlanaddspec;
+    my $vlanremspec;
     require Getopt::Long;
     GetOptions(
         'maintenance|m' => \$maintenance,
         'online|o' => \$online,
         'show|s' => \$stat,
+        'show|s' => \$stat,
+        'addvlan=s' => \$vlanaddspec,
+        'removevlan=s' => \$vlanremspec,
         );
     my $hyp = $args{hyp};
     $hyphash{$hyp}->{hostview} = get_hostview(hypname=>$hyp,conn=>$hyphash{$hyp}->{conn}); #,properties=>['config','configManager']); 
@@ -2119,8 +2125,11 @@ sub chhypervisor {
                         xCAT::SvrUtils::sendmsg("hypervisor online", $output_handler,$hyp);
                 }
         }
+    } elsif ($vlanaddspec) {
+        fixup_hostportgroup($vlanaddspec, $hyp);
+    } elsif ($vlanremspec) {
+        fixup_hostportgroup($vlanremspec, $hyp, action=>'remove');
     }
-
     return;
 }
   
@@ -3736,6 +3745,93 @@ sub scan_cluster_networks {
         }
     }
 }
+
+sub fixup_hostportgroup {
+    my $vlanspec = shift;
+    my $hyp = shift;
+    my %args = @_;
+    my $action = 'add';
+    if ($args{action}) { $action = $args{action} }
+    my $hostview = $hyphash{$hyp}->{hostview};
+    my $switchsupport = 0;
+    eval {
+        require xCAT::SwitchHandler;
+        $switchsupport = 1;
+    };
+    my $hypconn = $hyphash{$hyp}->{conn}; #this function can't work in clustered mode anyway, so this is appropriote.
+    my $vldata = $vlanspec;
+    my $switchname = get_default_switch_for_hypervisor($hyp);
+    my $pgname;
+    $vldata =~ s/=.*//; #TODO specify nic model with <blah>=model
+    if ($vldata =~ /:/) { #The config specifies a particular path in some way
+        $vldata =~ s/(.*)://;
+        $switchname = get_switchname_for_portdesc($hyp,$1);
+        $pgname=$switchname."-".$vldata;
+    } else { #Use the default vswitch per table config to connect this through, use the same name we did before to maintain compatibility
+        $pgname=$vldata;
+    }
+    my $netsys;
+    $hyphash{$hyp}->{pgnames}->{$vlanspec}=$pgname;
+    my $policy = HostNetworkPolicy->new();
+    unless ($hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$pgname}) {
+        my $vlanid;
+        if (looks_like_number($vldata)) {
+            $vlanid = $vldata;
+        } elsif ($vldata =~ /trunk/) {
+            $vlanid=4095;
+        } elsif ($vldata =~ /vl(an)?(\d+)$/) {
+            $vlanid=$2;
+        } else {
+            $vlanid = 0;
+        }
+        if ($vlanid > 0 and $vlanid < 4095 and $switchsupport) {
+            my $switchtab = xCAT::Table->new("switch", -create=>0);
+            if ($switchtab) {
+                my $swent = $switchtab->getNodeAttribs($hyp, [qw/switch port/]);
+                if ($swent and $swent->{'switch'}) {
+                    my $swh = new xCAT::SwitchHandler->new($swent->{'switch'});
+                    my @vlids = $swh->get_vlan_ids();
+                    if ($action eq 'add') {
+                        unless (grep {$_ eq $vlanid} @vlids) {
+                            $swh->create_vlan($vlanid);
+                        }
+                        $swh->add_ports_to_vlan($vlanid, $swent->{'port'});
+                    } elsif ($action eq 'remove') {
+                        $swh->remove_ports_from_vlan($vlanid, $swent->{'port'});
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        my $hostgroupdef = HostPortGroupSpec->new(
+            name =>$pgname,
+            vlanId=>$vlanid,
+            policy=>$policy,
+            vswitchName=>$switchname
+            );
+        unless ($netsys) {
+            $netsys = $hyphash{$hyp}->{conn}->get_view(mo_ref=>$hostview->configManager->networkSystem);
+        }
+        if ($action eq 'remove') {
+            $netsys->RemovePortGroup(pgName=>$pgname);
+            return;
+        } elsif ($action eq 'add') {
+            $netsys->AddPortGroup(portgrp=>$hostgroupdef);
+        }
+        #$hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$netname}=1;
+        while ((not defined $hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$pgname}) and sleep 1) { #we will only sleep if we know something will be waiting for
+            $hostview->update_view_data(); #pull in changes induced by previous activity
+            if (defined $hostview->{network}) { #We load the new object references
+                foreach (@{$hostview->network}) {
+                    my $nvw = $hypconn->get_view(mo_ref=>$_);
+                    if (defined $nvw->name) {
+                        $hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$nvw->name}=$_;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 sub validate_network_prereqs {
     my $nodes = shift;
     my $hyp  = shift;
@@ -3761,53 +3857,7 @@ sub validate_network_prereqs {
     foreach $node (@$nodes) {
         my @networks = split /,/,$tablecfg{vm}->{$node}->[0]->{nics};
         foreach (@networks) {
-            my $switchname = get_default_switch_for_hypervisor($hyp); 
-            my $tabval=$_;
-            my $pgname;
-            s/=.*//; #TODO specify nic model with <blah>=model
-            if (/:/) { #The config specifies a particular path in some way
-                s/(.*)://;
-                $switchname = get_switchname_for_portdesc($hyp,$1);
-                $pgname=$switchname."-".$_;
-            } else { #Use the default vswitch per table config to connect this through, use the same name we did before to maintain compatibility
-                $pgname=$_;
-            }
-            my $netname = $_;
-            my $netsys;
-            $hyphash{$hyp}->{pgnames}->{$tabval}=$pgname;
-            my $policy = HostNetworkPolicy->new();
-            unless ($hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$pgname}) {
-                my $vlanid;
-                if ($netname =~ /trunk/) {
-                    $vlanid=4095;
-                } elsif ($netname =~ /vl(an)?(\d+)$/) {
-                    $vlanid=$2;
-                } else {
-                    $vlanid = 0;
-                }
-                my $hostgroupdef = HostPortGroupSpec->new(
-                    name =>$pgname,
-                    vlanId=>$vlanid,
-                    policy=>$policy,
-                    vswitchName=>$switchname
-                    );
-                unless ($netsys) {
-                    $netsys = $hyphash{$hyp}->{conn}->get_view(mo_ref=>$hostview->configManager->networkSystem);
-                }
-                $netsys->AddPortGroup(portgrp=>$hostgroupdef);
-                #$hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$netname}=1;
-                while ((not defined $hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$pgname}) and sleep 1) { #we will only sleep if we know something will be waiting for
-                    $hostview->update_view_data(); #pull in changes induced by previous activity
-                    if (defined $hostview->{network}) { #We load the new object references
-                        foreach (@{$hostview->network}) {
-                            my $nvw = $hypconn->get_view(mo_ref=>$_);
-                            if (defined $nvw->name) {
-                                $hyphash{$hyp}->{nets}->{$nvw->name}=$_;
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-                } #end while loop
-            }
+            fixup_hostportgroup($_, $hyp);
         }
     }
     return 1;
diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/svc.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/svc.pm
index 4ef660f21..10b2b437b 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/svc.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/svc.pm
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ sub handled_commands {
     return {
         mkstorage => "storage:type",
         rmstorage => "storage:type",
+        lspool => "storage:type",
     }
 }
 
@@ -86,6 +87,25 @@ sub mkstorage {
     }
 }
 
+sub hashifyoutput {
+    my @svcoutput = @_;
+    my $hdr = shift @svcoutput;
+    my @columns = split /:/, $hdr;
+    my @ret;
+    foreach my $line (@svcoutput) {
+        my $index = 0;
+        my %record = ();
+        my $keyname;
+        foreach my $datum (split /:/, $line) {
+            $keyname = $columns[$index];
+            $record{$keyname} = $datum;
+            $index += 1;
+        }
+        push @ret,\%record;
+    }
+    pop @ret; # discard data from prompt
+    return @ret;
+}
 sub bindhosts {
     my $nodes = shift;
     my $lun = shift;
@@ -283,10 +303,24 @@ sub process_request {
     $dorequest = shift;
     if ($request->{command}->[0] eq 'mkstorage') {
         mkstorage($request);
+    } elsif ($request->{command}->[0] eq 'lspool') {
+        lsmdiskgrp($request);
     }
     foreach (values %controllersessions) {
         $_->close();
     }
 }
 
+sub lsmdiskgrp {
+    my $req = shift;
+    foreach my $node (@{$req->{node}}) {
+        my $session = establish_session(controller=>$node);
+        my @pools = hashifyoutput($session->cmd("lsmdiskgrp -delim :"));
+        foreach my $pool (@pools) {
+            sendmsg($pool->{name}. " available capacity: ".$pool->{free_capacity},$callback,$node);
+            sendmsg($pool->{name}. " total capacity: ".$pool->{capacity},$callback,$node);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 1;