An Oracle vNIC virtualizes Ethernet connectivity. A vNIC is a virtual NIC that appears to the OS as a physical NIC and enables a server to have an Ethernet network attachment without having a physical NIC present. Instead of the client server using a NIC, an IB HCA is used and then virtualizes the NIC to allow Ethernet connectivity. The vNIC state information is stored on the chassis.
You might choose to create a VLAN to manage vNICs. A VLAN is a private, independent, logical network that is created within a physical network. A VLAN behaves like an ordinary LAN, but connected devices do not have to be physically connected to the same network segment. See Planning a VLAN.