Systems and methods of initiating virtual machine configuration on a subordinate node from a privileged node. An exemplary embodiment can provide a host channel adapter (HCA) including a control circuit with a processor and a memory, and a physical port operative to connect the HCA to a network fabric. Additionally, the HCA can include a subnet management agent (SMA) that executes on the HCA. The SMA can forward a request to register a virtual HCA to a subnet manager. The subnet manager can read an exposed attribute of the HCA, where the exposed attribute specifies the physical port as a privileged node, and where the value of the exposed attribute equals an assigned globally unique identifier (GUID) of the physical port. Upon receiving the request, the subnet manger can evaluate the GUID of the sending port to determine that the GUID and the value of the exposed attribute are equal.