HP Integrity BL870c i2 Server-Blade - Manual (Page 6)

Introduction 6
The Virtual Connect Ethernet modules can also be connected to other devices, such as printers, laptops,
rack servers, and storage devices. To connect to devices other than switches, create a VC network for that
device and only connect uplinks for that network to that device. If you connect uplinks from that network to
other devices, one of the uplinks becomes standby due to the loop avoidance algorithm.
The Virtual Connect FC modules enable connection of the enclosure to Brocade, Cisco, McDATA, or
QLogic data center Fibre Channel switches, but the modules do not appear as switches to the Fibre
Channel fabric.
A basic Virtual Connect domain includes a single HP c-Class BladeSystem c7000 Enclosure for a total of
16 servers (or up to 32 servers if the double-dense option is enabled), or a single HP c-Class BladeSystem
c3000 Enclosure for a total of eight servers (or up to 16 servers if the double-dense option is enabled).
Within the domain, any server blade can access any LAN or SAN connected to a VC module, and a
server blade can be used as a spare for any server blade within the same enclosure.
By stacking (cabling) the Ethernet modules within the domain and connecting the FC modules to the same
set of FC SANs, every server blade in the domain can be configured to access any external network
connection. With this configuration, the administrator can use Virtual Connect Manager to deploy and
migrate a server blade profile to any server in the Virtual Connect domain without changing external LAN
or SAN configurations.
Using multiple enclosures
Multiple enclosure support enables up to four c7000 enclosures to be managed within a single Virtual
Connect domain for a total of 128 servers, if double-dense support is enabled. Multiple enclosure
domains are not supported on c3000 enclosures. The VC-Enet modules use stacking cables between
enclosures so that network traffic can be routed from any server Ethernet port to any uplink within the VC
domain.
By stacking (cabling) the Ethernet modules within the domain, every server blade in the domain can be
configured to access any external network connection. Fibre Channel modules within different enclosures
are each connected directly to the same set of FC SANs. With this configuration, the administrator can
use Virtual Connect Manager to deploy and migrate a server blade profile to any server in the Virtual
Connect domain without changing external LAN or SAN configurations.
Using multiple c7000 enclosures, you can install up to 16 VC-Enet modules and up to 16 VC-FC modules
in the same domain, with a maximum of 8 VC-Enet or 4 VC-FC modules per enclosure.
The management interfaces for all enclosure OAs and VC modules within the same VC domain must be
on the same lightly loaded subnet. The OA IP addresses used must be configured to be static.
Command line overview
The HP Virtual Connect Manager Command Line Interface can be used as an alternative method for
managing the Virtual Connect Manager. Using the CLI can be useful in the following scenarios:
• HP Management Applications (for example, Systems Insight Manager or Insight Control tools) can
query the Virtual Connect Manager for information these tools need to present a complete
management view of HP BladeSystem enclosures and devices. This interface is also used by the
Management tools to execute provisioning and configuration tasks to devices within the enclosure.
• Users can develop tools that utilize Virtual Connect Manager functions for data collection and for
executing provisioning and configuration tasks.