HP OneView - Manual (Page 147)

19.2.5 About active/active and active/standby configurations
When choosing which HP Virtual Connect network configuration to use (active/active or
active/standby), consider the type of network traffic an enclosure must support. For example, will
there be much server to server traffic (east/west) needed within the enclosure, or is the traffic flow
mainly in and out bound (north/south) of the enclosure. By considering network traffic patterns
before selecting the type of HP Virtual Connect configuration, you can maximize the connected
bandwidth or minimize the need for server to server traffic leaving the enclosure.
An active/standby configuration works well where network traffic is between systems within the
same enclosure (east/west) as this minimizes or eliminates any server to server communications
from leaving the enclosure.
An active/active configuration works well where network traffic is in and out bound (north/south)
of the enclosure.
19.2.5.1 About active/standby configurations
An active/standby configuration is an Ethernet network configuration where servers in the enclosure
have two NIC ports connected to the same HP Virtual Connect network. A single uplink set has
uplinks from both modules. The uplinks from one module are active while the uplinks in the other
module are standby and are available in the event of a network or module failure. Communications
between servers do not leave the interconnect module. For external communications, all servers in
the enclosure use the active uplink no matter which NIC is actively passing traffic.
This configuration:
•
Provides predictable bandwidth
•
Does not oversubscribe top of rack switch (ToR) bandwidth
The requirements for an active/standby configuration include:
•
A minimum of one Ethernet network and one uplink set for each external VLAN ID you need
to define.
19.2.5.2 About active/active configurations
An active/active configuration is an Ethernet network configuration that allows active traffic on
the same VLAN on multiple interconnect modules. All servers in the enclosure have their NICs
connected to adjacent HP Virtual Connect modules. All uplinks are active to forward traffic for
external communications.
When setting up an active/active configuration in an enclosure, the same networks associated
with an uplink set must be included in the server profile connection for the same interconnect
module. For example, if Net_101_A is in uplink set US_A, which has ports from interconnect
module in bay 1, Net_101_A must be associated with the downlink port that is connected to the
interconnect module in bay 1 (such as LOM1:1-a).
This configuration:
•
Provides full use of all uplink ports (no uplink port in standby mode).
•
Allows all traffic to egress through the interconnect module connected to the NIC port without
crossing the internal stacking link.
•
Doubles available bandwidth while maintaining redundancy (when combined with Smart
Link).
19.2 Managing logical interconnects and logical interconnect groups 147