HP Integrity BL870c Server-Blade - Manual (Page 18)

4 Planning nPartitions
This chapter describes the hardware and firmware requirements for an nPartition.
Hardware Configurations
The blades connected via a Blade Link (BL) must all be of the same type; e.g., BL8x0c i4. This
allows for any configuration of nPartitions to work together. The “Domain” is the full set of blades
connected to each other with the Blade Link. An “nPartition” is a set of blade(s) which work together
as a single server.
NOTE: All processors must match, i.e., must be of the same sku, within the Blade Link Domain.
BL860c i4, BL1 Blade Link
The smallest unit for a partition is a single blade, so the BL860c i4 cannot be partitioned.
BL870c i4, BL2 Blade Link
The default configuration of the BL870c i4 is a 2-blade partition. The firmware (both iLO and SFW)
must be the same on all blades.
BL890c i4, BL4 Blade Link
The default configuration of the BL890c i4 is a 4-blade partition. The firmware (both iLO and SFW)
must be the same on all blades.
Processor and memory configuration rules
Processor and memory configuration rules are specified in the HP Integrity BL860c i4, BL870c i4
& BL890c i4 Server Blade HP User Service Guide at
http://www.hp.com/go/Blades-docs.
http://www.hp.com/go/Blades-docs. Memory loading rules are discussed in the memory
performance white paper for the BL8x0c i4. Please refer to the appendix of this user guide for
white paper links. General requirements that the system administrator should be aware of are:
•
All processor sockets must be loaded with the same processor type (sku) within the Blade Link
Domain. A mismatch of processor sku within the partition will prevent power on of the partition.
•
The memory loading configuration should be consistent across each blade within the Blade
Link Domain, such that when the Blade Link Domain is partitioned, each partition complies
with the Memory loading rules.
•
Memory loading rules must be implemented for the largest size partition possible. This means
that you should plan to load memory in quad (4 DIMM increments) configurations. Smaller
partition sizes when scaled up must comply with rules for the larger partition. A single blade
loaded with DIMM pairs, when upgraded to a multi-blade (conjoined) system, must have quad
DIMM loading.
Internal SAS considerations
Internal SAS disk storage considerations: when shrinking the size of the partition (scaling down),
the system administration should take into account if a RAID solution using internal SAS disk storage
has been implemented that spans multiple blades, which are being re-assigned to an alternate
partition.
Firmware configuration requirements
Common firmware (same revision), as specified in the recipe release notes for the BL8x0c i4
products, is required to be loaded on all partitions within a Blade Link Domain. This requirement
applies to SAS and I/O firmware, as well.
18 Planning nPartitions