Operating instructions

Chapter 5. Cisco Systems IGESM management and user orientation 57
5.3.3 General management path design considerations
Previous sections discussed the concept of in-band and out-of-band management. Here we
look more closely at a subtle distinction between the Cisco Systems IGESM and traditional
stand-alone Cisco switches with regard to these paths.
A traditional Cisco switch has two ways to connect for management purposes:
򐂰 Via the console port (out-of-band)
򐂰 Via a network connection (in-band)
The Cisco Systems IGESM in the BladeCenter has three ways to connect:
򐂰 Via the console port (out-of-band).
򐂰 Via an internal network connection to and through the Management Module, which uses a
network connection but does not use the data path network connection to carry the traffic.
This is the default network-based management path for the IGESM and represents paths
1 and 2 in Figure 5-40.
򐂰 Via an external uplink network connection (in-band), as represented by path 3 and 4 in
Figure 5-40.
This may seem like a minor distinction, but it is in fact quite important. Understanding how
these paths vary and how to configure to use one or the other (
you cannot configure to use
both at the same time
) is critical to successfully deploy the IGESM into production.
Figure 5-40 Management path flow
Blade
Server
Management Module
Cisco Systems
IGESM
Management
Workstation
Management
Network
Routed Production
Network
2
1 3
Web Interface
1B
1A
2
3
4
4
I2C Interface
Legend
Ethernet
Ethernet path
I2C Interface
I2C path
RJ45 Serial
RJ45 Serial path
Internal
Ethernet
Interface
G0/15 or 16
Service
Port
5
External Ports
External
Ethernet
Interface