User guide

HP Virtual Connect for Cisco Network Administrators (version 4.x)
Document Number: C01386629 Date: January 2014
page 15
• HP Ethernet Blade Switch 6120G
• HP Ethernet Blade Switch 6120XG
• HP GbE2c Layer 2/3 Ethernet Blade Switch
• HP 1:10Gb Ethernet BL-c Switch
• Mellanox Ethernet Switch SX1018HP
Ethernet pass-thru modules are also available when direct one-to-one connections between servers
and the LAN is required. HP Ethernet Pass-Thru Modules provide 16-port, transparent, 1:1 port
connectivity between the server and an external Ethernet switch.
Finally, Virtual Connect is also an option for customers for use in place of c-Class Ethernet switches
or Ethernet pass-thru modules. Further discussions about the feature sets of Virtual Connect will
follow in the subsequent pages.
HP Virtual Connect Technology
Overview
Virtual Connect is a set of interconnect modules and embedded software for HP BladeSystem c-
Class enclosures that simplifies the setup and administration of server connections. The HP
Et hernet Virtual Connect portfolio includes the HP 10/10D and FlexFabric Modules for c-Class
BladeSystem, The Fibre Channel portfolio is filled out by the HP 20 and 24 port 8Gb Virtual
Connect Fibre Channel Modules. All modules are managed with the embedded HP Virtual Connect
Manager, the optional Virtual Connect Enterprise Manager (VCEM) or the new optional Oneview
Manager. Virtual Connect implements server edge virtualization so that server administrators can
upgrade, replace, or move server blades within their enclosures without changes being visible to the
external LAN and SAN environments.
The Virtual Connect Manager is embedded on the HP 10/10D / FlexFabric Virtual Connect Ethernet
Modules. Virtual Connect can be accessed by Administrators through web links provided by the
Onboard Administrator, through direct connection to the embedded Virtual Connect Manager web
server, through a serial connection through the OA for CLI access, or through an SSH session for
CLI access to the Virtual Connect Manager.
A Virtual Connect Domain, configured using the Virtual Connect Manager, includes a single HP
c- Class BladeSystem enclosure, all installed Virtual Connect modules and a total of 16 server bays
that can be populated with a mixture of server and or storage blades. Within the VC domain, any
server blade can be configured to 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 VC domain.
By stacking (cabling) the Ethernet modules within the VC domain, every server blade in the domain
can be configured to access any external network connection. Fibre Channel modules (VC-FC)
within different I/O bays are each connected directly to individual FC SAN fabrics. With
this configuration, the Virtual Connect Manager can deploy and move a server profile to any
server bay within the Virtual Connect domain without the need to change external LAN or SAN
configurations.
The Virtual Connect Enterprise Manager is a separate software product that extends management to
as many as 250 VC domains from a single console, provides a single pool of managed MAC
Addresses and World Wide Names, enables movement of Virtual Connect server profiles from one