User guide

HP Virtual Connect for Cisco Network Administrators (version 4.x)
Document Number: C01386629 Date: January 2014
page 20
VC modules support the applicable groups of the following SNMP MIBs:
Figure 12:
Virtual Connect Port Descriptions
The three types of ports are VC downlinks, VC uplinks, and internal cross-connects:
VC Downlinks
Ports that are directly connected to server NIC ports through the enclosure midplane.
Only role is to provide connectivity to directly connected blade server NICs
VC Uplinks
Ports on the VC-Enet module faceplate that provide external connectivity for the VC domain.
Roles include stacking link, network analyzer port (see Port Monitoring), normal mode
(providing external connectivity for one or more vNets or Shared Uplink Sets)
Internal cross-connects
A non-visible port that interconnects two horizontally adjacent VC-Enet modules
Only role is to function as a stacking link.
Overview of Virtual Connect Ethernet Connectivity
While Virtual Connect provides many features, its primary purpose is to provide internal and
external network connectivity for blade servers in a c-Class enclosure. For Ethernet, Virtual
Connect accomplishes this purpose by bridging together, at layer 2, VC downlink ports (server
NICs) with other VC downlink ports and with VC uplink ports connected to an external
switched network. Virtual Connect provides the administrator with control over which uplinks and
which downlinks are assigned to the same layer 2 network through the use of Virtual Connect
Networks (vNets or Shared Uplink Sets). This mapping technology prevents or manages data traffic