User guide

HP Virtual Connect for Cisco Network Administrators (version 4.x)
Document Number: C01386629 Date: January 2014
page 3
Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... 1
Disclaimer, Prerequisites, and Versioning ............................................................................................. 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 5
LAN-safe .............................................................................................................................................. 5
SAN-safe............................................................................................................................................... 5
Ethernet components and technology. ................................................................................................. 6
Definitions ............................................................................................................................................ 6
HP BladeSystem Architecture Overview ............................................................................................... 8
c-Class Cabling Layout ..................................................................................................................... 11
FlexNIC capabilities.......................................................................................................................... 12
HP Virtual Connect Technology .......................................................................................................... 15
Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Virtual Connect Components ............................................................................................................... 16
Virtual Connect Ethernet Modules: ................................................................................................ 16
Virtual Connect Flex-10/10D Module ............................................................................................... 16
Virtual Connect FlexFabric Module ................................................................................................. 17
Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Modules ....................................................................................... 18
Virtual Connect 24 Port Modules ..................................................................................................... 18
Virtual Connect 20 Port Module ...................................................................................................... 18
Virtual Connect Manager .................................................................................................................. 19
Virtual Connect Manager User Interfaces .......................................................................................... 19
VC MIB Support ............................................................................................................................... 19
Virtual Connect Port Descriptions .................................................................................................. 20
Overview of Virtual Connect Ethernet Connectivity .................................................................... 20
VC Uplink Fault Tolerance ............................................................................................................... 22
VC Uplink Load Balancing ............................................................................................................... 23
Port Channeling (802.3ad) Load Balancing Algorithm ................................................................. 25
VC Uplinks and VLAN Trunking .................................................................................................... 27
Unsupported Cisco VLAN Protocols ............................................................................................... 29
Virtual Connect and NIC Teaming .................................................................................................. 29
Virtual Connect and Cisco Terminology Comparison ................................................................... 30
Sample Virtual Connect Ethernet and Cisco Nexus Configurations ................................................ 30
Comparing VC and VMware Networking Technology ...................................................................... 35
Virtual Connect’s Loop Prevention Technology............................................................................. 38
Stacking Virtual Connect Ethernet Modules .................................................................................. 39
Optimizing Virtual Connect Stacking Links ...................................................................................... 43
VC Managed MAC Addresses ............................................................................................................. 43
Spanning Tree ........................................................................................................................................ 45
Unidirectional Link Detection (UDLD) ............................................................................................... 45
Quality of Service .................................................................................................................................. 45
Security .................................................................................................................................................. 46
ACLs & VLAN ACLs ....................................................................................................................... 46
Port Security ...................................................................................................................................... 41
Private VLANs ...................................................................................................................................... 42
Multicast & IGMP Snooping ................................................................................................................ 43
SPAN (Port Monitoring) ....................................................................................................................... 43