.Part 3 Host and Storage System Rules HP SAN Design Reference Guide 785353-001

The HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 20-port Fibre Channel Module:

• Simplifies server connections by separating the server enclosure from SAN

• Simplifies SAN fabrics by reducing cables without adding switches to the domain

• Allows you to change servers in minutes

For more information, see the product QuickSpecs at:

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13421_div/13421_div.html

HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem

The HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 24-port FC Module offers enhanced Virtual Connect capabilities,

allowing up to 24 ports of connectivity to a Fibre Channel SAN.

For more information, see the product QuickSpecs at:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13295_div/13295_div.html

HP 4 Gb Virtual Connect Fibre Channel module for c-Class BladeSystem

The HP 4Gb VC-FC module is an optional Fibre Channel interconnect offered on HP BladeSystem

c-Class servers. VC-FC employs NPIV protocol to aggregate multiple Fibre Channel HBAs over a

smaller number of N_Port uplinks. The VC-FC module is Fibre Channel standards based and is

compatible with all NPIV standards-compliant switch products.

The VC-FC module can aggregate up to sixteen Fibre Channel HBA ports at the back end connected

through the enclosure backplane, and comes with four uplinks or N_Ports which connect to an

external Fibre Channel fabric. Each of the four uplinks is configurable to aggregate between zero

and sixteen Fibre Channel HBAs resulting in an over-subscription ratio of up to 16:1. The default

over-subscription ratio is 4:1 with other user configurable options of 8:1 and 16:1. The VC-FC

module appears as a pass-thru device to the network. Any changes to the server are transparent

to its associated network. This separates the servers from the fabric and relieves SAN administrators

from server maintenance.

The VC-FC module is one of two components of the HP Virtual Connect technology. The other

component of the solution is the HP Virtual Connect Ethernet (VC-Enet) module. Both modules are

managed by Virtual Connect manager software embedded on VC-Enet module. The HP Virtual

Connect solution requires at least one VC-Enet module and one VC-FC module.

HP Virtual Connect FC connectivity guidelines

Deploy HP VC-FC in environments where you need to manage servers without impacting SAN

management (that is, the server administrator manages the entire configuration). There are several

customer configurations with varying numbers of VC-FC modules and blade enclosures. The actual

configurations depend on customer connectivity requirements, availability of existing equipment,

and future growth requirements. Table 78 (page 169) describes the HP VC-FC rules and

Figure 58 (page 170) shows an HP VC-FC example.

Table 78 HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel guidelines and rules

DescriptionRule number

For high availability, configure two redundant fabrics and two VC-FC modules, with each HBA connecting

to one fabric through one VC-FC module.

VC-FC is supported with B-series, C-series and H-series fabrics. The VC-FC module must connect to a

switch model that supports NPIV F_Port connectivity. Certain switch models may require a license.

HP supports a maximum of 4 VC-FC modules per blade enclosure.3

HP Virtual Connect for the c-Class BladeSystem server environment 169