Technologies in HP ProLiant G7 c-Class server blades with AMD Opteron™ processors, 3rd Edition

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Configuration and management technologies
HP BladeSystem G7 c-Class servers provide an intelligent infrastructure through extensive integration of three
management components:
• BladeSystem Onboard Administrator (OA) module located in the enclosure
• Integrated Lights-Out 3 (iLO 3) processor on the server blade
• Interconnect module management firmware such as the HP Virtual Connect Manager
Integrating these management capabilities provides powerful hardware management for remote administration,
local diagnostics, and troubleshooting.
For detailed information about c-Class management technologies and capabilities, refer to the HP paper titled
“Managing HP BladeSystem c-Class systems” at
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00814176/c00814176.pdf.
BladeSystem OA
The heart of c-Class enclosure management is the BladeSystem OA. It works with the iLO 3 management processor
on each G7 server blade to form the core of the management architecture for the HP BladeSystem c-Class
Enclosure. The OA performs four management functions for the entire enclosure:
• Detects component insertion and removal
• Identifies components and required connectivity
• Manages power and cooling
• Controls components
To identify a component, the OA reads a FRU EEPROM that contains factory information about the component such
as product name, part number, and serial number. The OA accesses server blade FRU EEPROMs through iLO 3.
The server blades contain several FRU EEPROMs: one on the server board that contains server information and
embedded NIC information, and one on each of the installed mezzanine option cards.
Server blade control options include auto login to the iLO web interface and remote server consoles, virtual power
control, and boot order control. Server blade control options also include extensive server hardware information
including BIOS and iLO firmware versions, server name, network adapter and option card port IDs, and port
mapping.
The OA provides easy-to-understand port mapping information for each of the server blades and interconnect
modules in the enclosure. To simplify installation of mezzanine cards and interconnect modules, the OA uses an
electronic keying process to detect mismatches.
Integrated Lights-Out for ProLiant server blades
HP BladeSystem G7 c-Class Server Blades include the iLO 3 management processor to configure, update, and
operate individual server blades remotely. The c-Class enclosure includes an Ethernet management network to
aggregate all iLO management communications across the enclosure. The management network connects
iLO processors to the OA through the OA tray. The OA provides direct access to each iLO through the enclosure
management network and uses this network to manage pooled enclosure power and cooling.
You can take advantage of the full functionality of iLO 3 by purchasing an iLO Advanced license or by purchasing
Insight Control. The iLO Advanced license includes several enhancements:
• Remote console performance equal to that of KVM and software-based remote management solutions, and over
8 times the performance of iLO 2