HP XC System Software Hardware Preparation Guide Version 3.2

The following enclosure setup guidelines are specific to HP XC:
• On every enclosure, an Ethernet interconnect module (either a switch or pass-thru module)
is installed in bay 1 for the administration network.
• Hardware configurations that use Gigabit Ethernet as the interconnect require an additional
Ethernet interconnect module (either a switch or pass-thru module) to be installed in bay 2
for the interconnect network.
• Systems that use InfiniBand as the interconnect require a double-wide InfiniBand interconnect
switch module installed in double-wide bay 5 and 6.
• Some systems might need an additional Ethernet interconnect module to support server
blades that require external connections. For more information about external connections,
see “Cabling for the External Network” (page 31).
1.2.2 HP BladeSystem c-Class Onboard Administrator
The Onboard Administrator is the management device for an enclosure, and at least one Onboard
Administrator is installed in every enclosure.
You can access the Onboard Administrator through a graphical Web-based user interface, a
command-line interface, or the simple object access protocol (SOAP) to configure and monitor
the enclosure.
You can add a second Onboard Administrator to provide redundancy.
The Onboard Administrator requires a password. For information on setting the Onboard
Administrator Password, see “Setting the Onboard Administrator Password” (page 50).
1.2.3 Insight Display
The Insight Display is a small LCD panel on the front of an enclosure that provides instant access
to important information about the enclosure such as the IP address and color-coded status.
You can use the Insight Display panel to make some basic enclosure settings.
1.3 Server Blade Mezzanine Cards
The mezzanine slots on each server blade provide additional I/O capability.
Mezzanine cards are PCI-Express cards that attach inside the server blade through a special
connector and have no physical I/O ports on them.
Card types include Ethernet, fibre channel, or 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
1.4 Server Blade Interconnect Modules
An interconnect module provides the physical I/O for the built-in NICs or the supplemental
mezzanine cards on the server blades. An interconnect module can be either a switch or a pass-thru
module.
A switch provides local switching and minimizes cabling. Switch models that are supported as
interconnect modules include, but are not limited to:
• Nortel GbE2c Gigabit Ethernet switch
• Cisco Catalyst Gigabit Ethernet switch
• HP 4x DDR InfiniBand switch
• Brocade SAN switch
A pass-thru module provides direct connections to the individual ports on each node and does
not provide any local switching.
Bays in the back of each enclosure correspond to specific interfaces on the server blades. Thus,
all I/O devices that correspond to a specific interconnect bay must be the same type.
22 Hardware and Network Overview