User's Manual

Introduction 11
o
HP VC 4Gb Fibre Channel Module for BladeSystem c-Class (enhanced NPIV)
o HP VC 8Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module for BladeSystem c-Class
o HP VC 8Gb 20-Port Fibre Channel Module for BladeSystem c-Class
NOTE: Beginning with VC 4.10, the HP 4GB Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Module is no longer
supported.
VC modules support HP BladeSystem Enclosures and all server blades and networks contained within the
enclosure:
• VC-Enet modules enable connectivity to data center Ethernet switches. VC-Enet modules can also be
directly connected to other types of devices, such as printers, laptops, rack servers, and network storage
devices.
• VC-FC and FlexFabric modules enable connectivity of the enclosure to data center FC switches. Every
FC fabric is limited in the number of switches it can support, but the VC-FC and FlexFabric modules do
not appear as switches to the FC fabric and do not count against FC fabric limits.
For information on module support of enclosures and configurations, see the product QuickSpecs on the
HP website (http://www.hp.com/go/qs).
VCM is embedded on VC-Enet modules and is accessed through a web-based GUI or CLI. These interfaces
are also accessible from Onboard Administrator.
A basic VC domain includes a single HP c-Class BladeSystem c7000 Enclosure for a total of 16 servers (or
up to 32 servers if the double-dense option is enabled), or a single HP c-Class BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure
for a total of 8 servers (or up to 16 servers if the double-dense option is enabled). For more information on
the double-dense option, see "Double-dense server bay option." Within the domain, any server blade with
the requisite LAN or SAN devices can access any LAN or SAN connected to a VC module, and a server
blade of a given processor type (Integrity or X86) can be used as a spare for any server blade of the same
processor type within the same enclosure, as long as the server has the requisite number and type of
connections. Using the network access groups feature, the network administrator can clearly define a
separation of networks based on their allowed functionality and prevent the server administrator from
assigning specific network combinations in the same server profile.
By stacking (cabling) the VC-Enet modules together within the domain and connecting the VC-FC or
FlexFabric module FC uplinks on the same bay of all enclosures to the same FC switch, every server blade in
the domain can be configured to access any external network or fabric connection. With this configuration,
you can use VCM to deploy and migrate a server blade profile to any server in the Virtual Connect domain
without changing external LAN or SAN configurations.
Beginning with VC 4.10, the FTP service on VC-Enet modules is disabled by default. The VCSU software
temporarily enables and disables the FTP service during firmware upgrades of VC-FC modules as needed.
More recent versions of VC use SFTP instead of FTP for firmware upgrades.
Each version of VC is tested and supported with one or more SPPs. For a list of supported SPPs that must be
installed, see the VC release notes.
Using multiple enclosures
Observe the following information:
• A single domain supports up to four c7000 enclosures.
c3000 enclosures are not supported in multiple enclosure domains.