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ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch Overview
white paper
Abstract.............................................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 3
GbE2 Interconnect Kit ...................................................................................................
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Enterprise-class performance ............................................................................................................... 16 Network adapter teaming................................................................................................................... 16 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................ 17 Appendix: Summary of features of the ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2
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Abstract This white paper provides an overview of the second generation Gigabit Ethernet (GbE2) Interconnect Kit options for the ProLiant BL p-Class system. Each GbE2 Interconnect Kit includes a pair of industry- standard Ethernet switches that dramatically reduce the number of Ethernet network cables attached to the rear of the ProLiant BL p-Class server blade enclosure. When the GbE2 Interconnect Kit is used with the optional GbE2 Storage Connectivity Kit, it also provides pass-through of
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GbE2 Interconnect Kit The GbE2 Interconnect Kit contains two redundant, hot-swappable GbE2 Interconnect Switches and two 4-port LAN interconnect modules. Users first insert the LAN interconnect modules into the bottom- left and bottom-right interconnect bays at the rear of the server blade enclosure and then install the interconnect switches into the interconnect bays from the front of the enclosure (Figure 1). The GbE2 Interconnect Switches consolidate the 32 Ethernet ports from the server
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redundant fans and they are powered by two independent feeds via the redundant, N+N hot-plug ProLiant BL p-Class power enclosure. Users can independently disable or enable the switch ports as desired. Auto-MDI/MDIX with auto- negotiation of speed and duplex mode is supported. Each GbE2 Interconnect Switch includes the following Ethernet ports: • Sixteen dedicated internal 10/100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet downlink ports connecting the server NICs to the switch. • Six external Ethernet ports for da
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LAN interconnect module uplink ports The LAN interconnect module uplink ports are typically used to connect the interconnect switches to the network infrastructure; however, they are standard Ethernet switch ports and may be used as desired. The GbE2 interconnect kits are identical with exception of the LAN interconnect modules. The C-GbE2 Interconnect kit includes two QuadT2 interconnect modules, each with four 10/100/1000T Ethernet ports with RJ-45 connectors. The F-GbE2 Interconnect Kit
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module that contain a 10-Gb Ethernet high-bandwidth uplink. The 10-Gb LAN interconnect modules may also contain Gigabit Ethernet ports, if space permits. With these future planned options for the GbE2 Interconnect Switch, an administrator will be able to independently select the switching layer as well as the uplink bandwidth, all within a single switch. Both options can be installed by users in the field without powering down the server blades or the server blade enclosure. Availability of
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Applications that utilize a single uplink port include testing and evaluation systems, server blade enclosures with a few installed servers, and applications that require minimal bandwidth. On a heavily utilized system, using a single uplink port for all 32 network adapters can cause a traffic bottleneck. For example, using one uplink from interconnect switch A requires the traffic from all the network adapters routed to switch B to travel over the two crosslinks (a 2000 Mb/s path), previous
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Fibre Channel pass-through The GbE2 Interconnect Kits offer the ability to pass-through BL20p G2 Fibre Channel signals using the optional GbE2 Storage Connectivity Kit. Therefore, both Ethernet LAN signal consolidation and Fibre Channel SAN signal pass-through is now possible with a single interconnect. The GbE2 Interconnect Switch chassis is simply used as a carrier to pass-through the Fibre Channel signals. The Ethernet LAN and the Fibre Channel SAN signals are completely isolated from ea
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Figure 5. BL20p G2 Fibre Channel signal routing with the GbE2 Interconnect Switch With the GbE2 Storage Connectivity Kit installed, both Fibre Channel SAN and Ethernet LAN signals exit the rear of the server blade enclosure, each type of signal on its dedicated interconnect module (Figure 6). Just like the LAN QuadT2 and QuadSX interconnect modules, the SAN OctalFC interconnect module has a robust connector assembly and includes a guide pin to ensure that the module is properly aligne
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Switch management The GbE2 Interconnect Switch is an industry-standard managed Ethernet switch, which means that users configure and manage the switch like other industry-standard Ethernet switches. To aid users during initial deployment, the GbE2 Interconnect Switch includes a default configuration that is fully operational at initial boot and a step-by-step set-up utility for custom configurations. A web browser-based interface (BBI) and a command line interface (CLI) with scripting capab
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configuration file. The configuration file has a text-based format, which allows it to be directly viewed, printed, and edited. Each GbE2 Interconnect Switch has three configuration settings in memory (active, back-up, and factory); any one of these settings can be selected as the current runtime version. Users can perform firmware operating system upgrades by using TFTP through any external Ethernet port after boot-up, and by using XModem through the serial interface during boot-up. Redund
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Scriptable command line interface The CLI provides the added benefits of scripting, a set-up utility and other enhanced switch management tasks, an out-of-band connection, and more. The main menu opens after a successful log- in (Figure 9). This interface may be accessed locally via the front panel RS-232 console port on each interconnect switch or remotely using a console Telnet session via any interconnect switch external Ethernet port. Figure 9. Command line interface for ProLiant BL
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• Specify the IP-based management networks that are allowed to access each switch. • Set a user interface idle time-out period and disable web-based and Telnet access. • Enable a secure shell (SSH) session to the CLI interface. • Modify default Telnet and HTTP server socket port numbers. Additional switch security measures include: • RADIUS RFC 2865 to provide user authentication and authorization. • Port-based IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLANs for server grouping and data isolation. • Secure copy
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The optional HP Diagnostic Station (Figure 11) is available to configure and diagnose an interconnect switch or a server blade that has been removed from the server blade enclosure. The Diagnostic Station provides power to the interconnect switch and can be used to perform any of the following tasks: • Build the initial interconnect switch configuration. • Download a switch configuration file. • Test network adapter and interconnect switch port activity. • Diagnose interconnect switch s
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• The ability to set the interconnect switch to a valid firmware image in case of firmware corruption. For more detailed information on the administration capabilities of the ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 6 Interconnect Switch, see the ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch user guides. Virtual LAN The GbE2 Interconnect Switch supports 255 port-based IEEE 802.1Q virtual LANs (VLANs). Members of a VLAN may be untagged and tagged ports according to IEEE 802.3ac VLAN Ethernet frame extension
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• Network Fault Tolerance (NFT) • Transmit Load Balancing (TLB) • Switch-assisted Load Balancing (SLB) When teaming HP NC series network adapters with the interconnect switch, NFT and TLB teaming are the same as with any ProLiant system. However, for SLB teaming, the pre-defined switch-to-server architecture across the server blade enclosure’s backplane must be considered. SLB requires that all NICs in the team must be connected to the same switch. The GbE2 Interconnect Switch’s redundan
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Appendix: Summary of features of the ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Kit Switch performance • Store and forward mode layer 2 switching standard • Layer 3 routing firmware future internal upgrade capability • Layer 7 routing and content delivery switching future internal upgrade capability • Support for 3rd party external layer 7 content delivery switch / appliance • Support for F5 BIG-IP Blade Controller load balancer and traffic management • Frame forwarding throughput of 1.488 m
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• MAC address user management sorting on a per port and per VLAN basis • Manual, or automatic IP settings via a BOOTP server • Three switch configuration settings in memory (active, back-up, and factory); any can be selected as the current version. • Redundant firmware images in memory; either image can be selected as the current runtime version. • Ability to restore switch to factory default settings • TFTP and SCP to upload and download (save, restore, and update) the switch configuration
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• State information ”dump” for tuning and debugging switch performance available in uuencoded format • Panic command for immediate state dump to flash memory and automatically switch reboot Switch security • Password protected multi-level user accounts supported on all management interfaces • Configurable user interface idle time-out period • Ability to disable web-based and Telnet access to the switch user interfaces • 255 Port-based IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLANs per switch (510 per server bl
