ProLiant BL p-Class Interconnect Overview - White Paper

11
• Optional pass-through of ProLiant BL20p G2 Fibre Channel storage signals using the GbE2 Storage
Connectivity Kit. Therefore, both Ethernet signal consolidation and Fibre Channel pass-through is
now possible using a single interconnect (see the ProLiant BL p-Class SAN Connectivity technology
brief
6
.
Figure 11. ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Kit architecture
For more information, see the ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch Overview white paper
7
.
Investment protection
The ProLiant BL p-Class interconnects are designed to support any mix of ProLiant servers. Within the
p-Class server blade enclosure, many different configurations of 2-processor and 4-processor server
are possible. For example, configurations may exist with only ProLiant BL20p or BL20p G2 servers, a
mix of ProLiant BL20p and BL20p G2 servers, only BL40p servers, or a mix of BL40p, BL20p, and
BL20p G2 server blades.
Conclusion
The networking design of the ProLiant BL p-Class provides maximum flexibility and significant
performance in an end-to-end redundant architecture. The minimum four network adapters included as
standard with each server are routed to a pair of fully redundant, hot swappable interconnects. HP
offers a wide selection of interconnect kits for a choice of network cable consolidation and Fibre
Channel signal pass-through. The patch panel kits allow a user to select the network switches or other
components of their preference. The interconnect switches are ideal for reducing Ethernet network
cabling and the time required to deploy, manage, and service ProLiant BL p-Class systems.
6
Available at http://h71025.www7.hp.com/support/reference_library/viewdocument.asp?countrycode=1000&prodid=5726|ProLiant+BL+p-
Class+System&source=TC030803TB.xml&dt=21&docid=20366.
7
Available at http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliant-bl/p-class/bl-p-interconnect-switch2.html.