HP BladeSystem c-Class architecture Technology brief, 4th edition

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product information, go to the iLO website
www.hp.com/go/ilo and the Integrity iLO website:
www.hp.com/go/integrityilo.
Onboard Administrator
The Onboard Administrator acts as the brains of the c-Class enclosure. It enables you to manage
server blades or switches within the enclosure. The Onboard Administrator communicates with an iLO
processor on each server blade to form the core of the BladeSystem management architecture. The
Onboard Administrator performs configuration steps for the enclosure, collects thermal and power
data, and enables run-time management and configuration of the enclosure components. It informs
technicians of problems within the enclosure through email, SNMP, or the Insight Display.
The Onboard Administrator monitors:
• Thermal conditions: If the thermal load increases, the Onboard Administrator’s thermal logic feature
increases fan speeds to accommodate the additional demand.
• Power allocation guidelines and power capacity limits for various components: The Onboard
Administrator determines power consumption and availability. Because the Onboard Administrator
uses measured power data, you can maximize the use of the available power.
• Enclosure Dynamic Power Caps: If you have configured Enclosure Dynamic Power Capping, the
Onboard Administrator monitors and adjusts the power allocated to each blade to make sure your
servers don’t exceed the enclosure power cap.
• Hardware configurations: The Onboard Administrator assists in the configuration and setup
process. As you add server blades and interconnect modules to the enclosure, the Onboard
Administrator verifies electronic keying of interconnects and mezzanine cards as well as the
location of components. The electronic keying mechanism ensures that the interconnect modules and
mezzanine cards are compatible. It determines the signal topology and sets appropriate
equalization levels on the transmitters to ensure best signal reception by the receivers.
• Network control capabilities: The Onboard Administrator provides tools to identify and assign IP
addresses automatically for the c-Class components on existing management networks (for
components supporting Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).
• Enclosure linking: When appropriately configured, the Onboard Administrator allows single point
access, or single sign-on. You can log in to a single Onboard Administrator and view and manage
c-Class components in up to seven linked enclosures.
An Insight Display screen on the front of each c-Class enclosure provides quick access to the Onboard
Administrator. For example, when you power up the enclosure, the Insight Display launches an
installation wizard to guide you through the configuration process. After initial configuration, the
Insight Display provides feedback and advice if there are any installation or configuration errors. You
can access management menus, display User Notes, and chat with a remote administrator using the
Insight Display.
HP Insight Control and HP Matrix Operating Environment
Since many BladeSystem users have more than one enclosure, it makes sense to have a way to
manage an environment centrally with tens or hundreds of BladeSystem enclosures. The optional HP
Insight Control software lets you manage and control HP server and storage resources through its
central management console, HP Systems Insight Manager (Figure 13).