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

Virtual Connect

Virtual Connect includes a set of interconnect modules and embedded software that implements

server-edge virtualization. It puts an abstraction layer between the servers and the external networks

(Figure 14).

Virtual Connect uses connection profiles in combination with dynamic pools of unique MAC and

WWN addresses to establish server connections to LANs and SANs. The server connection profiles

contain MAC, WWN, and boot-from-SAN definitions assigned to BladeSystem enclosure bays and

not to individual servers. The physical server in each bay uses the MAC and WWN assignments in

the bay profile instead of its default NIC or HBA addresses. Even if you replace a server, the MAC

and WWN assignments for the device bay remain constant, and the change is invisible to the

network.

For more information, see the technology brief “HP Virtual Connect technology for the HP

BladeSystem c-Class” at

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00814156/c00814156.pdf

Figure 14: HP Virtual Connect technology provides server-edge virtualization

Virtual Connect Flex-10

Virtual Connect Flex-10 technology is a hardware-based technology. It lets you separate the

bandwidth of a single 10GbE port into four physical network connections (FlexNIC) or three physical

NIC devices and one physical HBA device. Through the Virtual Connect management interface, you

can allocate the bandwidth in 100 Mb increments up to 10 Gb/s. You can also change the allocated

bandwidth of an active FlexNIC or FlexHBA without rebooting the server. Each blade server can have

up to four times as many network connections without adding NIC or HBA cards or switches.