HP Cluster Platform Core Components Overview

• An administrative subnetwork handles management and installation tasks, and isolates the

administration traffic from application traffic in an HP Cluster Platform.

• A console network provides node operations such as booting and shutdown. This network

is connected to the server's dedicated management processor (MP) network port.

• An interconnect management network. Each interconnect provides an Ethernet port in its

controller card, enabling remote access to the switch management firmware. For clusters

that contain multiple interconnects, all controller cards are networked together through this

third Ethernet network in the cluster.

Nodes are connected to the administrative and console networks through a flat-tree hierarchy

of Ethernet switches. The networks are described in the Cluster Platform Overview. The cluster

uses the following switch models for its internal Ethernet networks:

• HP ProCurve 2610 series (see Section 2.6.1)

• HP ProCurve 2650 and 2626, used in older Cluster Platform configurations (see Section 2.6.2.

• HP ProCurve 2848 and 2824 (see Section 2.6.3)

Table 2-4 shows the potential roles that each switch model can undertake in the cluster. The

application of a model to a role depends on the size and density of the cluster. See the Ethernet

Network Cabling Tables for more information.

Table 2-4 Ethernet Switch Models — Cluster Roles

Switch IDRoleModel

CES1Root Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-24

AES1Root Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-24

CES1Branch Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-24

AES1Branch Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-24

CES1Root Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-48

AES1Root Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-48

CES1Branch Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-48

AES1Branch Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2610-48

CES1Root Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2626

AES1Root Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2626

CES1Branch Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2626

AES1Branch Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2626

CES1Branch Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2650

AES1Branch Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2650

CES1Root Console SwitchHP ProCurve 2650

AES1Root Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2650

IES1Quadrics Interconnect Management NetworkHP ProCurve 2650

AES1Branch Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2848

AES1Root Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2848

AES1Branch Administrative SwitchHP ProCurve 2824

2.6 HP ProCurve Switches 33