ProLiant High Availability: The IT Imperative

to infl uence server
availability. HP and Intel are developing
sophisticated technologies like redundant
Ethernet connections and network adapter
teaming that enhance server availability
and enable IT organizations to satisfy
today’s business requirements.
redundant Ethernet
connections
Server adapters act as an interface between
the server and the network. Therefore, they
play a critical role in determining server
availability and performance.
Some server adapter features are
based on industry standards. These include
fl ow control (IEEE 802.3x*), VLAN tagging
(IEEE 802.1Q*) and link aggregation
(IEEE 802.3ad*). Other infl uences are
vendor specifi c, such as the amount
of onboard memory and the operating
systems supported.
To address slot-constrained
environments, server adapters offer
multiple ports. Multiple port server adapters
allow IT organizations to meet current
demands like segmenting the LAN to
reduce network bottlenecks. In addition,
multiple port server adapters enable fault
tolerance to maintain server availability by
rerouting traffi c to another port if a
problem develops on the network.
Multiple port server adapters enable
IT organizations to respond to industry
trends, such as server consolidation and
virtualization, that are driving the need for
more network ports. These are also required
to accommodate virtual servers while
supporting segmentation and fault tolerance.
ProLiant servers support multiple
port server adapters. The HP NC6170 and
NC7170 Gigabit Ethernet server adapters
with Intel technology offer 128 KB of
onboard memory, which leads to enhanced
performance. Flexibility is increased because
these adapters support copper and fi ber
optic interfaces, as well as Ethernet, Fast
Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet connections.
The HP NC6170 and NC7170 improve
scalability by doubling the number of ports
that a given server can support.
ProLiant Essentials
Intelligent Networking Pack
The ProLiant Essentials Intelligent
Networking Pack (INP) enhances basic
network adapter teaming by providing
additional redundancy and load balancing.
Teaming is taking two to eight NIC ports
and confi guring them to function as if
they were a single NIC in order to provide
network fault tolerance and to increase
bandwidth. Basic network adapter
teaming detects server downtime and
network bottlenecks up to the fi rst switch
connection. INP resides at server nodes and
enables the server to detect the network
infrastructure from the fi rst tier of switches
and beyond. As network conditions change,
the INP monitors and analyzes the network
conditions, and redirects traffi c to the
optimum path. Additionally, INP helps slow
down the spread of viruses by monitoring
the behavior of all outbound connection
requests. INP offers three key advanced
networking features —active path failover,
fast path failover, and dual channel teaming
—plus the business protection feature of
virus throttle.
Active path failover allows a ProLiant
server to maintain connectivity with the
core network even if the link between the
intermediate switch and the core network
has failed. When active path failover is
confi gured, the ports in a team continually
today’s business requirements demand IT organizations
deploy servers that are designed to be powerful, reliable and
highly available. Leading technologies like redundant Ethernet
connections, network adapter teaming, memory management
and Smart Array controllers enable improved fl exibility and
broad software compatibility. These innovations offer IT
professionals the tools to effectively address high-availability
platform challenges, both now and in the future.
high availability, power savings
and higher performance
64-bit Intel
®
Xeon
™
processor-based platforms are highly
available because they incorporate technologies such as
redundant DIMMs (dual inline memory modules), memory
scrubbing
and RAID controllers on the
motherboard. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep
®
technology and DDR2-400 memory support
help reduce power and cooling costs
by using advanced power–management
techniques. Server performance is improved by technologies
such as Intel
®
EM64T, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep
technology, Hyper-Threading Technology, PCI Express* and
Intel NetBurst
®
microarchitecture.
With a history of technology innovation and a broad base
of hardware, software and integration leaders, Intel consistently
delivers enterprise-class performance, quality and availability.
This approach helps you to build for the future with confi dence
on a platform that evolves as your business grows.
64-bit Intel
®
Xeon
™
processors:
fi gure 1.
dual port
server adapter
S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N
2a
high availability building blocks
many factors
combine
ProLiant servers support multiple
port server adapters. The HP NC6170 and
dual port
server adapter
dual port
server adapter
dual port
Server adapters act as an interface between
the server and the network. Therefore, they
play a critical role in determining server
based on industry standards. These include
fl ow control (IEEE 802.3x*), VLAN tagging
of onboard memory and the operating
Server adapters act as an interface between
the server and the network. Therefore, they
play a critical role in determining server
based on industry standards. These include
fl ow control (IEEE 802.3x*), VLAN tagging
ProLiant servers support multiple
fi g
ure 1.
dual port
server adapter
dual port
server adapter
dual port