HP Virtual Connect Manager Version 1.21 Release Notes and Compatibility Matrix

Important notes and recommendations 9
Important notes and recommendations
When a c-Class enclosure is used with Virtual Connect v1.21, the following configuration restrictions and
guidelines apply:
• For v1.21, the VCM behavior for powered up servers, when restarting after a recovery of OA
credentials has changed. In previous versions, the servers would enter a "Profile Pending" state and
required a power cycle to recover. For v1.21, a new state, "profile recovered", is applied to servers
that are powered on when VCM restarts after an OA credential recovery. When VCM detects its
restart after a credential recovery, it rewrites the profile parameters for any server that is powered
on, connects the server to the appropriate Ethernet networks and FC fabrics, and puts the server and
profile in the new "profile recovered" state. The server and profile remain in the "profile recovered"
state until the server is powered down or removed from the enclosure. This eliminates the power set
requirement for a server to recover.
• Plan your interconnect module usage carefully before running the Virtual Connect Domain Setup
Wizard. After an interconnect bay is configured for use with a Virtual Connect Ethernet module or
VC-FC module, it remains configured for that module type until the overall VC domain is deleted.
Virtual Connect reports failures for any VC-Enet or VC-FC module that is removed from the domain.
• Ensure that all Virtual Connect Ethernet and VC-FC modules in a VC domain are at the same
firmware revision. To check the firmware revision level, select the "Firmware Update" tab on the
"Domain Settings" page. The firmware revision level for each module in the domain is shown.
• To help ensure proper operation after firmware updates, clear the browser cache and reload the
browser.
• Only connect HP 4Gb VC-FC Module uplinks to Fibre Channel switch ports that are NPIV-enabled. If
using a Brocade FC switch, verify that NPIV is properly enabled by using the portshow command.
If not properly enabled, you might need to downgrade the Brocade switch firmware, and then
upgrade the firmware again for the enable to work properly.
• Always install a Virtual Connect Ethernet module in interconnect bay 1.
• For redundancy, HP recommends installing a second Virtual Connect Ethernet module in interconnect
bay 2.
• For c7000 enclosure interconnect bays 3-8, install a Virtual Connect Ethernet module or HP 4Gb VC-
FC Module in the bay corresponding to the mezzanine signals.
• Verify that all system component firmware is up-to-date. A server blade is displayed as incompatible
by Virtual Connect Manager if the server ROM is not at the minimum level required by Virtual
Connect. Virtual Connect Manager is not able to verify firmware revisions for all components, so a
server blade component can be incompatible even if the server blade is not listed as incompatible.
• To improve network performance and prevent unnecessary Spanning Tree Topology Change
Notifications (TCN) on the network, configure Ethernet switches connected to Virtual Connect with
the same Spanning Tree settings you would use when connecting to a server blade NIC. For Cisco
switches, this is done by using the portfast command to enable ports connected to a VC-Enet
module. This action ensures that link state changes on Virtual Connect do not cause a TCN.
• Do not use Virtual Connect and non-Virtual Connect modules in horizontally adjacent bays.