HP Virtual Connect: Common Myths, Misperceptions, and Objections, Second Edition

for Fibre Channel). This is analogous to a server having NICs connected to multiple switch modules

in a Cisco 6500 and independently upgrading each of the switch modules.

#14: HP server blade NICs stay active even after VC Ethernet uplink

failure

Incorrect: Virtual Connect provides many features for ensuring highly available network connectivity

for HP server blades. One feature, SmartLink, is used to disable a server blade NIC port anytime the

NIC is connected to an external network where all VC uplink(s) have failed. In other words, VC can

be configured to proactively disable a server NIC port whenever the server NIC is isolated from the

external network. VC’s SmartLink feature, combined with NIC Teaming on the server, allows for

highly available network configuration with no single point of failure.

#15: VC is proprietary to HP; VC locks a user to a single blade vendor

Correct; Incorrect: Virtual Connect is one of many HP products that provide HP customers with

patented features and functionality that no other server blade or networking vendor offers. Customers

that desire these enhanced features and products gladly deploy HP products. In today’s market, IT

managers understand that IT efficiency and manageability are critical to their success. As a result,

most customers do not choose to deploy features based on the “lowest common denominator”

method. As an example, many customers choose to deploy equipment from a single network

equipment vendor within the data center based on the feature set provided even when those features

are not provided by any other network equipment vendor. Choosing a single server blade vendor,

such as HP, based on their providing valuable and unique feature sets is no different.

Virtual Connect interoperates with IEEE and ANSI T11 standards and doesn’t require HP proprietary

devices outside of the HP Blade enclosure. VC is an optional component of HP BladeSystem and a

user can choose to use other vendor products (for example, Cisco, Brocade, etc.) in place of Virtual

Connect Ethernet and Fibre Channel modules. Whether using Virtual Connect or not, the same data

center LANs and SANs can be used to provide network and SAN connectivity to HP server blades.

In addition, any LAN or SAN switch available for any vendor’s blade chassis is unique, and therefore

proprietary to that vendor’s chassis. For instance, the Cisco Catalyst 3120G

only works in the HP

BladeSystem c-Class family of enclosures. The Cisco Catalyst 3130G

#16: VC modules form a master/slave relationship with separate IP

addresses that aren’t transferred during a failover. When multiple VC

modules are present, only one module is elected to forward traffic

only works in the DELL

PowerEdge M1000e blade chassis. While they provide similar functionality, they are not

interchangeable. Further, the Cisco Catalyst 31x0G series, available in their blade vendor specific

forms, is a design unique and proprietary to Cisco.

Incorrect: Virtual Connect provides high availability for the VC domain management interface (Web

or CLI) by using cluster-like technology between VC Ethernet modules. While one VC module is the

“active” VC Domain management interface, the adjacent VC module is in standby mode. If the active

VC module fails or is removed, the standby VC module becomes the active/master module for the VC

Domain management interface. Virtual Connect can be configured so that the same IP address is

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