HP Virtual Connect for c-Class BladeSystem Version 2.30 User Guide

Server management 102
Flex-10 configuration
Network administrator
For each Virtual Connect network, the network administrator can set a "Preferred" and "Maximum" speed
for FlexNICs that connect to that network. FlexNICs cannot connect to a network at a speed higher than
the maximum speed set by the network administrator for that network. The "preferred" speed setting is the
speed recommended by the network administrator for any FlexNIC that attaches to that network. The
server administrator can choose to follow or disregard this recommendation.
The network administrator can change these two settings by clicking the Advanced button on the
create/edit network screen. For additional information, see "Multiple Networks Link Speed Settings (on
page 76)."
Server administrator
The server administrator can configure a requested bandwidth for every connection in a server profile.
Virtual Connect can control the link speed of FlexNICs, but cannot control the link speed of traditional
NICs.
The server administrator has three choices for Requested Bandwidth for each connection:
1. Preferred. Choosing "Preferred" sets the requested bandwidth equal to the bandwidth recommended
by the network administrator's "Preferred" speed setting for that network. If the administrator has not
configured a preferred bandwidth for the network, this setting is treated the same as "Auto".
2. Custom. Choosing "Custom" enables the user to specify a number between 100Mb and 10Gb (in
increments of 100Mb) for requested bandwidth.
3. Auto. Choosing "Auto" evenly distributes the available bandwidth between all connections assigned
to "auto".
For additional information, see "Bandwidth assignment (on page 104)."
Although the Port Speed Setting is available for all network connections in a profile, Virtual Connect can
only control link speed for Flex-10 NICs when they are connected to an HP Virtual Connect Flex-10
Module. Virtual Connect cannot control the link speed of traditional NICs. Allowing specification of port
speed regardless of the underlying NIC allows the profile to configure the connection automatically when
moved to or from Flex-10 enabled servers and NICs.