HP Virtual Connect for c-Class BladeSystem Version 4.01 User Guide

Virtual Connect server profiles 164
The total actual shareable bandwidth cannot exceed 10Gb; however, the preferred speed and maximum
bandwidth settings can exceed a total of 10Gb, allowing ports to take advantage of unused bandwidth
when available.
A Flex-10 capable NIC (embedded Ethernet or mezzanine card) is seen as eight FlexNICs per 10Gb port if
that NIC is directly connected to an HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 or FlexFabric module. Eight FlexNICs are
indicated when connected to an empty interconnect bay because it is assumed that an HP Virtual Connect
Flex-10 or FlexFabric module will be installed in that bay. If a Flex-10-capable NIC is connected to a Virtual
Connect interconnect module that does not support Flex-10 or a non-Virtual Connect interconnect module,
that NIC is seen as only one Ethernet device per physical port.
The following table shows an example of how a BL495c Flex-10 embedded dual port NIC would be
presented when connected to different interconnects. For more information about mapping between servers
and interconnect bays, see the HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosure documentation on the Installing tab of the
HP BladeSystem Technical Resources website (http://www.hp.com/go/bladesystem/documentation).
Connected to Number of NICs presented to the
host
HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric
10Gb/24-port Module
8
HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 10Gb
Ethernet Module
8
HP Virtual Connect Flex-10/10D
Module
8
HP GbE2c Ethernet Blade Switch
2
Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3120
2
HP 10GbE Pass-Thru Module
2
Empty interconnect bay
8
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 more information, see "Multiple Networks Link Speed Settings (on page 97)."
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 four 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 you to specify a number between 100Mb and 10Gb (in
increments of 100Mb) for requested bandwidth.