HP BladeSystem Networking Reference Architecture: HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric Module and VMware vSphere 4

Important: Even though the Virtual Connect FlexFabric module supports Stacking, stacking

only applies to Ethernet traffic. FC uplinks cannot be consolidated, as it is not possible to

stack the FC ports, nor provide a multi-hop DCB bridging fabric today.

Designing an HP FlexFabric Architecture for VMware

vSphere

In this section, we will discuss two different and viable strategies for customers to choose from. Both

provide flexible connectivity for hypervisor environments. We will provide the pros and cons to each

approach, and provide you with the general steps to configure the environment.

Designing a Highly Available Network Strategy with Virtual Connect

FlexFabric modules and Managed VLANs

In this design, two HP ProLiant c-Class 7000 Enclosures with Virtual Connect FlexFabric modules are

stacked to form a single Virtual Connect management domain

. By stacking Virtual Connect

FlexFabric modules, customer can realize the following benefits:

 Management control plane consolidated

 More efficient use of WWID, MAC and Serial Number Pools

 Provide greater uplink port flexibility and bandwidth

 Profile management across stacked enclosures

Shared Uplink Sets provide administrators the ability to distribute VLANs into discrete and defined

Ethernet Networks (vNet.) These vNets can then be mapped logically to a Server Profile Network

Connection allowing only the required VLANs to be associated with the specific server NIC port. This

also allows customers the flexibility to have various network connections for different physical

Operating System instances (i.e. VMware ESX host and physical Windows host.)

As of Virtual Connect Firmware 2.30 release, the following Shared Uplink Set rules apply per

domain:

 320 Unique VLANs per Virtual Connect Ethernet module

 128 Unique VLANs per Shared Uplink Set

 28 Unique Server Mapped VLANs per Server Profile Network Connection

 Every VLAN on every uplink counts towards the 320-VLAN limit. If a Shared Uplink Set is

comprised of multiple uplinks, each VLAN on that Shared Uplink Set is counted multiple times.

Only available with Virtual Connect Manager Firmware 2.10 or greater. Please review the Virtual Connect Manager Release Notes for more

information regarding domain stacking requirements: http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/blades/components/c-class-tech-installing.html