HP Virtual Connect 1Gb Ethernet Cookbook

If the above noted 1Gb VC modules are inserted into an enclosure that is in Expanded VLAN Capacity mode, they
are marked as incompatible. If these modules are installed in an enclosure, converting to Expanded VLAN
Capacity mode will not be permitted.
Figure 2 - Configuring Expanded VLAN Capacity support.
MAC Cache Failover
When a VC-Enet uplink that was previously in standby mode becomes active, it can take several minutes for
external Ethernet switches to recognize that the c-Class server blades can now be reached on this newly-active
connection. Enabling Fast MAC Cache Failover causes Virtual Connect to transmit Ethernet packets on newly-
active links, which enables the external Ethernet switches to identify the new connection (and update their MAC
caches appropriately). This transmission sequence repeats a few times at the MAC refresh interval (5 seconds
recommended) and completes in about 1 minute.
When implementing Virtual Connect in an Active/Standby configuration, where some of the links connected to a
VC Network (whether a SUS or vNet) are in standby, MAC Cache Fail-over would be employed to notify the switch
as a link transitions from Standby to Active within Virtual Connect.
Note: Be sure to set switches to allow MAC addresses to move from one port to another without waiting for an
expiration period or causing a lock out.
Network Access Groups (NAG)
Before VC 3.30, any server profile could be assigned any set of networks. If policy dictated that some networks
should not be accessed by a system that accessed other networks (for example, the Intranet and the Extranet or
DMZ networks) there was no way to enforce that policy automatically.
With VC 3.30 and later, network access groups are defined by the network administrator and associated with a set
of networks that can be shared by a single server. Each server profile is associated with one network access
group. A network cannot be assigned to the server profile unless the profile is a member of the network access
group associated with that network. A network access group can contain multiple networks.
Up to 128 network access groups are supported in the domain. Ethernet networks and server profiles that are not
assigned to a specific network access group are added to the domain Default network access group
automatically. The Default network access group is predefined by VCM and cannot be removed or renamed.
If you are updating to VC 3.30, all current networks are added to the Default network access group and all server
profiles are set to use the Default network access group. Network communication within the network access
group behaves similarly to earlier versions of VC firmware, because all profiles can reach all networks.