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

25
Table 6. Virtual Connect versus Traditional Ethernet or Fibre Channel Switches
Description
Virtual Connect Traditional Switches
Device mis-configurations only affect
network connectivity for blade
enclosure and won’t cause problems
for external devices on the network
(see #3)


Enables LAN, SAN, and OS pre-
provisioning before physical servers
are ordered
/physically received
since serial number, UUID, MAC
addresses, and WWNs are known
ahead of time


Administrator is unable to
accidentally or purposefully create a
broadcast storm or Layer 2 loop
between the enclosure and the
external network

14

Provides loop-free connectivity out of
the box with no user configuration
regardless of the external network
configuration


15
Provides VLAN ID translation
(mapping) between tagged server
blade NICs and the external tagged
network (see #9)


Single management interface (GUI
and CLI) for all Ethernet and Fibre
Channel modules in blade enclosure


14
Server NIC configurations (NIC bridging) and VC port mirroring configurations excluded
15
STP or other Layer 2 redundancy mechanisms must usually be specifically configured to guarantee no loops