Flexfabric overview – HP Virtual Connect 4Gb Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem User Manual
Page 163
Virtual Connect server profiles 163
For more information, see "Bandwidth assignment (on page
)."
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. Enabling 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.
Even though the system might not prompt for a server reboot, a server reboot is required after the server is
upgraded successfully with the latest firmware and drivers for HP Dual Port Flex-10 10GbE Multifunctional
BL-c Adapters, NC532i adapters, or NC532m adapters. The reboot enables the newly upgraded drivers
and boot code to run, which then enables Virtual Connect to configure the "Dynamic Changes to FlexNICs"
feature.
The Allocated Port Speed (Min-Max) column displays "not allocated" until the profile is assigned to a device
bay that contains a server. At that time, bandwidth is allocated to each connection and the result is reported
in this column. See "Bandwidth assignment (on page
)."
The Mapping column describes how each connection of a profile is assigned to physical devices in a server
and to which interconnect bay that device is connected. The four FlexNICs on port 1 of a server LOM that
supports Flex-10 are numbered LOM:1-a, LOM:1-b, LOM:1-c, and LOM:1-d, or LOM1:1-a, LOM1:1-b,
LOM1:1-c, and LOM1:1-d for Gen8 server blades. If a LOM does not support Flex-10, then it is simply
referenced by its port number (for example, LOM:1 or LOM:2).
FlexFabric overview
VC 3.15 and higher supports the HP VC FlexFabric 10Gb/24-port Module. This module provides eight
uplinks, four of which can be designated as either Fibre Channel or Ethernet. The remaining 4 uplinks are
Ethernet-only. It is possible to include one FC connection and three Ethernet connections on a single 10Gb
port. However, both the server and switch hardware must support FlexFabric. In addition to the existing NICs
and LOMs, this module functions with FlexFabric mezzanine cards and embedded FlexFabric LOMs.
FlexFabric module uplink ports X1-X4 can be configured as FC fabric ports or Ethernet network ports. If a port
is configured as an FC fabric port, the protocol used is FCoE, and the server profile connection to that fabric
is an FCoE connection.