HP OneView - Manual (Page 150)

19.2.5 About active/active and active/standby configurations
When determining which HP Virtual Connect network configuration to use (active/active or
active/standby), consider the type of network traffic the enclosure must support. For example:
•
Will there be a high volume of server-to-server traffic (east/west) in the enclosure?
•
Is the traffic flow in the enclosure mainly inbound and outbound (north/south)?
By considering network traffic patterns, you can maximize the connected bandwidth or minimize
server-to-server traffic leaving the enclosure.
Use an active/standby configuration if network traffic is between systems in the same enclosure
(east/west). This configuration minimizes or eliminates any server-to-server communications from
leaving the enclosure.
Use an active/active configuration if network traffic is inbound and outbound (north/south) of the
enclosure.
19.2.5.1 About active/standby configurations
An active/standby configuration is an Ethernet network configuration where servers in the enclosure
have two NIC ports connected to the same HP Virtual Connect network. A single uplink set has
uplinks in both interconnects. The uplinks in one interconnect are active; the uplinks in the other
interconnect are standby and available in the event of a network or interconnect failure.
Communications between servers do not leave the interconnect module. For external communications,
all servers in the enclosure use the active uplink, regardless of which NIC is actively passing traffic.
An active/standby configuration:
•
Provides predictable bandwidth.
•
Does not oversubscribe top-of-rack switch (ToR) bandwidth.
An active/standby configuration has the following requirements:
•
A minimum of one Ethernet network and one uplink set for each external VLAN ID you define.
19.2.5.2 About active/active configurations
An active/active configuration is an Ethernet network configuration that allows active traffic on
the same VLAN on multiple interconnect modules. The NICs on all the servers in the enclosure have
their NICs connected to adjacent HP Virtual Connect modules. All uplinks are active to forward
network traffic.
When setting up an active/active configuration in an enclosure, the networks associated with an
uplink set must be included in the server profile connection for the interconnect module. For example,
if Net_101_A is in uplink set US_A, which has ports from the interconnect module in bay 1,
Net_101_A must be associated with the downlink port connected to the interconnect module in
bay 1 (for example, LOM1:1-a).
An active/active configuration:
•
Provides full use of all uplink ports (no uplink port in standby mode).
•
Allows all traffic to egress through the interconnect module connected to the NIC port without
crossing the internal stacking link.
•
Doubles the available bandwidth while maintaining redundancy (when combined with Smart
Link).
150 Managing interconnects, logical interconnects, and logical interconnect groups