Network administrator
For each Virtual Connect network, the network administrator can set a "Preferred" and "Maximum" speed for FlexNICs that connect to that network. FlexNICs cannot connect to a network at a speed higher than the maximum speed set by the network administrator for that network. The "preferred" speed setting is the speed recommended by the network administrator for any FlexNIC that attaches to that network. The server administrator can choose to follow or disregard this recommendation.
The network administrator can change these two settings by clicking the Advanced button on the create/edit network screen. For more information, see "Multiple Networks Link Speed Settings (on page 97)."
Server administrator
The server administrator can configure a requested bandwidth for every connection in a server profile. Virtual Connect can control the link speed of FlexNICs but cannot control the link speed of traditional NICs. The server administrator has four choices for Requested Bandwidth for each connection:
1. Preferred. Choosing "Preferred" sets the requested bandwidth equal to the bandwidth recommended
by the network administrator's "Preferred" speed setting for that network. If the administrator has not configured a preferred bandwidth for the network, this setting is treated the same as "Auto".
2. Custom. Choosing "Custom" enables you to specify a number between 100Mb and 10Gb (in
increments of 100Mb) for requested bandwidth.
3. Auto. Choosing "Auto" evenly distributes the available bandwidth between all connections assigned to "auto".
For more information, see "Bandwidth assignment (on page 169)."
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 169)."
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.
Because of the many possible configurations of the FlexFabric module, pluggable modules can differ for each uplink port on the FlexFabric module. If the uplink port is being used for an FC fabric, an SFP-FC connector is required. SFP speeds of 2Gb, 4Gb, or 8Gb are supported for this configuration. A 1G SFP connector is not supported on ports X1-X4 for either Ethernet or FC configurations. For Ethernet ports, the 10GbE SFP-LRM pluggable module is not supported on ports X1-X4. The Ethernet SFP-LR and SFP-SR are supported on all ports.
In a multi-enclosure environment, all enclosures must have the same VC-FC and FlexFabric module configuration. For example, if the local enclosure has VC-FC modules in bays 3 and 4, each remote enclosure must also have VC-FC modules in bays 3 and 4. This is called an FC bay group. Support for FC bay groups with FlexFabric modules is similar to support for existing VC-FC modules. FlexFabric module bay groups cannot contain any other type of VC-FC module, and any other VC-FC bay group cannot contain a FlexFabric module. These module types are incompatible in the same bay group. For more information, see the HP Virtual Connect for c-Class BladeSystem Setup and Installation Guide on the Installing tab of the HP
BladeSystem Technical Resources website
When an available port is used for Ethernet, it is no longer available for FC configuration, and vice-versa. Likewise, a port that is removed from a network, shared uplink set, or fabric becomes available for configuration of another network or fabric.
The FlexFabric VC module requirements also imply some additional constraints with current VC FC
requirements for bay groups. When a network is configured on a FlexFabric module using FC-capable ports, those ports across the bay group are configured as Ethernet ports, becoming unavailable for FC. The similar case applies when selecting the port type as FC.
There is a limitation on the NC551i LOM and the NC551m mezzanine card. FCoE and iSCSI connections are not supported on the same adapter at the same time. By default, if a FlexFabric module is found in the enclosure, FCoE connections are created for each server profile. If you do not wish to configure FCoE connections, delete the default connections to allow the ports to be used for other connections, such as iSCSI or additional Ethernet connections. To delete the connections, right-click the connection, and then select
Delete Connection.
There are additional limitations with the supported LOMs and mezzanine cards that support FlexFabric configurations. Both FCoE boot and PXE can be configured on the same port with the NC551i LOM and the NC551m mezzanine card on different physical functions. Alternatively, iSCSI and PXE can be configured on the same port. Only one physical function can be configured for FCoE on a port.
When configuring FCoE connections, the port speed can be set to 1Gb, 2Gb, 4Gb, 8Gb, custom, preferred, or disabled. The port speed is limited to a total of 10Gb, which must be shared between all defined connections for that port. The custom speed allows you to better control the bandwidth between FC and Ethernet connections. Valid custom speeds are between 100Mb and 10Gb, in 100Mb increments. After all connections are defined for a port, the actual allocated bandwidth is calculated by VCM. For bandwidth information, see “Bandwidth Assignment (on page 169)."