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Summary of the Virtual Connect Capabilities

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across the data center. Since the Virtual Connect Server Profile contains the server's internal and external identity (as discussed above), a server blade can be added to, or removed from, any blade enclosure or moved between blade enclosures without impact to the external LAN and SAN. In other words, because the VC Server Profile maintains a consistent set of MAC addresses and WWNs for the server and because Virtual Connect moves the VLAN and SAN assignments with the Server Profile, any Virtual Connect managed server blade has the flexibility of being added, moved, or replaced anywhere within a VC Domain or across VC Domains without impact on the external LAN or SAN. By no impact, this means that LAN and SAN administrators do not have to change switch port settings (VLAN assignments, WWN zoning, DHCP reservations, etc) whenever server blade changes occur. This frees LAN and SAN administrators to concentrate on design and maintenance of core data center functions. Summary of the Virtual Connect Capabilities The following table provides a summary of the Virtual Connect capabilities in comparison to traditional Ethernet and Fibre Channel switches: Table 6. Virtual Connect versus Traditional Ethernet or Fibre Channel Switches Description Virtual Connect Traditional Switches Provides LAN & SAN connectivity for   multiple server blades Reduces cables for blade enclosures   Can be configured to allow internal   server-to-server communication Can be configured to segregate   server-to-server communication (Private VLANs, separate Layer 2 domains) Uplinks can be configured as Port   Trunks (EtherChannel) & VLAN Trunks Supports centralized user   management Provides VLAN tagging/trunking on   server downlinks and uplinks Provides redundant and load   balanced connectivity for c-Class enclosure to external LAN & SAN Provides network troubleshooting  tools (for example, statistics and port mirroring) Provides server NIC with "sticky" IP  address for simple RIP-n-Replace Provides management GUI and CLI    (DHCP Option 82)  Provides Layer 3 routing capabilities inside blade enclosure  (varies) Provides TACACS+/RADIUS support   23

Section	Page
Abstract	3
Target Audience	3
Prerequisites and Versioning	3
Introduction	3
Myths, Misconceptions and Objections	5
#1: VC Ethernet is just another switch	5
Comparing VC and Server Virtualization Hypervisor Networking Technology	5
A Description of the Hypervisor Components	5
A Comparative Description of the VC Components	6
#2: VC Ethernet is really a ProCurve switch and may not be interoperable with 3rd party network switches	7
#3: VC Ethernet doesn’t support Spanning Tree (STP)	7
#4: VC can cause duplicate MACs and WWNs on the network.	7
#5: VC users cannot leverage existing network management tools (for example, CiscoWorks)	8
#6: VC doesn’t provide secure external management	8
#7: VC Ethernet doesn’t support Private VLANs	8
#8: VC doesn’t provide deterministic load balancing for multiple LACP channels	9
#9: VC Ethernet doesn’t support VLAN Trunking to Server Blade NICs	9
#10: VC Ethernet and Fibre Channel modules require a clunky hardware failure recovery (RMA) process	9
#11: VC doesn’t provide network visibility into the VC Domain for network administrators	10
#12: Many customers experience problems with VC deployment consistency	10
#13: VC doesn’t support non-disruptive firmware upgrades (“hot code load”)	10
#14: HP server blade NICs stay active even after VC Ethernet uplink failure	11
#15: VC is proprietary to HP; VC locks a user to a single blade vendor	11
#16: VC modules form a master/slave relationship with separate IP addresses that aren’t transferred during a failover. When multiple VC modules are present, only one module is elected to forward traffic	11
#17: VC only supports a limited number of VLANs	12
#18: VC Ethernet doesn’t provide Layer 3 routing capabilities	12
#19: VC’s CX4 cables are not ideal for 10Gbe uplinks because of distance limitation	12
#20: VC doesn’t support stacking multiple VC modules	13
#21: VC doesn’t offer Access Control Lists or VLAN Access Control Lists (ACLs or VACLs)	13
#22: VC Ethernet doesn’t support user configurable Quality of Service (QoS) features	13
#23: VC Ethernet doesn’t provide diagnostic tools (SPAN)	13
#24: VC Ethernet doesn’t support the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)	13
#25: VC requires a separate web management window to manage each VC module	14
#26: VC doesn’t support IGMP Snooping	14
#27: VC Fibre Channel doesn’t support nested NPIV	14
#28: Virtualized MAC and WWN (NAT) features on some switches (for example, Cisco’s FlexAttach8F feature) provide the same benefits as VC’s Managed MAC addresses and WWNs	14
#29: DHCP Option 82 provides the same server redundancy features as Virtual Connect	16
#30: VC-FC doesn’t provide login distribution and failover on FC uplinks to the SAN	17
#31: All VC-FC uplinks have to be connected to the same SAN fabric	17
#32: VC-FC does not support Cisco’s VSAN or Brocades Virtual Fabric features	17
#33: VC implements an immature loop avoidance mechanism	18
#34: VC Uplink failures require re-convergence on the external network and may cause dropped server sessions	18
#35: Cisco’s N-Port Virtualization (NPV10F ) or Brocade Access Gateway11F provide all the same advantages as VC-FC	18
#36: Cisco VFrame Data Center provides the same capabilities as VC	18
#37: VC Ethernet can’t be connected to Cisco 6500 switches using Virtual Switching System (VSS)	19
#38: VC Ethernet does not support Unidirectional Link Detection (UDLD)	19
#39: VC Ethernet only provides port counters on uplinks	19
#40: QoS can provide the same functionality of VC Flex-10	20
Unique Features Provided By HP Virtual Connect	20
Managed Server Identities	21
Internal Server Identity	21
External Server Identity	21
Preprovisioning Using Managed Server Identities	21
“LAN Safe” Network Connectivity	22
Consolidate Network Infrastructure with VC Flex-10	22
Server Adds, Moves, and Replacements are Transparent to LAN & SAN	22
Summary of the Virtual Connect Capabilities	23
Additional Resources and References	26
Appendixes	27
Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions	27

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across the data center.

Since the Virtual Connect Server Profile contains the server’s internal and

external identity (as discussed above), a server blade can be added to, or removed from, any blade

enclosure or moved between blade enclosures without impact to the external LAN and SAN.

In other

words, because the VC Server Profile maintains a consistent set of MAC addresses and WWNs for

the server and because Virtual Connect moves the VLAN and SAN assignments with the Server

Profile, any Virtual Connect managed server blade has the flexibility of being added, moved, or

replaced anywhere within a VC Domain or across VC Domains without impact on the external LAN or

SAN.

By no impact, this means that LAN and SAN administrators do not have to change switch port

settings (VLAN assignments, WWN zoning, DHCP reservations, etc) whenever server blade changes

occur.

This frees LAN and SAN administrators to concentrate on design and maintenance of core

data center functions.

Summary of the Virtual Connect Capabilities

The following table provides a summary of the Virtual Connect capabilities in comparison to

traditional Ethernet and Fibre Channel switches:

Table 6. Virtual Connect versus Traditional Ethernet or Fibre Channel Switches

Description

Virtual Connect

Traditional Switches

Provides LAN & SAN connectivity for

multiple server blades



Reduces cables for blade enclosures



Can be configured to allow internal

server-to-server communication



Can be configured to segregate

server-to-server

communication

(Private VLANs, separate Layer 2

domains)



Uplinks can be configured as Port

Trunks (EtherChannel) & VLAN Trunks



Supports

centralized

user

management



Provides VLAN tagging/trunking on

server downlinks and uplinks



Provides

redundant

and

load

balanced connectivity for c-Class

enclosure to external LAN & SAN



Provides

network

troubleshooting

tools (for example, statistics and port

mirroring)



Provides server NIC with “sticky” IP

address for simple RIP-n-Replace



(DHCP Option 82)

Provides management GUI and CLI



Provides Layer 3 routing capabilities

inside blade enclosure



(varies)

Provides TACACS+/RADIUS support



