HP Integrity NonStop NB50000c HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 technology: Convergen - Page 17

Figure 10. Reduction of required interconnect modules when using FlexFabric 10 Gb/24 port module 8 NIC/HBA connections 2 VC modules 0 Mezz cards, cables or switches Traditional Blade Enclosure BladeSystem VC Flex-10 and FC Virtual Connect FlexFabric Redundant interconnects per enclosure Network Adapters per blade Dual port Quad port HBA 1Gb LOM 1Gb NICs Mezz Networking equipment for 16 blades with 6 Ethernet and 2 FC connections each Flex-10 LOM HBA Mezz Integrated FlexFabric adapter Future capabilities The current "one hop" approach carries converged network traffic to the server edge. HP expects that future iterations of the VC FlexFabric module will be able to pass FCoE beyond the server edge to a DCB-enabled network so that Fibre Channel traffic can be separated further upstream in the network. These future iterations of Virtual Connect technology will depend on compliance with fully ratified DCB standards to ensure preservation of current network infrastructure investment while we address data center challenges. Conclusion HP VC Flex-10 technology is a hardware-based solution that lets you simplify network I/O by splitting a 10 Gb/s server network connection into four variable partitions. Flex-10 technology lets data centers implement 10 Gb Ethernet architecture and minimize infrastructure costs. Flex-10 technology and products give you more NICs yet minimizes the number of physical NIC and interconnect modules required to support multi-network configurations. This is well suited for virtual machine environments hosted on ProLiant blade servers. HP VC FlexFabric modules and HP FlexFabric adapters extend the Flex-10 capabilities to include converged networking. This technology allows HP BladeSystem customers to connect servers to network and storage infrastructure with a single server connection and a single VC interconnect module supporting Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and iSCSI networking. VC FlexFabric requires up to 95% less hardware to qualify, purchase, install, and maintain in blade enclosures. You can reduce costs up to 65% by converging and consolidating server, storage, and network connectivity onto a common fabric with a flatter topology and fewer switches. Built on open industry standards, both VC Flex-10 17