HP ProLiant BL495c HP BladeSystem c-Class SAN connectivity technology brief - Page 5

c-Class FC SAN interconnect modules The following FC options are available for connecting the c-Class FC HBAs to a SAN: • HP Virtual Connect 8Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module for BladeSystem • HP Virtual Connect 8Gb 20-Port Fibre Channel Module for BladeSystem • HP Virtual Connect 4Gb Fibre Channel Module for BladeSystem • HP 4Gb Fibre Channel Pass-Thru Module for the c-Class BladeSystem • Brocade 8Gb SAN Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem • Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem • Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch • HP 4Gb FC Virtual Connect Pass-Thru Module for the c-Class BladeSystem These single-wide, hot-pluggable modules can be installed into interconnect bays 3 through 8 of the HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure and into bays 3 and 4 of the HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure. Brocade, Cisco, and Pass-Thru modules can also be installed in bay 2 of the c3000 enclosure. The modules provide external ports that accept short wave or long wave 4- or 8-Gb small form-factor pluggable (SFP) optical transceivers. The SFPs can operate at 1, 2, 4, or 8 Gb/s as needed based on the SAN infrastructure. HP recommends installing the SAN interconnect modules in pairs to complement the high availability, dual-FC port capability of the HBA mezzanine cards. Figure 4. ProLiant c-Class FC SAN interconnect modules HP VC 8Gb 24-Port FC Module HP 4Gb Pass-Thru Module HP VC 8Gb 20-Port FC Module Brocade 8-Gb SAN Switch Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Modules for the c-Class BladeSystem The HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Modules cleanly separate SAN and server management domains and simplify SAN installations. These modules appear to the SAN as an N_Port ID Virtualization (NVID) capable device. The modules are capable of aggregating connectivity from up to 255 physical or virtual server HBA ports to each interconnect module uplink port. The modules provide flexibility for server connectivity and certain switch-like benefits such as reduced cabling and shared, high-performance, auto-negotiating external SFP ports. The modules allow moving or replacing server blades efficiently without involving SAN administrators. Each module provides 16 internal ports for connections with server blade HBAs and four or eight external ports (depending on model) for connections to the SAN. 5