Modularity And Scalability - Compaq BL10e - HP ProLiant - 512 MB RAM Introduction Manual

• Server blades – BladeSystem c-Class supports ProLiant server blades using AMD or Intel x86
processors, Integrity IA-64 server blades, and StorageWorks storage blades. The portfolio of server
blades range from extreme density-optimized blades to mainstream enterprise blades and
specialized offerings for UNIX, small and medium businesses (SMB), and the HP NonStop
architecture.
• Interconnects – A portfolio of interconnects allow the c-Class blades to interact with external and
internal storage and networking. The portfolio includes basic pass-through modules for network and
storage, standard managed Ethernet and Fibre Channel switches, and Virtual Connect Modules for
Ethernet and Fibre Channel, as well as both standard and specialized NICs for the blades.
• Virtual Connect – HP Virtual Connect is a unique HP technology that enables virtualization,
isolation, and encapsulation of multiple aspects of server, storage and networks. This is discussed in
more detail in the section titled "Virtualization."
Figure 4. HP BladeSystem c7000 Enclosure as viewed from the front and the rear
c7000 enclosure - front
Half-height Full-height
server blade server blade
10 U
Insight Display
Note: this figure shows the single phase enclosure. See the "HP BladeSystem c7000 Enclosure technologies"
brief for images of the other enclosure types:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00816246/c00816246.pdf.

Modularity and scalability

The HP BladeSystem enclosures can accommodate half-height or full-height blades in single- or
double-wide form factors, enabling customers to design the infrastructure as their needs dictate. The
modular design includes common form factor components so that server blades, interconnects, and
fans can be used in any c-Class enclosure, in almost any configuration that customers require.
The architecture uses scalable device bays (for server or storage blades) and interconnect bays (for
interconnect modules providing I/O fabric connectivity) so that administrators can scale up or scale
out their BladeSystem infrastructure. A single c7000 enclosure contains 16 device bays for server,
c7000 enclosure - rear
Storage blade
Single-wide or double-wide
Redundant power
supplies
Redundant
Onboard
Administrators
8 interconnect bays
Redundant
fans
Redundant
single phase, 3-phase,
or -48V DC power
9