Virtualization And Virtual Connect; Server Virtualization; Nic Virtualization; Flex-10 For Virtual Connect - Compaq BL10e - HP ProLiant - 512 MB RAM Introduction Manual

The NC524SFP PCI Express version 2 adapter, shown in Figure 5, ships with two SFP+ cages suitable
for connecting to DAC or fiber modules supporting SR, LR, and LRM fiber optic cabling. The
NC524SFP allows customers to provision their HP ProLiant DL370 G6 and ProLiant ML370 G6
servers with 10Gb bandwidth.
Figure 5. NC524SFP upgrade module for ML/DL370 G6
These adapters are ideal for customers with environments that require a dual port, high performance
10GbE NIC in support of high demand environments, including virtualized servers.

Virtualization and Virtual Connect

As enterprises better utilize existing computing resources, server and network virtualization is growing
rapidly. HP Virtual Connect (VC) is a set of interconnect modules and embedded software for HP
BladeSystem c-Class enclosures that simplifies server connection setup and administration. HP VC
includes the HP 1/10G Virtual Connect Ethernet Module for c-Class BladeSystem, the HP Virtual
Connect Manager, and the HP Flex-10 Ethernet Interconnect Module. VC uses c-Class BladeSystem
mezzanine cards within the server, and a new class of Ethernet interconnect modules to simplify
connecting those server NICs to the data center environment. VC also extends the standard server
NICs‟ capability by providing support to securely administer Ethernet MAC address.

Server Virtualization

As more virtual machines are loaded onto a physical server, the requirement for additional bandwidth
increases. VMware best practice calls for six 1Gb NICs per physical server running virtual machines.
Using this VMware guideline, just two physical servers loaded with virtual machines could fully utilize
a single 10Gb NIC.

NIC virtualization

The HP VC Ethernet Modules allow the c-Class administrator to interconnect multiple modules and
define uplinks to their datacenter Ethernet switches. The VC Ethernet Modules allow the administrator
to select which server NIC ports will be connected to each external network. Looking into the
enclosure from each external Ethernet network, only the selected Ethernet NIC ports will be visible on
what appears to be an isolated, private, loop-free network.

Flex-10 for Virtual Connect

To help customers fully utilize 10GbE connection bandwidth, HP has introduced Flex-10 technology in
the BladeSystem c-Class architecture. Using Flex-10, customers can partition the bandwidth of a single
10Gb pipeline into multiple "FlexNICs." In addition, customers can regulate the bandwidth for each
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