Maximizing Network Cable Reduction; Virtual Local Area Network (Vlan); Management Ip; Switch Diagnostics - HP Bc1500 - BladeSystem - Blade PC Supplementary Manual

Maximizing network cable reduction

For maximum cable reduction, consider using a combination of IEEE 802.1q VLAN Tagging and IEEE
802.3ad Link Aggregation. Using a LAG to carry the network traffic for all necessary VLANs over two
physical uplinks for each HP PC Blade Switch can reduce total uplink to as few as 28 Ethernet connec-
tions for a 42U rack fully populated with 14 HP PC blade Enclosures for a total of up to 560 network
adapters. If further cable reduction is necessary, consider oversubscription techniques. HP recommends a
thorough understanding of traffic load and demand before designing the CCI solution around these prin-
ciples. Because not everyone uses CCI in the same manner and most networks are designed differently, it
is beyond the scope of this paper to explain individual traffic patterns for each component of the CCI
solution.
You can attempt to understand traffic load and demand by building the CCI solution using a greater num-
ber of uplinks and then performing a comprehensive bandwidth study of how each component of the
solution behaves based upon business and IT rule/policy requirements and practices.

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)

The HP PC Blade Switch supports 256 port-based IEEE 802.1Q VLANs with a maximum addressable
range of 4094. The switch also supports Group VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP) for dynamic VLAN
registration. Members of a VLAN may be untagged or tagged according to IEEE 802.3ac VLAN Ethernet
frame extensions for 802.1Q tagging. Therefore, any HP PC Blade Switch VLAN may span other switches
that support 802.1Q tagging located within the network infrastructure.

Management IP

By default, the HP PC Blade Switch is configured to dynamically obtain an IP address using dynamic host
configuration protocol (DHCP) for each of its two pre-configured VLANs. If preferred, an administrator
can statically assign IP addresses through the Command Line Interface (CLI) or the Embedded Web Sys-
tem (EWS). However, if making the change remotely over the network they may need to reconnect with
the newly assigned IP address. For increased security, an administrator can specify the IP-based manage-
ment stations that are allowed to access each switch or leverage additional access security protocols such
as SSH, AAA, RADIUS, or TACACS+.

Switch diagnostics

The HP PC Blade Switch option includes a removable Integrated Administrator module (see Figure 3). The
Integrated Administrator provides a single management console for the efficient management of the HP
PC Blade Enclosure and its accompanying blade PCs. This includes automatic health monitoring of the
switch with SNMP trap generation and system LED status.
External LEDs provide enclosure and switch status and link and speed on each Gigabit uplink connector
(see Figure 3). An emergency enclosure shut-down feature is included in case of critical system tempera-
ture caused by the switch or other enclosure component.
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