Using Flex 10 Modules in HP C7000
Blade Chassis
And
Organizational Responses to
Virtualization
Cisco 3020 Switches
2x1Gbps
Onboard NICs
2x1Gbps
2x1Gbps
3020
1Gbps
1Gbps
Blade
3020
Chassis
Mezzanine Slot 1 - FC
4x4Gbps
4x4Gbps
FC Switch
4/8
Gbps
4/8
Gbps
FC Switch
Mezzanine Slot 2 -NICs
2x1Gbps
2x1Gbps
3020
1Gbps
1Gbps
1Gbps
3020
1Gbps
2x1Gbps
3020 Anatomy
1. Switch Module
2. Release latch
3. UID LED
4. SFP Module Port LED
5. SFP Module Ports
for SX/LX Fiber
6. Gigabit Ethernet
Port LEDs
7. Gigabit Ethernet
RJ-45 Ports
8. Health LED
9. Mode Button
10. Switch LED Panel
3020 Port Descriptions
Port
Ports 1 to 16
Ports 17 to 20
and Ports 17x to
20x
Description
Internal Gigabit Ethernet 1000BASE-X downlink ports.
Dual-purpose SFP module/RJ-45 copper Ethernet uplink ports. The SFP module ports support only
Cisco 1000BASE-SX fiber-optic modules.
By default, the switch module dynamically selects the interface type that first links up. SFP modules
have precedence if both SFP module and copper Ethernet interface types are in link-up state. You
can also specifically configure each port for either copper Ethernet or SFP modules if you do not
want to use auto-detection.
The copper Ethernet ports support automatic medium-dependent interface crossover (auto-MDIX)
and auto-negotiation.
For information about configuring speed and duplex settings for a dual-purpose uplink port, see the
switch module software configuration guide.
Ports 21x to 22x External 10/100/1000BASE-T copper Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports that support auto-MDIX, and
auto-negotiation.
Ports 23x to 24x Dual-purpose external/internal 10/100/1000BASE-T copper Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports. These
ports can be configured for internal 1000BASE-X cross-connection with a corresponding switch
module. When ports 23x and 24x are in external operation mode, they support auto-MDIX and
autonegotiation. The default is external operation mode.
Internal
This port (fa0) is used only for switch module management traffic, not for data traffic. It is connected
100BASE-T
to the Onboard Administrator through the blade server backplane connector.
Ethernet port
Console port
RJ-45 switch module management port.
Flex 10 Modules
2x10Gbps – Stacking Links
Onboard NICs
10Gbps
10Gbps
Flex 10
10Gbps
10Gbps
4x
FlexNic
4x
FlexNic
Blade
Flex 10
Chassis
Mezzanine Slot 1 - FC
4x4Gbps
4x4Gbps
FC Switch
4/8
Gbps
4/8
Gbps
Mezzanine Slot 2
FC Switch
Concepts
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Stacking Links
VirtualConnect Domain
Shared Uplink Sets
Networks
FlexNics
Server Profiles
Stacking Links
• Directly connecting ports between Flex 10
modules causes these ports to be declared as
stacking links.
• Any Network not associated with a shared
uplink set will traverse stacking links
• Stacked Flex10s behave as a VirtualConnect
Domain
Virtual Connect Domains
A Virtual Connect Domain is the collection of
C7000 blade chassis that a set of stacked Flex
10s spans.
Can be presented as a cluster alias from stacked
Flex-10s
Can be configured by the Onboard
Administrator of the Blade Chassis
FlexNics
• FlexNics can be assigned 0 bps capacity to
10Gbps in 100Mbps increments
• FlexNics with 0 capacity cannot be configured
at the OS but still appear as devices
• Default is the first FlexNic is 10Gbps and the
remaining 3 FlexNics on an interface are
assigned 0bps
• Assignments are done via VirtualConnect
Networks
• A network has an associated VLAN
• May or may not be associated with shared
uplink sets
• Several different networks may be associated
with the same VLAN
Shared Uplink Set
• Is a set of one or more uplinks to an adjacent
switch or switches
• Is associated with one or more Networks
• Can span stacked Flex 10 modules
• In ‘auto’ mode, a Flex 10, or stack of Flex 10’s
will attempt to create an LACP port group
from the associated uplinks
• Failover mode merely created a failover set of
links
Server Profiles
• Associated with no, or one, actual blade
• NICs can be added to the profile
– Only checked vs physical when applied to a server
– FlexNICs can have their bandwidth specified
between 0 and 10Gbps in 100Mbit increments
– Can have one or more networks associated with
each FlexNIC
– Can define which, if any, is the network to have
native, ie, untagged, traffic
– Can be copied to apply to other servers
What else?
Virtual Connect allows:
• HBA wwn’s to be virtualized
• Server Serial Numbers to be virtualized
• NIC MAC addresses attached to Flex10’s to be
virtualized
Greg Draws…
The Main Game
• Time to deploy
– A Domain takes about 10 minutes to configure
from Factory Configuration
– System Administrators (SA’s) can choose required
networks without the need to involve network
groups
– Allows SA’s to choose default VLANs as necessary
to get PXE deployment to work
The main game
• Time to repair
– Virtualized MAC (+Storage) -> ease of
redeployment
– Relocation of a failed service – ease of network
reconfiguration – Storage reconfiguration if using
virtual wwns
The main game
Ease of maintenance by non-disruptively
• Bringing maintenance to prime time by
leveraging tested high availability
– Firmware on device or adjacent device
– Changing connections to replacement or
alternative devices
• Use LACP or Etherchannel even if only using
one port for ease of upgrade of capacity
What’s changed
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Rate of change (duh!)
VM sprawl exceeds consolidation of existing hosts
Many VM’s puts pressure on address space
Vmotion networks require care
Clusters in Vmware aren’t pretty
Lots of switches, lots of AM&C
VLANS spanning data centres gives broader scope to
change effort
• Far more systems to support also
• The march of technology has had some big steps
almost concurrently
Human and Professional behaviour
• Resist change
– Challenge the need to the change
• Pride in service quality
– Fear of loss of control
– Concerns for fault detection, diagnosis and
rectification
What business wants
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The usual suspects
Flexibity
Agility
Reliability
Security
Dealing with the change
If you always do what you always did then you will
always get what you always got.
Go for the nett organizational benefit rather than
the sectional stated demands that are really
probably wants
Describe and discuss the benefit sought
Ensure all sectional concerns, wants and needs are
visible and understood
Adopt a “how can we” or “what is required to
enable” approach rather than why not
Remember Kepner-Tregoe Techniques
There has been a decision made
Analyse the potential opportunities
Analyse the potential problems
And decide and act on which opportunities warrant
realization and which problems and risks warrant
managing
Getting things done
• Systems, Network, Facilities must work in unison
on big ticket agenda items
• Don’t let areas take it on board but work in an
insular way. This is often a passive-aggressive
response.
• Get face to face – it is easy to point fingers at
another group if there if physical separation and
when people don’t interact face to face
• Use the fuel that the university and managers
give you