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Abstract:
Customers today are challenged with simplifying the network edge by reducing complexity and cost. HP’s Virtual Connect solution helps customers simplify server network connections by cleanly separating the server enclosure from the data center network. Stacking multiple enclosures enables the management of up to four enclosures from a single control point.
ME Stacking provides the following benefits:
- Provide connectivity for any blade server to any uplink port in the VC domain, regardless of location
- Reduce the overall number of cables needed for uplink connectivity
- Ability to move a profile between enclosures
- Reduce the datacenter core switch traffic, as internal communication stays inside the Virtual Connect domain
- Reduces the management touch points by consolidating Virtual Connect manager interfaces
Within environments where the 10Gb uplink ports are a premium, VC Flex-10 and FlexFabric can be used with a minimal number of uplink ports in order to provide connectivity for multiple enclosures. The stack links provide high speed connections between enclosures that can be adjusted by adding more physical links to the stack. This enables the ability to create a high speed private network connection between blades for services such as VMotion, Cluster heart beats, backups, and IP Storage to name a few.
This reference guide will provide best practices to designing a multi-enclosure stack, and provide guidance on various approaches.