HP Virtual Connect 4Gb Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem 409513-B22 Dépliant
Codici prodotto
409513-B22
The Premera network team was skeptical of this notion
as a proof of concept began. “They were actively
involved in making sure the claims being made about
Virtual Connect were true,” Fisher says. “They wanted
to make sure that Virtual Connect doesn’t participate
in spanning tree, which can be a big deal when you
bring your switches online, triggering looping issues
and network outages.”
as a proof of concept began. “They were actively
involved in making sure the claims being made about
Virtual Connect were true,” Fisher says. “They wanted
to make sure that Virtual Connect doesn’t participate
in spanning tree, which can be a big deal when you
bring your switches online, triggering looping issues
and network outages.”
HP Virtual Connect passed the test and is now the
standard at Premera for the HP BladeSystem.
HP Virtual Connect Ethernet and Fibre Channel
modules are in use. “Everyone is fully on board,”
Fisher says. “We demonstrated that the Virtual
Connect modules are not switches, they’re sort of a
port aggregator on the network. The network and
storage teams don’t have to manage them like they
would with a traditional Ethernet or Fibre Channel
switch in an enclosure. And HP Virtual Connect will
pass through all the MAC addresses and worldwide
names directly to their fabric or network.”
standard at Premera for the HP BladeSystem.
HP Virtual Connect Ethernet and Fibre Channel
modules are in use. “Everyone is fully on board,”
Fisher says. “We demonstrated that the Virtual
Connect modules are not switches, they’re sort of a
port aggregator on the network. The network and
storage teams don’t have to manage them like they
would with a traditional Ethernet or Fibre Channel
switch in an enclosure. And HP Virtual Connect will
pass through all the MAC addresses and worldwide
names directly to their fabric or network.”
There are several important benefits:
Deploying four times faster with HP Virtual Connect
Deploying eight rack-mounted servers requires 16
ports to be set up, taking a half-hour each, Fisher
observes. But deploying eight HP server blades in an
enclosure with HP Virtual Connect requires only four
ports to be set up once, when the enclosure is initially
set up. “That reduces eight hours to two—deployment
is four times faster,” he says.
Deploying eight rack-mounted servers requires 16
ports to be set up, taking a half-hour each, Fisher
observes. But deploying eight HP server blades in an
enclosure with HP Virtual Connect requires only four
ports to be set up once, when the enclosure is initially
set up. “That reduces eight hours to two—deployment
is four times faster,” he says.
Better yet, “Because there’s very little involvement of
network and storage teams, it’s simpler for everyone,”
reports Fisher. “You don’t have to throw a complex
request over the wall to other teams and wait for them
for each server.”
network and storage teams, it’s simpler for everyone,”
reports Fisher. “You don’t have to throw a complex
request over the wall to other teams and wait for them
for each server.”
And once the enclosure is set up, there is new
flexibility. “With HP Virtual Connect, adding a server
is a simple matter of plugging a blade in, putting an
image on it, and then assigning it to an already pre-
built network. It takes minutes,” reports Fisher.
flexibility. “With HP Virtual Connect, adding a server
is a simple matter of plugging a blade in, putting an
image on it, and then assigning it to an already pre-
built network. It takes minutes,” reports Fisher.
Up to five- and six-figure storage savings
The server team has new options. “We can set up
internal, private networks for whatever purpose we
need that don’t go outside of the Virtual Connect
module,” Fisher adds. “We can use the module to
connect to a storage blade over iSCSI. And that’s
traffic that just stays within the Virtual Connect
module.”
The server team has new options. “We can set up
internal, private networks for whatever purpose we
need that don’t go outside of the Virtual Connect
module,” Fisher adds. “We can use the module to
connect to a storage blade over iSCSI. And that’s
traffic that just stays within the Virtual Connect
module.”
There are strong business benefits. “We’re using local
storage in the enclosure—HP StorageWorks SB40c
storage blades—as an alternative to using expensive
SAN storage,” says Fisher. “There’s no impact to
network or storage systems from a traffic standpoint.
And our SAN storage costs $35 to $70 a gigabyte,
compared to just a few dollars a gigabyte on an
HP storage blade.” That can quickly add up to five-
and six-figure storage savings.
storage in the enclosure—HP StorageWorks SB40c
storage blades—as an alternative to using expensive
SAN storage,” says Fisher. “There’s no impact to
network or storage systems from a traffic standpoint.
And our SAN storage costs $35 to $70 a gigabyte,
compared to just a few dollars a gigabyte on an
HP storage blade.” That can quickly add up to five-
and six-figure storage savings.
“It takes me 30 seconds to connect and
manage every aspect of an HP server blade
through HP Insight Control Environment, vs.
the 30 minutes it might take me to walk to
the data center or drive in from home to
power cycle a server.”
—Ron Fisher, Systems Engineer,
Premera Blue Cross
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