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Re: Inplace upgrade c7000 Enclosures

 
SorenE
Occasional Contributor

Inplace upgrade c7000 Enclosures

Our setup is as following:
Two C7000 Enclosures (g1 & g3) with stacking link
Two Flex-10 Switches in both C7000 (4 in total) and one single VC domain
Two Brocade SAN Switches in both C7000 (4 in total)
The G1 was our first Enclosure (maybe it matters?)

 

Task ahead:
We want to replace the G1 Enclosure since it has defective slots. We have acquired a Renew G2 C7000 to replace it.
We are planning to move the Flex-10 and Brocade switches from the G1 Enclosure and the configuration (since the OA is not compatible with G2)
It is preferable that the G3 Enclosure is online throughout the procedure, but if it is completely impossible, we can plan downtime.

 

My own thoughts:
1. Backup the OA configuration on the G1 Encl. (and g3 to have something to fallback to)
2. Backup the Flex10 domain
3. Shutdown all servers in the G1 Encl.
4. Cut power to the Encl.
5. Start the new g2 Encl. without stacking links or Flex10 swithces
6. Restore the G1 Configuration
7. Cut power the Encl.
8. Insert all the Flex-10 and Brocade Swithces
9. Connect the Encl. staking cable and Flex10 DAC cables
10. Power up the Encl. (and hope for the best)

 

What worries me:

1. Is this a supported (tested) scenario?
2. Is it even possible to restore OA to a newer hardware generation?
3. What will happen to the VC domain when the Flex-10 is moved to another OA. Will the domain breake somehow, even though it has the same configuration? Will it retain the server profiles and the slot placement configuration?

4. What about the MAC addresses. Will they remain the same?

 

Any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated :-)

1 REPLY 1
SprinkleJames
Valued Contributor

Re: Inplace upgrade c7000 Enclosures

I have a very similar situation, replacing a pair of older enclosures with the new platinum series. They've got VC FlexFabric modules, stacked with both enclosures in the same VC domain. I assume the config from the old OAs can be restored to the new.

I found a note in the HPE BladeSystem c7000 Enclosure Maintenance and Service Guide that concerns me:

VC, Virtual Connect Enterprise Manager, and Insight Control use the enclosure serial number as a critical key. If you replace the midplane assembly without ensuring that the serial number is restored prior to installing the VC modules and server blades, then the VC domain is deleted and all server network and SAN connections are disabled .

In light of this, do the new OAs need to be configured to reflect the original enclosure serial numbers, prior to moving the components over?

Does anyone have any advice or experience they can share?