Newbie trying to piece together the puzzle that is the C7000

[crvella]

Hi all

I'm a newbie to both blade server technology, enterprise networking and HP.  I am trying to learn more and to start I have borrowed a C7000 to play with.  Within this enclosure It has the following components;

16 x HP Proliant BL460c G6

2 x OA Modules

2 x HP GbE2c Ethernet Blade Switch

2 x Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3020

I do not want to connect this with any redundancy.  I have so far determined that the server will require roughly(Max) 4800w to power it on, which I beleive is a 32a @ 240volts in australia

My next step is to identify what the cards on the back are for.  I know the OA modules are effectively how I access the Chassi and everything in it to update and install components. 

I am not sure what the 2 x HP Gbe2c or the 2 x Cisco Catalyst Switches are for.

I need to attached this C7000 to an existing network (older blades etc, via a switch) and I have also a HP MSA SAN device which I would like to attached directly to this C7000.  I can only assume these cards (Gbe2c and Cisco switch) would be what I use to do this.

In my reading I have also come across HP Virtual Connect reference and Flex cards.  I am assuming these two cards are not related to this and therefore this enclosure is not capable of HP Virtual Connect.

So my starting questions are;

1 - Does 4800w sound correct for it's max load

2 - What is the purpose of the HP Gbe2c cards, and why 2

3 - What is the purpose of the Cisco Blade Switch, and why 2

4 - How would I physically attach a SAN drive to the C7000 (via Fibre)

5 - How would I physically attach this c7000 to an exiting network so people on the current network could attach to the C7000

Thanks so much in advance.  I realise this are really newby questions, I am just struggling to see how these cards fit into the bigger picture.

Cheers

Chris

[Torsten.]

>> I am not sure what the 2 x HP Gbe2c or the 2 x Cisco Catalyst Switches are for.

The interconnects at the back connect the blades to the outside world.

The LOMs of the blades are hardwired to bay 1 and 2, this is always network (except for virtual connect, the flex loms can do FCoE here too).

bays 3 and 4 are wired to the first mezzanine slots of the blades, obviously network too in your case.

Consider to get the C7000 and OA user guide for all the details.

[crvella]

Thanks for coming back to me.

Are the 'interconnects' the 4 cards I was referring to?

I don't know what a LOM is.

Bays 3,4,5,6 had the 4 cards I referred to, bays 1,2,7,8 are all blanked out.

I have read the guides but they aren't making a great deal of sense to me in relation to those two specific card types (4 cards)

[Torsten.]

The important point are the wiring diagrams from the manuals like this:

LOM means LAN on Motherboard, the built-in LAN cards.

[crvella]

I saw this diagram and was confused about a few things; 

So ;

1 - If Interconnect bay 1 & 2 is blanket out on this server, it likely means we are not using the LOM?

2 - Mezz 1 has 2 ports, Mezz 2 has 4 ports.  Presumably Mezz 2 therefore has higher throughput?

[Torsten.]

It always depends on the type of mezzanine cards. The diagram is showing the hard wired connections.

If you want to use the LOMs, insert the network switches into bay 1 and 2.

[crvella]

Sorry for all the questions.  I guess I'm trying to get my head around

a)  Why there are these 2 types of cards (2 of each)

b) To connect a SAN do I simply plug the same into the CIsco fiber slots and I will have connection

c) Do I just run a network patch from the Gb2ce card to the existing switch to attach it to the existing network (Domain Controller etc)

[Jimmy Vance]

---

crvella wrote:
Thanks for coming back to me.

Are the 'interconnects' the 4 cards I was referring to?

I don't know what a LOM is.

Bays 3,4,5,6 had the 4 cards I referred to, bays 1,2,7,8 are all blanked out.

I have read the guides but they aren't making a great deal of sense to me in relation to those two specific card types (4 cards)

---

Assuming the interconnect modules GbE2 and Cisco switches were in 3,4,5,6 the last time the chassi was operational, there should be Etherenet Mezzanine cards in each blade that connect to those modules.

For your fibre SAN connectivity, you will need a fibre inteconnect module unless you have Virtual Connect modules which can support both Ethernet and fibre. You will also need a fibre Mezzanine card for the server

Generally speaking a standard blade configuration would put the Ethernet interconnect modules in I/O bays 1 and 2 and your fibre modules would go in I/O bay 3 and 4. You would use the LOM for network connectivity and a fibre Mezz card for the SAN.

[crvella]

Thanks for that.

So the mezzanine is the card that sits in the physical blade server; got it.  I've looked at the manual and there are two slots at the back of the bl460c Gen6.  The slots are empty on the blade I took out which would lead me to beleive there is no mezzanine cards in these servers.

So again, it makes me wonder what those two cards are doing and why they are in slot 3,4 & 5,6

Is it possible the onboard NICS are wired to 3,4 & 5,6 and they are making use of the two cards?