BL460 - adding extra network ports

[sbu2000]

A very simple questions (I am fairly new to blades) I need to add 4 network ports to HP BL460c blade (it comes with 2 on-board ones) and decided to add NC325m expansion card into one of the mezannine slots. After this my blade will have a total of 6 network ports. I currently use 2 Cisco Catalyst 3020 currently to interconnect the blades. Question: If I want to connect network 6 ports on a BL460 blade, how many Cicsco Catalyst 3020 switches will I need in my enclosure? My HP reseller tells me that I will need 6 (I switch per port). Is this correct? Can I go with fewer switches? Thank you.

[mkendall]

Hello, I believe your reseller is correct. Each dual port (so you have three of those) can be set up as redundant I/O. Each dual port is accomodated by a pair of switches in adjacent bays. So three pairs, three pairs of switches. Regards, Mike

[chopper3]

Onboard NIC1 goes to Inter 1, onboard NIC2 goes to Inter 2, Mezz-connected NIC 3 goes to Inter 5, Mezz-connected NIC 4 goes to Inter 6, Mezz-connected NIC 5 goes to Inter 7 and Mezz-connected NIC 6 goes to Inter 8. So If you need even one server to be able to output on it's sixth NIC then you'll need 6 Inters, of course these don't have to be all the same type, you can mix Inters vertically but I wouldn't do it horizontally. Hope this helps. Phil.