BL870c - How many HBA mezzanine cards can i put

[Amit Jindal_1]

Hi ,
I have seen the specefications for BL870C and it says that ( Three Mezzanine slots (two (2) Type II PCIe, one (1) Type I PCIe x4)) are there.

I have checked on this link ( http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/sm/WF06a/15351-15351-3328410-3328419-3328419-3676868.html )

In the Adapters and mezzanine links ( http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/blades/components/c-class-adapters.html ) I found that the HBA adapters are of type 1.

So does it means I can have only 1 dual HBA card ? Can I have 2 dual port HBA cards, are there any Type II PCIe mezzanine HBA cards ?

[Blazhev_1]

Hi,

there are 2 types of mezzanine slots and HBAs - Type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 HBA can work both in type 1 and type 2 slots, but type 2 card will work only in type 2 slot.

So you can have up to 3 HBAs, even if they are type 1.

[Raghuarch]

As of now the only Type II card, x8 PCIe form HP Site is NC512m Dual-port Multifunction
10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/ERC/downloads/4AA1-2528ENW.pdf

Are there any Type II PCIe mezzanine HBA cards? I don't know.

So does it means I can have only 1 dual HBA card ? Can I have 2 dual port HBA cards?
Looking at the Demo and the below specs sheet, i think they Support 2 dual port HBA cards.

http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/html/interactive/BL870c/model.html
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/integrity-bl/c-class/870c/specifications.html

[Amit Jindal_1]

Hi Blazhev,
If possible could you give some verification from hp site or any other site for the answer. My requirement is to use 2 dual port HBA cards. As per your answer I can use the type 1 mezzanine cards on the other type 2 slots as well.

[David Claypool]

Check the Enterprise Configurator at http://h30099.www3.hp.com/configurator/

It has specific rules for what is a valid configuration or not. Please note that there may be different results depending on which operating system you select.

[Amit Jindal_1]

Thanks David,
However when clicking the configure link within the integrity server and selecting BL870C nothing comes up ,, some progress bar comes up and it keeps moving on .. tried it on two systems in broadband and office network, same result.

i tried to open the links in a gap of 8 - 10 hrs, but same result.

[Blazhev_1]

Hi,

check :
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00700793/c00700793.pdf

The first few lines are written confirmation of the type / slot compatibility

Regards

[Blazhev_1]

although if I check page 42

http://h41302.www4.hp.com/km/saw/view.do?docId=emr_na-c01327127-2&title=User+Service+Guide%2C+Second+Edition+-+HP+Integrity+BL870c+Server+Blade

I doubt if there isn't some special restriction for the BL870c - "The server supports one Type I mezzanine card, and two Type II mezzanine cards.
â ¢ The Type I mezzanine port supports a PCIe x4 card
â ¢ The Type II mezzanine ports support PCIe x8 cards"

In quickspecs :

Supports up to (3) mezzanine cards
HP BLc Emulex LPe1105 FC HBA Opt kit for SAN connectivity
HP 4X DDR IB Dual Port Mezzanine HCA for low latency server interconnectivity
Dual-Port Fibre Channel Mezzanine (4-Gb) options for SAN connectivity (QLogic).
4X DDR InfiniBand (IB) Mezzanine (20 Gb/s) options for low latency server interconnectivity
Four-Port GbE Adapter expansion via HP NC364m PCI-Express Quad-Port Adapter

so information is confusing...

[Raghuarch]

Ranjit,

Type 1 HBA can work both in type 1 and type 2 slots, And Dual HBA card is a Type 1 Mezzanine card.
BL870C and it says that ( Three Mezzanine slots (two (2) Type II PCIe, one (1) Type I PCIe x4)) are there.

You can use 3 HBA cards.

[Adrian Clint]

Three 2 port HBA with 4 onboard NICS
Two 2 port HBA with 4 NICs onboard and a 2 or 4 port NIC card
One 2 port HBA with 4 NICs on board and two 2 or 4 port NIC cards.

[Amit Jindal_1]

Hi Adrian,
Have you got this info from hp site where it shows the supported configuration. If yes could you please give the link.

I tried the link ( http://egui-prod.houston.hp.com/eGlue/eco/begin.do) given by David but it is not opening up.