DL380 G2 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter?

[Gavin Clarke]

I'm trying to find out what PCI Gigabit Ethernet adapters have been tested (if any?) on DL380 G2 machines.

I found info on LP2000r machines saying that 3Com 3C996-T cards have been tested. I'm wondering if the same cards would work on DL380 G2 machines as well?

Thanks in advance for any information that is offered.

[Oleg Koroz]

Gavin most likely it will work (problem only with G4) example
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=981538

However verify with
http://knowledgebase.3com.com/

Usually third party company gave some feedback where products can be used, as long HP have own Nic cards, all third party test just for research only.

from research nothing that would tell is not compatible

[Oleg Koroz]

if you decide HP NIC
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=c00403268#N10694

[Gavin Clarke]

Thanks KOV for the reply.

I know where I can order the 3com cards from and I know that they will arrive in good time. That is the main reason I want to go for those.

It was really easy to find info about the LP2000r machines, I found this wasn't the case for DL380 G2. I guess our G2's have a limited lifespan left anyway...

I will assign points after a few more answers or a few more days, whichever happens first.

Cheers.

[Connery]

Gavin,
We, HP, do not test any 3rd party NIC cards. We limit our in-house testing to our own NIC cards (the NC series adapters). We've had situations in the past where we have "informally" tested a 3rd party card for a customer because we didn't provide a comparable card (eg. ATM card).

You were probably able to find info on the LP2000r (and other NetServer products) because the NetServer line didn't produce their own branded NICs like the ProLiant line does.

I do highly recommend using an adapter from HP's NC series line of networking adapters. We do lots of testing with these adapters and you get other benefits (like agent support, NIC Teaming support, etc.)

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/networking/index-nic.html

If you have problems ordering HP NC series NICs or if you have problems receiving them in a timely fashion, please let us know. That's definitely a problem we'd like to solve. For spam purposes, I don't want to post my email address here. However, you can email me at firstname.lastname@hp.com if you need further assistance.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Sean McGee

Network Engineer
HP ProLiant Networking Server Products

[Gavin Clarke]

Sean,

Thanks for the reply, especially the bit about the LP2000r machines it explains alot to me.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that I have had a bad experience ordering HP NICs. More that I have very little experience of doing such a thing.

What I am trying to achieve is a boost to the network performance of some older machines, with minimal fuss and well quite frankly cost.

If for some reason we find that the cards don't perform to expectations I will doubtless look to find HP NICs instead. I may well even send you a mail.

Cheers.

[Connery]

Gavin,
One option for boosting NIC performance is to use NIC Teaming.

For instance, you could team together the two embedded 10/100 ports on your DL380 as one fat 200Mb pipe.

This document will provide info on how to use HP's Teaming driver.
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/servers/networking/TeamingWP.pdf

Section 3 on page 13 would be a good place to start if you are new to HP's NIC teaming.

Best regards,
-sean

[Gavin Clarke]

Thanks Sean,

The embedded cards are already teamed.

I guess if HP had a web shop where I could just go, see the price and buy I might feel more inclined to go for the HP NICs.

I'm sure there are lots of suppliers out there who do this sort of thing, the one we use for this sort of stuff doesn't seem to stock HP NICs. It remains to be seen whether this was the right choice.

Cheers.

[Connery · Accepted solution]

Gavin,
This link is the main site for "ProLiant NICs". This page provides "buy online" links for each of our NICs.

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/networking/index-nic.html

If you have any problems, don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best regards,
-sean

[Gavin Clarke]

Sean, that is a very good answer.

If I had started this thread a few days earlier I might not have bought 3com NICs.

I may yet find myself buying from that link.

For extra points you could tell me which one I would need for DL380 G2? Or is that spoiling my fun looking for the information?

Cheers

[Connery]

Gavin,
Here is the official list of NIC options for the DL380G2.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=c00403268#N10694

Other NC series NICs will most likely work in the DL380 G2 even though they aren't on the option list. This is because the DL380 G2 predates several of our NC NICs.

Best regards,
-sean