1. May 2013
Family data sheet
HP Virtual Connect
Connect systems to any network in a simple and flexible way
HP Virtual Connect Flex-10/10D Module
HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 20-Port Fibre Channel Module
HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric 10 Gb/24-Port Module
2. 2
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
Move to a future-ready data center with a converged
infrastructure
What is a converged infrastructure?
Converged infrastructure helps you remove silos in your data center and integrates multiple
technologies into pools of interoperable resources to deliver operational flexibility for the
future. Built on leading innovation and industry standards, a converged infrastructure helps
you tackle the problem of IT sprawl by simplifying, integrating, and automating technology.
It gives you the ability to create and virtualize the compute, storage, and network environment
for any workload.
HP Converged Infrastructure has four pillars: HP Virtual Resource Pools, HP Data Center
Smart Grid, HP Matrix Operating Environment, and HP FlexFabric. HP Virtual Connect (VC) is a
cornerstone of the HP FlexFabric architecture. It is a common, virtualized network fabric that
connects servers to networking and storage while simplifying and increasing flexibility from the
data center to the network edge.
Challenges such as network sprawl at the server edge, explosive growth of virtual machines,
and increase in networking infrastructure costs can slow down your ability to respond to
change. HP VC simplifies the server edge by addressing the network sprawl. HP VC Flex-10/10D
and HP VC FlexFabric modules enable you to allocate up to four connections per server network
port and provide management and fine-tuning of bandwidth.
Overprovisioning of network capacity consumes precious budget, while underprovisioning
creates bottlenecks that can lower virtual machine performance. You are no longer locked-in
to either 1 Gb or 10 Gb allocations for a workload. Allocating too much or too little bandwidth
creates inefficiencies that can cost you money and time.
VC Flex-10/10D and VC FlexFabric modules along with HP Flex-10/FlexFabric adapters allow you
to adjust bandwidth to your changing workload—whenever you need to.
Figure 1: Business challenges of today
Traditionally, there were only two ways to connect server blades to outside networks and
storage—pass-thru modules or switches. The pass-thru approach though simple, leaves you
with countless cables and associated cabling costs, reliability concerns, and the risk of human
errors. Blade switches reduce the number of required cables but can lead to more switches
and increased management overheads. And with either approach, it’s hard to separate server
management from network and storage management.
HP VC technology changes all of this. It is the next step in virtualization—helping IT fully realize
the benefits of a converged infrastructure. It extends the benefit of virtualization beyond the
server to the rest of your IT infrastructure. VC simplifies your IT infrastructure by virtualizing
server-to-network connections.
HP offers the Virtual Connect FlexFabric 10 Gb/24-Port Module and three FlexFabric
adapters—the HP NC551m and HP NC551i Dual Port FlexFabric 10 Gb Converged Network
adapters, and HP NC553i 10 Gb Dual Port FlexFabric Converged Network Adapter (CNA) and
VC FlexFabric integrated adapters and mezzanine adapters. These include the HP NC551i
Integrated FlexFabric adapters for the AMD-based HP ProLiant G7 blade servers and the
HP NC553i Integrated FlexFabric adapters for the Intel®
-based ProLiant G7 blade servers.
Are these your challenges too?
IT sprawl Limited
budget
Restricted
bandwidth
3. 3
We also offer the HP NC551m and HP NC553m FlexFabric mezzanine adapters to provide
VC FlexFabric module connectivity for ProLiant G6 blade servers or to provide ProLiant
G7 blade servers with additional I/O ports. HP VC FlexFabric modules and FlexFabric adapters
extend Flex-10 technology to include Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and accelerated iSCSI.
We continue to advance simpler network infrastructure and server connection management
with HP VC FlexFabric modules and adapters. By applying industry-standard convergence
technology, you can now address issues of network sprawl, without disrupting your LAN and
SAN setup.
Delivering low TCO and superior ROI
The HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric 10 Gb/24-Port Module allows you to select a single
interconnect that connects servers to data and storage networks, while reducing the time to
evaluate, purchase, install, update, and manage network infrastructure at the server edge.
It helps you break down silos that prevent you from gaining more value from your physical
IT resources. As more IT resources are virtualized, you can increase utilization—and reduce
your TCO.
HP VC solutions: VC Converged Networking
Key features and benefits
Ease of operations and deployment
• Server blades are change ready—you can add, move, replace, or upgrade server blades, and
move workloads without affecting your LAN and SAN.
• You can wire once, then add, move, and change network connections in minutes instead of
days, managing connections to thousands of servers from one pane of glass.
• Our modules are completely compatible with existing data and storage networks, protocols,
switches, and procedures.
• We simplify your network by providing one module for all data and storage connection needs.
• VC FlexFabric and Flex-10/10D modules are compatible with all other standards-based switch
products. They provide high-performance and end-to-end optical or copper connections with
HP Networking or other brands of core switches.
• VC FlexFabric and Flex-10/10D modules appear as pass-thru devices to the network. Any
change to the server is transparent to its associated network. This clearly separates the
server blades from your LAN and relieves LAN administrators from server maintenance.
• FlexFabric adapters support hypervisor best-practice configurations with six HP FlexNIC and
two HP FlexHBA standard connections on each blade.
• HP VC FlexFabric supports direct attach to FC storage with HP 3PAR Storage Systems, thereby
removing SAN fabric between servers and HP 3PAR Storage Arrays. This brings in operational
simplicity and a reduction in your TCO while connecting to FC storage.
Enterprise-class performance and availability
• Manage with 95 percent1
fewer network cards, switches, and cables to buy, install, qualify,
and maintain. Additionally, achieve significant reduction in power and cooling costs as well as
equipment cost with VC Converged Networking.
• Extend the life of your network by only using the capacity you need.
• Enable increased uptime with high-availability features, such as NIC teaming, trunk failover,
and dual redundant VC FlexFabric modules.
• Get direct uplink connections to LAN and SAN to maintain your current IT practices, unlike
other solutions that reroute SAN traffic to the LAN.
1
HP Internal: Based on HP analysis of
networking equipment (adapters and enclosure
interconnects), as shown here: A traditional
server blade configuration would typically require
a dual port LAN on Motherboard (LOM), an extra
quad-port NIC mezzanine, and a dual port host
bus adapter (HBA), along with switch modules
(six Ethernet and two Fibre Channel).
The total traditional configuration components
come up to 40 vs. the VC FlexFabric module
solution. The VC FlexFabric module solution
requires only embedded dual port FlexFabric
adapters on servers (no mezzanine cards) and
two VC FlexFabric modules. Here’s a simple
calculation to understand this better:
(40-2)/40 = 95 percent.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
4. 4
• Benefit from built-in standards-based data center connectivity with features such as
port-based VLANs, VLAN tagging, Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) Snooping,
N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV), and uplink port aggregation with up to 1,000 VLANs per shared
uplink set.
• Fine-tune the performance of each data and storage connection to meet the needs of each
virtual machine and workload.
Security and management
• The embedded Virtual Connect Manager (VCM) Web-based console is present in each VC
FlexFabric and Flex-10/10D module. With this, you can define available LANs, SANs, server
connections, and manage server connection profiles for individual HP BladeSystem enclosures.
• In keeping with its use of industry-standard protocols, we are expanding the SNMP capabilities
of HP VC. Specifically, the latest VC firmware now supports both SNMP v1 and SNMP v2 traps;
traps for key, predefined threshold conditions; and per-destination configuration of traps.
• Role-based privileges for the administrator account are defined by default and can be modified
by the BladeSystem administrator and integrated with Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
(LDAP) servers.
• Role-based customization for server, network, and storage admin to tailor privileges
for administrators.
• QoS features allow administrators to configure traffic queues for different priority network
traffic, categorize and prioritize ingress traffic, and adjust DOT1P priority settings on
egress traffic.
• For environments that have implemented TACACS+ and RADIUS protocols for security,
VC supports these protocols in addition to LDAP.
• Additional role-based privileges for user accounts can be created by domain, server blade,
networking, and storage.
• Multi-enclosure stacking enables all of the VC modules (up to four connected enclosures) to
function as a single VC domain.
HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric 10 Gb/24-Port Module
The first interconnect built for the demands of a converged infrastructure, HP Virtual Connect
FlexFabric 10 Gb/24-Port Module, provides server administrators with a simple, flexible way to
connect servers and virtual machines to any LAN and SAN. You can now add up to four times
more data and storage connections per blade with full 10 Gb Ethernet and 8 Gb Fibre Channel
performance. It extends VC Flex-10 to include one Fibre Channel or accelerated iSCSI storage
connection (FlexHBA) with three Ethernet connections (FlexNICs) per 10 Gb port. With this
VC module, you can replace four interconnect modules with one module to support Ethernet,
Fibre Channel, and iSCSI connections. What’s more, reduce NICs and HBAs in each server by
using HP NC551i Integrated FlexFabric Adapter or HP NC553i Integrated FlexFabric Adapter. It is
also possible to increase the number of FlexNICs and available bandwidth that can be used
by virtual machines by adding HP NC551m or HP NC553m FlexFabric mezzanine adapters for
ProLiant G6 or G7 blade servers.
HP VC Flex-10/10D Module
HP VC Flex-10/10D Module is a 30-Port, next-generation Flex-10 Module with 600 Gb
full-duplex bandwidth capacity. It has 10 dedicated SFP+ based uplinks that can operate
at 1/10GbE and four inter-stacking links. VC Flex-10/10D Module provides up to four times
the number of connections (FlexNICs) per server port, without increasing the number of NICs
or managed switches required to connect them, by using Flex-10 technology. By virtue of
the dual-hop feature, it extends VC Flex-10 to include one Fibre Channel or accelerated iSCSI
storage connection (FlexHBA) with three Ethernet connections (FlexNICs) per 10 Gb port.
With this VC module, you can replace four interconnect modules with one module to support
Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and iSCSI connections. This reduces overheads—cards, switches, and
cables—by 95 percentage parts over traditional Ethernet and SAN switches.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
5. 5
HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Module
Key features and benefits
Ease of operations and deployment
• With NPIV and HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel technology, storage management is no longer
limited to a single HBA World Wide Name (WWN) on the physical server. NPIV provides the
ability to share a single physical Fibre Channel HBA port among multiple virtual ports, each
with its own unique identifiers, allowing control of virtual machines access to LUNs on per
virtual machine basis.
• Standards-based Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Module is compatible with other NPIV
standards-based switch products. NPIV allows you to scale, gaining immediate benefits
without having to add domain IDs. Consider a blade server environment, such as an
HP c7000 chassis, where there are Fibre Channel switches located at the back of the chassis.
By using NPIV on these switches, you can add them to your fabric without having to assign a
domain ID individually and that provides high-performance, end-to-end connections with your
available options of core switches.
• The Virtual Connect Fibre Channel modules appear as pass-thru devices to the network.
Any changes to the server blade are transparent to the associated network. This clearly
separates the blade servers from your SAN and relieves your SAN administrators from
server maintenance.
Enterprise-class performance and availability
• Storage resources can be provisioned and associated directly to a specific virtual machine in a
virtualized server environment.
• Separate storage resources for up to 128 virtual machines per blade.
• High-availability features such as dual modules and automatic fail-over provide
increased uptime.
• VC server blade profiles are shared and continually updated between high-availability pairs.
• Enhanced NPIV capability supports multiple virtual machines per server blade and provides a
separate storage resource to each virtual machine—up to 128 per server blade.
Security and management
Role-based privileges for the administrator account are defined by default and can be modified
by the BladeSystem administrator and integrated with LDAP servers.
HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 20-Port Fibre Channel Module
HP Virtual Connect 20-Port Fibre Channel Module offers next-generation 8 Gb technology that
includes backward compatibility with 2 Gb and 4 Gb networks, to help you get the most out of
your technology investment.
While it appears as a pass-thru device to the network, it provides all the key benefits of
integrated switching including the high-performance 8 Gb uplinks to the SAN. The 8 Gb
Fibre Channel interconnect facilitates superior performance and server consolidation.
This Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Module combines the simplicity of a pass-thru module
with the high performance of an 8 Gb switch. Additionally, four external 8 Gb ports reduce
oversubscription when using 4 Gb HBAs.
HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module
You can consider HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module for the highest
port density in the Virtual Connect Fibre Channel line-up. This standards-based module is
compatible with all other NPIV standards-based switch products. This compatibility accounts
for high-performance and end-to-end connections with your available options of core switches.
The 8 Gb Fibre Channel interconnect enables greater performance and server consolidation.
Eight SAN-facing ports and 16-server ports help reduce oversubscription for high throughput
applications. Also, separate storage resources are available to each virtual machine—up to 255 per
server blade.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
6. 6
HP Virtual Connect Enterprise Manager
HP Virtual Connect Enterprise Manager (VCEM) is a management option for multiple
BladeSystem enclosures configured with VC. VCEM provides a central console that aggregates
VC resources, improves productivity, and enables faster response to changing data center
workload demands.
The optional VCEM provides a single console to manage up to 1,000 BladeSystem enclosures.
With the VCEM for BladeSystem environments, you can complete many tasks across the
data center quickly and reliably. Some of such tasks are:
• Adding new VC domains, blade servers, and BladeSystem enclosures
• Recovering problematic servers and associated workloads to spare blades
• Migrating and repurposing servers to address changing workload requirements quickly
• Administering LAN and SAN addresses more efficiently and avoiding costly duplications
• Defining configurations for groups of VC domains
• Reducing repetitive, labor-intensive tasks
• Responding faster to changing workload needs across the data center
• Performing more efficient system maintenance
Together, VC and VCEM can create a change-ready infrastructure that enables system
administrators to add, replace, and recover servers across the data center without impacting
network configurations and availability.
Role-based privileges for the administrator account are defined by default and can be modified
by the BladeSystem administrator. VCEM is now available, bundled with either a pair of VC
Flex-10/10D modules or VC FlexFabric modules.
Ethernet, Flex-10, and FlexFabric network adapters
The 1 Gb and 10 Gb Ethernet network adapters embedded on the server blades, and
the optional Ethernet mezzanine adapters are supported by the VC Ethernet modules.
Multiple mezzanine adapters can be added per server blade.
The following network adapters are supported by the VC Ethernet modules for
Gen8 blade servers:
• HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port 560M Adapter: The HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port 560M mezzanine
adapter features the latest generation 10GbE Intel 82599 controller. The HP 560M is
a low cost, low-power dual port PCIe v.2.0 x8 lane mezzanine adapter designed for in
use HP ProLiant BL-c servers. The HP 560M addresses the demanding needs of the
next-generation cloud and data center by providing unmatched features for virtualization,
scalability to keep up with the Gen8 server platform, with proven and reliable performance
HP customers have come to expect. The 560M supports high performance networking
features such as VLAN tagging, Low latency interrupts, TCP and UDP checksum offloading,
MSI-X, NIC teaming (bonding), Receive Side Scaling (RSS), WOL, jumbo frames, PXE boot,
intelligent offloads, and advanced virtualization features (Intel VT-c NetQ, VMQ) and is
SR-IOV ready.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
7. 7
• HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 530M Adapter: HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 530M Adapter is a
dual port, 10GbE adapter, featuring the next-generation, single-chip 10 Gb Ethernet
solution from Broadcom in a mezzanine form factor designed for HP BladeSystem c-Class
Gen8 servers. This adapter provides high-performance Ethernet connectivity with support
for HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 interconnect technology, allowing the benefits of virtualization
to extend beyond the server and into the rest of the infrastructure. This adapter supports
enterprise-class features such as VLAN tagging, adaptive interrupt coalescing, MSI-X, NIC
teaming (bonding), Receive Side Scaling (RSS), jumbo frames, and PXE boot; and virtualization
features such as VMware NetQueue and Microsoft®
VMQ. Support for HP Sea of Sensors 3D
Technology enhances server performance while reducing energy use and expense.
• HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 552M Adapter: HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 552M Adapter, a mezzanine
Type A card designed for the HP BladeSystem c-Class Gen8 platform, delivers the performance
benefits of 10 Gb Ethernet with the scalability and flexibility of HP Virtual Connect and
Flex-10. This adapter supports up to 8 FlexNICs per adapter, with each FlexNIC with a unique
MAC address and identity on the LAN. Bandwidth can be uniquely allocated for virtual server
functions and applications. Hardware acceleration and offloads for stateless TCP/IP and TCP
Offload Engine (TOE) enable ideal use of CPU resources.
• HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port 554M Adapter: HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port 554M Adapter
combines the functionality of Ethernet and Fibre Channel (FC) onto a single mezzanine
Type A form factor designed for the HP BladeSystem c-Class Gen8 platform. It optimizes
network and storage traffic with hardware acceleration and offloads for stateless TCP/IP, TOE,
and Fibre Channel. This adapter utilizes next-generation technology, based on the Emulex
BE3 chipset that brings together Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and iSCSI on one adapter.
• HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port 560FLB Adapter: The HP 560FLB is a dual port 10 Gb Ethernet
FlexibleLOM mezzanine adapter for select HP ProLiant BladeSystem c-Class Gen8 servers.
Based on the Intel 82599 controller, it provides customers an upgrade path. Customers
already using a 1 Gb FlexibleLOM can upgrade to the 10 Gb 560FLB, protecting their server
investment. New features supported with the HP 560FLB include enhanced Virtualization
(VMQ, NetQueue, VMDq, SRIOV), new I/O innovations with Intel Integrated I/O and Data Direct
I/O, and IEEE 1588. The 560FLB ships with advanced server features including support for
failover and load balancing, TCP/IP checksum offloading, large send offloading, Wake-on-LAN,
PXE, jumbo frames, VLAN tagging, and EFI/uEFI.
• HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 530FLB Adapter: HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 530FLB Adapter is a
dual port, 10GbE adapter, featuring the next-generation, single-chip 10 Gb Ethernet solution
from Broadcom in a FlexibleLOM form factor designed for BladeSystem c-Class Gen8 servers.
This adapter provides high-performance Ethernet connectivity with support for HP Virtual
Connect Flex-10 interconnect technology, allowing the benefits of virtualization to extend
beyond the server and into the rest of the infrastructure. Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 530FLB Adapter
supports enterprise-class features such as VLAN tagging, adaptive interrupt coalescing,
MSI-X, NIC teaming (bonding), Receive Side Scaling (RSS), jumbo frames, and PXE boot; and
virtualization features such as VMware NetQueue and Microsoft VMQ. Support for HP Sea of
Sensors 3D Technology enhances server performance while reducing energy use and expense.
• HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port 554FLB Adapter: HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port 554FLB Adapter
provides Ethernet functionality (Flex-10), Ethernet and iSCSI, or FCoE or FlexFabric connectivity
in a FlexibleLOM form factor designed for BladeSystem c-Class Gen8 platform. This adapter
delivers Ethernet functionality (Flex-10), or Ethernet and iSCSI, or FCoE or FlexFabric—at
the price of 10GbE. This adapter utilizes next-generation technology, based on the Emulex
BE3 chipset that brings together Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and iSCSI on one adapter.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
8. 8
The following network adapters are supported by the VC Ethernet modules for
G7 blade servers:
• HP NC532m Dual Port Flex-10 10GbE Multifunction BL-c Adapter: HP NC325m PCI Express
Quad Port Gigabit Server Adapter for c-Class BladeSystem provides up to eight discrete
physical NICs per mezzanine card.
• HP NC325m PCI Express Quad Port Gigabit Server Adapter for c-Class BladeSystem: The
NC325m mezzanine option features four Gigabit Ethernet ports providing the highest port
density available for BladeSystem server blades in a single adapter. The NC325m PCI Express
Quad Port Gigabit Server Adapter for c-Class BladeSystem is ideal for virtualization, security,
server consolidation, network segmentation, and other ProLiant server applications requiring
high throughput and port density.
• HP NC542m Dual Port Flex-10 10GbE Multifunction BL-c Adapter: HP NC542m Dual Port
Flex-10 10GbE Multifunction BL-c Adapter is based on the latest version of the Mellanox
ConnectX family. The HP NC542m delivers the high throughput and low latency perfect for
mission-critical applications such as financial services and virtualized environments.
• HP NC550m 10GbE 2-Port PCIe x8 Flex-10 Ethernet Adapter: HP NC550m 10 Gb 2-Port
PCIe x8 Flex-10 Ethernet Adapter is a member of the c-Class 10GbE adapter portfolio. This
adapter is a Flex-10 designed Ethernet Adapter based on the Blade Engines 2 controller
and delivers superior throughput in the 10GbE portfolio. This adapter is perfect for
virtualized environments.
• HP NC552m 10 Gb 2-Port Flex-10 Ethernet Adapter: HP NC552m 10 Gb 2-Port
Flex-10 Ethernet Adapter is a new member of the c-Class 10GbE adapter portfolio. This
adapter is a Flex-10 designed Ethernet Adapter based on the Blade Engines 3 controller
that delivers superior throughput compared to adapters in the 10GbE portfolio. Meant
for virtualized environments, this adapter works with all BladeSystem c-Class G7 servers.
When paired with any of our VC modules or Ethernet switches, the combination provides a
high-bandwidth, high-performance network environment.
• HP NC551m Dual Port FlexFabric 10 Gb Converged Network Adapter: HP NC551m Dual
Port FlexFabric 10 Gb Converged Network Adapter delivers the performance benefits and cost
savings of converged network connectivity for BladeSystem servers. This dual port mezzanine
adapter helps fine-tune network and storage traffic with hardware acceleration and offloads
for stateless TCP/IP, TOE, FCoE, and iSCSI. When connected to VC FlexFabric Module, FC, and
Ethernet, I/O are separated and routed to the corresponding network. For iSCSI storage,
the NC551m Dual Port FlexFabric 10 Gb Converged Network Adapter supports full-protocol
offload providing better CPU efficiency when compared to software initiators enabling the
server to handle increased virtualization workloads and compute-intensive applications.
This mezzanine adapter also supports VC Flex-10 that allows each 10 Gb port to be divided
into four physical NICs to help fine-tune bandwidth management for virtualized servers.
This combination of high-performance network and storage connectivity reduces cost and
complexity and provides the flexibility and scalability for BladeSystem servers.
• HP NC553m 10 Gb 2-Port FlexFabric Adapter: HP NC553m FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port
FlexFabric Adapter delivers the performance benefits and cost savings of converged network
connectivity for HP BladeSystem servers. This dual port adapter, based on the Blades
Engine 3 controller, helps fine-tune network and storage traffic with hardware acceleration
and offloads for stateless TCP/IP, TOE, FCoE, and iSCSI. When connected to VC FlexFabric
Module FC, and Ethernet, I/O are separated and routed to the corresponding network. For iSCSI
storage, this mezzanine adapter supports full protocol offload providing better CPU efficiency
when compared to software initiators enabling the server to handle increased virtualization
workloads and compute-intensive applications.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
9. 9
Integrated adapters
• NC553i: 10 Gb, Dual Port, FlexFabric Converged Network Adapter
• NC551i: 10 Gb FlexFabric embedded adapter
• NC532i: 10 Gb Flex-10 enabled Ethernet adapter
Fibre Channel host bus adapters
Seven add-on host bus adapters (HBAs) (mezzanine or daughter cards) are currently offered for
these BladeSystem c-Class server blades:
• HP QMH2572 8 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class: This adapter is a dual port,
8 Gb, Fibre Channel HBA in a mezzanine form factor designed for HP BladeSystem c-Class
Gen8 servers. This adapter provides reliable SAN and is ideal for virtualized environments.
With 200,000 IOPS per port and leading-edge FC connectivity, users can enjoy the benefits of
increased storage networking bandwidth and high I/O performance to meet the requirements
of demanding applications. Support for HP Sea of Sensors 3D Technology enhances server
performance while reducing energy use and expense.
• HP LPe1205A 8 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class: HP LPe1205A 8 Gb FC HBA for
BladeSystem c-Class delivers 8 Gb Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity and is compatible with
the Gen8 server blades for BladeSystem c-Class. With backward compatibility to 4 Gb FC
and 2G FC technology, this adapter offers flexibility in supporting existing FC infrastructure
while offering features and functionality designed to meet and exceed the business
requirements of next-generation data centers. With features such as comprehensive
virtualization support, efficient power usage, high reliability and availability features, and
robust manageability, this adapter is ideal for mission-critical applications that rely on high
availability and connectivity.
• Emulex LPe1105-HP 4 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class: Emulex LPe1105-HP dual
port Fibre Channel HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class provides reliable, high-performance 4 Gb
connectivity, enabling high availability to scalable storage. Based on the same field-proven
ASIC, firmware, and driver technology as Emulex’s renowned LPe1150 HBA, the Emulex
LPe1105-HP 4 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class is fully driver compatible with all
Emulex HBAs.
• Emulex LPe1205-HP dual-channel PCI Express 8 Gb/s FC HBA for HP BladeSystem
c-Class: Emulex LPe1205-HP dual port PCI Express Fibre Channel mezzanine card HBA
provides high-performance SAN connectivity for BladeSystem c-Class to meet the needs
of most-demanding applications. Leveraging eight generations of design, this adapter
seamlessly attaches to 2, 4, and 8 Gb/s SAN devices. It provides superior reliability, enhanced
security, and scalable management capabilities—making it well-suited for virtual server and
enterprise-class applications.
• QLogic QMH2462 4 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class: QLogic QMH2462 4 Gb FC
HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class provides BladeSystem c-Class with two 4 Gb Fibre Channel
ports for fast and reliable SAN connectivity. Through the implementation of a SAN with
BladeSystem, you can achieve improved data availability, easily scale capacity, and realize
management cost savings from consolidating disk resources.
• QLogic QMH2562 8 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class: Designed for the
HP BladeSystem c-Class, the QLogic QMH2562 8 Gb FC HBA for HP BladeSystem c-Class
provides reliable SAN connectivity and is ideal for virtualized environments. It delivers
twice the data throughput compared to the previous generation 4 Gb mezzanine card.
With 200,000 IOPS per port and leading-edge FC connectivity, you can enjoy the benefits of
increased storage networking bandwidth and I/O performance to meet the requirements of
demanding applications.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
10. 10
Technical specifications
HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel
HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric
10 Gb/24-Port Module
HP Virtual Connect Flex-10
10 Gb Ethernet Module
HP Virtual Connect Flex-10/10D Module
Blade type Single bay Single bay Single bay
Network connections 16 x 10 Gb downlinks to servers
2 x 10 Gb cross connects
4 x 10 Gb external SR, LR fiber, and copper
uplinks SFP+ (Enet/FC)
4 x 10 Gb external SR, LRM, and LR fiber and
copper uplinks SFP+ (Enet)
1 internal interface to c-Class Onboard
Administrator Module
16 x 10 Gb downlinks midplane
2 x 10 Gb cross connect
1 x 10 Gb copper uplinks CX-4
8 x 10 Gb SR, LR, or LRM fiber uplinks SFP+
1 internal interface to c-Class Onboard
Administrator Module
16 x 10 Gb downlinks midplane
4 x 10 Gb cross connect
10 x 10 Gb SR, LR, or LRM fiber uplinks SFP+
1 internal interface to c-Class Onboard
Administrator Module
Media types FCSFP/SFP+
2/4/8 Gb short wave up to 500 m
1/2/4 Gb long wave up to 10 km
Ethernet SFP/SFP+
10GbE SR, LR, and LRM
10GbE copper direct-attached cable
1GbE SX
1GbE 1000BASE-T copper
HP 7 m C-series Active Copper SFP+ Cable
HP 10 m C-series Active Copper SFP+ Cable
HP X242 SFP+ 15 m DAC Cable
HP X242 SFP+ 7 m DAC Cable
SFP+ SR, LR, LRM SFP SX, R J-45
SFP+ Copper
Twinax CX-4 (IB4x)
HP 7 m C-series Active Copper SFP+ Cable
HP 10 m C-series Active Copper SFP+ Cable
HP X242 SFP+ 15 m DAC Cable
HP X242 SFP+ 7 m DAC Cable
SFP+ SR, LR, LRM SFP SX, R J-45
SFP+ Copper
HP 7 m C-series Active Copper SFP+ Cable
HP 10 m C-series Active Copper SFP+ Cable
HP X242 SFP+ 15 m DAC Cable
HP X242 SFP+ 7 m DAC Cable
Performance Line rate, full-duplex 480 Gb/s bridging fabric
1.2 µs on Ethernet only ports
1.7 µs Ethernet/FC ports
Maximum Ethernet frame size 9216 (Jumbo Frame)
Maximum FC frame size 2148 bytes
(2112 byte payload)
Buffer-to-buffer flow control management
Packet prioritization
Line rate, full-duplex 480 Gb/s bridging fabric
Less than 1.2 µs latency
Line rate, full-duplex 600 Gb/s bridging fabric
Less than 0.9 µs with Ethernet only ports
Maximum Ethernet frame size 9216 (Jumbo Frame)
Protocol support IEEE 802.1Qbb (preliminary), 802.1Qaz
(preliminary), 802.1AB, 802.1D, 802.1Q, IEEE
802.2, 802.3ad INCITS FC-BB5 Rev 2.00
INCITS T11 NPIV, FC-BB5
802.1AB, 802.1D, 802.1Q, IEEE 802.2,
802.3ad
802.1AB, 802.1D, 802.1Q, IEEE 802.2,
802.3ad, FC-BB5
Management Simple and intuitive GUI and setup wizards
embedded SNMP v1, v2; SMI-S port
mirroring—Any uplink port can be used as a
dedicated mirrored port from the server port(s)
Simple and intuitive GUI and setup wizards
embedded SNMP v1, v2; SMI-S port
mirroring—Any uplink port can be used as a
dedicated mirrored port from the server port(s)
Simple and GUI and setup wizards embedded SNMP
v1, v2; SMI-S CLI port mirroring—Any uplink port
can be used as a dedicated mirrored port from the
server port(s)
Extended management
features
Virtual Connect Manager supports PXE, WOL, port
VLAN, VLAN Tagging, VLAN pass through, IGMP
Snooping, NIC Teaming Integrated with Onboard
Administrator, HP Systems Insight Manager,
HP Storage Essentials (FC Management MIB)
Telnet, SNMP, FC port telemetry via GUI,
Telemetry support for port utilization including
memory and CPU performance measurement
Virtual Connect Manager supports PXE, WOL, port
VLAN, VLAN Tagging, VLAN pass through, IGMP
Snooping, NIC Teaming Integrated with Onboard
Administrator, HP Systems Insight Manager
Telnet, SNMP. Telemetry support for port
utilization including memory and CPU
performance measurement
Virtual Connect Manager supports PXE, WOL, port
VLAN, VLAN Tagging, VLAN pass through, IGMP
Snooping, NIC Teaming Integrated with Onboard
Administrator, HP Systems Insight Manager Telnet,
SNMP. Telemetry support for port utilization
including memory and CPU performance
measurement
High-availability
features
Link Aggregation Protocol Automatic
loop protection
Mirrored profile database
Multipath heartbeat between redundant modules
Link Aggregation Protocol Automatic
loop protection
Mirrored profile database
Multipath heartbeat between redundant modules
Link Aggregation Protocol Automatic
loop protection
Mirrored profile database
Multipath heartbeat between redundant modules
Security LDAP, SSL, TACACS+ and Radius, role-based
management, and GUI and CLI session timeout
LDAP, SSL, TACACS+ and Radius, role-based
management, and GUI and CLI session timeout
LDAP, SSL, TACACS+ and Radius, role-based
management, and GUI and CLI session timeout
Diagnostics Troubleshoot network performance and monitor
health in terms of CPU and memory, FlexNIC and
LAG stats
Troubleshoot network performance and monitor
health in terms of CPU and memory, FlexNIC and
LAG stats
Troubleshoot network performance and monitor
health in terms of CPU and memory, FlexNIC and
LAG stats
Maximum per enclosure 8 8 8
Warranty
(parts/labor/onsite)
1 year parts, 1 year labor, 1 year onsite 1 year parts, 1 year labor, 1 year onsite 1 year parts, 1 year labor, 1 year onsite
Part number 571956-B21 455880-B21
591973-B21 (dual module with VCEM)
638526-B21
662048-B21 (dual module with VCEM)
Rollback from upgrade Minimizes maintenance window Minimizes maintenance window Minimizes maintenance window
Direct attach with
FC storage
With HP 3PAR T, V, and F series Not applicable Not applicable
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
11. 11
HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Module
HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 20-Port Fibre Channel Module HP Virtual Connect 8 Gb 24-Port Fibre Channel Module
Blade type Single bay Single bay
Network connections 16 internal 8 Gb downlinks presented as F-Ports
4 external 8 Gb uplinks presented as N-Ports
16 internal 8 Gb downlinks presented as F-Ports
8 external 8 Gb uplinks presented as N-Ports
Media types Small form-factor pluggable (SFP) laser
2/4/8 Gb short wave up to 500 m (1,640 ft) 1/2/4 Gb
long wave up to 10 km
Small form-factor pluggable (SFP) laser
1/2/4 Gb short wave, long wave
SFP+ 2/4/8 Gb short wave, long wave
Performance 8 Gb/s line speed, full-duplex
1.2 μs latency
Maximum frame size 2112 byte payload
Buffer-to-buffer flow control management packet
prioritization
8 Gb/s line speed, full-duplex
.74 μs latency
Maximum frame size 2148 bytes (2112 byte payload)
Protocol support NCITS T11 NPIV NCITS T11 NPIV
Management Simple and intuitive GUI and setup wizards accessible
through VC Ethernet module
CLI accessible through VC Ethernet module
Embedded SNMP v1 and v2
SMI-S
Simple and intuitive GUI and setup wizards accessible
through VC Ethernet module
CLI accessible through VC Ethernet module
Embedded SNMP v1 and v2
SMI-S
Extended management features Virtual Connect Manager supports
HP Storage Essentials (FC Management MIB)
Virtual Connect Manager supports
HP Storage Essentials (FC Management MIB)
High availability features Link Aggregation Protocol Automatic loop protection
Mirrored profile database
Multipath heartbeat between redundant modules
Link Aggregation Protocol Automatic loop protection
Mirrored profile database
Multipath heartbeat between redundant modules
Security LDAP, SSL, and role-based management LDAP, SSL, and role-based management
Maximum per enclosure 6 6
Warranty (parts/labor/onsite) 1 year parts, 1 year labor, 1 year onsite 1 year parts, 1 year labor, 1 year onsite
Part number 572018-B21 466482-B21
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
12. 12
Mezzanine and FlexibleLOM for HP BladeSystem c-Class
HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port
560M Adapter
HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port
530M Adapter
HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port
552M Adapter
HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port
554M Adapter
IEEE compliance 802.3, 802.1ab, 802.3x, 802.3ad,
802.3p/802.1q, 802.3ae,
802.1qau, 802.3ap, 802.1as,
802.1qaz, 802.1qbb
802.3, 802.3ab, 802.3u,
802.3x, 802.3ad, 802.3p,
802.1q, 802.3ae, 802.3ap
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x
Bus type x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0
Form factor Type A mezzanine Card Type A mezzanine card Type A mezzanine card Type A mezzanine card
Ports and
transfer rate
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate per port
Network controller Intel 82599 Broadcom 57810S Emulex BE3 Emulex BE3
ProLiant adapter teaming* • • • •
ProLiant essentials upgrade • • • •
Pre-boot execution
environment (PXE)
• • •
Wake-on-LAN (WOL) • (1 Gb) • • •
Jumbo frames • • • •
TCP checksum and segmentation • • • •
Receive Side Scaling (RSS) • • • •
TCP/IP offload engine (TOE) • • •
Accelerated iSCSI •
Remote direct memory
access (RDMA)
Not supported Not supported Not supported
Warranty (parts/labor/onsite) 1-year parts** 1-year parts** 1-year parts** 1-year parts**
Part number 665246-B21 631884-B21 674764-B21 647590-B21
* Teaming available with Windows®
except Windows 2012
** Or the warranty of the server the adapter is installed in, whichever is greater.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
13. 13
Ethernet network adapters—mezzanine adapter options
HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port
560FLB Adapter
HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port
530FLB Adapter
HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port
554FLB Adapter
NC325m Quad Port Gigabit
Ethernet Adapter
NC532m Dual Port
10GbE Multifunction
Adapter
IEEE compliance 802.3, 802.1ab, 802.3x,
802.3ad, 802.3p, 802.1q,
802.3ae, 802.1au, 802.3ap,
802.1as, 802.1qaz, 802.1qbb,
IEEE 1588
802.3, 802.1ab, 802.3x,
802.3ad, 802.3p, 802.1q,
802.3ae, 802.1au, 802.3ap
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.3,
802.3ad, and 802.3x
802.3u, 802.3x, 802.3ad,
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.3z,
802.3ap, 802.3ae
Bus type x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x4 PCI Express x4 PCIe 2.0
Form factor FlexibleLOM FlexibleLOM FlexibleLOM Type 1 mezzanine card Type 1 mezzanine card
Ports and transfer rate 20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
4 @ 1000 Mb/s 2 @ 10000 Mb/s
Network controller Intel 82599 Broadcom 57810S Emulex BE3 Dual Broadcom 5715S Broadcom 57711
ProLiant adapter teaming* • • • • •
ProLiant essentials
upgrade
• • • • •
Pre-boot execution
environment (PXE)
• • • •
Wake-on-LAN (WOL) • (1 Gb) • • • •
Jumbo frames • • • • •
TCP checksum and
segmentation
• • • • •
Receive Side Scaling (RSS) • • • •
TCP/IP offload engine (TOE) • • •
Accelerated iSCSI •
Remote direct memory
access
Not supported Not supported Add-on upgrade
Warranty (parts/labor/
onsite)
1-year parts** 1-year parts** 1-year parts** 1 year parts** 1 year parts**
Part number 655639-B21 656590-B21 647586-B21 416585-B21 467799-B21
* Note: Teaming available with Windows except Windows 2012
** Note: Or the warranty of the server the adapter is installed in, whichever is greater.
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
14. 14
Ethernet network adapters—mezzanine adapter options
* Teaming available with Windows except Windows 2012
NC542m Dual Port
10GbE Multifunction
BL-c Adapter
NC550m Dual Port
10 Gb Flex-10
Ethernet Adapter
NC551m Dual Port
FlexFabric 10 Gb
Converged Network
Adapter
NC552m Dual Port
10 Gb 2-Port Flex-10
Ethernet Adapter
NC553m Dual Port
FlexFabric 10 Gb
Converged Network
Adapter
IEEE compliance 802.1p, 802.1q, 802.3u,
802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x, and 802.3z
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3u, 802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x, and 802.3z
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3u, 802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x, and 802.3z
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3u, 802.3ad, 802.3ae,
802.3ap (10GBASE-KX4),
802.3x, and 802.3z
802.1p, 802.1q, 802.1qau,
802.3u, 802.3ad,
802.3ae, 802.3ap
(10GBASE-KX4), 802.3x,
and 802.3z
Bus type x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0 x8 PCIe 2.0
Form factor Type 1 mezzanine card Type 1 mezzanine card Type 2 mezzanine card Type 1 mezzanine card Type 1 mezzanine card
Ports and transfer rate 20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
20,000 Mb/s full-duplex
Ethernet transfer rate
per port
Network controller Mellanox ConnectX-2 EN Emulex BE2 Emulex BE2 Emulex BE3 Emulex BE3
ProLiant adapter teaming* • • • • •
ProLiant essentials
upgrade
• • • • •
Pre-boot execution
environment (PXE)
• • • • •
Wake-on-LAN (WOL) • • • • •
Jumbo frames • • • • •
TCP checksum and
segmentation
• • • • •
Receive Side Scaling (RSS) • • • • •
TCP/IP offload engine (TOE) • • • • •
Accelerated iSCSI • • • • •
Remote direct memory
access
Not supported Not supported Not supported Not supported Not supported
Warranty (parts/labor/
onsite)
1 year parts 1 year parts 1 year parts 1 year parts 1 year parts
Part number 539857-B21 581204-B21 580151-B21 610609-B21 613431-B21
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
15. 15
Fibre Channel HBA—mezzanine cards
Emulex LPe1105-HP
4 Gb FC HBA for
HP BladeSystem c-Class
HP QLogic QMH2462
4 Gb FC HBA for
HP BladeSystem c-Class
Emulex LPe1205-HP
dual-channel PCI Express
8 Gb/s FC HBA for
HP BladeSystem c-Class
QLogic QMH2562
8 Gb FC HBA for
HP BladeSystem c-Class
Performance and form factor
Blade type PCI Express Type 1
mezzanine card
PCI Express Type 1
mezzanine card
PCI Express Type 1
mezzanine card
PCI Express Type 1
mezzanine card
Performance 115,000 IOPS per port 150,000 IOPS per port 200,000 IOPS per channel 200,000 IOPS per channel
Port configuration Dual 4 Gb Fibre Channel ports Dual 4 Gb Fibre Channel ports Dual 8 Gb Fibre Channel ports Dual 8 Gb Fibre Channel ports
Media types 62.5/125 multimode fiber optic
cable with LC type connector
62.5/125 multimode fiber optic
cable with LC type connector
62.5/125 multimode fiber optic
cable with LC type connector
62.5/125 multimode fiber optic
cable with LC type connector
Management and protocols
Management features Emulex installation and
management tools automate
installation and provide local and
remote HBA configuration and
management
QLogic SANsurfer FC HBA Manager
for centralized management and
remote control of distributed
HBAs
Emulex installation and
management tools automate
installation and provide local and
remote HBA configuration and
management
QLogic SANsurfer FC HBA
Manager for centralized
management and remote control
of distributed HBAs
High-availability features Multipath support for redundant
HBAs and paths
Multipath support for redundant
HBAs and paths
Multipath support for redundant
HBAs and paths
Multipath support for redundant
HBAs and paths
Protocols supported Full support for both
FC service Class 2 and 3
Full support for both
FC service Class 2 and 3
Full support for both
FC service Class 2 and 3
Full support for both
FC service Class 2 and 3
Deployment
Maximum per enclosure Server dependent Server dependent Server dependent Emulex driver
support for Windows Server
2003, Windows Server 2008,
Linux, and VMware ESX 3.5
Server dependent QLogic driver
support for Windows, Linux,
HP-UX, and VMware
Options available Emulex driver support for x86
and x64 Linux and Microsoft
Windows Server 2000, 2003,
and 2003 x64
QLogic driver support for x86 and
x64 Linux and Microsoft Windows
Server 2000, 2003, and 2003 x64
Emulex driver support for Server
2000, 2003, and 2003 x64
QLogic driver support for Server
2000, 2003, and 2003 x64
Warranty
(parts/labor/onsite)
1 year parts, 1 year labor,
1 year onsite
1 year parts, 1 year labor,
1 year onsite
1 year parts, 1 year labor,
1 year onsite
1 year/1 year/1 year
Part number 403621-B21 403619-B21 456972-B21 451871-B21590647-B21
Family data sheet | HP Virtual Connect
