IBM 8852 - BladeCenter H Rack-mountable, Service Manual

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Configuring blade servers
To achieve communication redundancy on a blade server, you must configure the
Ethernet controllers on the blade servers for failover. When failover occurs on a
blade server, the secondary Ethernet controller takes over network
communications, using the I/O module that is associated with that controller.
Install a pair of Ethernet switches in I/O-module bays 1 and 2; then, configure
them and your network infrastructure so that they can direct traffic to the same
destinations. You can also install a pass-thru module that is connected to an
external Ethernet switch in either or both of these I/O-module bays. See the
documentation that comes with your blade server and operating system for
instructions.
BladeCenter networking guidelines
Make sure that the network infrastructure is configured before you connect the
BladeCenter unit to network.
Each blade server has two independent Ethernet controllers, each with its own
MAC address and a dedicated 1000-Mbps link to one of the switch modules in I/O
module bays 1 and 2. There is no internal data path between the two switches
within the BladeCenter unit; an external network device is required for data
packets to flow from one internal switch to the other.
The management module has a separate internal 100-Mbps link to each switch.
These links are for internal management and control only. No data packets are
allowed to flow from application programs on the blade servers to the
management module over this path.
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BladeCenter H Type 8852, 7989, and 1886: Problem Determination and Service Guide