Introduction 6
Figure 2
HP ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch and QuadSX Interconnect Module
Features
The ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch and interconnect modules are designed for easy installation and
high performance in an environment where traffic on the network and the number of users increases continually.
Enterprise class performance
The ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch features include:
•
Up to a 16-to-1 reduction in networking cables and connections, concentration of sixteen 10/100/1000
Ethernet networking ports down to as little as one Gigabit Ethernet port, or up to six Gigabit Ethernet ports for
additional bandwidth and redundant connections to the network backbone
•
Multi-layer switching capability with Layer 3 support for routing and Internet Protocol (IP) load balancing content
delivery switching
•
Pass-through ProLiant BL20p G2 Fibre Channel storage signals via the optional GbE2 Storage Connectivity Kit
•
Fully supported on the existing ProLiant BL p-Class server blade enclosure and infrastructure compatible with any
combination of ProLiant server blades
•
Ability to upgrade from an existing GbE Interconnect Switch or Patch Panel interconnect without having to
power down the server blades and the server blade enclosure
•
Pre-configured for immediate use with the ProLiant BL p-Class server blade enclosure
•
System security including Secure Shell (SSH), Secure Copy (SCP), 255 port-based IEEE 802.1Q tagged Virtual
Local Area Networks (VLANs) per GbE2 Interconnect Switch, RADIUS user authentication and authorization, or
Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus () Authentication, Authorization, and
Accounting (AAA)
•
An extensive list of industry standard protocol support, compatible with widely-used networking components
•
9K jumbo frames that improve performance by increasing application throughput and decreasing server
processor utilization
•
Robust configuration and management from any switch port using the included browser-based and scriptable
command line user interfaces
•
Support for Telnet, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), SCP and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)
file transfer, human read/write configuration file, XModem, an extensive list of Management Information Base
objects (MIBs), and more, further enhance the management capabilities
•
Fully end-to-end redundant architecture maximizing network availability
•
Support for Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping for multicasting
•
Support for Uplink Failure Detection (UFD) for network path resiliency. It works in conjunction with NIC teaming
functionality that is supported on the blade servers. This feature tracks the link state on uplink ports. When an
uplink port goes down or is in STP blocking state, this feature will enable the switch to auto-disable the
downlinks which are connected to the blade server NICs. This enables NIC teaming software to detect link
failure on the primary NIC port and fail over to the secondary NIC in the team. As a result, the secondary path
is enabled for continued blade server access.
When used in conjunction with UFD, NIC teams on the blade server must be configured for switch redundancy.
That is, the team will span ports on both Switch A and Switch B. Refer to the
HP ProLiant Network Adapter
Teaming
white paper on
http://www.hp.com/support
for additional information.
