HP BladeSystem - Evaluate HP Virtual Connect

HP Virtual Connect is enabled with a choice of Ethernet and Fibre Channel modules designed for the HP BladeSystem. The built-in HP Virtual Connect manager define a server connection profile for each server bay; even before a server is installed. This profile establishes the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for all Network Interface Controllers (NICs), the World Wide Names (WWNs) for all Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), and the SAN boot parameters; then holds them constant so that even if the server is changed, the configuration and connection profile stay constant. When a new server takes its place, the same profile is assigned. Our engineers prepared a useful technology white paper and implementation guide that provides more information on the details.

In essence, Virtual Connect decouples servers and the network so that changes in your server infrastructure don’t require a complex choreography among your multiple datacenter teams for every task. With each change or addition required your servers, the LAN and SAN are unaffected.

Virtualizing the connection between servers and the networks provides real benefits to all users. For example, if a server is changed or a new one added, the LANs and SANs already know how to communicate with it. No manual intervention is needed.

If the administrator needs to move that profile to a different bay, it’s done with a mouse click. If they need to change the network connections on a profile, again it is done with a few mouse clicks. Failing over to a spare server, moving a server from a development environment to a test environment (with different LAN and SAN connections), or moving a group of servers to a different application sub-network happens with a few mouse clicks by the server administrator.

Inside each Virtual Connect module is the Virtual Connect management console (figure 3). This interface is integrated with HP Insight Control software and the built-in Onboard Administrator management module for easy management across your blade infrastructure solution. It is through the Virtual Connect manager that all server, bay and network connection profiles can be pre-configured and quickly created, assigned and changed. Role-based privileges for the administrator account are defined by default and can be modified by the BladeSystem administrator. Additional role-based privileges for user accounts can be created by domain, server, networking and storage.

Today, there are two standard ways to connect server blades to outside networks and storage—switches and pass-thrus—each with their own advantages and compromises. Pass-thrus are simple, but require too many error-prone cables and create complexity. In almost all cases, pass-thrus are the most expensive option because of the cables and cost of switch ports. Blade switches cut the cables, but add more management tasks for LAN and SAN administrators and blur the lines between server and network administrators.

In both cases, multiple people are needed to perform very simple server tasks. With either approach, each time a server is added or replaced, it requires coordination between the storage, network and server administrators to complete it successfully—over and over again.

HP Virtual Connect cuts the cables of pass-thrus and removes the switch management demands. In addition, it enables a unique and simple way to add, move or replace server blades without impacting networks or requiring multiple experts at each step. Virtual Connect is a major innovation for you because it provides a better way for IT to work together and offers benefits to all parties involved, without the traditional compromises.

The majority of benefits from Virtual Connect come from operational cost savings—wire-once, add, change, recover servers on the fly, and the improvement over pass-thru and switches. However, the “total hard costs” or purchase price of the equipment is from $5000US less to $700 more than other choices. Table 1 and 2 provide a comparison of upfront costs. 

In addition to the acquisition savings, Tables 3-5 uncovers the potential operational (OPEX) benefits. The savings come from a variety of areas including eliminating meeting time, wait time, and working time of multiple administrators. Savings can also be realized by increasing the working life of a server either through accelerating time to deployment or reducing down time.

To derive a unique value for each business, it’s best to open a dialogue with customers to understand their unique cost structure, organization and average times to complete common tasks. Below are a few scenarios and estimates of potential cost savings from Virtual Connect.

The Virtual Connect advantages span multiple administration silos and budgets—server, LAN and SAN network administrators. Today, many best-run IT departments use Virtual Connect as a standard way to connect server blades to LAN and SAN because it is so much faster, easier and more efficient, with the ability to streamline a variety of everyday tasks.

Server Administrator benefits

Storage administrator benefits

Networking administrator needs

Virtual Connect is an ideal interconnect option for any organization that needs to speed operations, reduce costs and increase response times. The HP BladeSystem combined with Virtual Connect architecture puts you in control with confidence and frees you for more important issues.

Build a change-ready infrastructure

• Pre-configure the infrastructure, wire-once and then easily add and remove blades to meet changing needs
• Switch freely between development, test and production networks in minutes
• Quickly re-assign LAN and SAN connections to replace any failed server
• Add capacity on the fly to an existing workload; such as a web farm or cluster
• Enable workload migration—workload balancing for either maintenance or adding capacity
• Enable changing servers at remote locations without help from storage or network specialists

Save time, save work, downtime

• Simplify remote site administration
• Add blades without involving network and storage experts
• N+1 sparing (write your own insurance policy— 1 per 23, 1 per 10, 1 per 40) N production and K spares
• HA and disaster recovery—ability to mirror the meta-data across a SAN replication fabric; in the event of failover you can go to an identical piece
• Replication of meta-data for disaster recovery
• Relieve SAN and LAN administrators of the need to follow the moving server

Simplify your infrastructure

• Spare 64 server blades with just one server
• Pool and share server resources and connections
• Relieve SAN and LAN administrators of the need to follow the moving server

While smaller IT sites may not have multiple administrators, each task still has to be done, each and every time. The ability to wire once and not worry about LAN and SAN details can multiply the capacity of an IT staff of one. At even smaller sites, like remote locations that may have an IT staff of zero, Virtual Connect is ideal because many server connection issues can now be resolved remotely with just a few clicks.

Whether your site is large or small, the biggest costs are from operations. More cables and connections to manage equals more cost, complexity and time to react.  Virtual Connect eliminates whole steps in the process, saving time and improving the quality of the service you can deliver. 

The term virtualization commonly refers to the abstraction or masking of a physical resource to make it appear different logically than it is physically. The common themes are simplification and the pooling and sharing of resources to optimize utilization.

Virtualization technology looks promising to many organizations because it reduces many of the significant costs common to any IT infrastructure.

• Reduces total cost of ownership—both capital expenses and operating expenses—by increasing resource utilization
• Increases flexibility because resources can be moved as needed
• Increases scalability because resources can be scaled up or down based on changing workload demands
• Improves resiliency by simplifying backup, failover and disaster recovery solutions

If you are familiar with specific virtualization technologies, you most likely equate Virtual Connect with virtual machine technology, such as VMware and the ability to deploy multiple virtual machines on a single physical server.

HP Virtual Connect picks up where virtual machine technology stops. Virtual server technology can move workloads very easily across virtual machines on a single server. But it becomes a challenge when moving virtual machines from one physical machine to another because changes to the LAN and SAN are required. By pooling and sharing multiple network connections across multiple servers and virtual machines, Virtual Connect extends the capability by allowing physical setup and movement transparently from the LAN and SAN.

By combining virtual machine and virtual SAN technology to create a virtualized pool of resources with Virtual Connect to simplify the server connections to the network and storage, a BladeSystem becomes an end-to-end adaptive infrastructure out-of-the-box. HP can take it a step further with tools to manage across virtual and physical environments or to help you migrate fast. To build one right for you, HP Services has a variety of new capabilities to help you take full advantage of a total virtual environment.