Supported hardware

higher and VSL 3.x.x or higher is NOT data destructive. However, HP recommends that you back up any data on the device prior to performing the upgrade. For more information on the latest supported version of the firmware and VSL, see the HP website (http://www.hp.com).

VMware ESX version	IO Accelerator	IO Accelerator firmware	Comments
	software

VMware ESX 4.0	2.2.3 or 2.3.1	101583_6 or 101971_6	Update 1; 101583 is
		(2.3.1)	compatible with both software
			versions.

VMware ESXi 4.0	Not supported	Not supported	ESXi 4.0 is not supported.
VMware ESX 4.1	2.2.3 or 2.3.1	101583_6 or 101971_6	Version 101583 is
		(2.3.1)	compatible with both software
			versions.

VMware ESXi 4.1	2.3.1	101583_6 or 101971_6	HP recommends 101971_6
		(2.3.1)	firmware.
VMware ESXi 4.x	3.2.3	ioaccelerator_3.2.3-201301	—
		22.fff
VMware ESXi 5.1	3.2.3	ioaccelerator_3.2.3-201301	—
		22.fff

NOTE: HP StorageWorks IO Accelerators require firmware version 101971_6 or 101583. HP PCIe IO Accelerators also support firmware version 101971_4.

HP IO Accelerator for BladeSystem c-Class

BladeSystem c-Class IO Accelerators have two distinct designs for the respective server product lines. The G1 through G7 IO Accelerator adapter is provided in a c-Class Type 1 Mezzanine card form factor. It can be installed in both Type 1 and Type 2 mezzanine slots within the c-Class blade G1 through G7 servers, enabling a total of two cards in a half-height server blade, and three cards in a full-height server blade and up to 6 in a double-high, double-wide server (BL680c).

The Gen8 adapter is provided in a c-Class Type B Mezzanine card form factor. It can only be installed in Type B mezzanine slots within the Gen 8 or later servers, enabling one IO Accelerator in a half-height Gen8 server.

The Type I mezz card and the Type B mezz card are distinguished by the mezzanine connector. The type B card is slightly larger than a Type I mezz card.

The amount of free RAM required by the driver depends on the size of the blocks used when writing to the drive. The smaller the blocks, the more RAM is required. The table below lists the guidelines for each 80GB of storage. For the latest information, see the QuickSpecs sheet to the HP IO Accelerator for HP BladeSystem c-Classat HP Customer Support (http://www.hp.com/support).

The Remote Power Cut Module for the c-Class blade mezzanine card provides a higher level of protection in the event of a catastrophic power loss (for example, a user accidentally pulls the wrong server blade out of the slot). The Remote Power Cut Module ensures in-flight writes are completed to NAND flash in these catastrophic scenarios. Without the Remote Power Cut Module, write performance is slower. Writes are not acknowledged until the data is written to the NAND module, thereby slowing performance. When the Remote Power Cut Module is installed, writes are acknowledged by the IO Accelerator controller to the driver. The IO Accelerator controller then completes the write to the NAND module.

Introduction 9