Full details about Virtual Connect technology are available in the technology brief entitled “HP Virtual Connect technology implementation for the HP BladeSystem c-Class” on the HP technology website at www.hp.com/servers/technology.
Enclosure-based DVD ROM
The HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure has an optional CD/DVD ROM drive that installs in the front of the enclosure. The Insight Display and Onboard Administrator allow system administrators to connect and disconnect the media device to one or multiple servers at a time. In addition, a browser-based console is available through the iLO functionality of each server blade. The console enables administrators to:
•Use HP SmartStart to install system software and operating systems
•Install additional software
•Perform critical OS updates and patches
•Update server platform ROMs
The enclosure-based CD/DVD offers local drive access to server blades by using the Onboard Administrator or Insight Display. When media is loaded in the enclosure-based DVD ROM, local administrators can use the Insight Display to attach the media device to one or multiple server blades simultaneously. When the DVD Connect Status screen is displayed on the Insight Display, choosing to connect the media device to a server or group of servers prompts the user to connect or to connect and reboot the server.
When it is connected and no read operations have occurred in the last 16 seconds, the media device can be disconnected from server blades.
Onboard Administrator
The Onboard Administrator is a management controller module that resides within the HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure. The Onboard Administrator works with the iLO 2 management processors on each server blade to form the core of the management architecture for HP BladeSystem c-Class.
Unique to the BladeSystem c-Class, the Onboard Administrator is the enclosure management processor, subsystem, and firmware base used to support the c7000 Enclosure, the c3000 Enclosure, and all the managed devices contained within these enclosures. It provides a secure single point of contact for users performing basic management tasks on server blades or switches within the enclosure. It is fully integrated into all HP system management applications.
The Onboard Administrator module offers web-based and command line interface (CLI) manageability. It drives all management features through two interfaces:
•Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) — Through an I2C master, the Onboard Administrator controls and monitors all data and interrupts with every subsystem in the infrastructure and in each server. All subsystems have electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) to store field- replaceable unit (FRU) data. The Onboard Administrator provides I2C to fans, power supply modules, and interconnect and device bays.
•Intelligent Chassis Management Bus (ICMB) — Through ICMB, the Onboard Administrator shares information (for example, power and rack location) with the other infrastructure management modules at the rack level.
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