HP UX 11i v2 Networking Software Hardware Overview, Hardware Components, Host Channel Adapters

2 Hardware Overview

This chapter provides detailed information on the adapter, switch, and cable hardware components of the HP Fabric Clustering System.

HP Fabric hardware consists of host-based interface adapter cards, interconnect cables, and optional switches. HP Fabric software consists of HP-UX drivers and user-space components, as well as firmware on HP Fabric adapters and switches. Currently, copper-based cabling and connectors are supported on the HP Fabric hardware.

Hardware Components

This section describes the various HP Fabric Clustering System products. For more information on HP server systems that support HP Fabric products, see the HP Fabric Clustering System Release Notes, available at

http://www.docs.hp.com/en/netcom.html#Fabric%20Clustering%20System%20for%20InfiniBand.

NOTE: This document uses HP Fabric Clustering System to refer to the hardware and software that form the cluster interconnect system using InfiniBand technology.

HP Fabric Clustering System refers to the following copper-based hardware components:

•448262-B21 HP 4X Double Data Rate (DDR) IB Dual-Port Mezzanine Fabric Adapter

•AH304A HP PCIe 2-port 4X DDR Fabric Adapter

•410533-B21 HP 4X Double Data Rate (DDR) IB Single-Port Mezzanine Fabric Adapter

•AD313A HP PCIe 2-port 4X Fabric (HPC/DB) Adapter

•AB286A/AB286C HP PCI-X 2-port 4X Fabric (HPC/DB) Adapter

•376227-B21 HP 24-port 4x Fabric Copper Switch

•410398-B21 HP BLc 4X DDR IB Mezzanine Switch

•Double Data Rate (DDR) Cable

•Single Data Rate (SDR) Cable

•1m 4x Fabric Copper Cable

•5m 4x Fabric Copper Cable

•7m 4x Fabric Copper Cable

•10m 4x Fabric Copper Cable

NOTE: HP has converged AB345A/C and AB286A/C into a single product AB286A/C.

NOTE: HP is in the process of transitioning to a new switch, the Cisco SFS 7000P. For documentation and ordering information, see

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6421/index.html

Whenever a Cisco OS is loaded, you are required to turn on the HP-specific default values. To enable the HP-specific defaults, the process is as follows (the commands below ONLY apply to Cisco O/S version 2.7.0 and later):1) Login to switch console.2) Type "enable" to go to privileged mode.3) Type "configure" to go to config mode.4) Type "xoem-id hp" and reboot switch to enable the HP-specific defaults.After reboot, the "show version" command should show something like "SFS 7000 (HP)", to indicate that the HP defaults are now in effect.

Host Channel Adapters

HP offers the following new Host Channel Adapters (HCA):

•448262-B21 HP 4X DDR IB Dual-Port Mezzanine HCA for HP BladeSystem c-Class is based on the new ConnectX IB technology from Mellanox. The IB Dual-Port Mezz HCA cards deliver low latency and high bandwidth for performance driven server and storage clustering

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