InfiniBand for HP BladeSystem c-Class - overview

HP supports InfiniBand products that include mezzanine Host Channel Adapters (HCA) for c-Class server blades, switch blades for c-Class enclosures, rack switches and cables for building scale-out solutions.

InfiniBand products based on Mellanox technology for HP BladeSystem c-Class

The HP 4X QDR IB CX-2 Dual-port Mezzanine HCA for HP BladeSystem c-Class is based on the Mellanox ConnectX-2 technology. The QDR IB HCA delivers low-latency and up to 40Gbps (QDR) bandwidth for performance-driven server and storage clustering applications in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and enterprise data centers. Parallel or distributed applications running on multi-processor multi-core servers will benefit from the reliable transport connections, advanced multicast support and collective offload offered by ConnectX-2 technology. End-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) enables partitioning and guaranteed service levels while hardware-based congestion control prevents hot spots from degrading the effective throughput. The HP 4X QDR IB CX-2 Dual-port Mezzanine HCA card is designed for PCI Express 2.0 x8 connectors on HP BladeSystem c-Class G6 server blades.

The HP 4X DDR IB Dual-port Mezzanine HCA for HP BladeSystem c-Class is based on the Mellanox ConnectX technology. The DDR IB HCA delivers low-latency and up to 20Gbps (DDR) bandwidth for performance-driven server and storage clustering applications in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and enterprise data centers. The HP 4X DDR Dual-port Mezzanine HCA card is designed for PCI Express connectors on HP BladeSystem c-Class server blades.

The HP BLc 4X QDR IB Switch for HP BladeSystem c-Class is a double wide switch for the new HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure. The QDR IB switch blade has 16 downlink ports to connect up to 16 server blades in the c7000 enclosure, and 16 QSFP uplink ports for inter-switch links or to connect to external servers. All ports are capable of supporting 40Gbps (QDR) bandwidth.

The HP BLc 4X DDR IB Gen2 Switch is a 2nd generation InfiniBand double wide switch for the HP BladeSystem c7000 and c3000 enclosures. The DDR Gen2 IB switch has 16 downlink ports to connect up to 16 server blades in the enclosures, and 16 QSFP uplink ports for inter-switch links or to connect to external servers. All ports are capable of supporting 20Gbps (DDR) bandwidth.

The HP 4X DDR IB Switch Module for HP BladeSystem c-Class is a double wide switch for the HP BladeSystem c7000 and c3000 enclosures. The HP 4X DDR IB Switch Module blade has 16 downlink ports to connect up to 16 server blades in the enclosures, and 8 CX4 uplink ports for inter-switch links or to connect to external servers. All ports are capable of supporting 20Gbps (DDR) bandwidth.

The InfiniBand QDR and DDR switch blades based on Mellanox technology are unmanaged switches. A subnet manager is required to establish an InfiniBand fabric. HP supports switch-embedded subnet managers and host-based subnet managers.

InfiniBand products based on QLogic technology for HP BladeSystem c-Class

The QLogic 4X QDR IB Mezzanine HCA is based on the QLogic TrueScale ASIC architecture which has a unique hardware architecture that delivers unprecedented levels of performance, reliability, and scalability, making it an ideal solution for highly scaled High Performance Computing (HPC) and high throughput, low-latency enterprise applications.

The QLogic BLc 4X QDR IB Switch for HP BladeSystem c-Class uses the QLogic TrueScale ASIC architecture designed to cost-effectively link workgroup resources into a cluster or provide an edge switch option for a larger fabric. Customers have the ability to internally or externally manage the modular IB switch. The QLogic BLc 4X QDR IB Switch also has an optional management module that includes an embedded subnet manager. When combined with the optional InfiniBand Fabric Suite software, users can mange up to a 288 node fabric using only the management capability of the unit, without requiring additional host processing. In a bladed environment this alleviates the need to use a node for fabric management.

For clusters that require connecting multiple enclosures together, HP provides a comprehensive selection of InfiniBand edge and director switches, cables, and software suites.

What's new

• InfiniBand 4X QDR Mezzanine HCA based on the ConnecX-2 technology from Mellanox,
• InfiniBand 4X QDR Mezzanine HCA based on the TrueScale technology from QLogic
• InfiniBand 4X QDR switch blade with optional management module based on the TrueScale technology from QLogic

• 4X QDR InfiniBand ports are capable of 40 gigabits per second per port signaling rate (32 gigabits per second per port data rate) in each direction.
• 4X DDR InfiniBand ports are capable for 20 gigabits per second per port signaling rate (16 gigabits per second per port data rate) in each direction.

• A subnet manager is required to establish an InfiniBand fabric. The subnet manager functionality can be provided by either a rack-mount InfiniBand switch with an embedded fabric manager (also known as internally managed switch) or host-based subnet manager software on a server, or the management module for the QLogic switch blade.

Ideal environment

High performance interconnect for scalable cluster solutions

• InfiniBand option for c-Class is primarily for HPC , Grid, and Cloud computing customers who want to deploy scale-out solutions that require high bandwidth and low latency interconnect.
• InfiniBand option is also used for customers who want to deploy general purpose scale-out solutions that can benefit from a high bandwidth and low latency interconnect, such as clustered database, low latency messaging systems.