The HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Modules provide a simple, flexible way to connect your BladeSystem c-Class servers to your SAN. It lets you add, move, and replace servers in just minutes, without affecting your SAN. Virtual Connect simplifies server connections by separating the server enclosure from your SAN and it also simplifies network connections by reducing your need for cables, without leaving you with more switches to manage.
The standards-based HP Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Modules look like pass-thru devices to your SAN, yet provide the key benefits of integrated switching. These include high-performance, auto-negotiating ports and compatibility with SAN switches. Virtual Connect extends the advantages of virtualization beyond the server boundary to the connections to external networks and storage. This innovative HP technology, now available in Ethernet as well as Fibre Channel modules, lets your server administrators change server blades without having to call in SAN or LAN specialists.
Virtual Connect Fibre Channel modules use N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV), which is a Fibre Channel standard that enables multiple device IDs to share a single network port. With server side NPIV, the multiple device IDs can be server virtual machines. Having Virtual Machines (VMs) typically increases the required number of network ports, but since NPIV isn’t a switch, it doesn’t count against a SAN fabric domain ID limit. Virtual Connect Fibre Channel modules can support up to 255 WWNs per server (depending on model) meaning you will have plenty of assignable storage resources for your virtual machines.
