Storage |
| Q1. |
What hard drive capacity is available for the ProLiant BL30p? |
| A1. |
The ProLiant BL30p supports up to two 60GB 2.5" ATA hard drives . Providing up to 120GB of internal storage capacity. |
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| Q2. |
Is RAID supported on the ProLiant BL30p? |
| A2. |
Yes. The BL30p supports up to two internal hard drives and RAID 0 or 1 can be set in the operating system. The ProLiant BL30p also features the BIOS-enhanced RAID enhancement for Linux users running RAID 1. |
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| Q3. |
What is the BL30p's BIOS-enhanced RAID |
| A3. |
The BL30p has a unique featured called BIOS-enhanced RAID. The BL30p BIOS understands Linux software RAID 1 and can automatically boot from the secondary hard drive if the primary hard drive is not bootable or the Linux software RAID driver marks the primary as failed. No custom drivers or OS software required. |
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| Q4. |
Is there support for SAN connectivity? |
| A4. |
Yes. Each ProLiant BL30p server blade supports redundant Fibre Channel connections to a SAN via a dual-port Fibre Channel Adapter option. |
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| Q5. |
How does the ProLiant BL30p connect to the SAN? |
| A5. |
Generally speaking, the BL30p connects to the SAN the same way as the BL20p G2 and G3 with the exception that in BL30p deployments the initial Fibre Channel SAN switch connection needs to support FCAL public loop login. Fibre Channel signals are routed from the server blade through the server blade enclosure to the interconnect bays. The Fibre Channel signals are terminated through the Patch Panel 2 or GbE2 Interconnect Switch in the interconnect bays. To provide redundancy each server blade has two Fibre Channel signals and one signal terminates through the right interconnect, one signal terminates through the left interconnect. Exact SAN configurations vary by SAN vendor, device, and OS environment. Refer to ProLiant BL storage for more specific information. |
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| Q6. |
What components are required for SAN connectivity on the ProLiant BL30p? |
| A6. |
The following components are required to support SAN connectivity on the ProLiant BL30p:
- ProLiant BL30p with Dual Port Fibre Channel Adapter option installed
- Interconnect Kit that provides Fibre Channel pass-through (either ProLiant BL p-Class Patch Panel 2 or ProLiant BL p-Class GbE2 Interconnect Switch with the GbE2 Storage Connectivity Kit option)
- Fibre Channel SAN switch port with support for FCAL public loop login (Brocade, McData, and Cisco all offer switches with this support)
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| Q7. |
What is the speed of the Dual Port Fibre Channel Adapter? |
| A7. |
The Dual Port Fibre Channel Adapter supports up to 2 Gb/s and the card is backward compatible with existing 1 Gb/s Fibre Channel equipment. |
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| Q8. |
Is Secure Path supported? |
| A8. |
Yes. SecurePath is supported for multipath functionality on BL20p series and BL30p series server blades. |
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| Q9. |
When should I use NAS and SAN connectivity? |
| A9. |
HP believes that NAS and SAN technologies are complementary. NAS should always be used for file serving. SANs should always be used for block serving. HP provides the ability to use a common pool of storage for both environments - this is called NAS/SAN fusion - the ability to provide a storage utility regardless of data format, protocol or operating system. |
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Networking |
| Q1. |
Are there any new ProLiant BL p-Class network features? |
| A1. |
Yes. The key new features is the single "iLO" port on the rear of the new server blade enclosure with enhanced backplane components. The port allows connectivity to all server blade iLOs via a single, physical connection which provides up to 16-to-1 reduction in management network cables for both patch panel and interconnect switch users. Note that all iLOs retain their independent IP addresses. |
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| Q2. |
What network adapters are included with the ProLiant BL30p server blade? |
| A2. |
Each ProLiant BL30p server blade includes three (3) network adapters: two (2) NC7781 Gigabit Ethernet Embedded 10/100/1000T WOL (Wake On LAN) enabled with Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) plus one additional 10/100T Ethernet adapter dedicated to iLO management. |
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| Q3. |
On the ProLiant server blades, can the NICs be custom configurable? Can the customer specify settings rather than having the NIC autosense? |
| A3. |
Yes. The server blade NICs are auto-configurable and selectable by the customer via a software applet. |
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| Q4. |
Can the NICs on ProLiant BL servers be teamed? |
| A4. |
The BL30p can support Network Fault Tolerance (NFT) or Transmit Load Balancing (TLB), but not Switch Assisted-Load Balancing (SLB) if you are using the HP GbE2 switch. The (2) NC7781 adapters are split across switch A & switch B. If you are using patch panels, then you could connect them to the same switch and use SLB. |
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| Q5. |
How does ProLiant BL address the challenges of network cabling in a dense, rack-server environment? |
| A5. |
There are two ways that ProLiant BL reduces the cabling burden often associated with dense, rack-server environments. First, the cables are plugged into the back of the enclosures and not the servers themselves. This means that when a server needs to be removed or redeployed, a customer can just pull out the server and not have to remove all the network connections. Second, customers have the option of using the interconnect switch (GbE and GbE2) to consolidate network ports to a smaller number of Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. The new enclosure also contains a single "iLO" port from which all server blade iLO connections can be accessed thereby saving core switch ports typically used for management connections. |
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| Q6. |
How do I connect ProLiant BL servers to the company network? |
| A6. |
Network connectivity can be facilitated through patch panels or interconnect switches. Depending on the series of blades installed, each server blade enclosure will have up to 32 data network connections. The choice of cable management options includes:
- Patch Panel: The network connections are routed through the rear via RJ-45 ports
- Patch Panel 2: Same as the Patch Panel plus pass-through of BL20p G2 fibre channel signals
- GbE Interconnect Switch: Up to 32 network signals are consolidated via redundant managed VLAN Ethernet switches
- GbE2 Interconnect Switch: Adds advanced network switching plus pass-through of the of BL20p series and BL30p series Fibre Channel signals
For a complete list of the available interconnect options, please consult the ProLiant BL p-Class How to Buy. Also refer to the HP ProLiant BL System Common Procedures Guide and HP ProLiant BL System Best Practices Guide. |
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| Q7. |
What servers do the ProLiant BL p-Class GbE Interconnect Switch Kit and GbE Interconnect Switch Kit support? |
| A7. |
The ProLiant BL p-Class GbE Interconnect Switch Kit and GbE2 Interconnect Switch Kit may be used with all available ProLiant p-Class server blades (BL20p series, new BL30p series, and BL40p series). Any possible combination of these server blades is supported. |
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| Q8. |
What level of cable consolidation can be realized with the ProLiant BL p-Class system? |
| A8. |
The total network cable consolidation depends on the mix of ProLiant server blades, but can be as high as 32 to 1 network cable consolidation for any combination of up to eight ProLiant BL20p series or sixteen BL30p series server blades. Each ProLiant BL p-Class GbE and GbE2 Interconnect Switch Kit includes eight switch ports at the rear and four at the front of the server blade enclosure. All 12 ports may be used as desired for data connections to the network, local switch management, additional inter-switch cross connections, etc. In addition, the new server blade enclosure with enhanced backplane components allows connectivity to all server blade iLOs via a single, physical "iLO" port providing up to 16-to-1 reduction in management network cables for both patch panel and interconnect switch users. |
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Rack and Power Infrastructure |
| Q1. |
How much power does the ProLiant BL30p require? |
| A1. |
The BL p-Class Sizing Utility can provides a power estimate for all of the ProLiant BL p-Class blades based on the blade's configuration, including the ProLiant BL30p. |
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| Q2. |
Is 3-phase power required for the ProLiant BL p-Class power infrastructure? |
| A2. |
No. The ProLiant BL p-Class power infrastructure is flexible and supports 3-phase, single-phase and -48 volt facility DC power. However, keep in mind that 3-phase power and-48 volt facility DC power can support more server blades than single-phase power. For details on how many server blades can be supported under different power infrastructure scenarios, refer to the BL p-Class Sizing Utility. |
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| Q3. |
Does the ProLiant BL p-Class system support -48 volt facility DC power? |
| A3. |
Yes. The ProLiant BL p-Class power supplies convert AC input power to -48 volt DC power which is then carried to the 6U server blade enclosures via the bus bars. However, -48 volt (+ or - 10%) facility DC power can be attached directly to the bus bars without having to use the power supplies by using the facility DC option kit. |
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| Q4. |
Can we assign power supplies to different areas or enclosures within the rack? |
| A4. |
No. The BL p-Class power enclosure provides power throughout the system. No one power supply is dedicated to one enclosure or area within the rack. |
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| Q5. |
Does the ProLiant BL p-Class fit in 3rd party racks? |
| A5. |
Yes. The ProLiant BL p-Class was designed to fit in ProLiant racks, Telco racks and most 3rd party racks. The BL p-Class will fit into 3rd party racks that meet the following minimum rack requirements:
- Compatible with 19" Standard EIA rail sets-- EIA rail to rail depth is 29-30"
- Cabinet depth must be at least 36" deep overall (Additional min. 3.5" clearance from rear RETMA rail to rear door, inclusive in the 36" overall depth)
- Ample room for top and bottom cable egress (approximately 8 square inches for full rack configuration with patch panel)
- Must be capable of supporting 1600 lbs (for full rack configuration)
- Perforated front and rear doors to accommodate front-to-back cooling
- Must have 65% open perforation on server blade enclosure doors to support airflow requirements
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| Q6. |
What is the level of power redundancy? |
| A6. |
The ProLiant BL p-Class architecture supports power supply as well as AC input redundancy as desired by the customer. Additional power supplies can be added to the power enclosure for additional levels of power supply redundancy. For more detail on the power infrastructure, refer to the ProLiant BL p-Class Overview and Planning whitepaper. |
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| Q7. |
Will there be a UPS solution since that's currently an option when you build a rack? |
| A7. |
Since the BL p-Class power is distributed at the rack level versus the server level, the BL p-Class solution would utilize a Datacenter site UPS versus an individual UPS. |
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Service and Support |
| Q1. |
What is the ProLiant BL Diagnostic Station and how does it work? |
| A1. |
The ProLiant BL p-Class diagnostic station provides power to ProLiant BL p-Class server blades and interconnect switches outside of the rack environment. The diagnostic station contains a power supply that provides power to the server blade or to the interconnect switch and a system board with connectors for data transfer between the server blade or interconnect switch, and a client device (a laptop, desktop, or workstation). The client device provides the keyboard, video, mouse, and diskette interface and facilitates the use of the server blade iLO remote console. Note that the ProLiant BL30p server blade must be installed in a BL30p Blade Sleeve when attached to the diagnostic station. |
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| Q2. |
Is the blade enclosure back plane easily swappable? |
| A2. |
Each ProLiant BL p-Class server blade enclosure has both a signal and a power backplane. Both of these backplanes are installed with thumbscrews and are easily removeable. |
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| Q3. |
What is the warranty for the ProLiant BL30p server blade? |
| A3. |
The ProLiant BL30p server blade has a 3-1-1 (parts-labor-onsite service) warranty. All ProLiant BL p-Class infrastructure components, including switches and enclosures, have a 3-3-3 warranty. Note that all ATA hard drive options offered by HP carry a 1-year warranty regardless of the base system in which they are installed. |
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