Switches

Specialized Switch Use

The following describes the specialized uses of switches in an HP XC system.

	IMPORTANT: Switch use is not strictly enforced on HP XC systems with HP server blades. For more information about switch use with HP server blades, see the HP XC Systems With HP Server Blades and Enclosures HowTo, which is available at the following Web site: http://www.docs.hp.com/en/highperfcomp.html

Table 2-1 lists the switch models that are supported for each use.

Administrator Passwords on ProCurve Switches

The documentation that came with the ProCurve switch describes how to optionally set an administrator's password for the switch.

If you define and set a password on a ProCurve switch, you must set the same password on every ProCurve switch that is a component of the HP XC system.

During the hardware discovery phase of the system configuration process, you are prompted to supply the password for the ProCurve switch administrator, and the password on every switch must match.

Switch Port Connections

Most HP XC systems have at least one Root Administration Switch and one Root Console Switch. The number of Branch Administration Switches and Branch Console Switches depends upon the total number of nodes in the hardware configuration.

The Administration Network using the root and branch switches must be parallel to the Console Network root and branch switches. In other words, if a particular node uses port N on the Root Administration Switch, its management console port must be connected to port N on the Root Console Switch. If a particular node uses port N on the Branch Administration Switch, its management console port must be connected to port N on the corresponding Branch Console Switch.

A graphical representation of the logical layout of the switches and nodes is shown in Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2  Node and Switch Connections on a Typical System

Figure 2-3 shows a graphical representation of the logical layout of the switches and nodes in a large-scale system with a Super Root Switch.

Figure 2-3 Switch Connections for a Large-Scale System

Super Root Switch

Figure 2-4 shows the Super Root Switch, which is a ProCurve 2848. A Super Root switch configuration supports the use of trunking to expand the bandwidth of the connection between the Root Administration Switch and the Super Root Switch. The connection can be as simple as one wire and as complex as eight, which is the largest trunk size the ProCurve 2848 switch currently supports. See “Trunking and Switch Choices” for more information about trunking and the Super Root Switch.

You must configure trunks on both switches before plugging in the cables between the switches. Otherwise, a loop is created between the two switches.

Figure 2-4 illustrates a ProCurve 2848 Super Root Switch.

Figure 2-4 ProCurve 2848 Super Root Switch

Table 2-2 shows how ports are allocated for large-scale systems with multiple regions.

Root Administration Switch

The Root Administration Switch for the Administration Network of an HP XC system can be either a ProCurve 2848 switch or a ProCurve 2824 switch for small configurations.

If you are using a ProCurve 2848 switch as the switch at the center of the Administration Network, use Figure 2-5 to make the appropriate port connections. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for specific purposes, described after the figure. Gray-colored ports are reserved for future use.

Figure 2-5 ProCurve 2848 Root Administration Switch

The callouts in the figure enumerate the following:

The ports on this switch must be allocated as follows for maximum performance:

For size-limited configurations, the ProCurve 2824 switch is an alternative Root Administration Switch.

If you are using a ProCurve 2824 switch as the switch at the center of the Administration Network, use Figure 2-6 to make the appropriate port connections. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for specific purposes, described after the figure.

Figure 2-6 ProCurve 2824 Root Administration Switch

The callouts in the figure enumerate the following:

As a result of performance considerations and given the number of ports available in the ProCurve 2824 switch, the allocation order of ports is:

Root Console Switches

The following switches are supported as Root Console Switches for the Console Branch of the Administration Network:

ProCurve 2650 Switch

You can use a ProCurve 2650 switch as a Root Console Switch for the Console Branch of the Administration Network. The Console Branch functions at a lower speed (10/100 Mbps) than the rest of the Administration Network.

The ProCurve 2650 switch is shown in Figure 2-7. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for specific purposes, described after the figure.

Figure 2-7 ProCurve 2650 Root Console Switch

The callouts in the figure enumerate the following:

1. Port 42 must be reserved for an optional connection to the console port on the head node.

2. Port 49 is reserved.

3. Port 50 is the Gigabit Ethernet link to the Root Administration Switch.

Allocate the ports on this switch for consistency with the administration switches, as follows:

• Ports 1–10, 13–22, 25–34, 37–41

  • Starting with port 1, the ports are used for links from Branch Console Switches. Trunking is not used.

  • Starting with port 41 and in descending order, ports are assigned for use by individual nodes in the utility cabinet. Nodes in the utility cabinet are connected directly to the Root Administration Switch.

    	NOTE: There must be at least one idle port in this set to indicate the dividing line between branch links and root node administration ports.

• Ports 11, 12, 23, 24, 35, 36, and 43–48 are unused.

ProCurve 2626 Switch

You can use a ProCurve 2626 switch as a Root Console Switch for the Console Branch of the Administration Network. The ProCurve 2626 switch is shown in Figure 2-8. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for specific purposes, described after the figure.

Figure 2-8 ProCurve 2626 Root Console Switch

The callouts in the figure enumerate the following:

1. Port 22 must be reserved for an optional connection to the console port on the head node.

2. Port 25 is reserved.

3. Port 26 is the Gigabit Ethernet link to the Root Administration Switch.

Allocate the ports on this switch for consistency with the administration switches, as follows:

• Ports 1–10, 13–21

  • Starting with port 1, the ports are used for links from Branch Console Switches. Trunking is not used.

  • Starting with port 21 and in descending order, ports are assigned for use by individual nodes in the utility cabinet. Nodes in the utility cabinet are connected directly to the Root Administration Switch.

    	NOTE: There must be at least one idle port in this set to indicate the dividing line between branch links and root node administration ports.

• Ports 11, 12, 23, and 24, are unused.

Branch Administration Switches

The Branch Administration Switch of an HP XC system can be either a ProCurve 2848 switch or a ProCurve 2824 switch.

Figure 2-9 shows the ProCurve 2848 switch. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for specific purposes, described after the figure.

Figure 2-9 ProCurve 2848 Branch Administration Switch

The callouts in the figure enumerate the following:

Allocate the ports on this switch for maximum performance, as follows:

The ProCurve 2824 switch is shown in Figure 2-10. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for a specific purposes, described after the figure.

Figure 2-10 ProCurve 2824 Branch Administration Switch

The callout in the figure enumerates the following:

Allocate the ports on this switch for maximum performance, as follows:

Branch Console Switches

The Branch Console Switch of an HP XC system is a ProCurve 2650 switch.

The connections to the ports must parallel the connections of the corresponding Branch Administration Switch. If a particular node uses port N on a Branch Administration Switch, its management console port must be connected to port N on the corresponding Branch Console Switch.

Figure 2-11 shows the ProCurve 2650 switch. In the figure, white ports should not have connections, black ports can have connections, and ports with numbered callouts are used for a specific purpose, described after the figure.

Figure 2-11 ProCurve 2650 Branch Console Switch

The callout in the figure enumerates the following:

Allocate the ports on this switch for maximum performance, as follows: