HP cuts network clutter with virtualization
SINGAPORE--Hewlett-Packard last week unveiled a new virtualization technology for its c-Class BladeSystem, which it said would simplify network connectivity and server management.
Dubbed HP Virtual Connect (VC), the new offering comprises hardware and software components and is immediately available in two modules, for either Ethernet or Fiber Channel networks.
Both modules, according to HP, are a new class of blade interconnect that will simplify connections in server and local area network (LAN) and storage area network (SAN) environments.
The IT giant added that the VC technology simplifies network management by reducing the number of cables needed without adding switches. Administrators can also manage network and storage resources independent of server connections, and change servers in a matter of minutes, HP said. In addition, companies can consolidate cables and switch ports by up to 94 percent.
According to Natarajan, the VC Ethernet Module looks like a pass-through device to the network, yet provides all the key benefits of integrated switching including high performance 1Gigabit per second (Gbps) and 10Gbps uplinks to the data center switch, port aggregation, failover, VLAN (virtual LAN) tagging and stacking.
"With HP Virtual Connect, CIOs and IT administrators are set to overcome two of the biggest problems of today's data center: administrative productivity and the need to drive rapid change," said Tony Parkinson, HP's Asia-Pacific and Japan vice-president and general manager of industry standard servers.
In an interview with ZDNet Asia, Parkinson said the VC is a "module that sits in the back of the server chassis", featuring the virtualization of the I/O interface.
He added that the Virtual Connect is similar in concept to VMware's "virtualization of machines". Virtualization is the abstraction of computing resources such that they can be dynamically moved, and logically partitioned among different operating systems.
Parkinson said: "It [has] a similar architecture [as VMware's]… You run multiple versions of the operating system on one machine. Instead of [having] five machines run five versions of Windows Server 2003, you have one [computer] running five [versions of the OS]."
"We're basically taking those concepts and putting it into the I/O," he said, noting that as such, this is "very similar in concept--though different in deployment--to what's happening in the virtualization of the OS".
He added that both the virtualized machine and the virtualized I/O can be deployed together, where "a virtualized blade server running with a virtualized I/O" will allow for a very efficient infrastructure.
The VC feature is embedded in all new BladeSystem servers, but customers can also choose to upgrade their existing BladeSystems by purchasing an add-on, said Arun Natarajan, business director for HP BladeSystem in Asia-Pacific and Japan.