StarTech.com C3000 User Manual
HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure
technology brief, 2nd edition
Abstract.............................................................................................................................................. 3
Overview of HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure ....................................................................................... 3
Managing the c3000 enclosure ............................................................................................................ 5
Onboard Administrator..................................................................................................................... 5
Detecting component insertion and removal..................................................................................... 5
Identifying components ................................................................................................................. 6
Managing power and cooling ....................................................................................................... 6
Controlling components................................................................................................................. 6
User interfaces for Onboard Administrator ...................................................................................... 8
Security....................................................................................................................................... 8
Role-based user accounts............................................................................................................... 8
Integrated Lights-Out 2 for c-Class server blades .................................................................................. 9
Insight Display ................................................................................................................................. 9
Onboard Administrator cabling ....................................................................................................... 10
Enclosure link cabling..................................................................................................................... 11
Enclosure-based DVD ROM................................................................................................................. 12
Enclosure KVM Module ...................................................................................................................... 12
Interconnect options and infrastructure.................................................................................................. 13
Interconnect modules ...................................................................................................................... 15
Server blades ................................................................................................................................16
Storage and other option blades...................................................................................................... 16
Mezzanine cards ........................................................................................................................... 17
Virtual Connect.............................................................................................................................. 18
Fabric connectivity and port mapping............................................................................................... 18
c3000 bay-to- bay crosslinks ........................................................................................................... 21
Device bay crosslinks.................................................................................................................. 21
Interconnect bay crosslinks .......................................................................................................... 22
HP Thermal Logic technologies ............................................................................................................ 22
Active Cool fans ............................................................................................................................ 23
HP PARSEC architecture.................................................................................................................. 24
Parallel...................................................................................................................................... 24
Redundant and scalable.............................................................................................................. 25
Thermal Logic for the server blade.................................................................................................... 26
Power supplies and enclosure power subsystem................................................................................. 27
Pooled power configuration and power redundancy options ........................................................... 29
Dynamic Power Saver mode ........................................................................................................ 30
HP Power Regulator for ProLiant ................................................................................................... 31
Power Capping for each server blade........................................................................................... 31
Power meter .............................................................................................................................. 31
HP BladeSystem Power Sizer ....................................................................................................... 31
Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 32
Appendix. Fan, power supply, and device bay population guidelines...................................................... 33
For more information.......................................................................................................................... 38
Call to action .................................................................................................................................... 38
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Abstract
The HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure is the next generation in an evolution of the entire rackmounted infrastructure. The c3000 enclosure is designed for remote sites, small and medium-sized
businesses, and data centers with special power and cooling constraints. This technology brief
provides an overview of the HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure, Thermal Logic power and cooling
technologies, and interconnect options.
This technology brief assumes the reader is familiar with HP ProLiant server technology and has some
knowledge of general BladeSystem architecture. For more information about the infrastructure
components, see the HP website at
www.hp.com/go/bladesystem/.
Overview of HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure
The HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure, announced in September 2007, is the newest enclosure
implemented using the BladeSystem c-Class architecture. While the c7000 enclosure is optimized for
enterprise data center applications, the c3000 enclosure is optimized for other computing
environments such as remote sites or small businesses. More information on c-Class architecture and
the c7000 enclosure is available on the HP technology website at
The c3000 enclosure is available in two different models, the c3000 rack model that fits into standard
size HP and third-party racks, and the c3000 Tower model, which works well in sites without racks
(Figures 1 and 2). Both models employ c-Class form-factor server blades, storage blades, and
interconnect modules. The c3000 enclosure is optimized for particular computing environments such
as remote sites, retail stores, small offices, oil platforms, ships, planes, trucks, or any site with limited
power options. The c3000 enclosure is also designed for sites that may not have any special cooling
capability, and can exist in environments of up to 35 degrees centigrade. The c3000 enclosure is
designed for use with management devices such as local KVM switches for local administration.
www.hp.com/servers/technology.
Figure 1. HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure – front view
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Figure 2. HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure – rear view
The HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure has redundant signal paths between servers and interconnect
modules.
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The NonStop signal midplane in the c3000 enclosure has no active components. The
enclosure is available with a single-phase power subsystem that can run on either low-line or high-line
power.
Both c3000 models can be populated with the following components:
• Up to four full-height (FH) or eight half-height (HH) server and/or storage blades per enclosure
• Up to four interconnect modules simultaneously supporting a variety of network interconnect fabrics
such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC), InfiniBand (IB), Internet Small Computer System Interface
(iSCSI), or Serial-attached SCSI (SAS)
• Active Cool fan kits for a maximum of six fans
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• Up to six power supplies with either low-line or high-line power input
• Onboard Administrator (OA) management module
• DVD drive
• Optional KVM enclosure module for connecting the c3000 to an in-rack KVM switch or HP TFT
7600 Rack Mount Keyboard/Monitor
Both c-Class enclosures have common critical components such as servers, interconnects, mezzanine
cards, storage blades, power supplies, and fans. Table 1 lists components supported by the c3000
and c7000 enclosures.
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The c3000 enclosure will soon support two Onboard Administrator management modules, providing a fully
redundant design.
2
Typically, only four power supplies are required, especially in sites where non-redundant AC input is
acceptable.
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Table 1. Components supported by HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosures
Enclosure c3000 c7000
Model Rack (6U) or Tower Rack (10U)
Blade orientation Horizontal (rack)
Vertical (tower)
Blades supported 8 HH , 4 FH, 6HH/1FH 16 HH, 8 FH
Interconnect bays 4 8
Power supplies 6 at up to 1200 watts each 6 at 2250 watts each
Active Cool fans 6 10
Enclosure KVM support Yes No
CD/DVD support Enclosure-based available External
OA support Single (now)
Dual (future)
Midplane speed Tested up to 10 Gbit on midplane Tested up to 10 Gbit on midplane
OA Serial/USB connections In front In rear
Vertical
Single or dual
Managing the c3000 enclosure
The HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure has extensive embedded management capabilities based on
the Onboard Administrator, Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO 2) management processors integrated on the
server blades, and interconnect module management processors such as the HP Virtual Connect
Manager. Integrating all these management capabilities provides powerful hardware management for
remote administration, local diagnostics, and troubleshooting.
Onboard Administrator
The heart of c-Class enclosure management is the Onboard Administrator. The Onboard
Administrator module in the c3000 enclosure provides four services for the entire enclosure: detection,
identification, management, and control. There are three ways to access the Onboard Administrator:
web browser graphical user interface (GUI), scriptable command line interface (CLI), and the built-in
Insight Display diagnostic LCD panel included in the front of every c-Class enclosure.
Managing a c-Class enclosure involves multiple functions:
• Detecting component insertion and removal
• Identifying components and required connectivity
• Managing power and cooling
• Controlling components, including remote control and remote consoles
Detecting component insertion and removal
Onboard Administrator provides component control in c-Class enclosures. Component management
begins after the component is detected and identified. The Onboard Administrator detects
components in BladeSystem c-Class enclosures through presence signals on each bay. When a
component is inserted into a bay, the Onboard Administrator immediately recognizes and identifies
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the component. If a component is removed from a bay, the Onboard Administrator deletes the
information about that component.
Identifying components
To identify a component, the Onboard Administrator reads a Field-Replaceable Unit (FRU) Electrically
Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) that contains specific factory information
about the component, such as product name, part number, and serial number. All FRU EEPROMs in
c-Class enclosures are always powered, even if the component is turned off, so the Onboard
Administrator can identify the component before granting power. For devices such as fans, power
supplies, and Insight Display, the Onboard Administrator reads the FRU EEPROMs directly. The
Onboard Administrator accesses server blade FRU EEPROMs through their iLO 2 management
processors.
The server blades contain several FRU EEPROMs: one on the server board which contains server
information and embedded NIC information and one on each of the installed mezzanine option
cards. Server blade control options include auto login to the iLO 2 web interface and remote server
consoles, virtual power control, and boot order control. Server blade control options also include
extensive server hardware information including BIOS and iLO 2 firmware versions, server name, NIC
and option card port IDs, and port mapping. The Onboard Administrator provides easy-to-understand
port mapping information for each of the server blades and interconnect modules in the enclosure.
The NIC and mezzanine option FRU information informs the Onboard Administrator of the type of
interconnects each server requires. Before granting power to a server blade, the Onboard
Administrator compares this information with the FRU EEPROMs on installed interconnect modules to
check for electronic keying errors. For interconnect modules, the Onboard Administrator provides
virtual power control, dedicated serial consoles, and management Ethernet connections, based on
which specific interconnect features are included.
Managing power and cooling
The most important Onboard Administrator tasks are power control and thermal management. The
Onboard Administrator can remotely control the power state of all components in BladeSystem c-Class
enclosures. For components in device bays in the front of each enclosure, the Onboard Administrator
communicates with iLO 2 to control servers and communicates with a microcontroller to control
options such as storage blades. A separate microcontroller controls power to interconnect modules.
Once components are granted power, the Onboard Administrator begins thermal management with
Thermal Logic. The Thermal Logic feature in the BladeSystem c3000 enclosure minimizes fan
subsystem power consumption by reading temperature sensors across the entire enclosure and
changing fan speed in different zones to minimize power consumption and maximize cooling
efficiency. More detailed information on Thermal Logic technologies follows later in this technology
brief.
Controlling components
The Onboard Administrator uses embedded management interfaces to provide detailed information
and health status for all bays in the enclosure (Figure 3). The Onboard Administrator also offers
information on firmware versions for most components in the enclosure and can be used to update
those components.
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Figure 3. Management communications between Onboard Administrator and other components in an HP
BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure
c3000 internal management interfaces
The Onboard Administrator has several hardware interfaces to each bay in the c3000 enclosure to
provide management communications between the Onboard Administrator and all components in the
enclosure. The management hardware interfaces include unique presence pins, Inter-Integrated Circuit
(I2C), serial, and Ethernet connections. These management interface connections are completely
isolated from the server blade connections to interconnect modules.
c3000 external management interfaces
Each c3000 enclosure has several external management interfaces that connect the user to the
Onboard Administrator. The primary external management interface is the management port for the
Onboard Administrator, which is an RJ-45 jack providing Ethernet communications not only to the
Onboard Administrator, but also to every device or interconnect bay with a management processor.
This includes iLO 2 communication for the server blades and any interconnect module using the
c-Class embedded Ethernet management network, such as Virtual Connect Manager.
A serial port on the Onboard Administrator module provides full out-of-band CLI access to the
Onboard Administrator and is used for Onboard Administrator firmware flash recovery. USB ports on
the Onboard Administrator are used to connect external DVD drives to support the enclosure DVD
feature. In addition, an optional internal DVD drive is available for the c3000 enclosure. All c-Class
enclosures support two enclosure link connectors that provide private communications between
enclosures linked with CAT5 cable. In addition, the enclosure link-up connector provides an enclosure
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service port that allows users to temporarily connect a laptop PC to any of the linked enclosure
Onboard Administrators for local diagnostics and debugging.
Updating firmware
The Onboard Administrator manages firmware updates for the enclosure’s management devices.
Updating firmware, including server BIOS firmware, NIC and mezzanine BIOS firmware, and iLO 2
firmware, is possible using HP System Update Manager or the blade firmware update maintenance
CD. These utilities can be connected to all the server blades in the enclosure using the Onboard
Administrator enclosure DVD feature. When the active Onboard Administrator detects that an external
USB DVD drive is installed in the internal DVD option or plugged into the USB port, it scans the DVD
drive for a CD or DVD disk. This disk can then be connected to one or more server blades using the
Onboard Administrator GUI, CLI, or Insight Display.
User interfaces for Onboard Administrator
Three user interfaces to the Onboard Administrator allow control and provide information about the
enclosure and installed components:
• Web browser GUI
• Scriptable OA CLI with optional KVM Module to access OA CLI
• Insight Display diagnostic LCD panel
Remote network access to the Onboard Administrator GUI and CLI is available through the
management Ethernet port. The Onboard Administrator serial port is available for local CLI access
and Onboard Administrator flash recovery. The c-Class enclosure link-up port is also available as the
service port for temporary local Ethernet access to the Onboard Administrators and devices in linked
enclosures.
Insight Display is accessed directly through the buttons on the display or remotely through the
Onboard Administrator GUI. The Optional KVM Module provides access to the Onboard
Administrator CLI through the external VGA monitor and USB keyboard.
Security
Security is maintained for all user interfaces through user authentication. User accounts created in the
Onboard Administrator define three user privilege levels and the component bays to which each level
is granted access. The Onboard Administrator stores the passwords for local user accounts and can
be configured to use Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication for user group
accounts. The Insight Display can be protected by an LCD PIN code or completely disabled. The
Optional KVM Module protects against changes to server power or enclosure DVD connection using
the LCD PIN code. Use of the KVM Module to access server consoles is protected by server operating
system username/passwords.
Role-based user accounts
The Onboard Administrator provides configurable user accounts that can provide complete isolation
of multiple administrative roles such as server, LAN and SAN. User accounts are configured with
specific device bay or interconnect bay permissions and one of three privilege levels: administrator,
operator, or user. An account with administrator privileges including Onboard Administrator bay
permission can create or edit all user accounts retained in an enclosure. Operator privileges allow full
information access and control of permitted bays. User privileges allow information access but no
control capability.
The Onboard Administrator requires user login to the web GUI or CLI with an account and password.
The account can be a local account where the password is stored on the Onboard Administrator, or
an LDAP account, where the Onboard Administrator contacts the defined LDAP server to check the
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user credentials. Two-factor authentication allows even tighter security for the user management
session to the Onboard Administrator.
Rather than requiring separate logins to multiple resources (once to each enclosure and/or once to
every server management processor), the Onboard Administrator allows secure, single point access.
Thus, the administrator can use single sign-on to log in to a single Onboard Administrator and use the
web GUI to graphically view and manage the HP BladeSystem c-Class components in up to four
linked enclosures. For example, an IT administrator could automatically propagate management
commands—such as changing the enclosure power mode—throughout the linked enclosures.
More information about the Onboard Administrator is available in the technology brief entitled
“Managing the HP BladeSystem c-Class” at
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00814176/c00814176.pdf.
Integrated Lights-Out 2 for c-Class server blades
HP BladeSystem c-Class employs iLO 2 to configure, update, and operate individual server blades
remotely. The c3000 enclosure includes an Ethernet management network to aggregate all iLO 2
management communications across the entire enclosure. This management network connects iLO 2
processors to the Onboard Administrator through the Onboard Administrator tray. The Onboard
Administrator provides direct user access to each iLO 2 through the enclosure management network.
The Onboard Administrator uses this network to manage pooled enclosure power and cooling, which
results in substantial energy savings over the same number of individual rack-mounted servers.
Insight Display
The Insight Display (Figure 4) is an ever-ready, rack-mounted information exchange device with
access to all Onboard Administrator setup, management, and troubleshooting features. It is a quick
and easy-to-use device that allows the rack technician to initially configure the enclosure. It also
provides information about the health and operation of the enclosure. The Insight Display is effective
mechanically because it is big enough for the technician to see ample information, and it can slide
back and forth to allow access to the power supplies.
Figure 4. Insight Display on the c3000 enclosure
When the c3000 enclosure is initially powered on, the enclosure UID LED and the Insight Display are
illuminated blue to identify the enclosure being configured. The Insight Display automatically launches
an installation wizard to guide the user through the configuration process. After the enclosure is
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configured, the Insight Display verifies that there are no installation or configuration errors. The
Installation Wizard turns off the enclosure UID when the installation is complete.
When an error or alert condition is detected, the Insight Display Health Summary screen displays the
total number of error conditions and their locations in the order of error severity (Figure 5). Failure
alerts (if any) are displayed first and then caution alerts are displayed. Providing this level of
diagnostic information for each enclosure dramatically shortens setup, repair, and troubleshooting
time.
For example, in Figure 5, the BladeSystem c-Class Insight Display diagnostic screen reports an error
in power supply bay 5. The device error reported on the Health Summary screen shows the power
supply in bay 5 as red. When the technician selects View Alert, the Device Error Summary screen
indicates the same condition. The Device Error detail in the third screen shows that the power supply
in bay 5 has failed. When the technician selects fix on the Device Error screen, suggestions for
corrective action appear.
Figure 5. BladeSystem c-Class Insight Display diagnostic screens indicating an error and suggested corrective
action
More information about the Insight Display is available in the technology brief entitled “Managing the
HP BladeSystem c-Class” at
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00814176/c00814176.pdf.
Onboard Administrator cabling
The standard Onboard Administrator module is preinstalled in a front-loading tray that also houses
the HP BladeSystem Insight Display. The Onboard Administrator module contains a serial connector
for connection to a PC with a null-modem RS232 serial cable. A USB connector is also available for
future USB connectivity. A separate rear-loading Onboard Administrator link module contains RJ-45
ports for enclosure link-up/link-down connectivity and Onboard Administrator network access
(Figure 6).
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Figure 6. HP BladeSystem c3000 Onboard Administrator link module
Enclosure link cabling
The Onboard Administrator link module contains two enclosure link ports to allow any active
Onboard Administrator module to access linked enclosures. On a standalone enclosure or upper
enclosure in a series of linked enclosures, the upper enclosure link-up port functions as a service port
for temporary connection to a PC with a CAT5 patch cable. It provides quick access to any Onboard
Administrator module, iLO 2, or interconnect module with Ethernet management ability.
The enclosure link-down port connects to the enclosure link-up port on the enclosure below it. The
enclosure link-up port connects to the enclosure link-down port on the enclosure above it. Linking the
enclosures enables the rack technician to access all the enclosures through the open link-up/service
port. If more c-Class enclosures are added to the rack, they can be linked through the open enclosure
link-up port on the upper enclosure or the link-down port on the bottom enclosure.
NOTE
The enclosure link ports are designed only to support c-Class
enclosures in the same rack. The enclosure link-down port on the
upper enclosure is the service port. The enclosure link-down port
on the bottom linked enclosure is unused.
IMPORTANT
The HP BladeSystem c-Class Enclosure link ports are not
compatible with the HP BladeSystem p-Class Enclosure link
ports.
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Enclosure-based DVD ROM
The HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure has an optional CD/DVD ROM drive that installs in the front of
the enclosure. The Insight Display and Onboard Administrator allow system administrators to connect
and disconnect the media device to one or multiple servers at a time. In addition, a browser-based
console is available through the iLO functionality of each server blade. The console enables
administrators to perform numerous options:
• Use HP SmartStart to install system software and operating systems
• Install additional software
• Perform critical OS updates and patches
• Update server platform ROMs
The enclosure-based CD/DVD offers local drive access to server blades by using the Onboard
Administrator or Insight Display. When media is loaded in the enclosure-based DVD ROM, local
administrators can use the Insight Display to attach the media device to one or multiple server blades
simultaneously. When the DVD Connect Status screen is displayed on the Insight Display, choosing to
connect the media device to a server or group of servers prompts the user to connect or to connect
and reboot the server.
When it is connected and no read operations have occurred in the previous 16 seconds, the media
device can be disconnected from server blades.
Enclosure KVM Module
Another option for the c3000 enclosure is the KVM Module, which plugs into the rear bay adjacent to
interconnect module 1 and provides a VGA connector and two additional USB connectors for the
c3000 enclosure. The VGA connector can be connected to an external VGA monitor and external
USB keyboard/mouse to provide access to all server video consoles, the Onboard Administrator
command line interface (CLI), or Insight Display. Using PrintScrn as a hot key to switch consoles, the
user can select a particular server console, control the server power, or connect to the enclosure DVD
from the KVM menu screen (Figure 7). In addition to allowing the user to select a server video
console, the menu provides current server health status, power status, and DVD connect status. Instead
of manually configuring a server name, the name is automatically provided by the Onboard
Administrator based on server information. From a server video console session, the user presses
PrintScrn to hot key back to the KVM menu. The Onboard Administrator CLI console provides a text
screen to log in and run command-line commands to the Onboard Administrator. The Insight Display
provides all the Insight Display screens for the enclosure on the KVM monitor and uses the KVM
keyboard to navigate those screens from the KVM station.
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