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HP Auto-Port Aggregation software for HP 9000 and HP Integrity enterprise servers--maximized throughput with enhanced
failover protection
Hewlett-Packard's Auto Port Aggregation (APA), product number J4240AA, increases a server's efficiency by grouping or "aggregating" multiple ports into a single link aggregate or fail-over group
having a single IP address. Up to fifty aggregates per computer are permitted on HP-UX versions 11iv1 and 11iv2.
The aggregated connections are IEEE 802.3, 802.3ab and 802.3z -compliant and can be either PCI 10 or 100 Mbps or PCI/PCI-X 1000 Mbps Ethernet. . Although the aggregate throughput can be several
hundred Mbps over a single IP address, each port's connection is still 100 Mbps (200 Mbps if full duplex) for Fast Ethernet and 1000 Mbps for Gigabit Ethernet infrastructures.
Features and benefits
- Decrease link failures, ensuring seamless, continuous operation
- Gain investment protection by adding next-generation networking throughput to the existing infrastructure
- Achieve faster response times and eliminate frustrating delays
- Reduce initial and ongoing costs with dramatically simplified installation and maintenance
Features
Cisco's protocol for automatic trunk discovery and automatic link aggregate configuration
Networks can be complex and difficult to configure and maintain, especially as links are added, removed, and changed over time. To simplify this trunk configuration and management task, HP Auto-Port
Aggregation software supports Cisco's auto-discovery and configuration capability (PagP). This feature automatically searches for links that qualify for HP Auto-Port Aggregation trunking and, when
they are identified, automatically configures them into a trunk. This powerful feature can also determine which links go to the same or different Fast and Gigabit Ethernet switches and can assign
compatible links to the appropriate trunks.
High availability via multiple links with failover capability
If any link in a trunk consisting of two, three, or four individual links fails, traffic continues to be carried on the remaining links-so the application will continue to be available to end users.
In a four-link HP Auto-Port Aggregation, operation will continue if one, two, or even three links go down.
High availability servers
Over and above the failover capability built in to HP Auto-Port Aggregation software, HP's premier high availability product-MC/ServiceGuard-adds even higher levels of availability to HP 9000 and
Integrity Enterprise Servers. If needed, MC/ServiceGuard can switch HP Auto-Port Aggregation trunks from one server to a completely separate, remotely located backup server and migrate the IP address
from the first server to the second. This networking switchover is only one of MC/ServiceGuard's capabilities. It also enables application switchover, database switchover, and hardware server
switchover-thus protecting the end user not only from network link failures, but also from server failures, application failures, and database failures.
Load balancing
The server traffic load is distributed over each member of the link aggregate so that each individual link is used. No links are wasted-as they would be under a "hot standby" mode of operation. HP
Auto-Port Aggregation's load balancing also attempts to maximize throughput over the links.
High throughput
Four 100Base-T links mean four x 100Mbps (400Mbps) in each direction-or 800Mbps in both directions. A single HP Auto-Port Aggregation trunk containing four 1000Base-T links can handle eight
Gigabits per second! This high throughput level is especially useful for Internet/intranet applications that service thousands of browser-based clients.
Advanced interoperability
HP Auto-Port Aggregation's full feature set operates with switches from HP and Cisco. Through support of Cisco's PAgP protocol, the 802.3ad (LACP) link aggregation protocol, the 802.3ad (LACP) link aggregation protocol, along with load balancing and failover.
Basic interoperability
Basic interoperability is multivendor-operational, using load balancing and failover. For basic interoperability when connected to other vendors' equipment that doesn't support Cisco's PAgP or LACP protocol,
the software uses manual configuration. HP Auto-Port Aggregation is independent of (operates transparently from) spanning tree algorithms.
Single IP address capability
HP Auto-Port Aggregation provides high throughput in multiples of 1000/100Mbps, using a single IP address for the HP 9000 and Integrity Enterprise Servers. It enables customers to transparently
increase overall bandwidth without reconfiguring client PCs to add additional IP addresses-and with no IP routing table modifications or adjustments to other network parameters needed. Single IP
address capability means bandwidth growth without the work of modifying thousands of PC addresses and with no need to reconfigure sensitive parameters inside the network.
Flexibility
The HP Auto-Port Aggregation software supports a wide variety of 100Base-T, 1000Base-T and 1000Base-SX single and multiport links for HP 9000 and Integrity servers running hp-ux. For example, it will
support the Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) copper 100Base-T products as well as the fiber 1000Base-SX product. It will also support single-, dual-, and quad-port Fast Ethernet LAN adapters
with selected servers-for example, the four aggregate links could include two links from each of two dual-port 100Base-T adapters, or one link from each of two single-port 100Base-T adapters and two
links from one dual-port adapter. This flexibility preserves customers' investments in existing and future Fast and Gigabit Ethernet hardware.
Application transparency
Because the channel for HP Auto-Port Aggregation is viewed as a single logical channel physically composed of up to four individual links, applications can transmit and receive data over HP Auto-Port
Aggregation links without any modifications or even awareness of the product.
Figure 2. APA provides the ability to grow the network as the bandwidth needs increases.
Benefits
Fewer outages
No one likes to be denied access to important Web sites when the information is desperately needed. With a four-link HP Auto-Port Aggregation trunk, the failure of one, two, or even three Fast or
Gigabit Ethernet links will not cause a trunk failure. Throughput may be lower when the number of working links decreases, but the trunk will continue to work. In the rare case of a server failure,
HP's MC/ServiceGuard will switch the APA trunk to a backup server for seamless, continuous operation.
Faster response time
Access to Web-based information and client/server "conversations"-as well as other applications-can be accelerated by using a higher-bandwidth server-to-network HP Auto-Port Aggregation channel with
up to four links. The aggregation of bandwidth in 100Mbps or 1-Gigabit "chunks" provides faster access to HP 9000 and Integrity servers from a variety of end users.
Investment protection
As bandwidth needs grow, additional links can be added to increase the capacity of network connections. The network can deliver next-generation networking throughput on the existing infrastructure.
HP Auto-Port Aggregation supports a variety of Fast and Gigabit Ethernet LAN adapters. As a result, the existing investment in these adapters can be protected as they are logically aggregated into a
single trunk or channel by the addition of the HP Auto-Port Aggregation software. Four existing, Fast or Gigabit links can be configured as an HP Auto-Port Aggregation trunk with the simple
addition of the software.
Simplicity and lower cost of installation and maintenance
HP Auto-Port Aggregation with PAgP automatic trunk discovery and automatic trunk configuration dramatically simplifies the initial configuration as well as the maintenance of accurate configurations
over the life of a network. A GUI SAM interface allows easy server configuration. (Command-line operations are also available.)
Application areas
PC connectivity
Thousands of PCs can be connected to an HP 9000 Enterprise or Integrity Server via HP Auto-Port Aggregation software. The volume of traffic supporting thousands of PCs is more appropriate to a group
of links with load balancing and failover than to single, unprotected, lower-bandwidth links. Web-Based Internet/Intranet Information Distribution and Transaction Processing requires both fast
response times and high availability. HP Auto-Port Aggregation software provides such access to ensure highly productive use of the Web.
Client/server
Client/server systems-such as SAP R/3-require high-bandwidth, high-availability paths between the database servers and the application servers. The HP Auto-Port Aggregation solution is well suited
for these popular high-productivity client/server application systems.
Database backup
Customers frequently back up many smaller servers and PCs to a special, dedicated backup server. To ensure one-pass backup-file transmission without having to restart, this backup traffic frequently
demands both very high bandwidth and high availability. This is an ideal HP Auto-Port Aggregation application.
Multimedia
Many companies are feeling the strain from voice, video, and data transmission over their networks. Again, high bandwidth and high availability-as provided by HP Auto-Port Aggregation-are essential
to a well-implemented multimedia application.
Technical specifications
HP Auto-Port Aggregation (product number J4240AA) is supported on most HP 9000 and Integrity platforms. Such as, rx1600, rp2400, rx2600, rx4640,rp34x0, rp4440, rp5400, rx5670, rp74x0, rx7620, rp84x0,
rx8620, HP9000 & Integrity Superdome. For an updated platform list, please contact your local HP Sales or Support Representative
HP-UX levels supported
HP Auto-Port Aggregation is supported on HP-UX 11iv1 and 11iv2. The HP Auto-Port Aggregation 11i v2 software may be obtained via www.software.hp.com.
Adapters supported
HP Auto-Port Aggregation is supported on the following list of PCI and PCI-X 100Base-T, 1000Base-T and 1000Base-SX adapters, for most HP9000 and Integrity servers: |
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| A7012A |
PCI-X 2-port 1000Base-T gigabit copper adapter |
| AD331A |
PCI 1-port 1000Base-T gigabit Ethernet copper adapter |
| AB545A |
PCI-X 4-port 1000Base-T gigabit Ethernet copper adapter |
| AD332A |
PCI 1-port 1000Base-SX gigabit Ethernet fiber adapter |
| A7011A |
PCI-X 2-port 1000Base-SX gigabit fiber adapter |
| AD337A |
PCIe 2-port 1000Base-T gigabit Ethernet adapter |
| AD338A |
PCIe 2-port 1000Base-SX gigabit Ethernet adapter |
| AD339A |
PCIe 4-port 1000Base-T gigabit Ethernet adapter |
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| For more information
For additional information on HP Auto-Port Aggregation software or other HP enterprise networking solutions, please visit us on the web at hp.com or contact any of our worldwide sales offices or HP
Channel Partners. |
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