The HPE 6Gb/s SAS BL Switch for HPE BladeSystem c-Class enclosures is an integral part of HPE direct connect SAS storage, enabling a shared SAS storage solution. The SAS architecture combines a HPE Smart Array P711m, P712m (with cache module), P721m or P731m Controller in each server and 6Gb/s SAS BL switches connected to supported HPE storage enclosures for SAS storage. The 6 Gb/s SAS BL Switch contains an embedded Virtual SAS Manager (VSM) GUI & CLI interface used to zone, monitor, and update SAS fabric devices.
The 6 Gb/s SAS BL Switch enables two external SAS storage solutions for BladeSystem servers: Shared SAS: The 6 GB/s SAS BL Switch can be used to access shared SAS storage provided by the P2000 G3 SAS array system. A HPE Smart Array P711m, P712m (with cache module) , P721m or P731m Controller installed in each server acts as a pass-through, with RAID functionality for shared SAS storage provided by the P2000 G3 SAS array system. The P2000 G3 SAS array system creates a shared storage environment where more than one blade server can access a storage logical unit.
Zoned Direct Attached Storage: Use the Virtual SAS Manager of the 6Gb SAS BL Switch to zone groups of drive bays in the MDS600, D2000 (D2600/D2700) or D3000 (D3600/D3700) and assign them to individual blade server bays. A HPE Smart Array P711m /P721m/P731m Controller installed in the server provides RAID functionality for the group of SAS and SATA drives that have been zoned to that server. The logical drives provided by the P711m /P721m/P731m Controller will appear as local drives to that individual server. The P711m/P721m/P731m offers load balancing and fail over anytime dual paths to dual-ported SAS drives are available when using two HPE 6Gb SAS BL Switches cabled to a MDS600 configured with the HPE MDS600 Dual I/O Module Option Kit or to a D2600/D2700 or D3600/D3700 or D6000 configured with dual IO module option kit.
HPE Secure Encryption support when using a HPE Smart Array P731m Controller
Hot Pluggable 6Gb/s SAS Switch for HPE BladeSystem
Sixteen internal blade bay ports containing 2x 6Gb/s SAS links
Eight external Mini-SAS ports containing 4x 6Gb/s SAS links
Use Mini-SAS cables to connect to P2000 G3 SAS array system enclosures for shared SAS storage or MDS600 or D2000 enclosures for zoned direct attached SAS storage
Dual Domain direct attached SAS architecture supported with MDS600, D2000 or D3000.
Supported by c3000 and c7000 BladeSystem enclosures (see supported options list for specific SKUs)
SAS fabric Topology View allows users to easily view their SAS fabric connectivity.
View non-zoned hard drive information (capacity, RPM, link rate, etc.) while creating zone groups.
Advanced tape support - port splitting allows up to 4 tape devices to attach to a single SAS switch port.
SAS switch web interface allows the capture and deployment of configuration scripts.
Full SNMP support for SAS switch and attached storage enclosures.
Detailed diagnostic information provided for MDS600 field issues
