Questions regarding HP C7000 and BL465c G7

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simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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Definitely avoid that drvhub site.
Once you've run the exe, rather than "installing", try the extract option, extract the contents to a folder. Then from device manager, right click on a device, update driver and choose browse my computer, point to the folder. This option may work. Start with the NIC, the iLO is less important as it's just a way for the OS to communicate to the iLO and it isn't essential.
The dev/ven you sent is for the controller IC on the NIC, this is used in many cards. Your blades actually have a NC551i rather than a NC550SFP, it doesn't matter too much but you may get better luck searching for this term. This is the latest driver for that card for Windows Server, it only goes up to 2012 R2 but it may work.


You've got plenty of blades so it can't hurt installing Server 2019 and seeing what it finds.
 

CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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Installed Server 2019 on another blade. Still no drivers for the NICs or iLO. Two storage drivers missing as well.
Tried a bunch of drivers, one being the one you linked. Not picked up by the ethernet controller. Even tried the manual way through extract and pointing to that dir.

I've read about a proliant service pack containing drivers and firmwares... Would that be something to look into? Smart Update Manager?

Cheers,
// C
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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That's a shame. I don't think the SPP would work as any version that supports the G7 won't support Windows 10/Server 2019.

Depending on much you want to spend, you could purchase some ethernet mezzanines and an extra inter-connect for bay 3 on the rear of the C7000 but it could be tricky finding mezzanines that support Windows 10/Server 2019.

Another option is to install ESXi 6.0 on the blade then install Windows 10 as a virtual machine on top. It's a little bit clunky but it should work.

Is there a reason that you have to use Windows Server 2019?
 

CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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The reason for installing Server 2019 or Win 10 is because Maxon Cinema 4D, which I intend to run on the blades for rendering, have dropped support for any Windows version prior to Windows 10.

Have installed Windows Server 2012 R2 to a VM on my workstation now, gonna see if I can find a way of getting Cinema 4D to run on older OS. Doesn't look too promising. Can't even get required VC++ redists to install atm...

Don't think I am gonna spend more cash on this beast right now. Especially if getting other connection cards isn't guaranteed to solve it.

Cheers,
// C
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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Understood, that is a complication that could be difficult to overcome.

Server 2012 R2 is notoriously difficult to get VC++ working, you normally need a few Microsoft patches or you get cryptic error messages in the VC++ error log.

Let us know if there's anything else we can help with.
 
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CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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Understood, that is a complication that could be difficult to overcome.

Server 2012 R2 is notoriously difficult to get VC++ working, you normally need a few Microsoft patches or you get cryptic error messages in the VC++ error log.

Let us know if there's anything else we can help with.
Thanks, your help has been priceless. Greatly appreciated! Never would have gotten til this point without it.

A small update. After a full Windows Update and 3 KB patches all of the VC++ Redists installed fine. I now have Cinrma 4D running on an "unsupported OS". Had to copy the whole Cinema4D install dir from an existing installation since the actual installer has a OS check and halts.

List of KBs for other people that need VC ++ on Server 2012 R2
Windows8.1-KB2919355-x64
Windows8.1-KB2939087-x64
Windows8.1-KB2975061-x64

Next up I will install 2012 R2 on an actual blade to make sure I can get the NICs up and running.

What's the easiest way to bundle the above patches + NIC drivers to an ISO or installation media? Or can I clone the OS setup over to the remaining blades? Remember I have used some software in the past to slipstream (?) drivers to an ISO.

Cheers,
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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You're welcome, always happy to help. For some reason, people don't seem to like these C7000 but I do. I manage some at work and have one at home, along with a C3000.

In the past, I've only had little experience with bulk OS deployments and customisation, and primarily on Linux, so can't offer any advice there. One thing that does work, assuming you have mirrored disks. Once you've got a blade fully working with OS, OS updates, VC++, Cinema 4D, NIC drivers, other apps (win-rar, acrobat reader, putty or whatever you use) etc, shut it down, take one disk out, power it back up and, once the OS is loaded, insert a spare disk. This will be re-mirrored. Put the disk you took out into another blade, power it up, wait for it to load the OS, insert another spare disk. Once the mirror is completed you have two identical OS. You need to sort out hostnames and Microsoft licensing but that's easy. Then you can repeat and you could very quickly have all 16 blades imaged.

It's a bit clunky and there may be better ways to do it but as you only have 16 blades to do, rather than 500, it may be an option.

Another thing to consider is the firmware updates. I can't remember whether you updated the VC Flex but for the blades, you want to update the BIOS, iLO, Smart Array and NICs as a minimum. You can locate the correct files and try them on blade one, then you have a list of the required files, you can update the others. The two iLO drivers would be a good choice (channel interface and management interface or similar), then you can load the iLO configuration utility which allows you to tweak things on the iLO from Windows Server 2012. Smart Storage Administrator (GUI) is also a good choice. It allows you to see the RAID card, logical drives, physical disks etc.

The beauty is, if you install all of these on the one blade, they'll auto-magically be on the others if you try the disk mirror thing.
 

CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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Ok thanks! Unsurprisingly the rabbit hole goes deeper.

I have actually only updated the OA firmware. Do I update the other components from within the OA. I remember you gave instructions for updating some component which involved flashing firmware by passing a .bin via terminal. I guess I would be able to pull it off but prefer a GUI :)

So I have now installed Windows Server 2012 R2 to one of the blades. All went fine but still missing drivers for Ethernet Controller, Base System Device and Mass Storage. I installed the drivers for Emulex which you linked previously. They solved the unrecognised Mass Storage Device but not the Ethernet Controllers. Decided to poke around with the ProLiant Service pack. 7.1 for G7. Mounted the ISO and ran SUM. After inventorying it recognised the NICs as a slightly different version and proposed another driver. cp027194.


After installing this the ethernet controllers were recognised. (yay?) However both of the network adaptors says cable unplugged even though the are cables attached. The same cables do give network access if plugged into the usb --> ethernet adaptor so they do carry signal.

I also ran a full search and deploy through SUM and all devices now have drivers installed. Still no network access though.

How does the NICs distribute network over the blades btw? Are the two ports mapped to a certain set of blades or is it a trunc setup?

// Cheers,
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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The VC Flex is updated from a Windows computer, I would use an external device rather than a blade but once you've got the blades on your network you can use one. You need to install the Virtual Connect Support Utility v1.15 then pass the command that I put in a previous post.


The blade firmware updates are done from the OS installed on the blade, so once you've installed Server 2012 R2 you can run the .exe files and and it will perform the updates.


Before we go too much further it would be good to get a screenshot of the device manager on the blade with 2012 R2 with the network adapters section expanded, it would also be good to have a photo of the blade with the lid removed to see if there are any mezzanines installed.


So now a lesson on how the networking works on a C7000. Are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin. On a half height C class blade like yours (the full height, double width blades and the C3000 are slightly different so we'll ignore those for now) the primary NIC is built into the mainboard (in the newer blades the primary NIC is on a plug in unit and can be replaced but yours is soldered on). The primary NIC is a dual port device, each port is physically wired via the connector on the back of the blade and the backplane in the C7000 to a corresponding internal port on interconnects 1 and 2. So blade bay 1, primary NIC port 1 is cabled to interconnect bay 1 port 1 and primary NIC port 2 is cabled to interconnect bay 2 port 1. Blade bay X, primary NIC port 1 is cabled to interconnect bay 1 port X and primary NIC port 2 is cabled to interconnect bay 2 port X etc. All 16 blade bays are cabled in such a way.


If you then notice the mezzanine slots in the blade, mezzanine slot 1 can take a dual port NIC. Blade bay 1 mezz 1 has port 1 cabled to interconnect bay 3 port 1 and mezz 1 port 2 is cabled to interconnect bay 4 port 1. Blade bay X mezz 1 has port 1 cabled to interconnect bay 3 port X and mezz 1 port 2 is cabled to interconnect bay 4 port X. Blade bay 1 mezz 2 has port 1 cabled to interconnect bay 5 port 1 and mezz 2 port 2 is cabled to interconnect bay 6 port 1. Blade bay X mezz 2 has port 1 cabled to interconnect bay 5 port X and mezz 2 port 2 is cabled to interconnect bay 6 port X. Mezz 2 actually support quad port cards that are connected to interconnect bays 7 and 8


If you look at the specs of the interconnect modules they will all state that they have 16 internal ports for just this reason. This picture from the quickspecs of the VC Flex 10 enet module shows it pictorially.

1639218915284.png

It crucial that you understand this to work out how the NIC gets it's connectivity. Now in your original post, the VC flex module was in interconnect bay 7. Hopefully you now understand why I said to move it to interconnect bay 1. Once it is in bay 1. The primary NIC in each blade, port 1 will show the NIC is connected. Port 2 will remain down. If you then installed an identical VC flex module in interconnect bay 2, you would find that primary NIC port 2 will show connected.


This is just the first part. You then need to configure the VC flex to pass traffic. Although highly complicated, the VC flex can be made to pass traffic really quite easily. All you need is a "network" that has at least one uplink port (or shared uplink set) that has a cable plugged in. You then need a "server profile" that has this network in. Then you need to apply this server profile to a bay. The blade must be powered off when you apply the profile. You can make changes to the network/profile with the blade up but for initial applying of the profile it needs to be off. Once you're happy that this profile is working for the 1st blade/bay, you need to copy the profile 15 times, one for each bay and then apply them. This can be done with the command line if you want to SSH in to the VC Flex or it can be done with the GUI.
 
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CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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Thanks for the detailed answer! May have to read through more than one time to fully digest everything. I love how my technical escapades make me learn soo many new things.

Don't think there are any me mezzanines installed. At least that's what the OA says under blade information. But I can remove the lid and check. Does info about mezzanine show up during boot?

The VC Flex module was moved to slot 1 back when you asked me to. The next action point to get the network up and running would that be setting up VC profiles to route traffic correctly?

"All you need is a "network" that has at least one uplink port (or shared uplink set) that has a cable plugged in. You then need a "server profile" that has this network in."
Do I create this "network" in VC Flex Admin? Where I applied the VC profiles previously?

I'll post a screenshot of the expanded device manager from the blade which has all devices installed and recognised.

Cheers,
// C
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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Info about the mezzanines show up in the OA, if you click a blade, then click the Information tab it will list any there. Depending on what they do, they may show up at boot, NICs normally give you an option to configure them for PXE etc. Fibre Channel HBAs always have a configuration menu for enabling BIOS, setting boot options etc.

Yes, next step is to create at least one "Ethernet Network" from the VC Flex Admin GUI. If the cable that you were using to connect to the USB network card "just works", then you can ignore the VLANs when creating the network.

Then configure VC (Server) Profiles and apply them to the blade bays. Best to have the blade powered off for this step.
 

CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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Yeah, the OA says there are no mezzanines.

Struggling to create the network. I have created a network but not sure if it's done correctly. Guess I want it properly setup before applying the profiles to the blades. What are the steps to create a working network config?

A you can see in image 1, there is a red cross under status which I assume means that the is no connection. Also says unknown/bad status under overview.

What are the external uplink ports? I assume they are the fiber (?) ports on the VC Flex module but do I need to configure these in a specific way? Seems as if at least one is needed to create the network?

I realised I only had 2 blades connected last time I applied server profiles. is that why I only profile_enc0_01 & profile_enc0_08 are shown? Blades in slot 1 and slot 8?

Cheers,
// C

1.jpeg
2.jpeg
3.jpeg4.jpeg
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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That network looks OK, certainly at this point. There aren't really any complicated settings if you aren't using VLANs.

Your network needs at least one external uplink port(s). These are the physical ports on the rear of the interconnect. Yours has 1 x CX4 and 8 x SFP+. You can do clever things whereby separate uplink ports connect to different external networks and things with VLANs but these are optional. In your case, one link to a normal flat network will sufficient. If you need extra bandwidth you can just connect more ports.

Looking at the network, you've set the CX4 port to be the uplink but it looks like it isn't connected to anything. I've never worked with CX4 ports. It will probably be easier to use one of the 8 SFP+ ports. Depending on what connectivity you have on your network, you can get 10Gb optical SFPs or 1Gb RJ-45 SFPs for the VC Flex. You generally have to use VC Flex SFPs, even normal HPE SFPs aren't recognised. Here are the supported parts from the quickspecs of your VC flex module.

Ethernet Optical Transceivers
HP BladeSystem c-Class 10Gb Short Range Small Form-Factor Pluggable Option455883-B21
HP BladeSystem c-Class 10Gb Long Range Small Form-Factor Pluggable Option455886-B21
NOTE: Requires single-mode fiber.
HP BladeSystem c-Class 10Gb Long Reach Multimode Mode Small Form-Factor Pluggable Option455889-B21
HP BLc Virtual Connect 1Gb SX Small Form Factor Pluggable Option Kit453151-B21
HP BLc Virtual Connect 1Gb RJ-45 Small Form Factor Pluggable Option Kit453154-B21

The 1Gb RJ-45 SFPs aren't expensive. Looking on ebay US, they're $7.25, assuming you're in the USA :)

I 'm confident your network will go green once you've got an uplink port conencted and attached to the network and you have attached the network to at least one server profile.

You can of course use DACs as well if that works better for you.

Yes, you will need to create all 16 profile_enc0_01 through profile_enc0_16. But I wouldn't do that until you've got the first blade working.
 

CarlFrost

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Nov 17, 2021
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Ahh, I see. Ok, gonna hunt down one of those SFP-modules.
I'm in Sweden so options are limited. I could order from the US but shipping + customs + VAT + ? = !.
Found some on eBay from EU/UK sellers. Not specifically the models that you listed but says they are supposed to work with VC Flex.


You think they would work?

// C
 

simoncorner

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Apr 25, 2020
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Yes, I think they will work. I have an old ebay search that contained these part numbers (453151-b21, 453153-001, 453154-b21, 453156-001, 453578-001 ) so they should all work. I'll try to remember to check my system tomorrow and report back what is on the SFPs. HPE have a part number and a spare part number so that probably explains the differences.
 

CarlFrost

New Member
Nov 17, 2021
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Hi,
Sorry for not updating.

Bought one of the above over xmas. Everything is working as it should now. Now struggling to find time to install every blade. We had a spare, older license of acronis true image which I will try to use to clone an existing install to the rest of the blades.

Once again, thanks for all the help and support. @simoncorner

Cheers,
// C