configuration can be used. In such configurations, each site functions as both a preferred site for some number of
servers, as well as a secondary (recovery) site for additional servers that normally run at the paired site.
For those environments where business-critical and mission-critical availability and recovery are required,
CloudSystem Matrix integrates with “application-aware” solutions to provide a faster and more granular level of
solution recovery. For Integrity servers, the HP Serviceguard family of products (available through an upgrade)
provides the level of mission-critical availability that customers require in these environments. Integrated with key
CloudSystem Matrix technologies, Serviceguard defines “packages” that define how to start, stop, and monitor a
database or any customer application along with all of the required resources. The software monitors for faults in
hardware (servers, storage, and networking), in the OS, and in the application package environment. In the event of
a fault, it automatically initiates a failover sequence to a new node (physical or virtual) and restores services in
seconds, often completely transparently to application users. Serviceguard manages failovers within a data center
and between one, two, or three data centers by using HP Metrocluster and Continental cluster technologies.
Application-specific extensions and tools ease deployment and manageability through the standard configuration of
popular applications in Serviceguard packages. For example, Serviceguard Extensions for SAP and for Oracle
provide tight integration with SAP and Oracle RAC, delivering superior availability for these mission-critical
environments. (For more information see the white paper, Wielding HP’s Serviceguard Solutions Availability Portfolio
to Maintain Mission-Critical Service-Level Objectives, at http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA2-
3913ENW.pdf, and listen to the podcast, HP-IT Uses Serviceguard Solutions, at
www.hp.com/go/ServiceguardSolutions.)
Enabling technology
HP Converged Infrastructure technologies at the core of CloudSystem Matrix—BladeSystem with Virtual Connect, the
Matrix Operating Environment, and CSA for Matrix—enable the powerful capabilities just described that enable you
to auto-provision, continuously optimize, and protect the continuity of an IaaS environment. This section provides more
information on these and other, complementary technologies available as extensions to CloudSystem.
BladeSystem c-Class
In designing the HP BladeSystem architecture, HP worked very closely with our customers to understand their
requirements and challenges in managing their data centers. The resulting BladeSystem c-Class design incorporates
modular and flexible compute, embedded management, network, and storage resources to provide a common,
modular infrastructure that is cloud-ready and can accommodate continually changing business needs. As such,
BladeSystem c-Class provides the ideal foundation for CloudSystem.
Key components of this architecture include the following:
• Embedded management: HP iLO Management Engine is a comprehensive set of embedded management features
supporting the complete lifecycle of the server, from initial deployment, through ongoing management, to service
alerting and remote support.
– Provisioning: Intelligent Provisioning takes all the strengths of products like HP SmartStart, Service Pack for
ProLiant, and Smart Update Manager, enhances them with the latest ease of use features and places them where
you can use them immediately: on the system board.
– Monitoring: HP now offers agentless management. Base hardware health monitoring and alerting functions now
run directly on the iLO hardware, independent of the operating system and the x86 processor.
– Diagnostics: While HP server failures are rare, some failures can be extremely difficult to reproduce, can escape
routine diagnostics, and consequently may take too long to fix. With HP Active Health System, diagnostics are
always running in the background, recording constant feeds of telemetry data, every configuration change, and
every alert. This facilitates faster root-cause analysis and problem resolution, all achieved without impact to
performance.
– Support: With iLO Management Engine administrators also get faster access to HP Insight Remote Support, HP’s
24x7 “phone home” remote support software.
• Shared cooling and power: HP consolidated power and cooling resources conserve power and provide efficient
cooling, while efficiently sharing and managing the resources within the enclosure. HP “Thermal Logic” capabilities
throughout the BladeSystem c-Class servers enable IT administrators to optimize their power and thermal
environments. These capabilities include: