HP VMA-series Memory Array Installation and Service Guide

Connectivity and Interfaces Overview
HP-AM456-9002A Rev 01 VMA-series Memory Array Installation and Service Guide 29
Refer to Figure 1.2 for interface locations.
Management Interfaces
Access to the system command line interface (CLI) is available through the
following interfaces:
• DB-9 Serial Debug Interface—Opens the CLI on the system.
• Ethernet Interface—Opens the CLI on the system via Telnet or Secure Shell
(SSH).
See Connecting the Serial Cable on page 50 and Connecting the Ethernet Cable
on page 51 for information.
Storage Interfaces
A single Memory Array may be configured for:
• Direct Attach via PCIe
• SAN attach via Fibre Channel or iSCSI (vSHARE)
Note: System configuration may be changed at any time.
The base platform supports a single PCIe x8 Gen1 (default) interface or dual
PCIe x4 Gen2 (option) interfaces that can directly connect to a host computer
(via a PCIe driver) or to a Memory Gateway. The optional memory gateways
provide specific network interfaces and functions such as SAN block storage or
NFS caching.
Note: The VMA-series Memory Array does not currently support dual PCIe
connections.
PCIe Direct Attach
PCIe provides the lowest latency and highest bandwidth connectivity to the
Memory Array which supports eight lanes of PCIe Gen1 connectivity (20 Gbit/s
line rate). The PCIe connection can go to a single host (PCIe x8) for maximum
bandwidth or two hosts (PCIe x4 each) for reliability. See Connecting the PCIe
Cable to the Memory Array on page 46 for more information.
Where dual PCIe x4 interfaces are required, a special firmware image is loaded
onto the Memory Array. Similarly, the Memory Array can be changed back to a
single PCIe x8 interface through a new firmware load.