Technical white paper

Networking flexibility in
HP ProLiant Gen8 servers with
FlexibleLOM technology
2nd edition

Table of contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................2
FlexibleLOM for rack mount servers ...................................................................................................................................3
FlexibleLOM for blade servers .............................................................................................................................................4
Benefits of FlexibleLOM technology ...................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................................................................5
Resources, contacts, or additional links .............................................................................................................................5

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Technical white paper | HP FlexibleLOM technology

Introduction
LAN-on-motherboard (LOM) architecture refers to servers with a network interface card (NIC) embedded on the system
board. LOM architecture can offer optimum cost-to-performance, but only if the NIC embedded on the system board always
meets your network requirements. This is not always the case in the dynamically changing technology world. The
embedded NIC can restrain your network from providing more functions and bandwidth needed for faster and more efficient
network performance. In addition, the “one size fits all” LOM strategy does not offer flexibility. Even if the LOM architecture
meets current needs, your network requirements could change in the future, forcing you to abandon system board
components (that will continue to draw power) and/or install a different NIC in one of the server slots.
As a solution to this dilemma, HP has recently introduced FlexibleLOM technology. FlexibleLOM technology is a variation of
LOM architecture that allows you to select HP ProLiant Gen8 servers with the NIC that best meets your needs without having
to embed the NIC on the system board (Figure 1A). FlexibleLOM technology provides a system board connector that accepts
a FlexibleLOM adapter of your choosing that integrates seamlessly with the server’s architecture and form factor
(Figure 1B).

Figure 1. This illustration compares typical LOM architecture to FlexibleLOM technology in rack mount servers.

A: System board B: System board

with typical LOM with FlexibleLOM technology

Rear panel Rear panel

of chassis of chassis

Embedded
4-Port FlexibleLOM
1 Gb NIC
adapter
area

FlexibleLOM
adapter

FlexibleLOM technology uses a custom implementation of the PCIe 3.0 x8 interface that maintains the close-coupled nature
of an embedded NIC and preserves the HP ProActive Insight architecture of HP ProLiant Gen8 servers. FlexibleLOM
technology does not require additional CPU resources over standard LOM architecture and does not occupy a regular PCI
slot.
FlexibleLOM adapters are available for select HP ProLiant Gen8 rack mount and blade servers.

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Technical white paper | HP FlexibleLOM technology

FlexibleLOM for rack mount servers

The FlexibleLOM Rack (FLR) adapter for rack mount servers connects to the system board and secures to the chassis floor
with a captive thumbscrew (Figure 2). As with traditional LOM implementations, the FLR adapter’s network connectors are
accessible through the rear panel of the server chassis.
Figure 2. This illustration compares typical LOM architecture to FlexibleLOM technology in rack mount servers.

Server rear panel

System board

FLR
adapter

Captive
thumbscrew

The FLR adapter maintains the full functionality of typical LOM architecture including Wake-on-LAN and thermal
management. You can view the status of an FLR adapter on the System Insight Display (Figure 3).
Figure 3. This illustration the FLR adapter’s NIC indicators on the server’s front panel System Insight Display..

Table 1 lists FLR adapters available for HP ProLiant Gen8 rack mount servers.

Table 1.. FLR adapters for HP ProLiant Gen8 rack mount servers.

Adapter name Fabric connectivity Features

HP Ethernet 1 Gb 4-Port 331FLR 1 Gb Ethernet Large send/receive offloading, VLAN tagging,

Adapter (standard configuration) virtualization support

HP Ethernet 1 Gb 4-port 366FLR 1 Gb Ethernet Above features plus TCP checksum and segmentation,
Adapter MSI-X, Wake-On-LAN, Jumbo frames, IEEE 1588

HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port 530FLR- 10 Gb Ethernet VLAN tagging, NIC teaming, PXE boot, virtualization
SFP+ Adapter support

HP FlexFabric 10 Gb 2-Port 10 Gb Ethernet, iSCSI, FCoE, Converged enhanced Ethernet standards

554FLR-SFP+ Adapter FlexFabric

HP InfiniBand QDR/Ethernet 10Gb InfiniBand (IB) or Ethernet Dual functionality: IB bandwidth up to 56 Gb/s,
2P 544FLR QSFP Adapter Ethernet bandwidth up to 10 Gb/s

HP InfiniBand FDR/Ethernet InfiniBand (IB) or Ethernet Dual functionality: IB bandwidth up to 56 Gb/s,

10Gb/40Gb 2P 544FLR-QSFP Ethernet bandwidth up to 40 Gb/s
Adapter

HP Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 560FLR- 10 Gb Ethernet Jumbo frames, PXE boot, checksum segmentation
SFP+ Adapter offload, time stamping (IEEE 1588), virtualization
support

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Technical white paper | HP FlexibleLOM technology

FlexibleLOM for blade servers

FlexibleLOM technology for HP ProLiant Gen8 blade servers provides the same NIC flexibility that HP ProLiant Gen8 rack
mount servers offer. The FlexibleLOM Blade (designated “FLB” in the name) adapter installs as a daughter card on the server
blade board (Figure 4).
Figure 4. This illustration shows the installation of an FLB adapter for an HP BL460c Gen8 server blade with the side cover removed.

Server blade board

FLB
adapter

The midplane and interconnect bay of the c-Class system architecture provides network interconnectivity. The c-Class
enclosure’s System Insight Display provides the FLB adapter’s network status (Figure 5).
Figure 5. This illustration shows FlexibleLOM information from the enclosure’s Insight Display for a selected blade.

Table 2 lists FLB adapters available for HP ProLiant Gen8 c-Class server blades.

Table 2.. FLB adapters for HP ProLiant Gen8 c-Class server blades.

Adapter name Fabric connectivity Features

HP Ethernet 1 Gb 2-Port 361FLB 1 Gb Ethernet Time stamping/synchronization, DMA coalescing, RSS,

Adapter PXE boot, large send offload, Jumbo frames

HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 530FLB 10 Gb Ethernet, Virtual TCP offload engine, MSI/MSI-X, virtualization features
Adapter Connect Flex-10

HP Flex-10 10 Gb 2-Port 554FLB 10 Gb Ethernet, iSCSI, FCoE Multi-protocol offloads, industry-leading performance-
Adapter per-watt power savings

HP Ethernet 10 Gb 2-Port 560FLB 10 Gb Ethernet, iSCSI HP teaming, iLO, LSO and checksum offload, time
Adapter stamping (IEEE 1588), virtualization features

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Technical white paper | HP FlexibleLOM technology

Benefits of FlexibleLOM technology

FlexibleLOM technology offers choices and flexibility in meeting your networking needs both now and in the future. You can
choose the desired bandwidth speed and fabric type for your current network requirements, and re-configure later if future
needs dictate.
FlexibleLOM technology also allows consistency in the data center. By using the same network interface across multiple
platforms (ProLiant DL, SL, and BL), you may only need to build, deploy and manage a single image—simplifying IT
administration.

Conclusion
FlexibleLOM technology offers choices and flexibility in meeting your networking needs both now and in the future. You can
choose the desired bandwidth speed and fabric type for your network requirements. You can have your HP ProLiant Gen8
server pre-configured with a FlexibleLOM adapter or, if you prefer, no adapter at all. The pre-configuration of your server
can be done during the configure-to-order (CTO) or build-to-order (BTO) process, or through the HP iQuote channel sales
service. The FlexibleLOM configuration is field upgradeable; thus, you can be sure that your investment is protected should
your technologies or network requirements change in the future.

Resources, contacts, or additional links

To read more about products and subjects mentioned in this paper go to the websites listed below:
HP ProLiant Networking
(Flexible Network Adapters)
hp.com/go/proliantnics
HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers
hp.com/us/en/whatsnew/proliantgen8/architecture.aspx
HP server technology papers
hp.com/servers/technology

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© Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for
HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

4AA4-6708ENW, May 2013