HPE ProLiant BL660c Gen8 Networking Adapters
Genuine HPE FlexibleLOM and mezzanine network adapters for the HPE ProLiant BL660c Gen8, new and refurbished. Blade networking does not use PCIe cards: this blade carries two FlexibleLOM connectors and three PCIe 3.0 mezzanine slots, and every port they provide lands in the enclosure's interconnect module bays rather than on the blade itself.
BL660c Gen8 Networking Specifications
- FlexibleLOM connectors: two, taking one or two dual-port FlexibleLOMs which must be identical; one port on each is routed to interconnect module bay 1 and the other to bay 2
- FlexibleLOMs stocked: FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 554FLB (647586-B21), Flex-10 10Gb 2-port 530FLB (656590-B21), Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 560FLB (655639-B21) and Ethernet 1Gb 2-port 361FLB (652500-B21)
- Mezzanine slots: three PCIe 3.0 slots — slot 1 is x8 Type A, slots 2 and 3 are x16 Type B; every Ethernet mezzanine listed here is a Type A card and fits any of the three
- Mezzanine adapters stocked: FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 554M (647590-B21), Flex-10 10Gb 2-port 552M (674764-B21) and Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 366M (615729-B21)
- Interconnect placement: 10 Gigabit adapters connect to a 10Gb interconnect in bays 3 to 6 of a c7000 enclosure, or bays 2 to 4 of a c3000
- FlexFabric feature set: the 554 family carries Flex-10, FCoE, hardware-based accelerated iSCSI, iSCSI boot, a TCP/IP offload engine and autosensing 1Gb/10Gb ports
Two FlexibleLOM connectors, and a pair has to match. HPE supports one or two FlexibleLOMs on this blade, and in a two-FlexibleLOM configuration the two adapters must be identical. FlexibleLOM ports reach interconnect bays 1 and 2; a 10Gb mezzanine card reaches bays 3 to 6 in a c7000, and links at 1Gbps if the module it faces has 1Gb downlinks.
FlexibleLOM or Mezzanine Card?
| FlexibleLOM | Mezzanine card | |
|---|---|---|
| How many | One or two, in dedicated connectors | Up to three, in the PCIe 3.0 slots |
| Must they match | Yes, a pair must be identical | No |
| Interconnect bays | Bay 1 and bay 2 | Bays 3 to 6 in a c7000, bays 2 to 4 in a c3000 |
| Stocked here | 554FLB, 530FLB, 560FLB, 361FLB | 554M, 552M, 366M |
Two FlexibleLOM connectors are the quiet advantage of the full-height blade, and they come with a condition: the second has to be identical to the first. A mezzanine card is an addition rather than a replacement, and it earns its slot only when the enclosure has an interconnect module in the matching bay. The 1Gb 361FLB is the exception — HPE lists it as the part used to change a blade's 10Gb FlexibleLOMs, not as a way to add ports.
Choosing the Right BL660c Gen8 Network Adapter
- Match the interconnect, not just the blade. A 10 Gigabit adapter facing an interconnect module with 1Gb downlinks links at 1Gbps, and both of its ports run at the same speed.
- A second FlexibleLOM must be identical to the first. Two 10Gb parts from different families are still a mismatch.
- Budget the memory. HPE calls for a minimum of 2GB of server memory for each 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter installed.
- FCoE is an enclosure feature as much as an adapter one. The FlexFabric capability on a 554 part needs a Virtual Connect FlexFabric module behind it.
- Networking shares its slots with storage. The three mezzanine slots also host Fibre Channel, InfiniBand and the P721m storage controller, so plan all of them at once.
Complete Your BL660c Gen8 Build
Ten Gigabit adapters call for memory headroom and compete with storage for mezzanine slots — see BL660c Gen8 memory and storage controllers alongside this page. Also available: BL660c Gen8 drives and processors, or the full BL660c Gen8 parts listing, which carries the Fibre Channel and InfiniBand mezzanines too. The half-height blade of this generation takes one FlexibleLOM instead of two: BL460c Gen8 networking adapters. Every model is indexed under HPE parts by server model.
BL660c Gen8 Networking Adapters FAQ
Does the BL660c Gen8 have onboard network ports?
It has FlexibleLOM connectors rather than a fixed LAN-on-motherboard, and this blade has two. Each is dual port, with one port routed to interconnect module bay 1 and the other to bay 2.
Do both FlexibleLOMs have to be the same?
Yes. HPE states that in a two-FlexibleLOM configuration the two adapters must be identical, so a second one has to match the part already fitted.
How many mezzanine slots does a BL660c Gen8 have?
Three PCIe 3.0 slots: slot 1 is x8 and takes Type A cards, and slots 2 and 3 are x16 and take Type A or Type B cards.
Can I use a standard PCIe network card in a BL660c Gen8?
No. The blade has no standard PCIe card slots. Network expansion is through the two FlexibleLOM connectors and the three mezzanine slots, using c-Class adapters.
Do 10GbE adapters need extra memory?
HPE documents a minimum of 2GB of server memory for each 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter installed, so a blade carrying several assumes headroom in the memory configuration.
Why does my 10Gb adapter only link at 1Gbps?
Because of the interconnect module it faces. A 10 Gigabit adapter connected to an interconnect with 1Gb Ethernet downlinks links at 1Gbps only, and both ports on the adapter run at the same speed.
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