2

I have a whole bunch of these (18+) currently running. The DL180 G6 has 2x NIC ports both of which we are using, and one 16x PCI-e slot on a riser, in our case, occupied by a RAID card (mostly P410s).

This means all ports/slots for expansion are occupied. Dead stop.

We want to, with these machines, add two more NIC ports, HP or Intel, matters not. The ports are for LAN traffic.

Anyone have any ideas? Solved this for themselves? I thought that there was a compatible left hand DL380 riser card that did x16 PCIe to dual x8 PCIe - but no luck. Also looked at UIO cards, but power is an issue.

I understand HP has no direct solution, I'm looking for clever.

Consideration appreciated.

DaBuddha
  • 31
  • 2
  • Could you elaborate a bit more on the initial problem you're trying to solve? Because, is having extra NICs the only way to solve your problem? If this is about accessing another network, did you consider using a managed switch and VLANs to seggregate the traffic? Or is bandwidth your issue? – gertvdijk Jan 29 '19 at 01:19
  • The two current NICs are used for dedicated WAN access, which is what folks are paying for. The two additional NIC would be for iscsi LAN access. We just added a SAN, and would like some to all of these machines to gain access to it. We've moved away from the HPs, legacy, but they are still a significant workhorse in our service. – DaBuddha Jan 29 '19 at 12:20

1 Answers1

2

You have the DL180 G6 with the 14-drive configuration, with the rear 2-drive option kit (488234-B21) installed.

This configuration is not compatible with the x8 riser kit (577668-B21) that gives you the extra PCIe slots, because it physically doesn't fit in the server with the rear 2-drive kit installed.

Your only option is to remove the rear 2-drive bay kit (and of course the two drives) and install the x8 riser kit.

Michael Hampton
  • 237,123
  • 42
  • 477
  • 940
  • Appreciate the answer. I am aware of that as an option, that the Left handed 577668-B21 will work if I pull the drive frame out. Question is, is that my only option? Has anyone found an unofficial hack to achieve the same end? – DaBuddha Jan 27 '19 at 19:53
  • 1
    It isn't a TARDIS that's bigger on the inside. At least, I don't think HPE ever sold anything like that... – Michael Hampton Jan 27 '19 at 20:50
  • Fitting the two cards to the left is not a problem (have done that), no transdimensional hoohah required, just need a riser that will accommodate pcie slots (essentially x16 -> dual 8x plus power). USB/PCIe expansion cable solution maybe? – DaBuddha Jan 27 '19 at 22:27
  • Hmm. HPE never had anything like that AFAIK, so anything you do come up with will likely be a third party hack. – Michael Hampton Jan 27 '19 at 22:29