Values obtained from the BladeSystem Power Sizer tool are based on worst case loads and are
intended for facility planning purposes only. Actual power consumption will vary with application
type, application utilization, and ambient temperature. The BladeSystem Power Sizer is available at
the following URL:
http://www.hp.com/go/bladesystem/powercalculator.
Pooled power
All the power in the enclosure is provided as a single pool that any server blade can access. This
provides maximum flexibility when configuring the power in the system so that customers can choose
what level of redundancy is required. Because this power design has no zones, it facilitates both
N+N and N+1 power modes, which future-proofs the enclosure for higher power requirements, if
needed. Therefore, looking forward at least five years, HP believes there is sufficient power capacity
to handle future power-hungry devices.
If needed, customers can constrain the maximum BTUs per enclosure and rack to enable the enclosure
to fit in an existing rack power envelope.
The c3000 Enclosure has three configurable redundancy modes: power supply redundant, AC
redundant, and no redundancy mode. The c3000 Onboard Administrator or the Insight Display can
be used to select the power redundancy mode. The HP BladeSystem Onboard Administrator User
Guide is available at this URL:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00705292/c00705292.pdf.
Typical power configuration connecting to UPS
If N+1 power supply redundancy is configured (Figure 8), then total power is defined as total power
available less one power supply (3+1 configuration = up to 3600W). Up to six power supplies can
be installed, with one power supply always reserved to provide redundancy. Typically, four power
supplies are used for an N+1 power supply connection to a high-line (200-240 VAC) UPS. A smaller
UPS may be adequate, but the power calculator should be used to determine the VAC required for
the UPS. In the event of a single power supply failure, the redundant power supply will take over the
load of the failed power supply.
Figure 8. Redundant HP BladeSystem c3000 power supplies connected to an HP R5500 UPS
Connecting to PDUs with AC redundancy to each rack
If N+N AC redundancy is configured, then total power available is the amount from the A or B side
containing fewer power supplies (3+3 configuration = up to 3600W). In this configuration, N power
supplies are used to provide power and N are used to provide redundancy, where N can equal 1, 2,
or 3. Any number of power supplies from 1 to N can fail without causing the enclosure to fail. When
correctly wired with redundant AC line feeds, this will also ensure that an AC line feed failure will not
cause the enclosure to power off.
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