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# About interconnects

Interconnects enable communication between the server hardware in the enclosure and the data center networks.

## Interconnect link types

Interconnects enable communication between the server hardware in the enclosure and the data center networks. An interconnect has several types of links:

Uplinks | Uplinks are physical ports that connect the interconnect to the data center networks.
Downlinks | Downlinks connect the interconnect to the server hardware through the enclosure midplane.
Stacking links | Stacking links, which can be internal or external, connect interconnects together to provide redundant paths for Ethernet traffic from servers to the data center networks. Stacking links are based on the configuration of the associated logical interconnect group. FCoE traffic is not supported over stacking links.

## About managed and monitored interconnects

Only interconnects that are a member of a logical interconnect group are put in a `Managed` state when the enclosure that contains them is added to the appliance. Interconnects are added automatically and put in a `Monitored` state when the enclosure is added for monitoring.

Managed | HPE OneView manages the interconnects—enabling you to apply configurations, collect statistics, and alert users to specific conditions.
Monitored | HPE OneView monitors hardware for inventory and hardware status only. Monitored interconnects are not associated with firmware baselines or logical interconnects.

### Managed interconnects

When an interconnect is managed by HPE OneView, you can clear port counters, enable or disable uplink or downlink ports, reapply the configuration, and view data transfer statistics. A managed interconnect is any interconnect that is not in one of the following states:

- Absent

- Inventory

- Monitored

- Unmanaged

- Unsupported

Each managed interconnect is a member of a logical interconnect. Each logical interconnect is associated with a logical interconnect group, which is associated with an enclosure group. For more information about logical interconnects, see Logical Interconnects.

Interconnect firmware must be at the minimum supported level for the appliance to manage it. See the appropriate support or compatibility matrix on the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Information Library for the minimum supported interconnect firmware. See About firmware associated with a logical interconnect for information on updating interconnect firmware.

### Monitored interconnects

Monitored interconnects are part of a c7000 enclosure that has been added for monitoring purposes only.

For enclosures with Cisco Fabric Extender for HPE BladeSystem interconnects, these interconnects are automatically added in a `Monitored` state. You can enable or disable uplink or downlink ports and view data transfer statistics.

## About unmanaged and unsupported interconnects

#### Unmanaged interconnects

If you assign an enclosure group (which includes a logical interconnect group) to an enclosure in which the interconnects installed in the enclosure do not match the logical interconnect group, each interconnect reports its state as `unmanaged`. The physical interconnect configuration in the enclosure must match the logical interconnect group before an interconnect can be managed.

#### Unsupported interconnects

Unsupported hardware is hardware that the appliance cannot manage.

For c7000, if the appliance detects an interconnect that it does not expect (not defined in the logical interconnect group) or cannot manage, the appliance places it into an `inventory` state and creates a resource for it, but does not bring it under management. If the location corresponds to the definition in the logical interconnect group, it assigns the interconnect a `critical` health status and displays an alert with a resolution of replacing the interconnect with a model it can manage. The appliance displays the model name of the unsupported interconnect that it obtains from the OA (Onboard Administrator).

| NOTE: If you try to create a server profile that has a connection to an unsupported interconnect, the operation will fail.

## FIP snooping

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is used to transport Fibre Channel (FC) storage data over a dedicated Ethernet cable. FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) handles the FC discovery and login process for FCoE networks. FIP uses a Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF), which is an Ethernet switch capable of handling FCoE. An FCF is like a Fibre Channel switch that has Ethernet ports.

FIP provides an Ethernet MAC address used by FCoE to traverse the Ethernet network. FIP obtains the Fibre Channel ID (FC ID) from the Ethernet network, which is required on the Fibre Channel network.

FIP snooping provides statistical data that can be used to monitor, verify, or troubleshoot connectivity.

For a list of interconnects where FIP snooping is supported, see the appropriate support or compatibility matrix on the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Information Library.

#### More information

Additional uplink port details
Additional downlink port details

## Connectivity and synchronization with the appliance

The appliance analyzes the health status of interconnects and issues alerts when there is a change in status of an interconnect or port. The appliance maintains the configuration that you specify on the interconnects that it manages.

The appliance also tracks the connectivity status of interconnects. If the appliance loses connectivity with an interconnect, an alert is displayed until connectivity is restored. The appliance attempts to resolve connectivity issues and clear the alert. If it cannot, you have to resolve the issues and manually refresh the interconnect to synchronize it with the appliance.

You can manually refresh the connection between the appliance and an interconnect from the Interconnects screen. See Reapply interconnect configuration to learn more.

See also

- Interconnects

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