Building on the HP BladeSystem platform is the HP Virtual Connect architecture. Virtual Connect is a new interconnect technology that virtualizes the connections between the server and the network and storage infrastructure, helping to reduce the costs of managing a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 deployment. This white paper provides a brief overview of the HP Virtual Connect architecture and discussed how Virtual Connect can help customers simplify datacenter management and operations. Several of the benefits customers can realize with Virtual Connect include the ability to:

• Simplify networks - reduce cables without adding switches
• Simplify server connections - "Server-edge virtualization" separate local area network (LAN) and storage area network (SAN) management from server enclosures
• Simplify operations - add, move, or replace servers within minutes without reconfiguring the LAN/SAN