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Redpaper
IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2
Technical Introduction
Table of Contents
Summary of changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Comparing the x3850 M2 with the x3850. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Comparing the x3950 M2 with the x3950. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
IBM ScaleXpander Option Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Multinode configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Front and rear layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Current models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
IBM XA-64e fourth-generation chipset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Processors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
XceL4v Dynamic Server Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
System memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
SAS disk subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
PCI subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Broadcom dual Gigabit Ethernet controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Light path diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Baseboard Management service processor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Remote Supervisor Adapter II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Trusted Platform Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Active Energy Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The team that wrote this IBM Redpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2007, 2008. All rights reserved.
David Watts
Robert Moon
ibm.com/redbooks
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for IBM 71413SU - System x3950 M2
Summary of Contents for IBM 71413SU - System x3950 M2
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Page 1: Table Of Contents
IBM XA-64e fourth-generation chipset ........ -
Page 2: Summary Of Changes
Corrected the FRU for the replacement battery backup unit for the ServeRAID MR10k controller, page 29 Arrays created by the LSI 1078 Integrated RAID controller can be migrated for use with the ServeRAID MR10k, page 29 IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 3: Overview
Delivering an industry-leading, 64-bit framework for high-performance scalable computing, the IBM System x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 are built on the power of the latest eX4 Architecture, which is the fourth generation of the IBM Enterprise X-Architecture® technology. eX4 Architecture drives the x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 to deliver the performance, availability, expandability, and manageability required for the next generation of industry-standard servers. -
Page 4: Comparing The X3850 M2 With The X3850
Table 1 on page 5 shows the major differences between the x3850 and the x3850 M2. 4-way means 4 processor sockets. In this document, we use way to indicate a processor socket regardless of whether it is a dual-core processor or a quad-core processor. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 5: Comparing The X3950 M2 With The X3950
Table 2 shows the major differences between the x3950 and the x3950 M2. Table 2 Major differences between x3950 and x3950 M2 Feature x3950 server x3950 M2 server Enterprise X-Architecture Third-generation XA-64e chipset Fourth generation XA-64e chipset IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 6: Ibm Scalexpander Option Kit
ScaleXpander Option Kit, part number 44E4249. After this kit is installed the x3850 M2 functionally becomes an x3950 M2, and is therefore able to form part of a multi-way configuration. The IBM XpandOnDemand Scalability Kit contains the following items: Scalability cable 3.08m IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 7: Multinode Configurations
M2 bezel (replaces the existing bezel, and shows that the x3850 M2 has the kit installed and is now functionally equal to an x3950 M2) Important: The IBM ScaleXpander Option Kit is only required for an x3850 M2 that you want to convert to an x3950 M2 and enable it to scale. - Page 8 Firmware All system firmware, including the system BIOS, diagnostics, BMC firmware, and RSA II firmware, must be at the same level across all systems. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 9 – The RSA II firmware can be updated using the RSA II Web interface or IBM Director. – The server diagnostics and BMC firmware can be updated with an RSA II remote console session using the remote diskette function.
- Page 10 One cable is part of the ScaleXpander Option Kit, part number 44E4249, as described in “IBM ScaleXpander Option Kit” on page 6, for use with x3850 M2 servers. One cable is included with x3950 M2 servers (not with x3850 M2).
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Page 11: Front And Rear Layouts
1 Power supply 2 System serial Video connector SMP Expansion Port 1 SMP Expansion Port 2 SMP Expansion Port 3 Figure 6 Rear panel of the x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 12: Current Models
To maintain this high availability, the solution must continue to be comprised of components that are both IBM IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... - Page 13 Server Proven and Microsoft Cluster Certified. This offering leverages the industry solution integration skills of IBM and Microsoft and is the ideal solution for a customer that wants a best practices type of solution environment and does not have the IT staffing to perform the work.
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Page 14: Ibm Xa-64E Fourth-Generation Chipset
8 MB 8x 1 GB IBM XA-64e fourth-generation chipset The x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 uses the fourth generation of the IBM XA-64e chipset. The architecture consists of the following components: One to four Xeon dual-core or quad-core processors Hurricane 4 Memory and I/O Controller (MIOC) - Page 15 SAS devices, including the optional ServeRAID-MR10k. A separate South bridge supplies all the other onboard PCI devices, such as the USB ports, onboard Ethernet and the standard RSA II. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
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Page 16: Processors
Note: Power off the server before raising the media hood. Figure 8 The x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 with the media hood partly open The processors and the order of installation are shown in Figure 9 on page 17. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... - Page 17 2 x 1.6 GHz Xeon E7310 Dual core 80 W 44W2784 7141-3SU 2 x 2.40 GHz Xeon E7330 Quad core 80 W 44E4242 7141-4SU 2 x 2.93 GHz Xeon X7350 Quad core 130 W 44E4243 IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 18 It serves those to the processor at rated speed. This additional level of cache saves decode time on cache hits. The Tigerton processors do not have L3 cache. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 19 The Tigerton Xeon MP uses two 266 MHz clocks, out of phase with each other by 90°, and using both edges of each clock to transmit data. This is shown in Figure 11. 266 MHz clock A 266 MHz clock B Figure 11 Quad-pumped front-side bus IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 20 40 bits, equating to one terabyte (TB) of addressable memory. The amount of physical memory will be determined by how many DIMM slots the server has and the maximum DIMM capacity supported and available at the time. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
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Page 21: Xcel4V Dynamic Server Cache
XceL4v Dynamic Server Cache The XceL4v Dynamic Server Cache is a technology developed as part of the IBM XA-64e fourth-generation chipset. It is used in two ways: As a single 4-way server, the XceL4v and its embedded DRAM (eDRAM) is used as a snoop filter to reduce traffic on the front-side bus. - Page 22 Tip: You do not need to lift the media hood to add or replace memory. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 23 DIMMs to the next memory card. – Performance-optimized configuration As described in “IBM XA-64e fourth-generation chipset” on page 14, there are eight independent memory ports. Therefore, to optimize performance, you need to install four memory cards and then spread the DIMMs, still installed in matched pairs, across all four memory cards before filling each card with two more DIMMs.
- Page 24 Because x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 are now capable of supporting large amounts of memory, IBM has added the Initialization Scrub Control setting to the BIOS, to let customers choose when this scrubbing is done and therefore potentially speed up the boot process.
- Page 25 Figure 13 on page 26 shows the location of the memory cards (which are numbered 1 to 4, from left to right) and the DIMM sockets and LEDs on the memory cards. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 26 Scrub only after AC Performs scrub only after AC has been removed or applied Cycle Disabled Relies on standard memory test and run time scrub engine to ensure memory is “good” IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 27 M2 and x3950 M2 User’s Guide. Hot-add memory The hot-add memory feature enables you to add DIMMs without turning off the server. This section presents the requirements for enabling the hot-add memory feature on the server. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 28 Table 11 Memory configuration modes in BIOS Mode Memory Memory- Hot-swap Hot-add ProteXion mirroring memory memory HPMA (high performance memory array) Disabled Disabled Disabled FAMM (full array memory mirroring) Disabled HAM (hot-add memory) Disabled Disabled IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
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Page 29: Sas Disk Subsystem
To enable additional RAID features and a 256 MB battery-backed cache, the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS RAID controller (part number 43W4280) is also available and is installed in a dedicated slot, as shown in Figure 14 on page 30 IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... - Page 30 DIMM. The battery is designed to up to 72 hours cache protection, depending on operating environment. IBM recommends that the battery be replaced annually. The FRU part number for the replacement battery is 43W4283. Observe the following when using RAID or installing the ServeRAID MR10k: No rewiring of the existing internal cabling is required when the ServeRAID-MR10k is installed in an x3850 M2 or x3950 M2.
- Page 31 Up to seven can be installed in the x3850 M2 and x3950 M2. More than three, however, will require custom testing using the IBM SPORE process. Refer to ServerProven® at the following Web site for the latest list of supported adapters and hot-swap SAS drives: http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/xseries/controllers/matr...
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Page 32: Pci Subsystem
Remote Supervisor Adapter II adapter in a dedicated socket on the I/O board. This adapter also provides the ATI ES1000 16MB video controller. EIDE interface for the DVD-ROM drive. Serial port. Trusted Platform Module (TPM). IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... - Page 33 4; bridge 2 is slots 5, 6, and 7) with a maximum of four per system. Examples of adapter cards that have bandwidth maximums of 8 Gbps or more include 10 Gbps Ethernet card and dual-port 4 Gbps Fibre Channel cards. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
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Page 34: Broadcom Dual Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Each of the three groups of two fans is redundant. In the event of a fan failure, the other fans will speed up to continue to provide adequate cooling until the fan can be IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 35: Light Path Diagnostics
Light path diagnostics can monitor and report on the health of microprocessors, main memory, hard disk drives, PCI adapters, fans, power supplies, VRMs, and the internal system temperature. Figure 17 on page 36 shows the light path diagnostic panel. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 36: Baseboard Management Service Processor
The BMC monitors the system power state and logs transitions into the system event log. System initialization The BMC has I2C access to certain system components that might require initialization before power-up. System software state tracking IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 37: Remote Supervisor Adapter Ii
Automatic notification and alerts The RSA II automatically sends different types of alerts and notifications to another server like IBM Director, SNMP destination, or as e-mail directly to a user by using SMTP. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction... -
Page 38: Trusted Platform Module
IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager™ (formerly known as IBM PowerExecutive™) is a combination of hardware and software that enables direct power monitoring through IBM Director. By utilizing an operating system that supports this feature, customers will be able to monitor the power consumption of the x3850 M2 and x3950 M2, and then modify or cap the consumption if so required. -
Page 39: The Team That Wrote This Ibm Redpaper
This paper was produced by a team of specialists from around the world working at the International Technical Support Organization, Raleigh Center. David Watts is a Consulting IT Specialist at the IBM ITSO Center in Raleigh. He manages residencies and produces IBM Redbooks® publications on hardware and software topics related to IBM System x and BladeCenter®... - Page 40 Colin Mckerrell Vinod Menon Jim Rix Bill Schwartz Ketan Shah Karen Taylor Steve Zaharias IBM Marketing Craig Alexander Jay Bretzmann Mark Chapman Kyle Hampton Beth McElroy Brian Sanders Novell Adam Spiers IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...
- Page 41 IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead.
- Page 42 Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States, other countries, or both. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction...