ibm bladecenter fundamentals introduction

5.3

IBM BladeCenter FundamentalsIntroduction

2

Unit objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• List the major elements common to the IBM BladeCenter

• Describe the key aspects of compatibility between BladeCenter models

• Identify the components providing redundancy in the BladeCenter chassis

• Match the power components necessary to support varying BladeCenter resource configurations

• List the power input requirements for the BladeCenter models

• Describe the common cooling components used in the BladeCenter chassis

• Describe the supported disk configurations for the BladeCenter S

3

Dynamic infrastructure: Key points

• Enables visibility, control, and automation across all business and IT assets

• Transforms assets into higher value services

• Highly optimized to achieve more with less

• Addresses the information challenges

• Leverages flexible sourcing like clouds

4

Dynamic infrastructure: IBM BladeCenter

• Reduce cost– x86 industry-leading performance, virtualization, energy efficiency,

and scalability

• Manage risk– Resilient architectures and management tools for security and high

availability

• Improve service– Performance to drive new demanding application workloads

5

BladeCenter chassis components

• BladeCenter chassis

• BladeCenter chassis midplane

• Power

• Cooling

• Unit summary

6

IBM BladeCenter family

Common blades, common switches, common management

IBM BladeCenter E

Highest density, super power efficient

IBM BladeCenter H

Ultra high performance, and I/O

flexibility

BladeCenter chassis by model and type

IBM BladeCenter HT

Highly rugged, Telco, AC/DC, NEBS, air

filtration

IBM BladeCenter T

Highly rugged, Telco, AC/DC, NEBS, air

filtration

7U design Up to 14 blade bays Up to 4 switch fabrics Low cost Low power Support 10 GB

Uplinks Support 8 Gb FC

9U design Up to 14 blade bays Up to 10 GB midplane I/O flexibility up to 8

switch bays Support 3 0mm blades

w/ up to 8 ports Support 10 GB

Ethernet Support 8 Gb FC Support 4x InfiniBand

8U design Up to 8 blade bays Up to 4 switch fabrics AC or DC models NEBS compliant Rugged Support 10 GB uplinks Support 8 Gb FC Telco, military, dirty

floor

12U design Up to 12 blade bays AC or DC models I/O flexibility up to 8

switch bays NEBS compliant Rugged Up to 10 GB midplane Support 10 GB Ethernet Support 8 Gb FC Support 4x InfiniBand Telco, military, dirty floor

IBM BladeCenter S

Extending the benefits of BladeCenter outside

the datacenter

7U design Up to 6 blade bays Integrated storage Up to 3 switch fabrics Lowest cost Lowest power (100 -

240v) 950w/1450 AC auto-

sensing Support 10 GB Uplinks Support 4 GB FC

7

Chassis: IBM BladeCenter E

• 7U rack based mechanical• One Midplane board

– Interface for major system components– Divided into top and bottom halves– Each half of the midplane is part of a redundant pair

• Front of chassis– 14 hot-swap blade server bays – One front control panel/media tray

• LED panel• Media tray

– One USB port – One DVD-RW

• Rear of chassis– Four switch module bays– Two management module bays– Four hot-swap power supply module bays– Two hot swap blowers

8

IBM BladeCenter E: Front view

CD-ROM drive Diskette drive

Blade server

Location

Over-Temp Information System error

USB portPower DVD-RW drive

Recess for chassis service label

Front panel LEDs and USB

port

7U

Blade server filler

9

IBM Calibrated Vectored CoolingHot-Swap Redundant Blowers with PFA

Hot-Swap Management

Module

(Optional) Hot-Swap

Redundant Management

Module

Power Module Bay 2 with

PFA

Power Module Bay 4 with PFA

Switch Module Bay 3

Switch Module Bay 4

Switch Module Bay 2

LEDPanel



Switch Module Bay 1

IBM BladeCenter E: Rear view

10

IBM BladeCenter E: Rear view (new chassis)

IBM BladeCenter E with 2320W Power Supply Modules

11

Chassis: IBM BladeCenter T

• 8U and 28 inches deep• Supports up to eight blade servers

– Up to four double slot blade servers• Hot swappable media tray

– 24X DVD/CD drive– Telco alarm panel– Two USB front inputs

• Supports up to two management modules• Four front load balancing and failover

1300W AC or DC power supplies– Each power supply contains two fans and

a LED panel• Four rear I/O modules• Four rear blower modules• KVM module• LAN module

12

IBM BladeCenter T: Front view

Power Module 2

Power Module 4

Power Module 3

Power Module 1

Management Module 1 Management Module bay 2

Front panel Media tray ESD connector

From top to bottom Blade servers 1-8

13

IBM BladeCenter T: Rear view

Blower Module 2

Blower Module 4

Blower Module 1

Blower Module 3

I/O Module 2 I/O Module 1

I/O Module 4 I/O Module 3

AC-power connectors (8730) or DC-power connectors (8720)

ESD connector

KVM Module LAN Module

14

Chassis: IBM BladeCenter H

• 9U and 28 inches deep• Supports up to 14 30 mm blades • Customer serviceable, hot swappable

media tray • 9.5 mm combo drive (CD/DVD)

– Two USB front inputs– Full light path diagnostics panel

• Rack mounted on rails • Four front load 2900W power supplies

– Each power supply includes a replaceable fan pack with three fans

15

Hot-Swap Media Tray with DVD, 2 USB,

and LightPath Diagnostics Panel

Two bays for optional Hot-Swap Redundant

2900 Watt Power Supplies with PFA

and three replaceable fans each

Two bays for Hot-Swap Redundant

2900 Watt Power Supply with PFA and

three replaceable fans each

Support for up to 14 Blades

9U

IBM BladeCenter H: Front view

16

Redundant Power Input Redundant Power InputHigh Speed Switch Module Bays

Switch Module Bay 1 (dedicated Ethernet)

High Speed Switch Module Bays

Dedicated Bridge Module Slot

IBM Calibrated Vectored CoolingHot-Swap Redundant Blowers with PFA

Hot-Swap Advanced

Management Module (AMM)

Switch Module Bay 4 (or Bridge Slot)

Switch Module Bay 3 (or Bridge Slot)

(Optional) Hot-Swap Redundant

Advanced Management

Module (AMM)

Switch Module Bay 2 (dedicated Ethernet)

Dedicated Bridge Module Slot

LightPath Diagnostics Panel

Aggregated Serial Connector

IBM BladeCenter H: Rear view

17

Chassis: IBM BladeCenter HT

• 12U and 27.8 inches deep• Supports up to 12 blade servers

– Up to six double slot blade servers• Support up to two media trays

– Full Light Path Diagnostic panel– Two USB front inputs

• Support up to four front 3160W AC or DC power supplies with load balancing and failover – Each power supply contains a replaceable fan

pack with three fans • Four I/O module bays• Four high-speed I/O module bays • Four rear blower modules• Supports up to two multiplexer expansion

module

18

IBM BladeCenter HT: Front view

Power Module 2 Power Module bay 4

Power Module bay 3 Power Module 1

Management Module 1

Management Module 2

Media tray bay 1

Media tray bay 2

ESD connector

I/O Module bay 2

I/O Module bay 1

I/O Module bay 4

I/O Module bay 3

High-speed I/O Module bay 7




From left to right Blade servers 1-12

19

IBM BladeCenter HT: Rear view

Power connector 3

Fan Module 3

Power connector 2 Power connector 4

Power connector 1

Fan Module 4

Fan Module 1

Fan Module 2

Multiplexer expansion module 2

Multiplexer expansion module 1

Network-clock bay 1

Serial connector

Alarm panel module

Alarm panel interface connector

Network-clock bay 2

20

Chassis: IBM BladeCenter S

• Supports up to six 30 mm blades • Hot swappable media tray

– Light Path Diagnostics panel – Combo drive (CD/DVD)– Two optional battery backup units – Two USB 2.0 ports

• Two 950-watt/1450 auto-sensing power supplies– Express model comes with four 950-

watt/1450 power supplies

• Four hot-swap fan packs • Two optional integrated Disk Storage

Modules (DSM)– Up to twelve 3.5-inch HS HDDs per

shuttle

• One Advanced Management Module

21

Ideal for business-in-a-box configurations, legacy & future servers supported

Ideal for tiered workloads; SAS and SATA disks can be mixed in BladeCenter S using RAID 0, 1, and 10

Easy access to shared USB portsand UltraBay

Battery Backup Units for use with IBM BladeCenter SAS Connectivity Module

7U

IBM BladeCenter S: Front view

22

IBM BladeCenter S: Rear view

Power Supplies 3 and 4 are optional, Auto-sensing b/w950W 100/110V or 1450W 220/240v

Four hot-swap fan pack standard

Power Supplies 3 and 4 are included in Express, Auto-sensing b/w 950W 100/110V or 1450W 220/240v

Top and bottom right: I/O modules Bottom left: For future use

BladeCenter S Express Model

AMM standard

Serial module option

23

IBM BladeCenter chassis: ComparisonBladeCenter E(M/T 8677)

BladeCenter T(M/T 8720 -DC)(M/T 8730 -AC)

BladeCenter H(M/T 8852)

BladeCenter HT(M/T 8740 -DC)(M/T 8750 -AC)

BladeCenter S(M/T 8886)

Chassis height 7U / 12.0” (305mm) 8U / 13.75” (349mm)9U / 15.75” (400mm)

12U / 21.0” (/528mm)

7U / 12.0” (306.3mm)

Chassis depth 28 “ (711mm) 20.0” (508mm) 28.0” (711mm) 27.8” (706.0 mm) 28.9” (733.4mm)

Max number of blade servers

14 8 14 12 6

Max number of I/O Modules (Switch, and bridge)

4 410 (4 x high speed, 4 x standard, 2 x bridge)

8 (4 x high speed, 4 x standard or 2 x bridge)

3

Power supply size (standard)

2000 Watts AC(2320 Watts optional)

1300W DC, -38V to -75V (-48V nominal);1300W AC

2900 Watts AC2535W DC (60A)3160W DC (75A)2800 Watts AC

950W/1450W AC auto-sensing

Number of Power Supplies (standard/ maximum)

2/ 4 2/ 4 2/ 4 2/ 4 2/ 4

Number of Blowers (standard/ maximum) 2/ 2 4/ 4 2/ 2 4/ 4 4/ 4

Diskette Drives (standard)

None (early models contain 1.44 MB drive)

None None None None

DVD/CD drives standard

1x DVD-ROM (in Media Tray)



None 1x DVD-ROM (in Media Tray)

24




• Power

• Cooling

• Unit summary

25

BladeCenter: Interior view

Lower midplane half

Upper midplane half

Upper

Processor blade

connectors

Lower

BladeCenter H example

26

Media tray connector4X fabrics

Power module

connector

Blade power connector

Power module

connector

Power module

connector

Power module

connector

1X fabric and controlsBlade power

connector

1X fabric and controls

Rear LED and serial connector

Media tray alignment pin

BladeCenter H example

BladeCenter: Midplane

27




• Power

• Cooling

• Unit summary

BC-E Power Module

BC-H Power Module

28

Right Redundant Pair

Standard with chassis Operate as redundant pair Provides redundant power for

chassis modules and blades 1-6 Load balancing power supplies

Left Redundant Pair

Optional Operate as redundant pair Provides redundant power for

blades 7-14 Load balancing power supplies

Power supply:

• 2000 W or 2320 W AC/DC hot-swap redundant power modules– Maximum of four power

modules supported– AC and DC LEDS on each

power module

• 200-240 V AC (range: 180-265 V AC)– Load balancing across all

power supplies– Built-in overload and surge

protection– Cooling is provided by the host

system

Power Supplies 1 and 2

Optional Power Supplies3 and 4

IBM BladeCenter E: Power components

29

IBM BladeCenter E: Specifics and considerations

• Two power supplies in bays 1 and 2 standard• Two 9ft IEC 320-C13 to C14 or two IEC 320-C19 to C20 cables for intra-rack power distribution)• Max: four hot-swap power supplies • Rear access• 2000 or 2320 watts at 220v• Both redundant (N+N redundancy) / two std modules supply power to all modules and blade bays 1 through 6 • Power for bays 7 through 14 requires two additional power modules in bays 3 and 4 (redundant to each other)• Voltage-sensing• Auto-restart• No fans power in module(s)

IBM BladeCenter E Power Supply C19 to C20 Power Cord

30

BladeCenter H: Power components

PowerConnector 2

PowerConnector 1

BladeCenter H power supplies• Each vertical pair is N+N

redundant

31

• Power module bays– Maximum of four per chassis– Two ship standard with the chassis

BladeCenter H: Power modules

32

IBM BladeCenter T: Power components• Two power supplies in bays 1 and 2 standard• Max: Four hot-swap power supplies• Front access • Two IEC320 for the M/T 8720 (DC power)

– Input voltage range -48V - 60V (Min/Max) at 50/60Hz – IBM BladeCenter T 8720 should be attached to the

appropriate DC wiring• Two IEC320 for the M/T for the 8730 (AC power)

– Input voltage range 180VAC - 264VAC (Min/Max) at 50/60Hz – IBM BladeCenter T 8730 should be attached to high-voltage

PDUs• C14 male appliance connector• 1300 watts • Two standard modules (in slots 1 and 2) supply

power to switch bays 1 and 2, both management modules, blade bays 1 - 4 and media tray

• Two additional power modules provide full system redundant power and power to switch bays 3 and 4, and blade bays 5 - 8 All: Load balancing / voltage-sensing / auto-restart

IBM BladeCenter T AC power supply

IBM BladeCenter T DC power supply

33

IBM BladeCenter HT: Power components• Two standard power supplies ships with the BladeCenter• Max: four hot-swap power supplies• Front access • IBM BladeCenter HT 8740 (DC Power Input voltage range -48VDC to -60VDC

(Min/Max)• IBM BladeCenter HT 8750 (AC Power input voltage range -48VDC to -60VDC

(Min/Max) at 50/60Hz • Redundant within pair (N+N redundancy) / power modules 1 and 2 support blade

bays 1- 6, all legacy switch and bridge modules, upper and lower media trays, both advanced management modules, multiplexer expansion modules and alarm panel module

• Power modules 3 and 4 support blade bays 7-12 and all high speed switch modules • Auto-restart • Three fans per power module

IBM BladeCenter HT Power Supply

34

IBM BladeCenter S: Power components

• Two standard power supplies ships with the BladeCenter

• Maximum four hot-swap• Rear access• 1450 watts at 220V• 950 watts at 110V • Redundant within pair (N+N

redundancy)• Voltage-sensing• Auto-restart• Two fans per power module • Modules 1 and 2 standard • Modules 3 and 4 required with 2nd

Storage module installed

35

BladeCenter chassis components: Cooling



• Power

• Cooling

• Unit summary

36

BladeCenter E: Cooling subsystem

• Two blowers– Capable of 325 cubic feet per minute

(CFM) each– 150 CFM each in standard operation

• Hot swap, redundant

• Air flow is from the front to rear

• Fan speed control

• Predictive blower failure by monitoring the blower RPM

• Back flow dampers shall be incorporated to prevent air short circuiting if one blower fails

37

IBM BladeCenter H: Cooling subsystem

Hot-swap customer serviceablefan packs

Hot-swap customer serviceableAC blower units

BladeCenter H front chassis BladeCenter H rear chassis

IBM BladeCenter H blowerHot-swap customer serviceable fan pack

38

IBM BladeCenter T: Cooling subsystem

• Four blowers comes standard• Maximum four• 3+1 redundancy configuration• Calibrated vectored cooling• Hot-swap • Redundant• Variable speed• Rear access• 330 cubic ft per min (CFM)• Front to back airflow; filtered air intake

BC T Blower Unit (1) of (4)

BC T Rear Chassis

39

IBM BladeCenter HT: Cooling subsystem

• Four hot-swap blowers standard/Maximum• N+1 cooling redundancy• Speed controlled according to ambient air temperature• Rear access • Front to back airflow

40

IBM BladeCenter S: Cooling subsystem

• Four hot-swap fans standard• N+1 redundant cooling airflow• Throttled according to incoming air temperature • Rear access• Front to back airflow

41

Key words

• Advanced Management Module (AMM)• Concurrent Keyboard, Video and Mouse (cKVM)• Disk Storage Module (DSM)• Dynamic Infrastructure (DI)• Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM)• IBM BladeCenter E (Enterprise)• IBM BladeCenter H (High Performance)• IBM BladeCenter HT (High Performance Telco)• IBM BladeCenter S (Simplification)• IBM BladeCenter T (Telco)• Local Area Network (LAN)• Network Equipment Building System (NEBS)

42

Checkpoint (1 of 3)

1. The IBM BladeCenter contains a redundant circuit path to connect all blades servers to the AMM and switching fabric through which of the following:

a. Blade servers are interconnected by a system of shielded cabling

b. A Midplane, with redundant upper and lower halves, connects all blade servers and provides a path to the switching modules

c. Each blades server is independently connected to the AMM and switching modules

2. True/False: The Midplane for the BladeCenter H contains only the new high-speed 4x signaling fabric connectors.

3. The IBM BladeCenter E Chassis supports up to 14 Blade Servers. With Power Supplies 1 and 2 installed, which blade servers, switch modules and management modules will receive power?

a. All fourteen Blade Server slots, all four switch module slots, the two blowers, the two management module slots and the media tray.

b. Blade Server slots 1 through 6, all four switch module slots, the two blowers, the two management module slots and the media tray.

c. Blade Server slots 1 through 6, switch module slots one and two, one management module slot and the media tray.

d. All fourteen Blade Server slots and the management module slots, the two blowers, and the media tray.

43

Checkpoint solutions (1 of 3)

1. The IBM BladeCenter contains a redundant circuit path to connect all blades servers to the AMM and switching fabric through which of the following:

a. Blade servers are interconnected by a system of shielded cabling b. A Midplane, with redundant upper and lower halves, connects all blade servers and

provides a path to the switching modules c. Each blades server is independently connected to the AMM and switching modules

Answer: b

2. True/False: The Midplane for the BladeCenter H contains only the new high-speed 4x signaling fabric connectors. Answer: False

3. The IBM BladeCenter E Chassis supports up to 14 Blade Servers. With Power Supplies 1 and 2 installed, which blade servers, switch modules and management modules will receive power?

a. All fourteen Blade Server slots, all four switch module slots, the two blowers, the two management module slots and the media tray.

b. Blade Server slots 1 through 6, all four switch module slots, the two blowers, the two management module slots and the media tray.

c. Blade Server slots 1 through 6, switch module slots one and two, one management module slot and the media tray.

d. All fourteen Blade Server slots and the management module slots, the two blowers, and the media tray.

Answer: b

44

Checkpoint (2 of 3)4. True/False: All models of the BladeCenter implement common power, cooling and

signaling paths for multiple Blade Servers.5. True/False: In addition to component cooling, each BladeCenter provides general

chassis cooling through blowers.6. Select the correct statement regarding power input to the BladeCenter S chassis.

a. The BladeCenter S chassis requires 220/240V power b. The BladeCenter S can be ordered with 110V input as an option c. The BladeCenter S supports (2) power supplies maximum at 100/110V d. The BladeCenter S supports either 100/110V or 220/240V input

7. Operator information indicating warnings for over temperature and system error is viewed on the BladeCenter E chassis through which of the following methods?a. The front panel of each blade serverb. On the Light Path panel on the media trayc. On the Light Path display on the lower rear of the chassisd. On the AMM modulee. Both b and c

8. Which statement is correct regarding BladeCenter S power modules? a. Standard power supplies 1 and 2 support 3 blade servers b. Four power modules are shipped with the base BladeCenter S chassis c. Optional power supplies 3 and 4 are required for the second Disk Storage Module d. Optional power supplies 3 and 4 are required for I/O bays 1 and 3

45

Checkpoint solutions (2 of 3)4. True/False: All models of the BladeCenter implement common power, cooling and signaling paths

for multiple Blade Servers.Answer: True

5. True/False: In addition to component cooling, each BladeCenter provides general chassis cooling through blowers.

Answer: True6. Select the correct statement regarding power input to the BladeCenter S chassis.

a. The BladeCenter S chassis requires 220/240V power b. The BladeCenter S can be ordered with 110V input as an option c. The BladeCenter S supports (2) power supplies maximum at 100/110V d. The BladeCenter S supports either 100/110V or 220/240V input

Answer: d

7. Operator information indicating warnings for over temperature and system error is viewed on the BladeCenter E chassis through which of the following methods?

a. The front panel of each blade serverb. On the Light Path panel on the media trayc. On the Light Path display on the lower rear of the chassisd. On the AMM modulee. Both b and c

Answer: e

8. Which statement is correct regarding BladeCenter S power modules? a. Standard power supplies 1 and 2 support 3 blade servers b. Four power modules are shipped with the base BladeCenter S chassis c. Optional power supplies 3 and 4 are required for the second Disk Storage Module d. Optional power supplies 3 and 4 are required for I/O bays 1 and 3

Answer: c

46

Checkpoint (3 of 3)

9. True/False: The BladeCenter S Disk Subsystem supports a combination of SAS and SATA drives.

10. True/False: IBM BladeCenter E contains 10 I/O module bays and supports I/O network switching for storage switches, pass through devices, traditional fabrics, and high-speed fabrics.

11. True/False: For Telco maintenance, the BladeCenter HT chassis supports up to 4 hot-swap and redundant DC or AC power supply modules with load-balancing and failover capabilities located in the rear of the chassis

12. Which chassis was designed specifically for telecommunications network infrastructures to support a highly rugged environments using air filtration?

a. BladeCenter S and BladeCenter E

b. BladeCenter T and BladeCenter HT

c. BladeCenter E and BladeCenter H

d. BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HT

47

Checkpoint solutions (3 of 3)

9. True/False: The BladeCenter S Disk Subsystem supports a combination of SAS and SATA drives.

Answer: True

10. True/False: IBM BladeCenter E contains 10 I/O module bays and supports I/O network switching for storage switches, pass through devices, traditional fabrics, and high-speed fabrics.

Answer: False

11. True/False: For Telco maintenance, the BladeCenter HT chassis supports up to 4 hot-swap and redundant DC or AC power supply modules with load-balancing and failover capabilities located in the rear of the chassis

Answer: False

12. Which chassis was designed specifically for telecommunications network infrastructures to support a highly rugged environments using air filtration?

a. BladeCenter S and BladeCenter E

b. BladeCenter T and BladeCenter HT

c. BladeCenter E and BladeCenter H

d. BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HTAnswer: b

48

Unit summary

Having completing this unit, you should be able to:

• List the major elements common to the IBM BladeCenter

• Describe the key aspects of compatibility between BladeCenter models

• Identify the components providing redundancy in the BladeCenter chassis

• Match the power components necessary to support varying BladeCenter resource configurations

• List the power input requirements for the BladeCenter models

• Describe the common cooling components used in the BladeCenter chassis

• Describe the supported disk configurations for the BladeCenter S

ibm bladecenter fundamentals introduction

Technology

switch module bays

bladecenter models

management module bays

benefits of bladecenter

rear view power module

view management module

dc power

pfa switch module bay