What your blade server offers
Your blade server offers features, such as, the Integrated Management Module, SSD storage drive support, IBM® Director, IBM® Enterprise X-Architecture®, microprocessor technology, integrated network support, I/O expansion, large system-memory capacity, light path diagnostics, PCI Express, and power throttling.
- Integrated Management Module (IMM)The Integrated Management Module (IMM) is on the system board of the blade server. The IMM operates as the service processor for the blade server and performs several tasks, including the following:
- Provides RS-485 interfaces to the Advanced Management Module
- I2C compatible Two Wire interface
- Local Environmental Monitoring
- Local LED control
- Automatic Server Restart (ASR)
- One channel 16550 to support ready to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS) modem control pins (two serial ports)
- Serial over LAN (SOL)
- Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) 2.0 compliant
- LPC Bus interface to TBD definition (ICH10)
- Remote power on/power off of a remote blade server
- Error logging
- Remote systems management
- Blade server oversubscription
- Blower speed control
- CPU throttling
- Memory throttling
- Integrated keyboard/video/mouse (cKVM)
- Hard disk drive support
The blade server supports up to two SSD storage drives, with RAID 0 and RAID 1 support.
- IBM® Director
IBM Director is a workgroup-hardware-management tool that you can use to centrally manage servers. For more information, see the IBM® Director documentation on the IBM® Director CD.
- IBM Enterprise X-Architecture
IBM Enterprise X-Architecture technology combines proven, innovative IBM designs to make your x86-processor-based blade server powerful, scalable, and reliable. For more information, see http://www.ibm.com/systems/x/hardware/enterprise/xarchitecture.html.
- IBM ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD
The ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD provides programs to help you set up the blade server and install a Windows operating system. The ServerGuide program detects installed optional hardware devices and provides the correct configuration programs and device drivers. For more information about the ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD, see Using the ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD.
- Microprocessor technology
The blade server supports up to two dual-core, quad-core, or six-core Intel Xeon microprocessors. For more information about supported microprocessors and their part numbers, see Parts listing, Types 7871 and 1949.
- Integrated network support
All of the blade server models come with an integrated Broadcom dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller. The controller supports connections to a 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or 1000 Mbps network through an Ethernet-compatible switch module in the BladeCenter unit. The controller also supports Wake on LAN® technology.
- I/O expansion
The blade server has connectors on the system board for optional expansion cards for adding more network communication capabilities to the blade server.
- Large system-memory capacity
The blade server system board supports up to 288 GB of system memory. The memory controller provides support for up to eighteen industry-standard registered ECC DDR3 on Very Low Profile (VLP) form factor DIMMs installed on the system board. For the most current list of supported DIMMs, see the ServerProven® list at http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/.
- Light path diagnostics
Light path diagnostics provides light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to help you diagnose problems. For more information, see the Problem Determination and Service Guide.
- PCI Express
PCI Express is a serial interface that is used for chip-to-chip interconnect and expansion adapter interconnect. With the blade expansion connector you can add optional I/O and storage devices.
- Power throttling
Each blade server is powered by two Enterprise Voltage Regulator-Down (EVRD) 11.1 voltage regulators. By enforcing a power policy known as power-domain oversubscription, the BladeCenter® unit can share the power load between two power modules to ensure sufficient power for each device in the BladeCenter unit. This policy is enforced when the initial power is applied to the BladeCenter unit or when a blade server is inserted into the BladeCenter unit.
The following settings for this policy are available:
- Redundant without performance impact
- Redundant with performance impact
- Nonredundant
You can configure and monitor the power environment by using the Advanced Management Module. For more information about configuring and using power throttling, see the Advanced-Management-Module documentation or http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/.