IBM ServeRAID User manual

ServeRAID Adapter Quick Reference
Technote
Abstract
Have you ever picked up an adapter that you know is a ServeRAID adapter, but
do not know which model? This tip is
a quick reference guide to the different ServeRAID adapters that are available, complete with photos and tables of
features and supported servers.
Contents
New in this update:

Corrected the list of countries where the ServeRAID MR10il is available
This document is a quick uide to the different ServeRAID adapters that IBM has produced since their introduction in mid-1996.
For customers who have the older adapters, this document will help identify which adapters you have with photos and a key
features table.
Table of contents:
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Photos of adapters
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Feature comparison
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Supported servers
Photos of ServeRAID adapters
Jump to:
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ServeRAID
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ServeRAID II
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ServeRAID-3L and ServeRAID-3L II
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ServeRAID-3H
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ServeRAID-3HB
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ServeRAID-4L
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ServeRAID-4Lx
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ServeRAID-4M
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ServeRAID-4Mx
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ServeRAID-4H
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ServeRAID-5i
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ServeRAID-6M
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ServeRAID-6i and ServeRAID-6i+
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ServeRAID 7t
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ServeRAID 7e
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ServeRAID 7k
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ServeRAID 8e
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ServeRAID 8i

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ServeRAID 8k-l
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ServeRAID 8k
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ServeRAID-8s
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IBM SAS HBA Controller
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Me aRAID 8480
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ServeRAID-MR10M
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ServeRAID-MR10k
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ServeRAID-MR10i
ServeRAID (part number 70G8489, 1996)
US Announcement Letter: 196-134
Visual identifiers:

Sin le external 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connector (all other ServeRAID cards use VHDCI connectors)
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Three internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connectors
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Connector located vertically in the center of the board (unused)
ServeRAID II (part 76H3584, 1997)
US Announcement Letter: 197-256
Visual identifiers:

Two external VHDCI (very hi h density connector interface) connectors
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Three internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connectors
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Optional cable to route channel 3 externally

Optional cable (part 76H5400) routes channel 3 to an external connector:
ServeRAID- L (part 01K7364, 1998) and ServeRAID- L II (part 19K0564, 2000)
US Announcement Letters:

ServeRAID-3L: 198-232
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ServeRAID-3L II: 100-101
Visual
identifiers:
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One external VHDCI connector, labeled "LVD/SE"
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One internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connector
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32-bit PCI connector (short)
The photo below is that of the ServeRAID-3L. Note that the internal connector is not on an indentation in the circuit board.

The ServeRAID-3L was replaced by the ServeRAID-3L II (part 19K0564) in April 2000. The internal connector of the
ServeRAID-3L II adapter has been redesi ned so that the adapter will fit in 3U servers, such as the Netfinity 4500R. This board
desi n is the only difference. In fact, the two adapters are the same FRU, 01K7352.
ServeRAID- H (part 01K7207, 1998)
US Announcement Letter: 198-232
Visual identifiers:
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Two external VHDCI connectors, labeled "LVD/SE"
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Sin le internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connector
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Connector on the top ed e of the card with EDO memory DIMM installed
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Mi ht have an optional dau hter card with a battery pack (part 28L1003) installed into the connector near the handle.
This adapter looks similar to the ServeRAID-3HB.
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64-bit PCI connector (lon )
Note: The adapter also includes a cable similar to ServeRAID II option to route the internal channel 3 connector to an external
VHDCI connector
(not shown).
ServeRAID- HB (part 37L6086, 1999)
US Announcement Letter: 199-152
Visual identifiers:


Same as ServeRAID-3H adapter except battery backup module is standard
ServeRAID-4L (part 37L6091, 2000)
US Announcement Letter: 100-099
Visual identifiers:
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One external VHDCI connector
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One internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connector
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Space for two internal connectors, but only one present (same circuit board as the 4M)
ServeRAID-4Lx (part 06P5740, 2001)
US Announcement Letter: 101-146
Visual identifiers:
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Half-len th card
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Square heat sink in the middle of the card
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One external VHDCI connector
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One internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connector


64-bit PCI connector (lon )
ServeRAID-4M (part 37L6080, 2000)
US Announcement Letter: 100-099
Visual identifiers:

Two external VHDCI connectors
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Two internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connectors
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Battery inte rated into a dau hter card len thwise alon card, near handle
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No heat sinks (4Mx has heat sinks)
ServeRAID-4Mx (part 06P5736, 2001)
US Announcement Letter: 101-146
Visual identifiers:

Similar to ServeRAID-4M (check for heat sinks)

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Two external VHDCI connectors
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Two internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connectors
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Battery inte rated into a dau hter card len thwise alon card, near handle
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Heat sink on central chip and smaller chip near PCI connector
ServeRAID-4H (part 37L6889, 2000)
US Announcement Letter: 100-099
Visual identifiers:

Four external VHDCI connectors
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Two internal 68-pin industry-standard SCSI connectors
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Lar e dau hter card with battery attached to the main board
ServeRAID-5i (part 25P3492, 2002)
US Announcement Letter: 102-170
Visual identifiers:

No internal or external SCSI connectors (uses the server's onboard SCSI)

ServeRAID-6M
128 MB cache: part 32P0033, 2003 and 39R8815, 2006
256 MB cache: part 02R0988, 2003 and 39R8816, 2006
US Announcement Letter: 103-206
Visual identifiers:
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Two external connectors and two internal connectors
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Adaptec name and lo o printed on the board (not IBM)
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Two notches in the PCI connector, not three - indicatin that it is a 3.3V adapter, not a combo 3.3V+5V adapter
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One DIMM attached to the bottom ed e of the card (see photo) for the cache
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The 128 MB DIMM has five chips (as shown in the photo); the 256 DIMM has nine chips
Note: The battery shown in the photo is not a production-level battery.
ServeRAID-6i (part 71P8595, 2003) and ServeRAID-6i+ (part 13N2190, 2004 and 39R8793, 2006)
US Announcement Letters:


ServeRAID-6i: 103-210
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ServeRAID-6i+: 104-078
Visual
identifiers:
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No internal or external SCSI connectors (uses the server's onboard SCSI)
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Two notches in the PCI connector (versus four notches in the ServeRAID-5i)
Notes:
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The 6i and 6i+ are physically identical adapters. The only difference is that the 6i+ is flashed at the factory to V7.0
firmware to support the x206 and x306. A ServeRAID-6i+ is supported in servers that support the ServeRAID-6i.
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The battery shown in the photo is not a production-level battery.
ServeRAID 7t (part 71P8648, 2004 and 39R8805, 2006)
US Announcement Letter: 104-075
Visual identifiers:
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Four internal Serial ATA (SATA) connectors
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No external connectors

ServeRAID 7e (2004)
Visual identifier:
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No extra hardware
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Function is inte rated into the SCSI controller, SATA controller, or both of specific xSeries servers and enabled with
software
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See the Supported servers table for the servers with this controller built in.
ServeRAID 7k (part 71P8642, 2004 and 39R8800, 2006)
US Announcement Letter: 104-284 (announced with the x346)
Visual
identifiers:

The option is shipped as a special memory DIMM with a battery attached (for battery-backup purposes)
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Memory is 256 MB, 133 MHz (PC2100) DDR1 memory

ServeRAID 8e (2005)
Visual identifiers:

No extra hardware

Function is inte rated into the SAS or SATA controller of specific xSeries servers and enabled with software
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See the Supported servers table for the servers with this controller built in.
ServeRAID 8i (part 13N2227, 2005) and ServeRAID 8i (part 39R8729, 2005)
US Announcement Letters:
Part 13N2227: 105-125 (announced with the x366)
Part 39R8729: 105-414 (announced with x206m)
Visual
identifiers:

Blue circuit board
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The card will either have a blue handle attached (for use with x260, x366, x460) or a PCI bracket attached (for use with
x206m and x306m)
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No connectors for disks
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Battery attached

The two part numbers are identical electronics - the difference is the level of firmware installed at the factory. Packa in
is also different as follows:

Part 13N2227: Has the blue handle attached by default, with the PCI bracket in the box

Part 39R8729: Has the PCI bracket attached by default, with the blue handle in the box
A note about the two part numbers and firmware: 13N2227 was introduced with the x366 and may have V8.00 or later
firmware. 39R8729 was introduced with the x206m and ships with V8.15 or later firmware. 39R8729 will replace 13N2227. The
cards are interchan able, but a ServeRAID-8i installed in the x206m and x306m must have V8.15 firmware or later. A card with
firmware ealier than V8.15 will not function in an x206m or x306m. In addition, you cannot up rade the firmware of the card to
V8.15 while it is installed in an x206m or x306m if it
has older firmware - you must up rade the firmware in another system.

ServeRAID 8k-l (2006)
US Announcement Letter: 106-379 (announced with the System x3650)
Visual identifiers:

A special memory DIMM, but no battery attached (unlike ServeRAID 8k)
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One DRAM chip on the DIMM
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No cache for data (see RETAIN tip H187701 for clarification)

See the Supported servers table for the servers with this controller standard
Photo not currently available. The DIMM is similar to the ServeRAID 8k but with only one DRAM chip and no battery.
ServeRAID 8k (25R8064, 2006)
US Announcement Letter: 106-379 (announced with the System x3650)
Visual identifiers:

The option is shipped as a special memory DIMM with a battery attached via wires (for battery-backup purposes)

The DIMM is installed in a special DIMM socket in supported servers
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Five DRAM chips on the DIMM
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FRU on label is 25R8076; Stamped "Adaptec ATB-200" on battery side

Write-back cache memory is 256 MB, 533 MHz DDR2 unbuffered memory
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Battery is connected to the DIMM by wires and is typically mounted on the server chassis

ServeRAID-8s (39R8765, 2007)
US Announcement Letter: 107-028
Visual identifiers:
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One x4 external SFF-8470 SAS connector
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Two x4 internal SFF-8484 SAS connectors
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3/4 len th, full hei ht board
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Lar e fan on the board
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Optional battery (option part number 39R8812)
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Optional internal cable for hot-swap System x3250 models and hot-swap x3200 models (43W4908)
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Optional internal cable for simple-swap x3200 models (43W4910)

IBM SAS HBA Controller (25R8060, 2006)
US Announcement Letter: 106-646
Visual identifiers:

1 external Mini-SAS x4 connector (SFF-8088)
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4 internal SATA x1 connectors
MegaRAID (39R8850, 2006)
US Announcement Letter: 106-640
Visual identifiers:

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Two SAS SFF8470 x4 external connectors
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Intelli ent Transportable Battery Backup (iTBBU)
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256 MB DDR2 SDRAM data cache
ServeRAID-MR10M (43W4339, 2007)
US Announcement Letter: 107-594
Visual identifiers:

MD2 form factor card (2U low profile hei ht)
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Two SFF-8088 external connectors
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Lar e battery attached to the card
ServeRAID-MR10k (43W4280, 2007)

US Announcement Letter: 107-594
Visual identifiers:

Looks like a memory DIMM

Intelli ent Transportable Battery Backup (iTBBU) connected via wires
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Battery mounted in side of PCI slot spacer

ServeRAID-MR10i (43W4296, 2008)
US Announcement Letter: 108-055 (part of System x3350 announcement)
Visual identifiers:

No external connectors
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Full hei ht (3U), half len th card
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Two x4 SFF-8087 connectors on ri ht side of card
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Optional battery attaches to the card

ServeRAID-MR10il (44E8767, 2008)
Asia Pacific Announcement Letter: AG08-0353 (announced in China only)
Visual
identifiers:

No external connectors

Low-profile MD2 half-len th 2U form factor adapter card.

Two x4 SFF-8087 connectors on left side of card

ServeRAID-BR10i (44E8767, 2008)
US Announcement Letter: N/A
Visual identifiers:

No external connectors
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Low-profile MD2 half-len th 2U form factor adapter card.

Two x4 mini-SAS SFF-8087 connectors on ri ht side of card

ServeRAID-BR10il (44X0411, 2008)
US Announcement Letter: 108-352
Visual identifiers:

Rectan ular card with custom connector
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1 x4 mini-SAS SFF-8087 connector
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LSI 1064E controller chip