IBM 8677 - BladeCenter Rack-mountable - Power... Technical manual

BladeCenter
Type 8677
Planning and Installation Guide
GA27-4327-01
ERserver


BladeCenter
Type 8677
Planning and Installation Guide
GA27-4327-01
ER s e r v e r


Note:
Before using this information and the product it supports, read the general information in Appendix C,
“Notices,” on page 107.
Second Edition (August 2003)
© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2003. All rights reserved.
US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract
with IBM Corp.

Preface
This book is intended for anyone who plans for the physical installation and
configuration of an IBM
®
ERserver BladeCenter
™
unit. This book is organized as
follows and should be used for these tasks:
v Use Chapter 1, “Introducing the BladeCenter unit,” on page 1 to understand the
overall purpose and usage of BladeCenter units and blade servers.
v Use Chapter 2, “BladeCenter unit components,” on page 9 to learn about the
physical components that make up a BladeCenter unit.
v Use Chapter 3, “Deployment considerations,” on page 21 to learn about network
topology considerations and deployment considerations.
v Use Chapter 4, “Installation considerations,” on page 41 and Appendix A,
“Planning worksheets,” on page 85 to plan for the physical environment for
installing BladeCenter units. This includes, space, power, cooling and cabling.
The worksheets provide the basis for selecting the features and options for each
blade server, where the blade server is installed in a BladeCenter unit and a rack
location for each BladeCenter unit.
v Use Chapter 5, “Configuration considerations,” on page 73 and Appendix B,
“Configuration Worksheets,” on page 95 to plan for the configuration of the:
– management module
– Ethernet switch modules
– Fibre channel switch modules
– Blade servers.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2003 iii

iv BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Chapter 1. Introducing the BladeCenter unit . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Why choose the BladeCenter technology? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
What the BladeCenter unit offers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
BladeCenter unit features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Why blade servers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Blade server benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Deployment scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Where to go for more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
BladeCenter documentation and operating system installation instructions . .6
Hardware Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Redpapers and redpieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Operating system installation instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Web sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Chapter 2. BladeCenter unit components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Front view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Rear view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Input/output connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Blade servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Features and specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Management module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Power modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Blowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Acoustic attenuation option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Switch modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Ethernet switch module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Fibre Channel switch module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Chapter 3. Deployment considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Network topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Integrated infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Single BladeCenter chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Multiple BladeCenter chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Linux high performance cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Cluster VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Server Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Small server farm-central location-1 zone . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Large server farm-central location-3 zones . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Small server farm-remote locations-1 zone . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Preparing for BladeCenter deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Deployment tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Deployment infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Setting up the management connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Deployment Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
IBM Director and DHCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
IBM Director without DHCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Web-based interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Preparing for Blade Server deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Hardware considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2003 v

Firmware considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Operating system considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Windows 2000 installation considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Linux installation considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Red Hat Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
SuSE 8.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Device driver considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Application considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Chapter 4. Installation considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Physical planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Weight considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Floor space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Noise considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Rack considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
IBM NetBAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Moving IBM NetBAY racks safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Using non-IBM racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Power considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Rack requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Power distribution units (PDUs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Wall and floor power drop requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Keyboard, video, and mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Electrical input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Cooling considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Air temperature and humidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Air flow considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Prevention of air recirculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Room cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Heat output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Power connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Power layout example 1– single BladeCenter units . . . . . . . . . .52
Power layout sample 2 – two BladeCenter units in NetBAY 25 or 42U racks 54
Power layout sample 3 – three BladeCenter units in a NetBAY 25 or 42U
racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Power layout sample 4 – four BladeCenter units in 42U racks . . . . . .58
Power layout sample 5 – five BladeCenter units in 42U racks . . . . . . .61
Power layout sample 6 – six BladeCenter units in 42U racks . . . . . . .65
Power layout sample 7 – four BladeCenter units in a NetBAY 42 Enterprise
rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Power layout sample 8 – five BladeCenter units in a NetBAY 42U standard
rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Power layout sample 9 – five BladeCenter units in a NetBAY 42 Enterprise
rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Power layout sample 10 – six BladeCenter units in a NetBAY 42 Enterprise
rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Physical installation time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Chapter 5. Configuration considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Management module configuration planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
General settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Login Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Ethernet network interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
vi BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

Network protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Ethernet switch module configuration planning . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Switch settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Port settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
SNMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
User accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
TFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Virtual LANs (VLANs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
VLAN example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Multicasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Port mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Spanning tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Class of service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Link aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Link aggregation group recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Link aggregation example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Link aggregation control protocol recommendations . . . . . . . . .82
Blade server configuration planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Appendix A. Planning worksheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Blade Server worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
8677 BladeCenter worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Rack worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Cabling worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Power worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Appendix B. Configuration Worksheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Management module configuration worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Ethernet switch module configuration worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Blade server configuration planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Appendix C. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Edition notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Important notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Electronic emission notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) statement . . . . . . . . 109
Industry Canada Class A emission compliance statement . . . . . . . . 109
Australia and New Zealand Class A statement . . . . . . . . . . . .110
United Kingdom telecommunications safety requirement . . . . . . . .110
European Union EMC Directive conformance statement . . . . . . . .110
Taiwanese Class A warning statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Japanese Voluntary Control Council for Interference (VCCI) statement . . . 111
Power cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Contents vii

viii BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

Chapter 1. Introducing the BladeCenter unit
This manual provides physical planning information for the IBM
®®
ERserver
BladeCenter
™
unit. It describes the BladeCenter unit components, explains
deployment and installation considerations, and provides worksheets that you can
use to determine your BladeCenter unit hardware configuration. From these
worksheets, you can determine the configuration, power, weight, and cabling
requirements for your BladeCenter unit. In addition, you can use these worksheets
as a basis for placing an order.
Why choose the BladeCenter technology?
The IBM ERserver BladeCenter
™
Type 8677 is based on IBM Enterprise
X-Architecture
™
Technology
1
The BladeCenter unit is a high-density, high-performance rack-mounted server
system developed for Enterprise applications. It supports up to 14 two-way blade
servers, making it ideally suited for networking environments that require a large
number of high-performance servers in a small amount of space. The BladeCenter
unit provides common resources that are shared by the blade servers, such as
power, cooling, system management, network connections, and I/O (diskette drive,
CD-ROM drive, ports for USB, keyboard, video, mouse, and network interfaces).
The use of common resources enables small size in the blade servers and minimal
cabling.
Performance, ease of use, reliability, and expansion capabilities were key
considerations during the design. These features make it possible for you to
customize the hardware to meet your needs today, while providing flexible
expansion capabilities for the future.
What the BladeCenter unit offers
The design of the BladeCenter unit takes advantage of advancements in server
technology. It provides up to 14 functionally separate servers and their shared
resources in a single center. The BladeCenter unit combines:
v IBM Enterprise X-Architecture Technology
IBM Enterprise X-Architecture Technology leverages proven innovative IBM
technologies to build powerful, scalable, reliable Intel-processor-based servers.
IBM Enterprise Technology includes features such as Predictive Failure Analysis
®
(PFA) and Advanced System Management, and Light Path Diagnostics.
v Expansion capabilities
Blades can be added to the BladeCenter unit as needed, up to a maximum of 14
blades.
Some blade servers have connectors for options that can be used to add
capabilities to the blade, such as an I/O expansion card to add a network
interface, or a storage expansion unit to add SCSI hard disk drives.
v Hot-swap capabilities
The front bays on the BladeCenter unit are hot-swap blade bays; the rear bays
on the BladeCenter unit are hot-swap module bays. You can add, remove, or
1. IBM Enterprise X-Architecture Technology takes full advantage of existing IBM technologies to build powerful, scalable, and reliable
Intel processor-based servers. For more information about IBM Enterprise X-Architecture Technology, go to
http://www.ibm.com/pc/us/eserver/xseries/xarchitecture/index.html.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2003 1

replace blades or management, switch, power, or blower modules in hot-swap
bays without removing power from the BladeCenter unit.
v Redundancy capabilities
The redundant components in the rear of the BladeCenter unit enable continued
operation if one of the components fails. Normally, the redundant power modules
and blowers share the load. If one of the power modules or blowers fails, the
non-failing power module or blower handles the entire load. You can then replace
the failed blower or power module without shutting down the BladeCenter unit.
v Redundant network connection capabilities
Configuring a pair of Ethernet switch modules in switch-module bays 1 and 2
identically provides support for Ethernet failover configured on blade servers.
Likewise, configuring blade server I/O expansion options for failover and
configuring a pair of switch modules in switch-module bays 3 and 4 identically,
provides support for failover on I/O expansion options. See the documentation
that comes with your I/O expansion and switch module options for more
information about configuring for redundant network connections.
v System-management capabilities
The BladeCenter unit comes with a system-management processor in the
management module. This system-management processor, in conjunction with
the system-management processor in each blade server, enables you to remotely
manage the BladeCenter unit components and the blade servers. The
management module also multiplexes the keyboard, mouse, and video ports
across all blade servers.
The system-management processor in each blade server provides blade server
monitoring, event recording, and alert capability.
v Network environment support
The BladeCenter unit supports up to two Gb Ethernet Switch Modules (in switch
modules bays 1 and 3). Each switch module provides one internal connection to
each blade server.
The BladeCenter unit also supports up to two additional switch modules (in
switch module bays 3 and 4), for a total of four switch modules. Each of these
additional switch modules provides one internal connection to the optional I/O
expansion card installed on one or more blade servers.
Note: The two additional switch modules must have the same I/O type, such as
Fibre Channel, and must match the network interface on the optional I/O
expansion cards in the blade servers.
2 BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

BladeCenter unit features
The following table provides a summary of the features and specifications for the
BladeCenter unit.
Table 1. Features and specifications
Media tray (on front):
v Diskette drive: 1.44 MB
v CD-ROM drive: IDE
v Universal Serial Bus (USB) V1.1 port
v Front system LED panel
Module bays (on rear):
v Four hot-swap 200-240 volt
power-module bays
v Two hot-swap management-module
bays
v Four hot-swap switch-module bays
v Two hot-swap blower bays
Blade bays (on front):
14 hot-swap blade bays
Redundant cooling:
Two variable-speed hot-swap blowers
Power modules:
v Standard: Two 1800-watt 200-240
volt hot-swap power modules
v Maximum: Four
– Power modules 1 and 2 supply 12
V to all modules and to blade
bays 1 through 6
– Power modules 3 and 4 supply 12
V to blade bays 7 through 14
– Power modules 1 and 2 provide
redundancy to each other
– Power modules 3 and 4 provide
redundancy to each other
Switch
modules:
v Standard: None
v Maximum: Two hot-swap 1 Gb
Ethernet switch modules and two
hot-swap switch modules of another
network-communication standard,
such as Fibre Channel
Management module: One hot-swap
management module providing the
following features:
v System-management processor
functions for the BladeCenter unit
v Video port (analog)
v PS/2
®
keyboard port
v PS/2 mouse port
v 10/100 Mb Ethernet remote
management connection
v Additional management module optional
for redundancy.
Upgradeable
microcode:
v Management module firmware
v Ethernet switch module firmware
v Blade server system-management
processor firmware
Security
features:
v Login password for remote connection
v Secure socket layer (SSL) security for
remote management access
Predictive
Failure Analysis (PFA) alerts:
v Blowers
v Blade-dependent features
Size
(7U):
v Height: 304.2 mm (12 in. or 7 U)
v Depth: 711.2 mm (28 in.)
v Width: 444 mm (17.5 in.)
v Weight:
– Fully configured with modules and
blades: Approx. 108.86 kg (240 lb)
– Fully configured without blades:
Approx. 44.91 kg (99 lb)
Acoustical noise emissions:
v Without acoustics module option:
– Sound power, idle: 7.4 bels maximum
– Sound power, operating: 7.4 bels
maximum
v
With acoustics module option:
– Sound power, idle: 6.9 bels maximum
– Sound power, idle: 6.9 bels maximum
Environment:
v Air temperature:
– BladeCenter unit on: 10° to 35°C (50° to
95°F). Altitude: 0 to 914 m (2998.69 ft)
– BladeCenter unit on: 10° to 32°C (50° to
89.6°F). Altitude: 914 m to 2134 m
(2998.69 ft to 7000 ft)
– BladeCenter unit off: -40° to 60° C (-40°
to 140° F).
v Humidity:
– BladeCenter unit on: 8% to 80%
– BladeCenter unit off: 8% to 80%
Electrical
input:
v Sine-wave input (50-60 Hz single-phase)
required
v Input power:
– Minimum: 0.40 kVA (two power supplies)
– Maximum: 4 kVA (four power supplies)
v
Input voltage: 200–240 Vac
Heat output:
Approximate heat output in British thermal
units (BTU) per hour
v Minimum configuration: 1365 BTU/hour (400
watts)
v Maximum configuration: 13 650 BTU/hour
(4000 watts)
Notes:
1. For details about the BladeCenter unit port specifications, see “Input/output
connectors” on page 11.
2. Although the keyboard and mouse use PS/2-style connectors, communication
with them is through an internal USB bus in the BladeCenter unit. Make sure
that each operating system on each blade server recognizes the keyboard and
mouse as USB devices.
Chapter 1. Introducing the BladeCenter unit 3

Why blade servers?
As organizations look to physically consolidate servers, they are looking to replace
bulky server towers with 1U or 2U rack systems. These systems take less space
and put the enterprise server infrastructure within easy reach of the administrator.
However, these rack systems also introduce additional problems.
Each 1U or 2U server requires its own infrastructure, including power cables,
Ethernet or Fibre Channel switches, systems management, power distribution units
(PDUs), and keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switches. A rack of 42 1U servers can
have hundreds of cables strung throughout the rack, making it difficult to determine
where cables are attached and increasing the complexity of adding or removing
servers from the rack.
A blade server is a rack-optimized server architecture designed to provide the
consolidation benefits of 1U and 2U rack systems while eliminating the
complications associated with these systems. A server blade is an independent
server containing one or more processors, memory, disk storage, and network
controllers. A server blade runs its own operating system and applications.
Each server blade is inserted into a slot at the front of the BladeCenter unit and
connects to the midplane. The midplane provides a connection to shared
infrastructure components that includes, power, blowers, CD-ROM and diskette
drives, integrated Ethernet and Fibre Channel switches, and the management
module.
Blade server benefits
The BladeCenter architecture is an efficient solution for adding scalability and
capacity in a data center. Benefits of the blade server architecture include:
v Modular scalability. Unlike traditional 8-way or 16-way servers, blade servers are
designed to scale out rather than up. Adding a new server typically involves
simply sliding a new single or dual-processor blade into an open bay in a
BladeCenter unit. There is no need to physically install and cable individual
servers.
Option modules allow shared infrastructure features, such as Gigabit Ethernet
switches and Fibre Channel switches, to be included inside the BladeCenter unit
rather than externally attached. Power modules are also integrated into the unit
eliminating many of the power cables and power distribution units that
conventional servers require. This design along with its support for Network
Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SAN) allows the
BladeCenter to integrate into a scalable storage solution with enhanced
manageability features.
v Versatility. Unlike conventional server designs, blade design does not impose a
limit of only one type of processor per server. Advanced chassis designs with
sophisticated cooling and power technologies can support a mix of blades
containing different types and speeds of processors. Each blade is a
self-contained server, running its own operating system and software. This
flexibility eliminates the need for standalone servers to perform specific functions.
You can consolidate your workloads in one BladeCenter unit, regardless of
whether an application requires a high-performance 64-bit processor or a 32-bit
processor.
v Performance. You can get the same processing power found in 1U servers, but
obtain up to twice the rack density at a potentially lower cost. Blades can be
used for collaboration applications (Lotus
®
Notes
™
Microsoft
®
Exchange), Web
4 BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

commerce applications (IBM WebSphere
®
Application Servers, WebSphere
Commerce Server), computational nodes (Linux clusters, rendering farms), and
workgroup infrastructure (Citrix MetaFrame terminal serving, Novell, or Microsoft
file/print serving).
v High availability and ease of serviceability. Blade server designs include
high-availability features similar to those found in conventional rack servers, such
as redundant and hot-swap components (even the hot swapping of the blade
servers themselves). Removing a server for maintenance involves simply sliding
a blade out of the BladeCenter unit, which makes a policy of ″hot-spare″ servers
effective to implement. In addition, you can configure blades to fail over to one
another in the event of a failure.
v Systems management and deployment. In blade servers, integrated systems
management processors monitor the status of blades and modules all at once. In
the event of an alert, the processors can signal the systems management
software, which can then notify the administrator by e-mail or pager at any hour
of the day or night. In addition, the software is able to run system diagnostics
and integrate with enterprise-wide systems management software.
The ability to slide server blades in and out of the BladeCenter unit makes new
server deployment more efficient. When you insert a blade into an open bay, it is
connected to all infrastructure components in the BladeCenter unit. There is
typically no need to plug multiple cables into each server as it is installed. For
example, instead of having to attach a KVM cable, power cable, Ethernet cable,
and systems management cable per server, you may only need to attach one of
each cable per BladeCenter unit, which contains multiple servers. Even if you
decide to attach a second set of cables for redundancy you still have to attach
many fewer cables than is needed for a similar configuration of standalone
servers.
Deployment scenarios
The IBM
®
BladeCenter unit can be deployed to support a variety of networking
goals and environments, such as:
v Server consolidation
The IBM BladeCenter unit can be used by organizations with multiple server
locations that need to centralize or physically consolidate servers to increase
flexibility, reduce maintenance costs, and reduce human resources.
v E-business infrastructure
The IBM BladeCenter unit can be used by companies that need to deploy new
e-commerce and e-business applications and infrastructure quickly to minimize
time to market, while at the same time ensuring flexibility, scalability, and
availability.
v Enterprise infrastructure
The IBM BladeCenter unit can support Enterprise infrastructure through:
File and print: For organizations with decentralized/departmental file and
print servers that need to reduce the cost of ownership, increase reliability
and provide flexibility for growth.
Collaboration: For customers needing a cost-effective and reliable corporate
solution for e-mail, calendar, and other collaboration capabilities.
v High-performance computing
The IBM BladeCenter unit can be used by customers with compute-intensive
applications needing highly available clustered solutions to achieve significantly
higher degrees of scalability and performance, all managed at a low cost.
Chapter 1. Introducing the BladeCenter unit 5

Where to go for more information
The following publications and Web sites provide additional information about the
installation, configuration, and operation of your IBM BladeCenter unit.
BladeCenter documentation and operating system installation
instructions
Publications available for the BladeCenter products are listed below. Unless noted
otherwise, all documents are available for download from the IBM Support Web
page at http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/. From this Web page, select Servers, then
select Online publications and choose a machine type of BladeCenter or
BladeCenter HS20 from the Family drop-down list.
You can obtain up-to-date information about the BladeCenter unit, blade server, and
other IBM
®
server products at http://www.ibm.com/eserver/xseries/
Hardware Documentation
Publications available for BladeCenter products include:
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Products Hints and Tips
This document contains information based on technical observations and is
intended to supplement the IBM Eserver BladeCenter publications provided with
the BladeCenter products.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Type 8677 Installation and User’s Guide
This document contains general information about your BladeCenter unit,
including information about features, how to configure your BladeCenter unit, and
how to get help.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Type 8677 Hardware Maintenance Manual and
Troubleshooting Guide
This document contains the information to help you solve BladeCenter problems
yourself, and information for service technicians.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter HS20 Type 8678 Installation and User’s Guide
This document contains instructions for setting up a BladeCenter HS20 Type
8678 blade server and basic instructions for installing some options. It also
contains general information about the blade server.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter HS20 Type 8678 Hardware Maintenance Manual and
Troubleshooting Guide
This document contains the information to help you solve BladeCenter HS20
problems yourself, and information for service technicians.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Rack Installation Instructions
This document contains instructions for installing BladeCenter units in a rack.
v IBM 4-Port GB Ethernet Switch Module for BladeCenter Installation Guide
This document contains setup and installation instructions for the IBM
BladeCenter 4-Port Gb Ethernet Switch Module. This publication also provides
general information about your Ethernet switch module, including information
about getting started, first-time connection to the Ethernet switch module, how to
configure your Ethernet switch module, and how to get help.
v IBM 4-Port GB Ethernet Switch Module for BladeCenter Installation and User’s
Guide
This document contains instructions for setting up and configuring the IBM 4-Port
GB Ethernet Switch module for BladeCenter and a description of the switch
module features.
6 BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Management Module User’s Guide
This document contains detailed information about the Management Module that
comes with your BladeCenter unit.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Acoustic Attenuation Module
This document contains instructions for installing the optional acoustic attenuation
module on a BladeCenter unit.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter HS20 IDE Hard Disk Drive
This document contains instructions for installing optional hard disk drive in a
blade server.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter HS20 SCSI Storage Expansion Unit
This document contains instructions for installing the optional SCSI storage
expansion unit on a blade server.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Microprocessor Option
This document contains instructions for installing the optional microprocessor in a
blade server.
v IBM Eserver BladeCenter Power Supply Modules
This document contains instructions for installing the optional power supply
modules in a BladeCenter unit.
v IBM Director 4.0 for BladeCenter products Installation and Configuration Guide
This document is available for download from the IBM Support Web page at
http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/. From this Web page, select Servers, then select
Online publications and choose IBM Director from the Online publications by
category drop-down list. This guide contains instructions for using IBM Director
4.0 to perform systems management tasks on BladeCenter products.
Redpapers and redpieces
The following publications are available from the IBM Redbook Web site at
http://www.ibm.com/redbooks. From this Web site, search for BladeCenter.
v The Cutting Edge: IBM ERserver BladeCenter (REDP3581): This document
contains an introduction to the IBM Eserver BladeCenter unit and presents the
advantages of Blade Servers. It also looks at various installation methods that
are available and important items to consider before performing an installation.
v IBM ERserver BladeCenter Systems Management (REDP3582) : This document
contains an overview of the IBM Eserver BladeCenter management tools and
describes the management module integrated Web GUI.
v Deploying Citrix Metaframe on IBM ERserver BladeCenter (REDP3583): This
document describes the installation, functionality, and advantages of Citrix
Metaframe on the HS20 blade server.
v Deploying Lotus Domino
™
on IBM ERserver BladeCenter (REDP3584): This
document helps you set up and configure IBM Eserver BladeCenter products to
run Lotus Domino 6 on Windows
®
2000 Advanced Server. It also helps you tune
Lotus Domino 6 for better performance while running in an IBM Eserver
BladeCenter environment.
v Deploying Microsoft Exchange on IBM ERserver BladeCenter (REDP3585): This
document describes how to set up and configure Microsoft Exchange 2000 on
the IBM Eserver BladeCenter unit. It also describes BladeCenter functionality in
this type of environment.
v Deploying Apache on IBM ERserver BladeCenter (REDP3588): This document
helps you set up and configure IBM Eserver BladeCenter products to run Linux
and Apache. It also provides tips on the applications to use for managing the
installation.
Chapter 1. Introducing the BladeCenter unit 7

v Deploying Samba on IBM ERserver BladeCenter (REDP3595): This document
helps you set up and configure IBM Eserver BladeCenter products to run Linux
and Samba. It also provides tips for managing the installation.
Operating system installation instructions
Instructions for installing operating systems on a blade server are on the IBM
Support Web page at http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/. From the IBM Support Web
page select Servers; then, select OS installation and choose the operating system
to install from the Operating system installation by category drop-down list.
Web sites
You can find information about your BladeCenter unit from this Web site:
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/eserver/xseries/bladecenter_family.html
These sites provide information related to installation of your BladeCenter unit:
v Information about IBM Director is available at this Web site:
http://www-
1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/systems_management/director_3.html
v Information about Remote Deployment Manager (RDM) is available at this Web
site: http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/eserver/xseries/systems_management/rdm.html
v Information about IBM Cluster Systems Management (CSM) for Linux is available
at this Web site: http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/clusters/software/
v Information about installing Linux is available at this Web site:
http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/linux/xseries/
v You can link to configuration tools and information (such as the Rack
Configurator and the Configuration Options Guide from this site:
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/eserver/xseries/library/configtools
v You can find out about the training offered by IBM for the BladeCenter unit at this
Web site:
http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/eserver/xseries/education/course_catalog.html
8 BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide

Chapter 2. BladeCenter unit components
The following illustration shows the locations of major components in the
BladeCenter unit.
Blade server
Media
tray
Blade server with
storage-expansion
unit
Filler blade
Front bezel Switch module
Blower module
Power module
Management module
USB port
CD-ROM
drive
Diskette
drive
Attention: To maintain proper system cooling, each module bay must contain
either a module or a filler module, and each blade bay must contain either a blade
or a filler blade.
Chassis
The BladeCenter unit houses all components, including:
v Blade servers
v Management modules
v Power modules
v Blowers
v Switch modules
It
includes a media tray that contains a CD-ROM drive, diskette drive, and USB
port.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2003 9

Front view
This section identifies the components, controls, and LEDs on the front of the
BladeCenter unit.
Front system
LED panel
CD-eject
button
Diskette-eject
button
Diskette-drive
activity LED
Blade servers Filler blades
Blade
control
panel
USB port CD-ROM activity
LED
System
service
card
Rear view
This section identifies the components on the rear of the BladeCenter unit.
AC
AC
DC
DC
Switch module
bay 3 Switch module 1
Switch module bay 4
Switch module 2
Power module
bay 3
Power module 1
Power module bay 4
Power module 2
Management
module
Reserved
Blower module 1
Blower module 2
Rear system LED panel
Management
module 1
Management
module bay 2
10 BladeCenter Type 8677: Planning and Installation Guide