IBM System x iDataPlex Right-size your Internet-scale data center
Highlights Flexible design for Internet-scale data centers Up to 40% power efficiency improvement 1 Dramatically reduced cooling costs; air conditioning expense minimized or even eliminated 2 Up to 5X compute density for efficient space utilization Front access cabling Easy to service and manage IBM System x™ iDataPlex™, an Internet-scale solution, helps clients face constraints in power, cooling or physical space. The innovative design of the iDataPlex solution integrates Intel® processor-based processing into the node, rack and data center for power and cooling efficiencies, and required compute density. The iDataPlex solution is built around Flex Node technology, delivering customized solutions for your specific business needs for compute power, storage density and networking. Product features Hardware summary An intelligent approach to design layout with an innovative rack design More efficient power and cooling than 1U servers Helps reduce data center operational costs Side-by-side chassis and modular node combinations: Greater flexibility and integrated configurations Extreme density for better data center space utilization Enhanced application performance Customize for your business needs for maximum computer density, optimized I/O networking or storage Shared power and cooling and high-efficiency power supply for cost-effective, high-performance computing Flex Node technology and front access for single-point management and easier serviceability For Internet-scale computing performance Helps pack more processors into the same power and cooling envelope Better utilization of floor space Creates the right-size data center design

BladeCenter QS21

BladeCenter QS21

Highlights

• Second generation blade system based on Cell Broadband Engine™ Processors


• Potential 10x or greater performance acceleration of target workloads


• High-performance blade solution for graphics-intensive and high performance computing (HPC) applications

For many years, organizations have relied on performance gains from increasing clock speeds of “traditional” microprocessor architectures. However, in recent years this approach has been challenged by the physical limitations of semiconductors and by traditional processor architecture implementations. Issues with power consumption, heat dissipation and memory latencies have led to diminishing returns on performance. High performance computing (HPC) cluster applications such as digital content creation, digital video surveillance, electronic design automation, image and signal processing, financial algorithms, scientific research, and seismic processing, may need a fundamentally new technology and approach to the system-level architecture to achieve the desired level of performance.

Cell/B.E. multi-core innovation

Enter the IBM BladeCenter® QS21 based on the multi-core Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) processor. When used to complement systems based on traditional processors, the QS21 can yield application results faster and with more fidelity. This can enable organizations to get information faster to facilitate important business decisions.

Product features		Hardware summary
Cell/B.E. processors offer extreme performance to accelerate compute-intensive tasks such as image processing, signal processing and graphics rendering Single-wide blade form factor provides extraordinary computing density—up to 6.4 TFLOPS in a single BladeCenter H chassis Build a complex multi-platform environment in a highly efficient architecture		Features two high-performance Cell/B.E. processors 2 GB standard processor memory Dual Gigabit Ethernet Optional Dual-port 4x InfiniBand HCA connected through PCI-Express Optional Serial Attached SCSI daughter cards connected through PCI-X Optional I/O buffer memory DIMMs (up to 2 GB, 4x512 MB)

IBM BladeCenter LS20

AMD Opteron LS20 blade* at a glance
Processor		AMD Opteron Model 246, 250, 252, 254, 270, 275 and 280
Number of processors (std/max)		1/2
Cache		1MB L2 per processor core
Memory1		Up to 16GB DDR VLP memory
Internal hard disk drives		Up to 2 Ultra320 SCSI HDDs
Maximum internal storage1, 2		146.80GB
Network		2 integrated Gigabit Ethernet controllers
I/O upgrade		1 expansion card connection
Systems management hardware		Integrated systems management processor

	Feature		Benefits
	Modular system delivering raw processing power		Ultra-slim and powerful, blade design delivers high density without sacrificing server processor performance. Up to 84 servers in an industry-standard rack or up to 80 in a telecommunications industry-standard, 84-inch rack, packing more performance per square foot and saving you valuable central office and/or data center real estate. Easily add or change blades without disrupting the operation of other blades installed in the chassis.
	Supports up to two AMD Opteron processors		Support for single-core processors up to 2.80GHz as well as dual-core processors up to 2.40GHz. AMD Opteron processors offer an Integrated Memory Controller that allow for increased bandwidth and reduced latency for certain applications. BladeCenter supports lower-power versions of these full-performance AMD Opteron processors. These 68W processors draw up to 1/3 less power than the standard 95W AMD offering Supporting both 64- and 32-bit applications allows for a smooth transition to 64-bit enabled applications while leveraging the price and performance of existing applications.
	Up to 16GB of DDR memory		4 DIMM slots per blade Supporting a VLP (very low profile) DDR DIMM to maximise the amount of memory that can be installed in the ultra-dense blade.
	64-bit extensions		64-bit addressability while supporting both 64- and 32-bit applications, allows for a smooth transition to 64-bit enabled applications while leveraging the price and performance of existing applications.
	Support for up to two internal hard disk drives (HDDs)		The LS20 blade supports a pair of Ultra320 SCSI non-hot-swap HDDs in a choice of capacities—36GB or 73GB. Design allows users to keep both drives even when installing a SFF I/O expansion card.
	Integrated dual Gigabit Ethernet connections		Enabled to transmit large amounts of data at fast speeds for high- performance network applications. Robust design supports teaming and failover.
	Two high-availability midplane connections		Each blade is reliably and easily connected via two redundant paths to the passive midplane and the integrated switching and power infrastructure contained in the BladeCenter chassis.
	Light path diagnostics standard		Provides quick and easy guide to troubleshoot your server for higher availability and system uptime. Independently powered, allowing you to remove the server from the chassis and still illuminate the light path LEDs.
	Predictive Failure Analysis		Helps save you time and money by decreasing planned and unplanned downtime. Increases uptime by allowing you to receive proactive alerts as much as 24-48 hours in advance.
	Integrated System Management Processor		Increases server availability by continuously monitoring your system and notifying you of potential system failures or changes.
	IBM Director and IBM Director Extensions—comprehensive systems management tools		Exploits hardware capabilities by surfacing pertinent information about your system, allowing you to automate a response. Helps increase uptime, reduce costs and improve productivity via advanced server management capabilities. Provides intelligent system management for rock-solid reliability. IBM Remote Deployment Manager simplifies and automates deployment and redeployment for efficient installation and startup.
	Operating System support		Red Hat® 4 (AS, ES, WS) Red Hat 4 (AS, ES, WS) for x64 SUSE Linux ES 9 SUSE Linux ES 9 for x64 Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 and R2 Windows XP Red Hat 3 (AS, ES, WS) Red Hat 3 (AS, ES, WS) for x64