The IBM BladeCenter was
IBM's
blade server
A blade server is a stripped-down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power consumption and other considerations, whil ...
architecture, until it was replaced by Flex System in 2012. The x86 division was later sold to
Lenovo
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...
in 2014.
History
Introduced in 2002, based on engineering work started in 1999, the IBM
eServer
IBM eServer was a family of computer servers from IBM. Announced in 2000, it combined the various IBM server brands (AS/400, Netfinity, RS/6000, S/390) under one brand. The various sub-brands were at the same time rebranded from:
*IBM RS/6000 to ...
BladeCenter was relatively late to the
blade server
A blade server is a stripped-down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power consumption and other considerations, whil ...
market. It differed from prior offerings in that it offered a range of x86
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
server processors and input/output (I/O) options.
The naming was changed to IBM BladeCenter in 2005. In February 2006, IBM introduced the BladeCenter H with switch capabilities for
10 Gigabit Ethernet and
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X.
A web site called Blade.org was available for the blade computing community through about 2009.
In 2012, the replacement
Flex System
Flex or FLEX may refer to:
Computing
* Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay
* FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800
* FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research
* FLEX (protocol), a com ...
was introduced.
Enclosures
IBM BladeCenter (E)
The original IBM BladeCenter was later marketed as BladeCenter E. Power supplies have been upgraded through the life of the chassis from the original 1200 to 1400, 1800, 2000 and 2320 watt.
The BladeCenter (E) was co-developed by IBM and
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
and included:
* 14 blade slots in 7U
* Shared Media tray with
Optical drive
In computing, an optical disc drive is a disk drive, disc drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some drives ...
,
floppy drive
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...
and
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
1.1 port
* 1 (upgradable to 2)
Management modules
* Two slots for Gigabit
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
switches (can also have optical or copper pass-through)
* Two slots for optional switch or pass-through modules, can have additional Ethernet,
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed data transfer protocol providing in-order, lossless delivery of raw block data. Fibre Channel is primarily used to connect computer data storage to servers in storage area networks (SAN) in commercial data cen ...
,
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
or
Myrinet 2000 functions
*Power: Two (upgradable to four) power supplies,
C19/C20 connectors
* Two redundant high-speed blowers
IBM BladeCenter T
BladeCenter T is the
telecommunications company
A telephone company, also known as a telco, telephone service provider, or telecommunications operator, is a kind of communications service provider (CSP), more precisely a telecommunications service provider (TSP), that provides telecommunicat ...
version of the original BladeCenter, available with either AC or DC (48 V) power. Has 8 blade slots in 8U, but uses the same switches and blades as the regular BladeCenter E. To keep
NEBS Level 3 / ETSI compliant special Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) compliant blades are available.
IBM BladeCenter H
Upgraded BladeCenter design with high-speed fabric options, announced in 2006. Backwards compatible with older BladeCenter switches and blades. Features:
* 14 blade slots in 9U
* Shared Media tray with Optical drive and
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
2.0 port
* 1 (upgradable to 2)
Advanced Management modules
* Two slots for Gigabit Ethernet switches (can also have optical or copper pass-through)
* Two slots for optional switch or pass-through modules, can have additional Ethernet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand or Myrinet 2000 functions
* Four slots for optional high-speed switches or pass-through modules, can have 10 Gbit Ethernet or InfiniBand 4X.
* Optional Hard-wired serial port capability
*Power: Two (upgradable to four) power supplies, with
Souriau UTG input connectors
* Two redundant high-speed blowers
IBM BladeCenter HT
BladeCenter HT is the telecommunications company version of the BladeCenter H, available with either AC or DC (48 V) power. Has 12 blade slots in 12U, but uses the same switches and blades as the regular BladeCenter H. But to keep
NEBS Level 3 / ETSI compliant special NEBS compliant blades are available.
IBM BladeCenter S
Targets mid-sized customers by offering storage inside the BladeCenter chassis, so no separate external storage needs to be purchased. It can also use 120V power in the North American market, so it can be used outside the datacenter. When running at 120V , the total chassis capacity is reduced. Features:
* 6 blade slots in 7U
* Shared Media tray with optical drive and 2×
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
2.0 ports
* 1
Advanced Management module as standard (no option for secondary module)
* Storage: Up to 12 hot-swap 3.5" (or 24 2.5")
SAS or
SATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard to ...
drives with
RAID
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
0, 1, and 1E capability (RAID 5 and SAN capabilities optional with two SAS RAID controllers)
** Two optional Disk Storage Modules for HDDs, six 3.5" SAS/SATA drives each
* 4 hot-swap I/O switch module bays
* Power: Two 950/1450-watt, hot-swap modules and ability to have two optional 950/1450-watt modules, offering redundancy and power for robust configurations;
C19/C20 connectors
* Four hot-swap redundant blowers (plus one fan in each power supply)
Blade nodes list
Intel based
Modules based on
x86
x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...
processors from
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
.
HS12
(2008) Features:
* Processor: Celeron single-core 445 to quad-core Intel Xeon up to 2.83GHz
* Memory: 6
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots (up to 24GB)
* Hot-swap drives
HS20
(2002–2006) Features:
* Processors: One or two Intel
Xeon
Xeon ( ) is a brand of x86 microprocessors designed, manufactured, and marketed by Intel, targeted at the non-consumer workstation, server, and embedded system markets. It was introduced in June 1998. Xeon processors are based on the same arc ...
DP (single or dual-core)
* Memory: 4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots
* Option for one or two 2.5" drives (
ATA100,
SCSI U320 or
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) depending on generation)
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional ethernet, Myrinet 2000 or InfiniBand)
HS21
(2007–2008) This model can use the High-speed IO option of the BladeCenter H, but is backwards-compatible with the regular BladeCenter. Features:
* Processors: One or two Intel Xeon DP (dual or quad-core)
* Memory: 4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots
* Option for one or two
SAS 2.5" drives
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet, Myrinet 2000 or InfiniBand)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10Gbit/s ethernet or InfiniBand 4X)
HS21 XM
(2007–2008) This model can use the High-speed IO option of the BladeCenter H, but is backwards compatible with the regular BladeCenter. Features:
* Processors: One or two Intel Xeon DP (dual or quad-core)
* Memory: 8 DIMM slots
* Option for one
SAS 2.5" drive or one or two
SAS-based Solid State drives
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10Gbit/s ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X as well as additional Fibre-Channel or ethernet ports)
HS22
(2009–2011) Features:
* Processors: One or two Intel Xeon 5500 or 5600 series (up to 3.6GHz 4-core or 3.46GHz 6-core)
* Memory: up to 192GB
DDR3
Double Data Rate 3 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR3 SDRAM) is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) with a high bandwidth (" double data rate") interface, and has been in use since 2007. It is the higher-spee ...
(12 VLP
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for two hot swap
SAS 2.5" drives or
SSD (
RAID
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
0 and 1 are possible)
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports (Broadcom 5709S)
* 1
CIOv slot (standard
PCI
PCI may refer to:
Business and economics
* Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards
** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors
* Pro ...
-Express daughter card) and 1
CFFh slot (high-speed
PCI
PCI may refer to:
Business and economics
* Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards
** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors
* Pro ...
-Express daughter card) for a total of 8 ports of I/O to each blade, including 4 ports of high-speed I/O
* Requires Advanced Management Module
HS22v
(2010–2011) Features are very similar to HS22 but:
* Memory: up to 288GB DDR3 (18 VLP DIMM slots)
* Up to two 1.8" disks (SSD, not hot swapable)
* Requires Advanced Management Module
HS23
(2012) Features:
* Single-wide
* Processors: One or two Intel Xeon E5-2600
* Memory: 16 DIMM slots, up to 1600MHz
* 2 hot-swappable HDDs (SATA/SAS) or SSDs
* Dual 10G/1G Ethernet onboard expandable to
* Virtual Fabric / vNic's onboard
* Requires Advanced Management Module
HS23E
(2012) Features:
* Single-wide
* Processors: One or two Intel Xeon E5-2400
* Memory: 12 DIMM slots, up to 1600MHz
* 2 hot-swappable HDDs (SATA/SAS) or SSDs
* Dual Gigabit Ethernet onboard ports with TOE
* Requires Advanced Management Module
HS40
(2004) Features:
* Double-wide (needs 2 slots)
* Processors: One to four Intel Xeon MP
* Memory: (8
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for one or two ATA100 2.5" drives
* Four 1Gbit/s ethernet ports
* Two
expansion slot
Expansion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* '' L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine
* ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004
* ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970
* ''Expansi ...
s for up to four additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
HC10
(2008) This blade model is targeted to the workstation market, Features:
* Processor: Single Intel Core 2 Duo
* Memory: 8GB max (4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
*
NVidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
video adapter
* One SATA 60GB HDD
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports
HX5
(2010–2011) This blade model is targeted at the server virtualization market. Features:
* Processors: 2 to 4 Intel E7, 6500 or 7500 series Xeon (410 cores per CPU, up to 2.67GHz)
* Memory: 256GB Max (16
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots); Expandable to 40 slots with a 24 DIMM MAX 5 memory blade (640GB total).
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports per blade
AMD based
Modules based on
x86
x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...
processors from
AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...
.
LS20
(2005-2006) Features:
* Processors: One or two
AMD Opteron
Opteron is AMD's x86 former server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture (known generically as x86-64 or AMD64). It was released on April 22, 2003, with the ''Sledge ...
(single or dual-core)
* Memory: DDR (4 VLP
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for one or two SCSI U320 2.5" drives
* Two 1Gbit/s ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
LS21
(2006) This model can use the high-speed I/O of the BladeCenter H, but is also backwards compatible with the regular BladeCenter. Features:
* Processors: One or two
AMD Opteron
Opteron is AMD's x86 former server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture (known generically as x86-64 or AMD64). It was released on April 22, 2003, with the ''Sledge ...
(dual-core), support 65nm Quad core after BIOS update (tested)
* Memory: up to 32GB of RAM (8
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for one
SAS or SATA 2.5" drive
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre-Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10Gbit/s Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
LS22
(2008) Upgraded model of LS21. Features:
* Processors: One or two 45nm
AMD Opteron
Opteron is AMD's x86 former server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture (known generically as x86-64 or AMD64). It was released on April 22, 2003, with the ''Sledge ...
(quad or 6-core)
* Memory: up to 64GB of RAM (8
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for two
SAS or SATA 2.5" drive
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre-Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10 Gbit Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
LS41
(2006–2007) This model can use the High-speed IO option of the BladeCenter H, but is backwards compatible with the regular BladeCenter. Features:
* Double-wide (needs 2 slots)
* Processors: One to four
AMD Opteron
Opteron is AMD's x86 former server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture (known generically as x86-64 or AMD64). It was released on April 22, 2003, with the ''Sledge ...
(dual-core)
* Memory: up to 64GB of RAM (16
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for one or two
SAS 2.5" drives
* Four Gigabit Ethernet ports
* Two expansion slots for up to four additional ports (Fibre-Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10Gbit/s Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
* Data Storage Capacity ?
LS42
(2008–2009) Upgraded model of LS41. Features:
* Double-wide (needs 2 slots)
* Processors: One to 4
AMD Opteron
Opteron is AMD's x86 former server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture (known generically as x86-64 or AMD64). It was released on April 22, 2003, with the ''Sledge ...
(quad or 6-core)
* Memory: up to 128GB of RAM (16
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots)
* Option for one or two
SAS 2.5" drives
* Four Gigabit Ethernet ports
* Two expansion slots for up to four additional ports (Fibre-Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10Gbit/s Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
Power based
Modules based on
PowerPC
PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
- or
Power ISA
Power ISA is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) currently developed by the OpenPOWER Foundation, led by IBM. It was originally developed by IBM and the now-defunct Power.org industry group. Power IS ...
-based processors from
IBM.
JS20
(2006) Features:
* Can run
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
* Processors: Two
PowerPC 970
The PowerPC 970, PowerPC 970FX, and PowerPC 970MP are 64-bit PowerPC processors from IBM introduced in 2002. When used in PowerPC-based Macintosh computers, Apple referred to them as the PowerPC G5.
The 970 family was created through a collab ...
at 1.6 or 2.2 GHz
* Memory: 4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots for PC2700 ECC (max 8 GB)
* Option for one or two ATA100 2.5" drives
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
JS21
(2006) This model can have the High-speed IO option of the BladeCenter H, but is backwards compatible with the regular BladeCenter. Features:
* Can run
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
** Can do
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
, with
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) capabilities
* Processors: Two
PowerPC 970FX single-core at 2.7 GHz or two
PowerPC 970MP
The PowerPC 970, PowerPC 970FX, and PowerPC 970MP are 64-bit PowerPC processors from IBM introduced in 2002. When used in PowerPC-based Macintosh computers, Apple referred to them as the PowerPC G5.
The 970 family was created through a collab ...
dual-core at 2.5 GHz
* Memory: 4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots for PC2-3200 or PC2-4200 ECC (max 16 GB)
* Option for one or two
SAS 2.5" drives
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet, Myrinet 2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10 Gbit Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
JS22
(2009) Features:
* Can run
IBM i
IBM i (the ''i'' standing for ''integrated'') is an operating system developed by IBM for IBM Power Systems. It was originally released in 1988 as OS/400, as the sole operating system of the IBM AS/400 line of systems. It was renamed to i5/OS in ...
,
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
** Supports
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
, with
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) and IBM Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM)
* Processors: Two
POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...
dual-core at 4.0 GHz
* Memory: 4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots ECC Chipkill
DDR2 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 2 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR2 SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) interface. It superseded the original DDR SDRAM specification, and was itself superseded by DDR3 ...
(max 32 GB)
* One 2.5"
SAS drive up to 146 GB
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports card
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10 Gbit Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
JS23
(2009) Features:
* Can run
IBM i
IBM i (the ''i'' standing for ''integrated'') is an operating system developed by IBM for IBM Power Systems. It was originally released in 1988 as OS/400, as the sole operating system of the IBM AS/400 line of systems. It was renamed to i5/OS in ...
,
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
** Supports
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
, with
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) and IBM Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM)
* Processors: Two
POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...
dual-core at 4.2 GHz
** 64 MB
L3 cache
A CPU cache is a hardware cache used by the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer to reduce the average cost (time or energy) to access data from the main memory. A cache is a smaller, faster memory, located closer to a processor core, whic ...
(32 per processor)
* Memory: 4
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots ECC Chipkill
DDR2 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 2 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR2 SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) interface. It superseded the original DDR SDRAM specification, and was itself superseded by DDR3 ...
(max 64 GB)
* One 2.5"
SAS up to 300 GB or one
SSD drive
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports card
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10 Gbit Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
* One CIOv PCIe expansion slot
JS43 Express
Features:
* Double-wide
*Can run
IBM i
IBM i (the ''i'' standing for ''integrated'') is an operating system developed by IBM for IBM Power Systems. It was originally released in 1988 as OS/400, as the sole operating system of the IBM AS/400 line of systems. It was renamed to i5/OS in ...
,
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
** Supports
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
, with
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) and IBM Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM)
* Processors: 4
POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...
dual-core at 4.2 GHz
** 128 MB
L3 cache
A CPU cache is a hardware cache used by the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer to reduce the average cost (time or energy) to access data from the main memory. A cache is a smaller, faster memory, located closer to a processor core, whic ...
(32 per processor)
* Memory: 8
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots ECC Chipkill
DDR2 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 2 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR2 SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) interface. It superseded the original DDR SDRAM specification, and was itself superseded by DDR3 ...
(max 128 GB)
* Up to two 2.5"
SAS (up to 300 GB) or up to two
SSD drives
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports card
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10 Gbit Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
* Two PCIe CIOv expansion slots
JS12 Express
Features:
* Can run
IBM i
IBM i (the ''i'' standing for ''integrated'') is an operating system developed by IBM for IBM Power Systems. It was originally released in 1988 as OS/400, as the sole operating system of the IBM AS/400 line of systems. It was renamed to i5/OS in ...
,
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
** Supports
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
, with
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) and IBM Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM)
* Processor: One
POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...
dual-core at 3.8 GHz
* Memory: 8
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal compute ...
slots ECC Chipkill
DDR2 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 2 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR2 SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) interface. It superseded the original DDR SDRAM specification, and was itself superseded by DDR3 ...
(max 64 GB)
* Zero to two 2.5"
SAS drive up to 146 GB
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports, with optionan dual Gbit card
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre-Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (4 Gbit/s Fibre Channel,
iSCSI
Internet Small Computer Systems Interface or iSCSI ( ) is an Internet Protocol-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. iSCSI provides block-level access to storage devices by carrying SCSI commands over a TCP/IP ...
, or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
PS700
Branded as part of
IBM Power Systems
Power Systems is a family of server computers from IBM that are based on its Power processors. It was created in 2008 as a merger of the System p and System i product lines.
History
IBM had two distinct POWER- and PowerPC-based hardware li ...
. Features:
* Can run
IBM i
IBM i (the ''i'' standing for ''integrated'') is an operating system developed by IBM for IBM Power Systems. It was originally released in 1988 as OS/400, as the sole operating system of the IBM AS/400 line of systems. It was renamed to i5/OS in ...
,
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
* Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgi ...
or
Linux on Power
PowerLinux is the combination of a Linux-based operating system (OS) running on PowerPC- or Power ISA-based computers from IBM. It is often used in reference along with ''Linux on Power'', and is also the name of several Linux-only IBM Power Sys ...
** Can do
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
, with
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) capabilities.
* Processor: One
POWER7
POWER7 is a family of superscalar multi-core microprocessors based on the Power ISA 2.06 instruction set architecture released in 2010 that succeeded the POWER6 and POWER6+. POWER7 was developed by IBM at several sites including IBM's Roche ...
quad-core at 3 GHz
* Memory: max 64 GB
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports, with optionan dual Gbit card
PS701
Features are very similar to
PS700, but
* Processor: 8-core
* Memory: max 128 GB
PS702
Think two
PS701 tied together back-to-back, forming a double-wide blade
PS703
Features are very similar to
PS701, but
* Processors: Two 8-core at 2.4 GHz
PS704
Think two
PS703 tied together back-to-back, forming a double-wide blade.
Cell based
Modules based on
Cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...
processors from
IBM.
QS20
Features:
* Double-wide (needs 2 slots)
* Can run
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
* Processors: Two
Cell processors at 3.2 GHz
* Memory: 1 GB XDRAM (512 MB per processor)
* 40 GB IDE100 2.5" drive
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* Optional
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X connectivity
QS21
Features:
* Single-wide
* Can run
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
* Processors: Two
Cell processors at 3.2 GHz
* Memory: 2 GB (1 GB per processor)
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* One expansion slot for up to two additional ports (Fibre-Channel storage, additional Ethernet,
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
2000 or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
)
* One High-speed expansion slot for up to two additional ports (10 Gbit Ethernet or
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X)
QS22
Features:
* Single-wide
* Can run
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
* Processors: Two
PowerXCell 8i
Cell is a multi-core microprocessor microarchitecture that combines a general-purpose PowerPC core of modest performance with streamlined coprocessing elements which greatly accelerate multimedia and vector processing applications, as well as ...
at 3.2 GHz
* Memory: Up to 32 GB of
DDR2 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 2 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR2 SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) interface. It superseded the original DDR SDRAM specification, and was itself superseded by DDR3 ...
* Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
* Expansion slots for
SAS daughter card,
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4X DDR daughter card and 8 GB uFDM Flash Drive
UltraSPARC based: 2BC
Themis computer announced a blade around 2008.
It ran the Sun
Solaris operating system
Solaris is a proprietary Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. After the Sun acquisition by Oracle in 2010, it was renamed Oracle Solaris.
Solaris superseded the company's earlier SunOS in 1993, and became known for it ...
from
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
.
Each module had one
UltraSPARC T2
Sun Microsystems' UltraSPARC T2 microprocessor is a multithreading, multi-core CPU. It is a member of the SPARC family, and the successor to the UltraSPARC T1. The chip is sometimes referred to by its codename, Niagara 2. Sun started selling ...
with 64 threads at 1.2 GHz and up to 32 GB of
DDR2 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 2 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR2 SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) interface. It superseded the original DDR SDRAM specification, and was itself superseded by DDR3 ...
processor memory.
Advanced network: PN41
Developed in conjunction with CloudShield, features:
* Single-wide
* Processor: Intel IXP2805 network processor
* Full payload screening with
deep packet inspection
Deep packet inspection (DPI) is a type of data processing that inspects in detail the data being sent over a computer network, and may take actions such as alerting, blocking, re-routing, or logging it accordingly. Deep packet inspection is oft ...
(DPI)
* Full Layer 7 processing and control
* User programmability using
Eclipse-based IDE and RAVE open development language
* Quad 1 Gbit + quad 10 Gbit Ethernet controllers
* Up to 20 Gbit/s DPI throughput per blade
* Selective traffic capture, rewrite and redirect
* Has LAN and WAN Interfaces
Modules
Switch modules
The BladeCenter can have a total of four switch modules, but two of the switch module bays can take only an Ethernet switch or Ethernet pass-though. To use the other switch module bays, a daughtercard needs to be installed on each blade that needs it, to provide the required
SAN, Ethernet,
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
or
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
function. Mixing of different type daughtercards in the same BladeCenter chassis is not allowed.
Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is the term applied to transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second. The most popular variant, 1000BASE-T, is defined by the IEEE 802.3ab standard. It came into use i ...
switch modules were produced by IBM,
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec, ...
, and
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...
.
BLADE Network Technologies produced some switches, and later was purchased by IBM.
In all cases speed internal to the BladeCenter, between the blades, is non-blocking. External Gigabit Ethernet ports vary from four to six and can be either copper or
optical fiber
An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...
.
Storage Area Network
A variety of SAN switch modules have been produced by
QLogic,
Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
,
McData
Brocade is an American technology company specializing in storage networking products, now a subsidiary of Broadcom Inc. The company is known for its Fibre Channel storage networking products and technology. Prior to the acquisition, the comp ...
(acquired by Brocade) and
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
ranging in speeds of 1, 2, 4 and 8 Gbit Fibre Channel. Speed from the
SAN switch to the blade is determined by the lowest-common-denominator between the blade HBA daughtercard and the
SAN switch. External port counts vary from two to six, depending on the switch module.
InfiniBand
A InfiniBand switch module has been produced by
Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
. Speed from the blade InfiniBand daughtercard to the switch is limited to IB 1X (2.5 Gbit). Externally the switch has one IB 4X and one IB 12X port. The IB 12X port can be split to three IB 4X ports, giving a total of four IB 4X ports and a total theoretical external bandwidth of 40 Gbit.
Pass-through
Two kinds of pass-through module are available: copper pass-through and fibre pass-through. The copper pass-through can be used only with Ethernet, while the Fibre pass-through can be used for Ethernet,
SAN or
Myrinet
Myrinet, ANSI/VITA 26-1998, is a high-speed local area networking system designed by the company Myricom to be used as an interconnect between multiple machines to form computer clusters.
Description
Myrinet was promoted as having lower protocol ...
.
Bridge
Bridge modules are only compatible with BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HT. They function like Ethernet or
SAN switches and bridge the traffic to
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
. The advantage is that from the Operating System on the blade everything seems normal (regular Ethernet or
SAN connectivity), but inside the BladeCenter everything gets routed over the
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
.
High-speed switch modules
High-speed switch modules are compatible only with the BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HT. A blade that needs the function must have a high-speed daughtercard installed. Different high-speed daughtercards cannot be mixed in the same BladeCenter chassis.
10 Gigabit Ethernet
A 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch module was available from BLADE Network Technologies. This allowed 10 Gbit/s connection to each blade, and to outside the BladeCenter.
InfiniBand 4X
There are several InfiniBand options:
* A high-speed InfiniBand 4X SDR switch module from
Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
. This allows IB 4X connectivity to each blade. Externally the switch has two IB 4X ports and two IB 12X ports. The 12X ports can be split to three 4X ports, providing a total of eight IB 4X ports or a theoretical bandwidth of 80 Gbit. Internally between the blades, the switch is non-blocking.
* A High-speed
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
pass-through module to directly connect the blades to an external
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
switch. This pass-though module is compatible with both SDR and DDR
InfiniBand
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
speeds.
* A high-speed InfiniBand 4X QDR switch module from Voltaire (later acquired by
Mellanox Technologies
Mellanox Technologies Ltd. ( he, מלאנוקס טכנולוגיות בע"מ) was an Israeli-American multinational supplier of computer networking products based on InfiniBand and Ethernet technology. Mellanox offered adapters, switches, softwa ...
). This allows full IB 4X QDR connectivity to each blade. Externally the switch has 16 QSFP ports, all 4X QDR capable.
Roadrunner TriBlade (custom module)
The
IBM Roadrunner
Roadrunner was a supercomputer built by IBM for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. The US$100-million Roadrunner was designed for a peak performance of 1.7 petaflops. It achieved 1.026 petaflops on May 25, 2008, to become the ...
supercomputer used a custom module called the TriBlade from 2008 through 2013. An expansion blade connects two QS22 modules with 8 GB RAM each via 4
PCIe
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe or PCI-e, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard, designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X and AGP bus standards. It is the common mo ...
x8 links to a LS21 module with 16 GB RAM, two links for each QS22. It also provides outside connectivity via an
Infiniband
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also used ...
4x DDR adapter. This makes a total width of four slots for a single TriBlade. Three TriBlades fit into one
BladeCenter H chassis.
See also
*
BladeCenter Extension (zBX)
* Based on BladeCenter
supercomputers
A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instructions p ...
:
** The
IBM Roadrunner
Roadrunner was a supercomputer built by IBM for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. The US$100-million Roadrunner was designed for a peak performance of 1.7 petaflops. It achieved 1.026 petaflops on May 25, 2008, to become the ...
was implemented with BladeCenter components from 2008 through 2013
** All supercomputers of
Spanish Supercomputing Network
The Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES) is a distributed infrastructure involving the interconnexion of 12 supercomputers which work together to offer High Performance Computing resources to the scientific community. It is coordinated by the B ...
; This includes
Magerit
Magerit is the name of the one of the most powerful supercomputers in Spain. It also reached the second best Spanish position in the TOP500 list of supercomputers.
This computer is installed in CeSViMa, a research center of the Technical Unive ...
and
Marenostrum
MareNostrum (, ) is the main supercomputer in the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. It is the most powerful supercomputer in Spain, one of thirteen supercomputers in the Spanish Supercomputing Network and one of the seven supercomputers of the ...
(the two most powerful supercomputers of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
) and 6 small supercomputers.
**
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
Supercomputing Center employs the BladeCenter
*
Weta Digital uses BladeCenter to render ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' and other films
*
Aquasar
Aquasar is a supercomputer (a high-performance computer) prototype created by IBM Labs in collaboration with ETH Zurich in Zürich, Switzerland and ETH Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland. While most supercomputers use air as their coolant of choi ...
— watercooled BladeCenter prototype
References
External links
IBM BladeCenter homepageLenovo Press- replaced IBM Redbooks for Bladecenter
BladeCenter HS23 (E5-2600) Product GuideLenovo BladeCenter E Product Guide - Lenovo PressInstalling VMware vSphere 5.5 on IBM BladeCenter H22*
ttps://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/servers/server-products.html Intel Server Productsbr>
x4live.com - Latest News and Links on Modular System x, Modular BladeCenter and Systems ManagementIBM's Online Server Configuratorcoreipm.com - Board Management Controller (BMC) firmware & other information for building BladeCenter compatible blades
{{IBM midrange computers
BladeCenter
The IBM BladeCenter was IBM's blade server architecture, until it was replaced by Flex System in 2012. The x86 division was later sold to Lenovo in 2014.
History
Introduced in 2002, based on engineering work started in 1999, the IBM eSe ...
BladeCenter
The IBM BladeCenter was IBM's blade server architecture, until it was replaced by Flex System in 2012. The x86 division was later sold to Lenovo in 2014.
History
Introduced in 2002, based on engineering work started in 1999, the IBM eSe ...
Cell BE architecture
Blade servers
Computer-related introductions in 2002