IBM BladeCenter servers Designed to grow with your business

Some IT vendors see blade servers as IBM offers multiple processor technologies, • BladeCenter servers support the just another way to package a traditional I/O and storage options for BladeCenter. integrated Nortel Layer 2-7 switch, an two- or four-way server. But not at IBM, Whereas Dell only offers an ® ® option neither HP nor Dell can offer. where we took a different approach and (EM64T) processor, IBM offers the EM64T • BladeCenter servers support the designed the IBM BladeCenter® server as and AMD (single or dual core), integrated TopSpin Infiniband switch, an infrastructure solution — one that offers IBM PowerPC® and Intel Xeon MP whereas HP does not and Dell’s is only extreme flexibility and choice and helps processors. Not only that, but IBM a pass-through switch. our clients address the real problems of BladeCenter servers offer the • IBM supports 4-GB from today’s fast-changing business climate. clustering adapter, which is not available the blades to the midplane to the switch in HP or Dell blade servers. BladeCenter to the storage device. Neither Dell or With IBM BladeCenter, it’s all about servers support up to three input/output HP offer this today. choice. Consider: (I/O) slots and four hard disk drives using the Small Computer System Interface Facts about infrastructure simplification IBM offers an entire portfolio of (SCSI) storage expansion unit, whereas and budget savings BladeCenter chassis that share the same HP and Dell can only support one I/O slot • By supporting 14 blades per chassis blades and switch options. and two hard drives. And neither of these compared to 8 in HP Proliant BL20p or Dell offers only one chassis and Hewlett competitors can offer support for two BL25p, or 10 for Dell PowerEdge 1855, Packard (HP) does not share components 100 MHz PCI-X adapters using the you require fewer chassis, switches, between its different offerings. IBM’s BladeCenter PCI I/O expansion unit. cables and other peripherals. The result? chassis are geared to meeting specific Potentially reduced deployment times needs. These include: IBM BladeCenter servers support multiple and costs— plus fewer parts to manage. operating systems (OSs) and switch The integrated media in BladeCenter BladeCenter— great choice for • • technologies. gives you the flexibility to install enterprise-class workloads IBM offers support for Microsoft® Windows,® software and drivers locally, as well BladeCenter T— designed for • multiple ® vendors, IBM AIX® and the as remotely, through IBM Director telecommunications and rugged Sun Solaris operating environment — all management software. Dell and HP environments such as military, inside the same chassis. You can also require the use of a special cable and manufacturing or medical settings choose from multiple switch technologies: a special USB CD or diskette drive to BladeCenter H—for high-performance • work locally. computing, technical clusters and • IBM BladeCenter servers feature multiple virtualized enterprise solutions enterprise-class switch offerings wanting a 10 GB fabric from Cisco and Nortel that also including Layer 3 functionality, trunk failover and other features not found on all competitor blade offerings. • BladeCenter is also designed with Designed for extreme availability integrated power supplies, which help and reliability make it easier to deploy and set up IBM BladeCenter has the following than the HP with its external power design features: enclosures, and can help ensure near- © Copyright IBM Corporation 2006 continuous operation. • A high-availability dual-path midplane, Produced in the United States of America IBM BladeCenter servers can help 03-06 which provides two communication • to have an even bigger impact on the All Rights Reserved paths to the midplane for Ethernet, fibre- IT budget, especially when buying AIX, BladeCenter, IBM, the IBM logo, PowerPC channel, keyboard, video monitor and and Predictive Failure Analysis are trademarks of multiple blades: International Business Machines Corporation in the mouse (KVM) switches, power supply - Reduced cabling for KVM, United States, other countries or both. and management signals. This setup Ethernet, fibre channel, power supply Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft helps ensure that all the servers keep Corporation in the United States, other countries, or and other cables, and remote both. running, even if there is an issue with management infrastructure. Intel and Intel Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel a connector on a blade or a path on - Potentially lower operational costs Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and the midplane. other countries. because the BladeCenter density • Support for redundant management Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United can allow for up to 84 blades States, other countries, or both. modules, ensuring that you have the in a 42U rack, which is 75 percent Other company, product, or service names may be option and extra protection to access more than HP BL20p or BL25p trademarks or service marks of others. the chassis from remote locations. and 40 percent more then Dell NOTES: • Multiple hot-swap components (blowers, Some machines are designed with a power man- PowerEdge 1855, when you factor agement capability to provide customers with the power supplies, management modules in required power supplies. This maximum uptime possible for their systems. In and switches) to help avoid having to extended thermal conditions, rather than shutdown density saves floor space and can help completely, or fail, these machines automatically take blades offline. you get more out of your investment. reduce the frequency of the processor to maintain - The HP fibre-channel switch is not acceptable thermal levels. Finally, IBM BladeCenter servers hot-swappable and it does not have IBM hardware products are manufactured from new might provide a power savings over parts, or new and serviceable used parts. Regardless, redundant management. competitive blade servers. our warranty terms apply. For a copy of applicable - BladeCenter also comes with two product warranties, write to: Warranty Information, P.O. Box 12195, RTP, NC 27709, Attn: Dept. JDJA/ blowers to help reduce potential points IBM BladeCenter: The leading edge of B203. IBM makes no representations or warranties of failure. HP has eight fans on each regarding third-party products or services, including server technology those designated as ServerProven, ClusterProven, BL20p and four on each BL30p blade. IBM BladeCenter servers can become or BladeCeter Interoperability Program products. • IBM Predictive Failure Analysis® Support for these third-party (non-IBM) products is the building block for all your IT needs, provided by non-IBM Manufacturers. technology can help predict failures helping you reduce complexity and This publication was produced in the United States. before they occur on multiple manage your entire solution, not just your IBM may not offer the products, services or features components, including hard disk drives, discussed in this document in other countries, and the servers. For more information about how information may be subject to change without notice. memory, CPUs and blowers. IBM BladeCenter servers can help your Consult your local IBM business contact for informa- Light path diagnostics provide a tion on the product or services available in your area. • organization, contact your IBM represen- central-information LED panel and Information about non-IBM products is obtained from tative, call 1 866 426-0472 or go to the manufacturers of those products or their published individual LEDs throughout the system announcements. IBM has not tested those products on items such as memory dual inline .com/systems/bladecenter/ and cannot confirm the performance, compatibility, or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Ques- memory modules (), I/O, power tions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should supplies and CPUs. This can help service be addressed to the suppliers of those products. personnel pinpoint a specific failing Any proposed use of claims in these materials outside of the United States must be reviewed by local IBM component (even without power), helping country counsel prior to such use. reduce downtime and service costs.