Front cover IBM Power 520 Technical Overview Covering the 8203-E4A supporting the AIX, i, and Linux operating systems POWER6 processor-based PowerVM virtualization technology Delivers IBM POWER6 efficiency Giuliano Anselmi YoungHoon Cho Jim Cook Gregor Linzmeier Marcos Quezada John T Schmidt Guido Somers ibm.com/redbooks Redpaper International Technical Support Organization IBM Power 520 Technical Overview May 2009 REDP-4403-00 Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page vii. First Edition (May 2009) This edition applies to the IBM Power 520 8203-E4A server. The following IBM operating systems are included: AIX 5.3 (product number 5765-G53), AIX 6.1 (product number 5765-G62), IBM i operating system releases 5.4 (5722-SS1) and 6.1 (5761-SS1). © Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2009. All rights reserved. Note to U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp. Contents Notices . vii Trademarks . viii Preface . xi The team that wrote this paper . xii Become a published author . xiii Comments welcome. xiii Chapter 1. General description . 1 1.1 System unit specifications. 7 1.2 Physical package . 7 1.2.1 Deskside model . 7 1.2.2 Rack-mount model . 8 1.3 Minimum and optional system unit features . 10 1.3.1 Processor card features . 11 1.3.2 Memory features . 12 1.3.3 System unit disk and media features . 13 1.3.4 AIX, IBM i, Linux I/O considerations . 15 1.3.5 I/O enclosures attachment using 12x or RIO-2 I/O loop adapters . 17 1.4 External disk subsystems . 18 1.4.1 IBM System Storage N3000, N5000, N6000, N7000, and N Series Gateway . 19 1.4.2 IBM TotalStorage Storage DS3000 Series . 19 1.4.3 IBM TotalStorage Storage DS4000 Series . 20 1.4.4 IBM TotalStorage Storage DS5000 Series . 21 1.4.5 IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server . 21 1.4.6 IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller (SVC) . 22 1.4.7 IBM XIV Storage System . 22 1.5 Hardware Management Console models . 23 1.6 Build-to-order . 24 1.7 IBM Power Systems Express Editions for AIX / Linux. 24 1.7.1 1-core 4.2 GHz offering. 25 1.7.2 2-core 4.2 GHz offering. 26 1.7.3 2-core 4.7 GHz offering. 27 1.7.4 4-core 4.7 GHz offering. 28 1.8 IBM Power Systems Solution Editions for AIX / Linux . 29 1.8.1 IBM Power Systems Solution Edition for Oracle. 30 1.8.2 IBM Power Systems Solution Edition for SAP . 32 1.9 IBM Power Systems Express Editions for IBM i . 34 1.10 IBM Power Systems Solution Editions for IBM i . 40 1.11 Upgrades. 42 1.12 System racks. 42 1.13 AC power distribution unit and rack content . 43 1.13.1 Power Distribution Unit Plus (PDU+) . 44 1.14 Rack-mounting rules . 47 1.15 Useful rack additions. 48 1.15.1 OEM rack . 49 1.16 Operating system support . 51 1.16.1 IBM AIX 5.3. 52 1.16.2 IBM AIX V6.1 . 53 © Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. iii 1.16.3 IBM i 5.4 (formerly IBM i5/OS V5R4) . 53 1.16.4 IBM i 6.1 . 54 1.16.5 Linux systems summary . 54 1.16.6 Supported virtualization features with Linux . 56 Chapter 2. Architecture and technical overview . 57 2.1 The POWER6 processor. 58 2.1.1 Decimal floating point . 60 2.1.2 AltiVec and Single Instruction, Multiple Data . 61 2.2 IBM EnergyScale technology . 62 2.2.1 Thermal power management device (TPMD) . 63 2.2.2 Hardware and software requirements. 64 2.3 Processor cards . 65 2.3.1 The Power 520 single-core module . 65 2.3.2 The Power 520 dual-core module. 66 2.3.3 Processor clock rate . 67 2.4 Memory subsystem . 67 2.4.1 Memory placement rules. 68 2.4.2 OEM memory . 69 2.4.3 Memory throughput. 69 2.5 I/O capabilities. 70 2.6 Internal I/O subsystem . 71 2.6.1 System ports . 71 2.7 Integrated Virtual Ethernet adapter . 72 2.7.1 IVE physical ports and system integration . 73 2.7.2 Feature code port and cable support . 74 2.7.3 IVE subsystem . ..