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modules interface with all of the blade servers in the chassis and alleviate the need for
external switches or expensive, cumbersome, and error-prone cabling. All connections are
done internally via the midplane. Two module slots are reserved for hot-swap/redundant
Gigabit Ethernet switch modules. Two slots support either high-speed bridge modules
or legacy Gigabit Ethernet, Myrinet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand and other switch
modules. Two slots are dedicated for bridge modules. Four additional slots are dedicated
for hot-swap/redundant high-speed switch modules. All modules, when in stalled in
pairs, offer load balancing and failover support.
• Integrated switch and bridge modules mean that no additional rack “U” space is
required.
• Two module bays for Advanced Management Modules — The management modules
provide advanced systems management and KVM capabilities for not only the chassis
itself, but for all of the blades and other modules installed in the chassis. The Advanced
Management Module provides capabilities similar to the IBM Remote Supervisor
Adapter II SlimLine used in stand-alone System x rack and tower servers. Features
include concurrent KVM (cKVM), an external Serial over LAN connection, industry-
standard management interfaces (SMASH/CLP/CIM/HPI), USB virtualization, network
failover and backward compatibility with the original Management Module, among others.
The features of the module can be accessed either locally or remotely across a network.
One module comes standard. A second module can be added for hot-swap/redundancy
and failover. The module uses USB ports for keyboard and mouse.
• Two module bays for Blower Modules — Two hot-swap/redundant blower modules
come standard with the chassis. They are capable of providing efficient cooling for up to 14
blades. These modules replace the need for each blade and switch to contain its own
fans. The blowers are more energy efficient than dozens or hundreds of smaller fans
would be, and they offer many fewer points of potential failure. BladeCenter H also
includes up to four additional hot-swap/redundant fan packs to cool the power supplies
and high-speed switch modules.
• Four bays for Power Modules — BladeCenter H ships with two 2900W high-efficiency
hot-swap/redundant power modules (upgradeable to four), capable of handling the
power needs of the entire chassis, including future higher-wattage processors. Each
power module includes a customer-replaceable hot-swap/redundant fan pack (3 fans) for
additional cooling capability.
• A hot-swappable Media Tray containing an optional DVD/CD read only or CVD/CD
multi-burner drive, two USB 2.0 ports, and a light path diagnostic panel — The media
tray is shared by all the blades in the server. This reduces unnecessary parts (and reduces
the number of parts than can fail). In the event of a failure of the Media Tray the tray can
be swapped for another. While the tray is offline, the servers in the chassis can remotely
access the Media Tray in another chassis. The light path diagnostic panel contains LEDs
that indicate chassis status.
• Multi-Switch Interconnect Module (MSIM) — When installed in a BladeCenter H high-
speed switch bay, the optional IBM Multi-Switch Interconnect Module (MSIM) doubles the
number of ports available to any blade server in the chassis. Depending on the switch, this
can mean up to 8 or 12 Gigabit Ethernet or Fibre Channel ports per blade.
• A serial breakout port with optional cable — This provides a direct serial connection to
each blade server installed in the chassis, as an alternative to Serial over LAN. (Note: This
applies only to newer blades that include this capability.)
• It is extremely important to include all infrastructure costs when comparing a
BladeCenter H solution to a competitor’s offering, not just the cost of the chassis and the
blades. The high density and level of integration of the BladeCenter H chassis can greatly
reduce the cost of the overall solution. For example, because up to four chassis will fit in a
rack, this means that up to 56 blade servers can be installed. Also, because up to 10
(1Gb or 10Gb) Ethernet, Myrinet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand or other bridges and switches
can be installed per chassis, up to 40 switches and bridges can be installed per rack
without having to reserve any “U” space for the switches, unlike the competition. (And the
integrated switches may be less expensive than external, self-powered switches.) Plus,
the number of power distribution units (PDUs) needed per rack may be reduced,
because there are fewer discrete devices to have to plug in. In addition, because all the
blades are connected to all the switches inside the chassis, there is no need for external
Ethernet or other communication cables to connect the blades, bridges and
switches. (Only the few cables needed to connect the switches to the external world are
required.) This not only saves the cost of numerous cables per rack, but also the clutter
and bother of routing that many cables. An added bonus is potentially much freer airflow
behind the rack, due to fewer cables.
BladeCenter T is a carrier grade, rugged 8U (20-inch deep) chassis designed for
challenging central office and networking environments. It provides:
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