IBM 250000 - Manual (Page 13)

Leadership enterprise server with significantly lower cost of ownership in a highly available and
expandable, rack-dense, 1U dual-socket server
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lets you keep your fingers on the pulse of your e-business.
Processors — The Intel Xeon processor provides high clock rates, dual- or quad-cores, 64-bit
extensions, a large cache and advanced features for availability and manageability. Large cache
size, combined with a fast 1333MHz or 1066MHz front-side bus, reduces memory latency and
facilitates the movement of data through the processor and I/O devices. (Note: System
performance depends not only on the number of processors in the server but also on the power
and functionality of each processor.) Adding a second processor may be a cost-effective way to
achieve significant performance improvements.
Memory — Memory is a significant factor in systems application performance. Adding more
memory to a System x server is one of the most effective ways to increase application
performance. For best performance in a server with a dual-core processor, there should be twice
as much memory available as for a single-core processor.
Hard Disk Drives — IBM hard disk drives help you improve the transaction and cost
performance of your System x servers. The choice of hard disk drives can be a critical aspect of
maximizing the I/O throughput of the system. SAS hard disk drives are available for the x3550
M2 with capacities up to 300GB (2.5-inch) apiece at 10,000 RPMs, up to 146.8GB (2.5-inch)
apiece up to 15,000 RPMs, or up to 73.4GB apiece (2.5-inch) at 15,000 RPM.
Power Supply — The optional second power supply for the x3550 M2 enables redundancy for
hot-swap power.
Virtual Media Key — The x3550 M2 includes a plethora of systems management features built-
in; however, sometimes additional management capability is needed. In those situations, the
Virtual Media Key not only offers powerful new features, it does so without taking up a valuable
PCI-X or PCIe adapter slot, instead using a dedicated slot on the motherboard.
ServeRAID Controllers — System x servers using ServeRAID BR10i technology allow
companies to build a reliable foundation for business-critical computing. IBM ServeRAID
technology allows an array consisting of multiple physical hard disk drives to be treated as one
logical drive. ServeRAID technology also allows data to be stored redundantly, across multiple
hard disk drives— enhancing both the integrity and the availability of the data. SAS and SATA
ServeRAID controllers offer enhanced performance due to onboard processors and cache.
Because IBM ServeRAID controllers can help significantly improve data transfer rates, this
technology is extremely effective when implementing demanding, transaction-oriented
applications. By employing the advanced fault tolerance of IBM ServeRAID technology,
companies can effectively implement networked business systems that require large amounts of
storage space for data and applications that must be available for their businesses to continue
operating.
The optional MegaRAID-MR10i SAS/SATA controller offers enhanced performance over the
integrated ServeRAID BR10i l controller (SAS models), 256MB of battery-backed cache memory,
and supports six RAID levels: 0 (striping), 1 (mirroring), 10 (mirroring and striping), 1E (enhanced
mirroring, supporting odd numbers of drives), 5 (striping with parity), and 6 (striping with double
parity).
The optional MegaRAID MR10is supports hardware based full disk encryption plus RAID-
0/1/10/1E/5/6 support.
The optional MegaRAID MR10M SAS controller offers high performance and 256MB of cache
memory (with optional battery backup) for external SAS storage capacity. The adapter supports
five RAID levels: 0 (striping), 1 (mirroring), 10 (mirroring and striping), 5 (striping with parity), and
50 (striping/mirroring with parity).
External Storage — The IBM System Storage DS3000, DS4000, DS6000, and DS8000 series,
as well as the N3000, N5000, and N7000 series, comprise a powerful and broad shared storage
family with integrated management software designed to meet midrange and enterprise needs.
For lower-end needs, IBM offers the System Storage DS400 storage enclosure.
External SAN, iSCSI, and direct-attach storage is available using one of several IBM System
Storage and TotalStorage host bus adapters. Additionally, external LAN-attached tape storage is
available.
The iSCSI HBA Adapter for IXA Connectivity is a PCI adapter for selected System x servers
that provides a direct 1GBps link to an IBM System i5 server. This connection enables you to
centralize your Microsoft Windows and System i5 storage and consolidate the operations and
backup of your System x, and System i5 systems into a single infrastructure. It enables the
tightest possible integration between Windows and System i5/iSeries data and applications, and
allows as many as 32 servers to attach to one System i5 system to share the iSeries server’s
systems management, DVD, tape and disk storage via the iSeries dynamic virtual storage
architecture. This can take the place of a SAN if you have an established System i5
infrastructure.