|
|
| |
 IBM i integration
with BladeCenter and System x
| | |
|
IBM® supports attachment of SMP IBM BladeCenter® blade and System x™ models to an IBM i solution via an iSCSI network. This implementation uses iSCSI target and initiator adapters and provides systems management and storage consolidation features.
Attachment of BladeCenter blade and System x models via an iSCSI network requires IBM i 5.4 or later plus a minimum cumulative PTF package and additional PTFs. See the IBM i PTFs page for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the iSCSI Installation Overview animations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| · |
Provides flexible Storage Area Network management for Windows®, VMware® ESX and Linux® servers |
|
| · |
Delivers heterogeneous application solutions with one offering |
|
| · |
Supports a less expensive high availability solution with hot spare technology |
|
| · |
Lowers the cost of user administration by synchronizing IBM i and Windows profiles and passwords |
|
| · |
Reduces operations and skills costs through System i Navigator management |
|
| · |
Improves Windows, VMware ESX and Linux server uptime and stability with a consistent implementation |
| Power System feature 5713 |
573B |
PCI-X adapter |
1 Copper port (1 Gbps) |
 |
| Power System feature 5714 |
573C |
PCI-X adapter |
1 Fiber port (1 Gbps)4 |
|
| System i feature 5783 |
573B |
PCI-X adapter |
1 Copper port (1 Gbps) |
|
| System i feature 5784 |
573C |
PCI-X adapter |
1 Fiber port 4 (1 Gbps) |
| Blade part 32R1923 3,5 |
N/A |
Blade expansion card |
2 ports 2 (1 Gbps) |
|
| System x part 39Y6146 3,6 |
N/A |
PCIe adapter |
1 Copper port (1 Gbps) |
|
| System x part 42C1770 3,6 |
N/A |
PCIe adapter |
2 Copper ports (1 Gbps) |
|
System x part 30R5201 3
(Withdrawn from marketing) |
1986 |
PCI-X adapter |
1 Copper port (1 Gbps) |
|
System x part 30R5501 3
(Withdrawn from marketing) |
1987 |
PCI-X adapter |
1 Fiber port 4 (1 Gbps) |
|
| System x Broadcom NetXtreme embedded Ethernet 3,7 |
N/A |
N/A (embedded) |
2 Copper ports (1 Gbps) |
|
| BladeCenter blade Broadcom NetXtreme embedded Ethernet 3,7 |
N/A |
N/A (embedded) |
2 ports 8 (1 Gbps) |
|
| Blade part 44W4479 3,7 |
N/A |
Blade expansion card |
2 ports 2 (1 Gbps) |
|
| Blade part 44W4475 3,7 |
N/A |
Blade expansion card |
2 ports 2 (1 Gbps) |
|
Table footnotes:
1 Some of the System x iSCSI HBA and IBM i iSCSI HBA cards look identical, but they have different firmware and function, so they are not interchangeable. Use the CCIN numbers shown in the table above to distinguish which cards are used in which system. The CCIN is shown on a label located on the tail stock of the card.
2 Supports copper or fiber ports, depending on the BladeCenter I/O modules that are used in bays 3 and 4. Both I/O module bays 3 and 4 must contain BladeCenter I/O modules and at least 2 IBM i iSCSI targets are required in order to use both ports for storage I/O.
3 Initiator iSCSI adapter BIOS and firmware updates may be required for a successful installation. See the Note 1 on the BladeCenter and System x models supported with iSCSI web page.
4 Use LC duplex connectors for the iSCSI adapter fiber ports.
5 Customers ordering part number 32R1923 should receive a card that shows part number 32R1925 on the adapter card sticker label. Only adapters with part number 32R1925 on the adapter sticker label are supported with this solution.
Attention: Adapters with part number 26K6489 on the adapter sticker label are not supported and will not work. They should be returned and replaced with adapters that have part number 32R1925 on the adapter sticker label.
Note: Adapters with part number 32R1925 on the adapter sticker label are supported, but may have a Vital Product Data (VPD) part number of either 32R1925 or 26K6489. Both are valid VPD part numbers. The VPD can be viewed from the Management Module web interface. To identify a supported 32R1925 labeled adapter with the 26K6489 VPD, verify that the Manufacture Date (Manuf. Date) is 0806 or newer. Adapters with a VPD of 26K6489 with manufacturing dates of 0706 or earlier are not supported.
6 For this IBM i iSCSI solution, System x PCIe iSCSI adapters are not supported for use with SLES9 and SLES10.
7 These Ethernet NICs are supported as iSCSI software initiators, so the iSCSI protocol is implemented in the operating system, rather than in the adapter hardware. For this IBM i iSCSI solution, iSCSI software initiators are only supported on servers running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003 and connected to an IBM i 6.1 or later iSCSI target. Also, system BIOS/BMC firmware updates may be required for software initiators.
See the BladeCenter and System x models supported with iSCSI page for the server models that are supported with iSCSI software initiators and the firmware requirements.
8 Supports copper or fiber ports, depending on the BladeCenter I/O modules that are used in bays 1 and 2. Both I/O module bays 1 and 2 must contain BladeCenter I/O modules and at least 2 IBM i iSCSI targets are required in order to use both ports for storage I/O.
|
|
|
The following documents contain information about planning and implementing Windows, VMware ESX and Linux on BladeCenter and System x servers that are attached to the IBM i via an iSCSI network:
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| IBM i integration with BladeCenter and System x provide storage virtualization and innovative options that can enable customers to enhance the reliability and recoverability of their Windows, VMware ESX or Linux server environment. If a Windows, VMware ESX or Linux server fails, you can quickly and easily switch the server's storage spaces to another "hot spare" server without restarting your IBM i. See the Hot spare support page for additional information. |
| |
|
|
|
| Power 520 Express 8203-E4A1 |
2 |
|
| Power 520 Express - 9407-M15 |
2 |
|
| Power 520 Express 8203-E4A2 |
18 |
|
| Power 520 Express - 9408-M25 |
18 |
|
| Power 550 Express 8204-E8A |
42 |
|
| Power 550 Express - 9409-M50 |
42 |
|
| Power 570 - 9117-MMA1 |
42 |
|
| Power 570 - 9117-MMA2 |
84 |
|
| Power 570 - 9117-MMA3 |
168 |
|
| Power 570 - 9117-MMA4 |
168 |
|
| Power 595 - 9119-FHA1 |
168 |
|
| Power 595 - 9119-FHA2 |
168 |
|
| System i 515 |
5 |
|
| System i 520 |
21 |
|
| System i 525 |
21 |
|
| System i 550 |
42 |
|
| System i 570 1/2-way |
21 |
|
| System i 570 1/4-way |
42 |
|
| System i 570 2/4-way |
42 |
|
| System i 570 1/8-way |
84 |
|
| System i 570 2/8-way |
84 |
|
| System i 570 4/8-way |
84 |
|
| System i 570 5/8-way |
84 |
|
| System i 570 9/12-way |
126 |
|
| System i 570 2/16-way |
168 |
|
| System i 570 4/16-way |
168 |
|
| System i 570 8/16-way |
168 |
|
| System i 570 13/16-way |
168 |
|
| System i 595 2/16-way |
168 |
|
| System i 595 8/16-way |
168 |
|
| System i 595 4/32-way |
168 |
|
| System i 595 16/32-way |
168 |
|
| System i 595 32/64-way |
168 |
|
Table footnotes:
1See Minimum System i firmware that is required when using iSCSI targets.
2 Each BladeCenter blade or System x model that is integrated with the IBM i platform using iSCSI will consume resources on the IBM i platform. The actual number of blade or System x models that a Power server can support will depend on the available IBM i resources and the applications on the blade or System x models. See Chapter 17, Integrated BladeCenter® and System x™ Performance in the System i Performance Capabilities Reference (PDF, 1.6MB) to determine the IBM i platform impact of integrating BladeCenter blade or System x models.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| The iSCSI solution is very flexible in the way that blade or System x models are connected to the IBM i platform. The total number of iSCSI targets that are supported for each Power server were listed in the previous section. The following are additional limits for various pieces of the solution: |
|
| · |
Each IBM i iSCSI target may provide storage access for up to 8 blade or System x models simultaneously 1. |
|
| · |
Each IBM i iSCSI target may provide up to 8 virtual Ethernet access points 1. This could be 8 blade or System x models using just the point-to-point virtual Ethernet, two blade or System x models with each using three virtual Ethernet networks in addition to the point-to-point virtual Ethernet, or some other combination. |
|
| · |
For each blade or System x model, storage access may be distributed over up to 4 IBM i iSCSI targets. |
|
| · |
For each blade or System x model, virtual Ethernet access may be distributed over up to 4 IBM i iSCSI targets. |
|
| · |
System x models may have up to 4 iSCSI initiator ports. |
|
| · |
Blade systems may have up to three iSCSI initiator ports. |
|
| · |
A BladeCenter as a whole may have up to 42 iSCSI initiator ports (three iSCSI initiator ports per blade that is present). |
|
| · |
The maximum Ethernet cable length between a switch and an iSCSI adaptor (IBM i target or BladeCenter/System x initiator) are:
100m for copper (category 5e or 6) cables
220m for 62.5/125 µm multimode fiber cables
500m for 50/125 µm multimode fiber cables
|
|
Footnotes:
1 The actual number will depend on the amount of I/O that each blade or System x model is doing.
|
|
|
|
| 5713 |
520, 550, 570, 595 |
573B-002 |
1 port Copper iSCSI HBA |
|
| 5714 |
520, 550, 570, 595 |
573C-002 |
1 port Fiber iSCSI HBA |
|
| 5783 |
i515, i520, i525, i550, i570, i595 |
573B-002 |
1 port Copper iSCSI HBA |
|
| 5784 |
i515, i520, i525, i550, i570, i595 |
573C-002 |
1 port Fiber iSCSI HBA |
|
|
| Multiple channels are used when ordering integrated BladeCenter blade or System x models and the associated software. See Ordering channels for iSCSI. |
|
|
The minimum server firmware required for the #5783 PCI-X iSCSI HBA Copper and #5784 PCI-X iSCSI HBA Fiber adapters are:
- For Model 520 Power5+ (Processor Features 8325, 8327, and 8330) the server firmware level must be 240_219 or later.
- For all other supported models and other 520 processor features, the server firmware level must be the later of either 235_185 or the specific FW level required for your model/processor (which can be found at http://www-912.ibm.com/e_dir/eServerPrereq.nsf).
|
|
| |
|
|
|
