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Why blade servers?
As organizations look to physically consolidate servers, they are looking to replace
bulky server towers with 1U or 2U rack systems. These systems take less space
and put the enterprise server infrastructure within easy reach of the administrator.
However, these rack systems also introduce certain issues.
Each 1U or 2U server requires its own infrastructure, including power cables,
Ethernet or fibre-channel switches, systems management, power distribution units
(PDUs), and keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switches. A rack of 42 1U servers can
have hundreds of cables strung throughout the rack, making it difficult to determine
where cables are attached and increasing the complexity of adding or removing
servers from the rack.
A blade server is a rack-optimized server architecture designed to provide the
consolidation benefits of 1U and 2U rack systems while eliminating the
complications associated with these systems. A server blade is an independent
server containing one or more processors, memory, disk storage, and network
controllers. A server blade runs its own operating system and applications.
Each server blade is inserted into a slot at the front of the BladeCenter T unit and
connects to the midplane. The midplane provides a connection to shared
infrastructure components that include power, blowers, CD-ROM, integrated
Ethernet and fibre-channel switches, and the management module.
Blade server benefits
BladeCenter T is a robust, highly available architecture designed to integrate the
latest server processors, storage, and networking technology together into the
domain of the telecommunications central office and other rugged environments.
Benefits of the blade server architecture include:
v Modular scalability. Unlike traditional 8- or 16-way servers, blade servers are
v Flexibility. Unlike conventional server designs, the blade design does not impose
v Performance. You can get the same high-performance processor technologies in
8
BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Planning and Installation Guide
designed to scale out rather than up. Adding a new server typically involves
simply sliding a new single- or dual-processor blade into an open bay in a
BladeCenter T unit. There is no need to physically install and cable individual
servers.
Option modules allow shared infrastructure features, such as Gigabit Ethernet
switches and fibre-channel switches, to be included inside the BladeCenter T unit
rather than externally attached. Power modules are also integrated into the unit,
thus eliminating many of the power cables and power distribution units that
conventional servers require. This design along with its support for network
attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SANs) allows the
BladeCenter T to integrate into a scalable storage solution with enhanced
manageability features.
a limit of only one type of processor per server. Advanced chassis designs with
sophisticated cooling and power technologies can support a mix of blades
containing different types and speeds of processors. Each blade is a
self-contained server, running its own operating system and software. This
flexibility eliminates the need for stand alone servers to perform specific
functions. You can consolidate your workloads in one BladeCenter T unit,
regardless of whether an application requires a high-performance 64-bit
processor or a 32-bit processor.
the BladeCenter T processor platform as in 1U rack-optimized servers. High
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