Configurations Rules - IBM RS/6000 SP Handbook

10.1 Configurations rules

The basic components that comprise an SP/CES system are nodes/servers,
frames, and switches. The SP architecture can generally support up to 128
nodes (512 with special request). Within these 128 nodes, you can have any
combination of thin/wide/high SP nodes (up to 128), SP-attached servers M/T
7017 supported Models (up to 16), and SP-attached servers M/T 7026 supported
Models (up to 32).
The CES architecture can support up to 32 servers. Within these 32 servers, you
can have any combination of CES M/T 7017 supported Models (up to 16), and
CES M/T 7026 supported Models (up to 32).
The SP architecture can generally support up to 128 frames. The model frame
(i.e., 550 or 500) is always the first frame in an SP system and it designates the
type or model class of your SP system. The other frames that connect to the
model frame are the expansion frames (i.e., F/C 1550 - Tall frame or F/C 1500 -
Short frame) and they can be:
Non-switched expansion frames (configured with SP nodes only)
Switched expansion frames (configured with SP nodes and an SP Switch)
There are three types of SP switches:
High Performance Switch (HiP Switch) - 8 ports (F/C 4007) and 16 ports (F/C
4010)
Scalable POWER Parallel Switch (SP Switch) - 8 ports (F/C 4008) and 16
ports (F/C 4011)
Scalable POWER Parallel Switch2 (SP Switch2) - 16 ports (F/C 4012)
Eight port Switches have limited scalability and flexibility that can support an
eight-node configuration only. For 16 port switches, the system can scale up to
128 nodes, with switch frames support.
Short frames can be developed into non-switched and SP Switch-8
configurations only. Tall frames provide more flexibility than Short frames in
configurations. At this time, there are four main types of Tall frame
configurations:
Non-switched configuration
SP-Switch (eight ports) configuration
SP Switch (16 ports) and SP Switch2 (16 ports) configuration
SP Switch (16 ports) and SP Switch2 (16 ports) with Intermediate Switch
Board (ISB) configuration
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