What The Server Offers - IBM xSeries 236 User Manual

What the server offers

The server uses the following features and technologies:
v Active PCI (hot-plug) adapter capabilities
v Active PCI Express X4 adapter capabilities
v Baseboard management controller
v IBM Director
v Memory mirroring
v Online-spare memory
v Large system-memory capacity
v IBM ServerGuide
4
IBM xSeries 236 Type 8841: User's Guide
The server has one hot-plug slot for a peripheral component interconnect (PCI)
adapter. With operating system support, you can replace a failing hot-plug a PCI
adapter without turning off the server. If the operating system and the adapter
support the hot-add feature, you can also add a PCI adapter in this slot without
turning off the server.
The server has two slots for PCI Express X4 adapters.These slots will accept X8
adapters, however they will operate as a X4 adapter.
The baseboard management controller provides environmental monitoring for the
server. If an environmental condition exceeds a threshold or if a system
component fails, the baseboard management controller lights LEDs to help you
diagnose the problem. Critical errors are also included in the error log.
Note: The baseboard management controller is also known as the service
processor.
IBM Director is a workgroup-hardware-management tool that you can use to
centrally manage xSeries servers. For more information, see the IBM Director
documentation on the IBM Director CD.
Memory mirroring improves the reliability of memory by writing information to the
main memory and redundant locations in a mirrored pair of DIMMs. For more
information, see "Memory mirroring" on page 7.
Online-spare memory disables failed memory from the system configuration and
activates an online-spare memory pair of DIMMs to replace the failed pair. For
more information, see "Online-spare memory" on page 7.
The server supports up to 16 GB of system memory. The memory controller
supports error correcting code (ECC) for up to eight single-sided
industry-standard PC3200, 400 megahertz (MHz), 1.8 V, 240-pin, registered,
double-data-rate (DDR) II, synchronous dynamic random access memory
(SDRAM) dual inline memory modules (DIMMs). The memory controller also
™
provides Chipkill Memory protection if the DIMMs are all type x4 and larger
than 128 MB. Chipkill Memory protection is a technology that protects the server
from a single chip failure on a DIMM.
™
Setup and Installation CD
The ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD that comes with the server provides
programs to help you set up the server and install a 32-bit Windows
system. The ServerGuide program detects installed hardware options and
provides the correct configuration programs and device drivers. For more
information about the ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD, see "Using the
ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD" on page 22.
®
operating