IBM p5 550 Technical Overview And Introduction
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IBM p5 550 Technical Overview And Introduction

IBM p5 550 Technical Overview And Introduction

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IBM Eserver p5 550
Technical Overview
hnical Overview
and Introduction
Introduction
Finer system granularity using
Micro-Partitioning technology to lower TCO
Outstanding performance based on
POWER5 processor technology
From Web servers to
integrated cluster solutions
ibm.com/redbooks
Front cover
Redpaper
Giuliano Anselmi
Gregor Linzmeier
Wolfgang Seiwald
Philippe Vandamme

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  • Page 1 Front cover IBM Eserver p5 550 Technical Overview hnical Overview and Introduction Introduction Finer system granularity using Micro-Partitioning technology to lower TCO Outstanding performance based on POWER5 processor technology From Web servers to integrated cluster solutions Giuliano Anselmi Gregor Linzmeier...
  • Page 3 International Technical Support Organization IBM Sserver p5 550 Technical Overview and Introduction July 2004...
  • Page 4 First Edition (July 2004) This edition applies to IBM Sserver p5 550 AIX 5L Version 5.3, product number 5765-G03. © Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2004. All rights reserved. Note to U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule...

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    1.2.2 IBM eServer p5 550 rack-mounted ........
  • Page 6 IBM Redbooks ........
  • Page 7 How to get IBM Redbooks ........
  • Page 8 p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...

  • Page 9: Notices

    IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead.

  • Page 10: Trademarks

    The following terms are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both: Advanced Micro-Partitioning™ HACMP™ PowerPC® AIX® i5/OS™ pSeries® AIX 5L™ IBM® Redbooks™ Chipkill™ Micro-Partitioning™ Redbooks (logo) ™ Electronic Service Agent™ POWER™ RS/6000®...

  • Page 11: Preface

    Sales Organization in Salzburg, Austria. He holds a Diplomingenieur degree in Telematik from the Technical University of Graz. The main focus of his work for IBM in the past five years has been in the areas of the IBM Sserver pSeries systems and the IBM AIX operating system.

  • Page 12: Become A Published Author

    IBM U.S. Become a published author Join us for a two- to six-week residency program! Help write an IBM Redbook dealing with specific products or solutions, while getting hands-on experience with leading-edge technologies. You'll team with IBM technical professionals, Business Partners and/or customers.

  • Page 13: Chapter 1. General Description

    General description Chapter 1. The IBM Sserver p5 550 deskside and rack-mount servers are designed for greater application flexibility, with innovative technology, to capitalize on the e-business revolution at the entry-level or server environments. Introduced with the POWER4 and POWER4+...
  • Page 14 dual-port Ethernet controller, two serial ports, two USB 2.0 capable ports, two HMC ports, two RIO-2 ports, and two System Power Control Network (SPCN) ports. The p5-550 includes four front-accessible, hot-swap-capable disk bays in a minimum configuration with an additional four hot-swap-capable disk bays orderable as an optional feature.

  • Page 15: System Specifications

    1.1 System specifications Table 1-1 lists the general system specifications of the p5-550 system. Table 1-1 p5 550 specifications Description Range Operating temperature 5 to 35 degrees Celsius (41 to 95 F) Relative humidity 8% to 80% Operating voltage 2-way: 100 to 127 or 200 to 240 V AC (auto-ranging)

  • Page 16: Ibm Eserver P5 550 Deskside

    AIX or Linux starts the X11-based graphical user interface. Graphical AIX system tools are usable for configuration management if the adapter is connected to the primary console, such as the IBM L200p Flat-Panel Monitor (FC 3636) or the IBM T541H 15-inch TFT Color Monitor (FC 3637).

  • Page 17: Minimum And Optional Features

    The GXT135P 2D graphics accelerator with analog and digital interfaces (FC 2849) is available and is supported for SMS, firmware menus, and other low-level functions, as well as when AIX or Linux starts the X11-based graphical user interface. Graphical AIX system tools are usable for configuration management if the adapter is connected to a common maintenance console, such as the 7316-TF3 Rack-Mounted Flat-Panel display.

  • Page 18: Processor Card Features

    Two USB 2.0 ports Two HMC ports Two remote I/O (RIO-2) ports Two SPCN ports In addition, the p5-550 features one internal Ultra320 SCSI dual channel controller, redundant hot-swap power supply (optional), cooling fans, and up to two processor power regulators.

  • Page 19: Memory Features

    Concurrent diagnostics, as provided by AIX, is not available on Linux at the time of writing. Supplementary devices can be installed in the half-height media bay, such as: IBM 80/160 GB Internal Tape Drive with VXA Technology, FC 6120 Chapter 1. General description...

  • Page 20: Usb Diskette Drive

    60/150 GB 16-bit 8 mm Internal Tape Drive, FC 6134 36/72 GB 4 mm Internal Tape Drive, FC 6258 1.3.4 USB diskette drive For today’s administration tasks, an internal diskette drive is not state-of-the-art. In some situations, the external USB 1.44 MB diskette drive for p5-550 systems (FC 2591) is helpful. This super-slim-line and lightweight USB V2 attached diskette drive takes its power requirements from the USB port.

  • Page 21: Hardware Management Console Models

    Reserved ports Rack indicator Figure 1-3 7311-D20 I/O drawer Note: The 7311 Model D20 I/O drawer is designed to be installed by an IBM service representative. I/O drawers and usable PCI slots Only the 7311 Model D20 I/O drawer is supported on a p5-550 system. Depending on the p5-550 system configuration, the maximum number of I/O drawers supported is different.

  • Page 22: Value Paks

    include the handling of the partition profiles that define the processor, memory, and I/O resources allocated to an individual partition. The 7310 Model CR2 or the 7310 Model C03 HMCs are specifically for POWER5 processor-based systems. However, an existing 7315 Model CR2 and the 7315 Model C03 (POWER4 processor-based systems HMC) can be converted for POWER5 processor-based systems use when it is loaded with the HMC software required for POWER5 processor-based systems (FC 0961).

  • Page 23: System Racks

    The p5-550 uses a 4U rack-mounted server drawer. If a p5-550 system is to be installed in a non-IBM rack or cabinet, you should ensure that the rack conforms to the EIA standard EIA-310-D (see 1.5.6, “OEM rack”...

  • Page 24: Ibm Rs/6000 7014 Model T42 Enterprise Rack

    T00 base empty rack: 244 kg (535 pounds) T00 full rack: 816 kg (1795 pounds) 1.5.2 IBM RS/6000 7014 Model T42 Enterprise Rack The 2.0-meter (79.3-inch) Model T42 is the rack that will address the special requirements of customers who want a tall enclosure to house the maximum amount of equipment in the smallest possible floor space.

  • Page 25: Rack-Mounting Rules For P5-P550

    RS/6000 systems. IBM 7212 Model 102 IBM TotalStorage Storage device enclosure The IBM 7212 Model 102 is designed to provide efficient and convenient storage expansion capabilities for select IBM Sserver p5, pSeries, and RS/6000 servers. The IBM 7212 Model 102 is a 1U rack-mountable option to be installed in a standard 19-inch rack using an optional rack-mount hardware feature kit.

  • Page 26: Oem Rack

    Flat panel display options The IBM 7316-TF3 Flat Panel Console Kit may be installed in the system rack. This 1U console uses a 15-inch thin film transistor (TFT) LCD with a viewable area of 304.1 mm x 228.1 mm and a 1024 x 768 picture elements (pels) resolution. The 7316-TF3 Flat Panel Console Kit has the following attributes: Flat panel color monitor.
  • Page 27 Figure 1-4 Reference drawing for OEM rack specifications Chapter 1. General description...
  • Page 28 p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...

  • Page 29: Chapter 2. Architecture And Technical Overview

    SMI-II SMI-II SMI-II SMI-II *DDR1 memory *DDR1 memory 4-pack disk drive backplane 4-pack disk drive backplane 2 (Proc Clk):1 8 Bytes each dir Elastic Intfc Figure 2-1 p5-550 logic data flow © Copyright IBM Corp. 2004. All rights reserved.

  • Page 30: The Power5 Chip

    2.1 The POWER5 chip The POWER5 chip features single-threaded and multi-threaded execution, providing higher performance in the single-threaded mode than its POWER4 predecessor at equivalent frequencies provides. POWER5 maintains both binary and architectural compatibility with existing POWER4 systems to ensure that binaries continue executing properly and all application optimizations carry forward to newer systems.

  • Page 31: Power Chip Evolution

    Enhanced SMT features To improve SMT performance for various workload mixes and provide robust quality of service, POWER5 provides two features: Dynamic resource balancing – The objective of dynamic resource balancing is to ensure that the two threads executing on the same processor flow smoothly through the system. –...

  • Page 32: Cmos, Copper, And Soi Technology

    IBM Microelectronics Technologies systems to give customers improved performance, reduced power consumption, and decreased IT footprint size through logical partitioning. The POWER5 processor chip takes advantage of IBM leadership technology. It is made using IBM 0.13- m-lithography CMOS µ technology. The POWER5 processor also uses copper and silicon-on-insulator (SOI)

  • Page 33: Available Processor Speeds

    has a single DCM containing a POWER5 processor chip and a 36 MB L3 module. I/O connects to the Central Electronic Complex (CEC) subsystem through the GX+ bus. Each DCM provides a single GX+ bus for a total system capability of two GX+ buses. The GX+ bus provides an interface to a single device such as the RIO-2 buses, as shown in Figure 2-4.

  • Page 34: Memory Subsystem

    similar to the following (False, as used in this output, signifies that the value cannot be changed through an AIX command interface): type powerPC_POWER5 Processor type False frequency 165600000 Processor Speed False smt_enabled true Processor SMT enabled False smt_threads 2 Processor SMT threads False state enable Processor state...

  • Page 35: Memory Restriction

    OEM memory, you could experience unexpected and unpredictable behavior. All IBM memory is identified by an IBM logo and a white label printed with a barcode on top and an alphanumeric string on the bottom, created according to the rule reported in Figure 2-7.

  • Page 36: Rio Buses And Gx Card

    64-bit and 32-bit adapters IBM offers 64-bit adapter options for the p5-550, as well as 32-bit adapters. Higher-speed adapters use 64-bit slots because they can transfer 64 bits of data for each data transfer phase. Generally, 32-bit adapters can function in 64-bit PCI-X slots; however, some 64-bit adapters cannot be used in 32-bit slots.

  • Page 37: Lan Adapters

    10/100/1000 Mbps RJ-45 Ethernet controller integrated on the system planar can be used to accomplish that. See the Table 2-1 for the list of additional LAN adapters available at the time of writing. IBM supports an installation with NIM using Ethernet and token-ring adapters (CHRP is the platform type).

  • Page 38: Internal Serial Ports

    2.6 Internal serial ports The serial ports S1 and S2, at the rear of the system, are only available if the system is not managed using a Hardware Management Console (HMC). In this case, the S1 and S2 ports support the attachment of serial console and modem. virtual serial console If an HMC is connected, a is provided by the HMC (logical device vsa0...

  • Page 39: Raid Options

    Table 2-4 Hot-swappable disk drive options Feature code Description 3273 36.4 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra3 SCSI hot-swappable disk drive 3277 36.4 GB 15,000 RPM Ultra3 SCSI hot-swappable disk drive 3274 73.4 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra3 SCSI hot-swappable disk drive 3278 73.4 GB 15,000 RPM Ultra3 SCSI hot-swappable disk drive 3275 146.8 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra3 SCSI hot-swappable disk drive...

  • Page 40: External I/O Subsystem

    1 GB/sec is provided by each of the buses. To avoid overloading an I/O drawer, the Sserver Hardware Information Center recommendation in the should be followed. You can find it at: http://publib16.boulder.ibm.com/pseries/en_US/infocenter/base/ Figure 2-8 on page 29 shows a conceptual diagram of the 7311 Model D20 I/O drawer subsystem. p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...

  • Page 41: 7311 I/O Drawer's Rio-2 Cabling

    PC I-X Host B ridge R IO 133 M H z, 133 M H z, 64-bit PC I-X 64-bit PC I-X P C I-X B ridge P C I-X B ridge Figure 2-8 Conceptual diagram of the 7311-D20 I/O drawer 7311 Model D20 internal SCSI cabling A 7311 Model D20 supports hot-swappable disks using two 6-pack disk bays for a total of 12 disks.

  • Page 42: 7311 Model D20 I/O Drawer Spcn Cabling

    Each RIO-2 port can operate at 1 GHz in bidirectional mode and is capable of passing data in each direction on each cycle of the port. Therefore, the maximum data rate is 4 GB/s per I/O drawer in double barrel mode. There is one default primary RIO-2 loop in any p5-550 system.

  • Page 43: External Disk Subsystems

    IBM 2104 Expandable Storage Plus The IBM 2104 Expandable Storage Plus Model DS4 is a low-cost 3U disk subsystem that supports up to 14 Ultra320 SCSI disks from 18.2 GB up to 146.8 GB, at the time this publication was written.

  • Page 44: Dynamic Logical Partitioning

    IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server The IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) is the high-end premier storage solution for use in storage area networks. The 2105 Model 800 provides from 582 GB up to 55.9 TB of usable disk capacity. An ESS system can also be used to provide disk space for booting LPARs or Micro-partitions.
  • Page 45 POWER5 systems introduce an enhanced partitioning model available as a hardware feature. The Micro-Partitioning model offers a virtualization method of system resources. In POWER5 processor-based systems, physical resources are abstracted into virtual resources that are available to partitions. This sharing method is the primary feature of this new partitioning concept and it happens automatically after a initial system setup.

  • Page 46: Advanced Power Virtualization Feature

    2.10.1 Advanced POWER Virtualization feature The Advanced POWER Virtualization feature is a hardware feature (FC 7941 for the p5-550) that is available as an option on all IBM Sserver POWER5 processor-based systems. The Advanced POWER Virtualization feature is a combination of hardware enablement for Micro-partitions and software that supports the Virtual I/O environment on POWER5 processor-based systems.

  • Page 47: Partition Load Manager

    Virtual SCSI Access to real storage devices is implemented through the Virtual SCSI services, a part of the Virtual I/O Server partition. Logical volumes created and exported on the Virtual I/O Server partition will be shown at the Virtual Storage Client partition as a SCSI disk. All current storage device types, such as SAN, SCSI, and RAID, are supported.

  • Page 48: Service Processor

    2.11 Service processor The service processor (SP) is an embedded controller based on a PowerPC 405GP processor (PPC405) implementation running the SP internal operating system. The SP operating system contains specific programs and device drivers for the SP hardware (Figure 2-13 on page 36). The p5-550 uses the SP implementation.

  • Page 49: Service Processor Extender

    2.11.2 Service processor extender The SP extender unit offers two system power control network (SPCN) ports that are used to control the power of the attached I/O subsystems. The SPCN control software and the service processor software are run on the same PPC405 processor. 2.12 Boot process From the earlier RS/6000 systems, through the previous pSeries systems, the boot process passed through several enhancements.

  • Page 50: Hardware Management Console

    Manual or Normal. Manual mode overrides various automatic power-on functions, such as auto-power restart, and enables the power switch button. AIX/Linux partition mode boot, available only if the system is not managed by the HMC. – Service mode boot from saved list. This is the preferred way to run concurrent AIX diagnostics.

  • Page 51: Definitions Of Partitions

    Using the SMI or the ASMI, you can view or modify the proper IPL settings in order to set the boot mode to partition standby and then turn the system on. However, the HMC can be also used to power on the managed system (and is highly recommended). Using the HMC to turn the system on requires you to select one of the following choices: Partition Standby –...

  • Page 52: Hardware Requirements For Micro-Partitioning

    – A logical partition can have more than one partition profile, bu at least one as a minimum requirement. All resources dedicated partition profile A partition profile that contains the entire resource list of the machine, using all physical resources working as one system. System profile –...

  • Page 53: System Management Service

    After the text-based SMS starts (either for terminal or graphic window), a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 2-14 opens. Version SF220_004 SMS 1.5 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All right reserved ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Menu Select Language...

  • Page 54: Boot Options

    Note: The version of system firmware currently installed in your system is displayed at the top of each screen. Processor and other device upgrades might require a specific version of firmware to be installed in your system. On each menu screen, you are given the option of choosing a menu item and pressing Enter (if applicable), or selecting a navigation key.

  • Page 55: Additional Boot Options

    2.13 Operating system requirements All new POWER5 servers are capable of running IBM AIX 5L for POWER and support appropriate versions of Linux. AIX 5L has been specifically developed and enhanced to exploit and support the extensive RAS features on IBM Sserver pSeries systems.

  • Page 56: Aix 5L

    For more information about suma command see 3.3.4, “Service Update Management Assistant” on page 57. If you have problems downloading the latest maintenance level, ask your IBM Business Partner or IBM representative for assistance. The Advanced POWER Virtualization feature is not supported on AIX 5L Version 5.2.
  • Page 57 Linux. For more information, check: http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/linux/whitepapers/linux_pseries.html Linux support IBM only supports the Linux systems of customers with a SupportLine contract covering Linux. Otherwise, the Linux distributor should be contacted for support. Chapter 2. Architecture and technical overview...
  • Page 58 p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...

  • Page 59: Chapter 3. Capacity On Demand, Ras, And Manageability

    Chapter 3. manageability The following sections provide more detailed information about IBM Sserver p5 design features that will help lower the total cost of ownership (TCO). This chapter includes several features based on the benefits available when using AIX 5L. Support of these features using Linux can vary.

  • Page 60: Capacity On Demand

    After an On/Off Processor Enablement feature is ordered and the associated enablement code is entered into the system, the customer must report On/Off usage to IBM at least monthly. This information, used to compute the billing data, is then provided to the sales channel.

  • Page 61: How To Report Temporary Activation Resources

    The following basic rules apply for the p5-550 system: After the CUoD resources are activated, the customer must either buy part or all of the activated CUoD resources from IBM or return the activated CUoD resources back to the system within 30 days.

  • Page 62: Reliability, Availability, And Serviceability

    3.2 Reliability, availability, and serviceability Excellent quality and reliability are inherent in all aspects of the IBM Sserver p5 design and manufacturing. The fundamental objective of the design approach is to minimize outages. The RAS features help to ensure that the system operates when required, performs reliably, and efficiently handles any failures that might occur.

  • Page 63: Permanent Monitoring

    Error Checkers Fault Isolation Register (FIR) (unique fingerprint of each error captured) L1 Cache Service L2/L3 Cache Processor Log Error Non-volatile Memory Disk Figure 3-1 Schematic of Fault Isolation Register implementation The FIRs are important because they enable an error to be uniquely identified, thus enabling the appropriate action to be taken.

  • Page 64: Self-Healing

    The operating system cannot program or access the temperature threshold using the SP. EPOW events can, for example, trigger the following actions: Temperature monitoring, which increases the fans speed rotation when ambient temperature is above a preset operating range. Temperature monitoring warns the system administrator of potential environmental-related problems.

  • Page 65: Fault Masking

    3.2.6 Fault masking If corrections and retries succeed and do not exceed threshold limits, the system remains operational with full resources, and no client or IBM customer engineer intervention is required. This technology is used in the following faults: CEC bus retry and recovery...

  • Page 66: Serviceability

    Attention LED) located on the front of the system, and ending with an LED near the failing Field Replaceable Unit. For more information about Customer Replaceable Units, including videos, see: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver System Attention LED The attention indicator is represented externally by an amber LED on the operator panel and the back of the system unit.

  • Page 67: Manageability

    Power subsystems PCI-X adapter cards 3.3 Manageability The functions and tools provided for IBM Sserver p5 systems are described in the next sections. 3.3.1 Service processor With system in power standby mode, or with an operating system in control of the machine, or controlling the related partition, the SP is working and checking the system for errors, ensuring the connection to the HMC for manageability purposes.

  • Page 68: Service Agent

    Service Agent is an application program that operates on a p5, pSeries or IBM RS/6000 computer and monitors them for hardware errors. It reports detected errors, assuming they meet certain criteria for criticality, to IBM for service with no customer intervention. It is an enhanced version of Service Director with a graphical user interface.

  • Page 69: P5 Customer-Managed Microcode

    Service Agent program. This key is used each time the Service Agent places a call for service. The IBM Service Agent Server checks the current customer service status from the IBM entitlement database;...

  • Page 70: Cluster 1600

    IBM Sserver Cluster 1600 is a POWER-based AIX 5L and Linux Cluster targeting scientific and technical computing, large-scale databases, and workload consolidation IBM Cluster Systems Management (CSM) is designed to provide a robust, powerful, and centralized way to manage a large number of POWER5-based systems all from one single point of control.
  • Page 71 CSM Version 1.4 on AIX and Linux (planned 4Q04) The CSM V1.4 on AIX and Linux introduces an optional IBM CSM High Availability Management Server feature, designed to allow automated failover of the CSM management server to a backup management server. In addition, sample scripts for setting up NTP...
  • Page 72 network tuning (AIX ONLY) configurations, and the capability to copy files across nodes or node groups in the cluster can improve cluster ease of use and site customization. p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...

  • Page 73: Related Publications

    IBM Sserver Hardware Management Console for pSeries Installation and Operations Guide, SA38-0590, provides information to operators and system administrators on how to use a IBM Hardware Management Console for pSeries (HMC) to manage a system. It also discusses the issues associated with logical partitioning planning and implementation.

  • Page 74: Online Resources

    Linux for IBM Sserver pSeries http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/linux/ Microcode Discovery Service http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/aix.invscoutMDS POWER4 system micro architecture, comprehensively described in the IBM Journal of Research and Development, Vol 46 No.1 January 2002 http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd46-1.html SCSI T10 Technical Committee http://www.t10.org p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...

  • Page 75: How To Get Ibm Redbooks

    SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 8 for pSeries information http://www.suse.de/us/business/products/server/sles/i_pseries.html How to get IBM Redbooks You can search for, view, or download Redbooks, Redpapers, Hints and Tips, draft publications and Additional materials, as well as order hardcopy Redbooks or CD-ROMs, at this Web site: ibm.com/redbooks...
  • Page 76 p5-550 Technical Overview and Introduction...
  • Page 78 ® IBM Eserver p5 550 Technical Overview and Introduction Redpaper Finer system This document is a comprehensive guide covering the IBM INTERNATIONAL Sserver p5 550 UNIX servers. We introduce major hardware granularity using TECHNICAL offerings and discuss their prominent functions.

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