Dual-core Opteron system grows nicely

WHEN ADMINISTRATORS need the latest and most flexible technology from a Tier one supplier, IBM usually manages to provide a high-quality, cost-effective box without having to sacrifice flexibility. In line with its previous high-end AMD offerings, the IBM x3755 supports the latest dual-core AMD Opteron processors. The system has the ability to grow with a customer's application requirements, thanks to a variety of processors that can be implemented that range from 2.0 to a 2.8GHz clock.

The x3755 can use up to 32GB of high-speed DDR2 system memory per processor for a total of 128GB of 667MHz DDR2 (PC2-5300) memory. Optionally users can order the systems with the additional support of IBM's Chipkill ECC (Error Checking and Correcting) protection. Just like other newer X-Series models, the x3755 also offers online hot-spare memory. When online hot-spare memory is enabled, up to 28GB per processor (using eight dual-rank 4GB DIMMs) of memory is available The feature also requires support at the operating system level.

IBM's Xcelerated Memory Technology (pdf) boosts memory throughput using IBM's CPU Pass Thru Card. In an independent case study performed by VeriTest, the IBM System x3755 outperformed the HP DL585 G2 by 10.4 per cent using SPECjbb2005 with identical four processors and 32GB memory configurations. When configured with three processors, the IBM System x3755 and IBM's CPU Pass Thru card outperformed the HP DL585 G2 configured with four processors by 27.7 per cent.

Every x3755 model includes an integrated SAS controller providing data transfer speeds of up to 300MB per second across the SAS bus. The x3755 also comes bundled with an integrated hardware-based ServeRAID-8k-l controller enabling RAID-0/1/10 support, and provides 32MB of PC2-4200 DDR II cache memory. An optional, slotless ServeRAID-8k controller is available to enhance performance, with 256MB of battery-backed cache, and the support of RAID levels 0/1/10/1E/5/6. The system can sport up to four internal 3.5-inch hot-swap SAS HDDs internally for a maximum of 1.2TB internal storage. Users that require more storage can alternatively integrate an iSCSI or Fibre Channel-attached device using IBM System Storage or TotalStorage servers. The x3755 also includes an IDE controller to support the integrated DVD/CD-ROM drive.

The dual, integrated, high-speed gigabit Broadcom Ethernet controllers offer TOE (TCP offload engine) support, load-balancing and failover capabilities. The x3755 utilizes Broadcom's BCM5708 Ethernet controllers that can provide users with up to 10X higher maximum throughput than a 10/100 Ethernet controller. The TCP Offload Engine (TOE) feature offers higher performance for TCP/IP traffic, with less overhead on the system processor. This C-NIC (converged network interface controller) is a part of Broadcom's NetExtreme II product family, and a follow-up to its BM5706 part which we reported on here. The controller supports highly secure remote power management using IPMI 2.0, plus Wake on LAN, and a PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) flash interface. Users requiring more advanced features can use optional PCI adapters for failover and load balancing support for added throughput and increased system availability.

An ATI AMD Radeon RN50B SVGA video controller provides up to 1280x1024 resolution, with a colour depth of 32 bits at a 85Hz refresh rate. The x3755's three integrated USB 2.0 ports provide speedy access to external HDDs (non-arrayed), optical drives, tape drives, and other USB devices. Two of the ports are on the front of the unit and one is on the back.

However, if an end user needs a high performance workstation or requires custom connectivity, the system comes with four PCI-E (x16, two x8, one x4), two PCI-X and one HTX high-performance 64-bit adapter expansion slots in all models. The advanced expansion slots provide users with the ability for potential future upgrades of high-performance adapters, such as 10Gb Ethernet, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand cards, none of which will run in older 33MHz and 66MHz conventional PCI slots.

Last year, we highlighted IBM's Light path diagnostics, which enable a technician to quickly identify and locate a failed or failing system component, such as a specific fan or memory DIMM. This enables quick replacement of the component, which helps increase server uptime and lower operating costs. Standard in the x3755 is an integrated Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) that enables users to manage and control the server both locally and remotely with ease. This high level of management system is designed to keep costs down and the system up even during peak network usage. Additional management features include IBM PowerExecutive, Automatic Server Restart, text console redirect, Predictive Failure Analysis, IBM Director and support for an optional Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine.

IBM's Automatic Server Restart helps reduce downtime by restarting the server automatically in the event of a system lockup. The technology is a combination of hardware circuitry and a device driver. As long as the server continues running, a watchdog timer will keep being reset, but if the operating system crashes or the hardware freezes, the software will be unable to reset the hardware timer. If the timer fails to reset within five minutes, a hardware reset is automatically triggered, which immediately restarts the server.

The optional Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine provides additional systems management capabilities, including Web-based out-of-band control, virtual floppy and optical drive support, Windows "blue screen" error capture, LDAP and SSL support and remote redirection of PCI video, text, keyboard and mouse. It also adds PFA support for fans. All of these features provided by the adapter are done without consuming a valuable adapter slot.

Accommodating compute-intensive and memory-intensive applications, this scalable yet powerful system is ideal for users requiring large memory bandwidth and high floating-point performance at an affordable price. The three-year (parts and labour) limited onsite warranty helps provide users with a peace of mind and greater investment protection than the industry standard one-year warranty does. A baseline model IBM System x3755 starts at $6,999 and is available through IBM's website. µ