TheIBM BladeCenter wasIBM'sblade server architecture, until it was replaced byFlex System in 2012. The x86 division was later sold toLenovo in 2014.[1]
BladeCenter E back side, showing on the left twoFC switches and twoEthernet switches. On the right side amanagement module with VGA and PS/2 keyboard and mouse cables connected.Magerit supercomputer (CeSViMa) has 86 Blade Centers (6 Blade Center E on each computing rack)
Introduced in 2002, based on engineering work started in 1999, theIBMeServer BladeCenter was relatively late to theblade server market. It differed from prior offerings in that it offered a range of x86Intel server processors and input/output (I/O) options.
The naming was changed toIBM BladeCenter in 2005. In February 2006, IBM introduced the BladeCenter H with switch capabilities for10 Gigabit Ethernet andInfiniBand 4X.
A web site called Blade.org was available for the blade computing community through about 2009.[2]
In 2012, the replacementFlex System was introduced.
The original IBM BladeCenter was later marketed as BladeCenter E.[3] Power supplies have been upgraded through the life of the chassis from the original 1200 to 1400, 1800, 2000 and 2320 watt.
The BladeCenter (E) was co-developed by IBM andIntel and included:
BladeCenter T is thetelecommunications company version[4] of the original BladeCenter, available with either AC or DC (48 V)[5] power. Has 8 blade slots in 8U, but uses the same switches and blades as the regular BladeCenter E. To keepNEBS Level 3 / ETSI compliant special Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) compliant blades are available.
Upgraded BladeCenter design with high-speed fabric options, announced in 2006.[6] Backwards compatible with older BladeCenter switches and blades. Features:[7]
14 blade slots in 9U
Shared Media tray with Optical drive andUSB 2.0 port
BladeCenter HT is the telecommunications company version[9] of the BladeCenter H, available with either AC or DC (48 V) power. Has 12 blade slots in 12U, but uses the same switches and blades as the regular BladeCenter H. But to keepNEBS Level 3 / ETSI compliant special NEBS compliant blades are available.
Targets mid-sized customers by offering storage inside the BladeCenter chassis, so no separate external storage needs to be purchased. It can also use 120V power in the North American market, so it can be used outside the datacenter. When running at 120V, the total chassis capacity is reduced. Features:[10]
6 blade slots in 7U
Shared Media tray with optical drive and 2×USB 2.0 ports
Storage: Up to 12 hot-swap 3.5" (or 24 2.5")SAS orSATA drives withRAID 0, 1, and 1E capability (RAID 5 and SAN capabilities optional with two SAS RAID controllers)
Two optional Disk Storage Modules for HDDs, six 3.5" SAS/SATA drives each
4 hot-swap I/O switch module bays
Power: Two 950/1450-watt, hot-swap modules and ability to have two optional 950/1450-watt modules, offering redundancy and power for robust configurations;C19/C20 connectors
Four hot-swap redundant blowers (plus one fan in each power supply)
Option for two hot swapSAS 2.5" drives orSSD (RAID 0 and 1 are possible)
Two 1Gbit/s Ethernet ports (Broadcom 5709S)
1CIOv slot (standardPCI-Express daughter card) and 1CFFh slot (high-speedPCI-Express daughter card) for a total of 8 ports of I/O to each blade, including 4 ports of high-speed I/O
The BladeCenter can have a total of four switch modules, but two of the switch module bays can take only an Ethernet switch or Ethernet pass-though. To use the other switch module bays, a daughtercard needs to be installed on each blade that needs it, to provide the requiredSAN, Ethernet,InfiniBand orMyrinet function. Mixing of different type daughtercards in the same BladeCenter chassis is not allowed.
Gigabit Ethernet switch modules were produced by IBM,Nortel, andCisco Systems.BLADE Network Technologies produced some switches, and later was purchased by IBM.In all cases speed internal to the BladeCenter, between the blades, is non-blocking. External Gigabit Ethernet ports vary from four to six and can be either copper oroptical fiber.
A variety of SAN switch modules have been produced byQLogic,Cisco,McData (acquired by Brocade) andBrocade ranging in speeds of 1, 2, 4 and 8 Gbit Fibre Channel. Speed from theSAN switch to the blade is determined by the lowest-common-denominator between the blade HBA daughtercard and theSAN switch. External port counts vary from two to six, depending on the switch module.
A InfiniBand switch module has been produced byCisco. Speed from the blade InfiniBand daughtercard to the switch is limited to IB 1X (2.5 Gbit). Externally the switch has one IB 4X and one IB 12X port. The IB 12X port can be split to three IB 4X ports, giving a total of four IB 4X ports and a total theoretical external bandwidth of 40 Gbit.
Two kinds of pass-through module are available: copper pass-through and fibre pass-through. The copper pass-through can be used only with Ethernet, while the Fibre pass-through can be used for Ethernet,SAN orMyrinet.
Bridge modules are only compatible with BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HT. They function like Ethernet orSAN switches and bridge the traffic toInfiniBand. The advantage is that from the Operating System on the blade everything seems normal (regular Ethernet orSAN connectivity), but inside the BladeCenter everything gets routed over theInfiniBand.
High-speed switch modules are compatible only with the BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HT. A blade that needs the function must have a high-speed daughtercard installed. Different high-speed daughtercards cannot be mixed in the same BladeCenter chassis.
A 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch module was available from BLADE Network Technologies. This allowed 10 Gbit/s connection to each blade, and to outside the BladeCenter.
A high-speed InfiniBand 4X SDR switch module fromCisco. This allows IB 4X connectivity to each blade. Externally the switch has two IB 4X ports and two IB 12X ports. The 12X ports can be split to three 4X ports, providing a total of eight IB 4X ports or a theoretical bandwidth of 80 Gbit. Internally between the blades, the switch is non-blocking.
A High-speedInfiniBand pass-through module to directly connect the blades to an externalInfiniBand switch. This pass-though module is compatible with both SDR and DDRInfiniBand speeds.
A high-speed InfiniBand 4X QDR switch module from Voltaire (later acquired byMellanox Technologies). This allows full IB 4X QDR connectivity to each blade. Externally the switch has 16 QSFP ports, all 4X QDR capable.
TheIBM Roadrunner supercomputer used a custom module called the TriBlade from 2008 through 2013. An expansion blade connects two QS22 modules with 8 GB RAM each via 4PCIe x8 links to a LS21 module with 16 GB RAM, two links for each QS22. It also provides outside connectivity via anInfiniband 4x DDR adapter. This makes a total width of four slots for a single TriBlade. Three TriBlades fit into oneBladeCenter H chassis.[22]
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