IBM BladeCenter PS703 Technical Overview And Introduction

Also see for BladeCenter PS703: Service guide

Contents

28 IBM BladeCenter PS703 and PS704 Technical Overview and IntroductionSerial over LAN (SOL)The integrated SOL function routes the console data stream over standard dual 1 GbEthernet ports to the Advance Management Module. The PS703 and PS704 do not haveon-board video chips and do not support KVM connections. Console access is only by SOLconnection. Each blade can have a single SOL session; however, there can be multiple telnetor ssh sessions to the BladeCenter AMM, each acting as a SOL connection to a differentblade.For more information, see 2.8.1, “Server console access by SOL” on page 65.1.7 Supported BladeCenter I/O modulesWith IBM BladeCenter, the switches and other I/O modules are installed in the chassis ratherthan as discrete devices installed in the rack.The BladeCenter chassis supports a wide variety and range of I/O switch modules. Theseswitch modules are matched to the type, slot location, and form factor of the expansion cardsinstalled in a blade server. For more information, see 1.6.7, “I/O features” on page 21 and 2.7,“Internal I/O subsystem” on page 55.The I/O switch modules described in the following sections are matched with the on-boardBroadcom 2-port BCM5709S network controller ports along with the supported expansioncard ports in the PS703 and PS704 blades.For the latest and most current information about blade, expansion card, switch module, andchassis compatibility and interoperability see the IBM BladeCenter Interoperability Guide atthe following web page:http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-50730161.7.1 Ethernet switch and intelligent pass-through modulesVarious types of Ethernet switch and pass-through modules from several manufacturers areavailable for BladeCenter, and they support different network layers and services. These I/Omodules provide external and chassis blade-to-blade connectivity.The Broadcom 2-port BCM5709S network controller, along with the supported expansioncards in the PS703 and PS704 blades, provides Ethernet connectivity. For more information,see 2.7.5, “Embedded Ethernet Controller” on page 63. There are two physical ports on thePS703 and four physical ports on the PS704. The data traffic from these on-blade 1 GbEthernet adapter ports is directed to I/O switch bays 1 and 2 respectively on all BladeCenterchassis except BladeCenter S. On the BladeCenter S the connections for all blade Ethernetports are wired to I/O switch bay 1.To provide external network connectivity and a SOL system console through the BladeCenterAdvanced Management Module, at least one Ethernet I/O module is required in switch bay 1.For more information, see 2.8.1, “Server console access by SOL” on page 65.In addition to the onboard Ethernet ports, the QLogic Ethernet and 4 Gb Fibre ChannelExpansion Card (CFFh) adapter can provide two additional 1 Gb Ethernet ports per card.A list of available Ethernet I/O modules that support the on-blade Ethernet ports andexpansion card are shown in Table 1-10 on page 29. Not all switches are supported in every