IBM x3850 X6 Planning And Implementation Manual

Also see for System x3950 X6: Product guide Installation and service guide Product guide Installation instructions

Contents

50 IBM System x3850 X6 and x3950 X6 Planning and Implementation Guide3.1.3 Resilient platformThe server provides many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime: Upward Integration Modules for standard hypervisors enable the creation andmanagement of policies to maintain high availability of virtual machines and concurrentupdating of the system firmware, with no impact on application performance or availability. Advanced Processor Recovery allows the system to automatically switch access andcontrol of networking, management, and storage in the event of a processor 1 failure,providing higher availability and productivity. Advanced Page Retire proactively protects applications from corrupt pages in memory,which is crucial for scaling memory to terabytes. Redundant bit steering, memory mirroring, and memory rank sparing provide redundancyin the event of a non-correctable memory failure. Intel Execute Disable Bit functionality can help prevent certain classes of malicious bufferoverflow attacks when combined with a supported operating system. Intel Trusted Execution Technology provides enhanced security through hardware-basedresistance to malicious software attacks, allowing an application to run in its own isolatedspace, protected from all other software running on a system. Redundant Intel Platform Controller Hub (PCH) connections to the processors allow theplatform to maintain access to networking, storage, and server management during aprocessor failure. Hot-swap drives support RAID redundancy for data protection and greater system uptime. Hot-swap I/O Books enable you to install or replace adapters while the server is stillrunning. Tool-less lid-less design provides front and rear access for easy upgrades andserviceability; no need to pull the server out of the rack to access internal components. Hot-swap power supplies and hot-swap dual-motor redundant fans to provide availabilityfor mission-critical applications. A new LCD diagnostics panel combined with individual light path diagnostic LEDs quicklylead the technician to failed (or failing) components, which simplifies servicing, speeds upproblem resolution, and helps improve system availability. Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) detects when system components (processors, memory,HDDs, SSDs, fans, and power supplies) operate outside of standard thresholds andgenerates proactive alerts in advance of a possible failure, therefore increasing uptime. Built-in Integrated Management Module Version II (IMM2) continuously monitors systemparameters, triggers alerts, and performs recovering actions in case of failures to minimizedowntime. It includes a special Mezzanine LOM (ML2) adapter slot with support for adapters witheither two 10Gb ports or four Gigabit ports; supports direct connectivity to the IMM2service processor for out-of-band systems management. Integrated industry-standard Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) enablesimproved setup, configuration, and updates, and simplifies error handling. Two integrated Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) 1.2 support enables advancedcryptographic functionality, such as digital signatures and remote attestation. Industry-standard Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) NI provide support for faster,stronger encryption.