IBM System i platform delivers enhancements for the POWER6 570 and other System i models
IBM United States Hardware Announcement 108-073January 29, 2008
 ENUS108073.PDF (30KB)
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At a glance
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| At a glance |
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System i enhancements include:
- Significantly improved POWER6 Fibre Channel functionality and performance
- Improved POWER6 570 availability
- Extended 282 GB disk support
- Intelligent power distribution unit (PDU) for better facilities management
For ordering, contact:
Your IBM representative, an IBM Business Partner, or IBM Americas Call Centers at
800-IBM-CALL
(Reference: YE001).
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| Overview |
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The System i™ POWER6™ model 570 now offers significantly improved IBM i5/OS™ Fibre Channel capabilities when running i5/OS V6R1.
- Two smart IOA Fibre Channel adapters, dual-port PCIe and PCI-X, use a rearchitected System i pathlink to greatly enhance POWER6 Fibre Channel I/O subsystem characteristics.
- PCI slot usage is now more efficient. You can achieve a PCI slot reduction of up to four to one, or more, streamlining the overall size and cost of your System i configuration.
- The new pathlink for adapters offers significantly better disk performance compared to the earlier IOP/IOA implementation.
The latest system firmware level delivers two availability enhancements to the POWER6 i570: hot failover of service processors and hot add of HSL-2 or 12X loops. These enhancements can help reduce unplanned and planned downtime events. In addition, future planned enhancements enable hot-node add.
The 282 GB 15k rpm SCSI disk drive is now supported in I/O enclosures in addition to the EXP24 Disk Enclosure. Either the SCSI 282 GB or SAS 283 GB 15k rpm disk drive can be used with i5/OS V6R1 as a load source device. These disk enhancements give you additional flexibility.
Much of the System i product line can now take advantage of an intelligent PDU that continuously collects data on power usage. IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager can display data for better monitoring and power and cooling insights for your computer room.
Several software content changes are made to model 520, 550, 570, and 595 editions. Revised
editions include changes to XML Toolkit, Enterprise Workload Manager (EWLM), and Workplace Services
Express.
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| Planned availability dates |
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February 8, 2008, except for the following:
March 21, 2008:
- 0534 i5/OS V6R1 M0 Machine Code
- 5749 4 Gbps Fibre Channel (2-Port)
- 0841 #4329/#1269 Load Source Specify
Note:
i5/OS V6R1 will be available on previously announced feature #5774 4 Gbps Fibre Channel (2-Port) on
March 21, 2008.
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| Description |
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Smart Fibre Channel adapters
The #5749 is a 4 Gb dual-port PCI-X Fibre Channel adapter. The previously announced #5774 is a 4 Gb dual-port PCIe Fibre Channel adapter. Both these adapters are smart IOA adapters that do not require an IOP, so that you can save PCI slots. When used with i5/OS, both require a POWER6 system with i5/OS V6R1 and support IBM DS8000™ attachment, multipath, SAN load source, and tape alternate IPL.
You can mix tape and disk on the same Fibre Channel adapter, but concurrent operations may significantly affect performance.
Smart IOA Fibre Channel adapters support these tape libraries with the initial shipment of V6R1:
- 3592 with 3592 J1A/3592 E05 drives
- 3584 (TS3500) with LTO 2, LTO 3, or 3592 J1A/3592 E05 drives
- 3494 with 3592 J1A/3592 E05 drives
IBM plans for Smart IOA Fibre Channel adapters to support these additional tape libraries by fourth quarter 20081:
- 3573 (TS3100, TS3200) with LTO 3 or LTO 4 drives2
- 3576 (TS3310) with LTO 3 or LTO 4 drives2
- 3577 (TS3400) with 3592 E05 drives2
- 1
- All statements regarding IBM's plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice.
- 2
- Informational APAR II14355 will contain the specific support date and prerequisite PTF level information when available.
For additional tape library information, visit
POWER6 570 firmware enhancements
Redundant service processor hardware is installed in POWER6 570 configurations that have more than one processor enclosure and the new system firmware 3.2, fixpack 1, to be available on February 29, 2008. To download, visit
This enables hot failover if a service processor fails. This function requires the hardware management console (HMC) to be attached to the service interface card in both processor enclosure one and two. The service interface card in both enclosures must also be connected using an SPCN power control cable (#6006 or similar).Hot-adding HSL-2 and 12X I/O loops to the system configuration is also supported with the new firmware level. These GX loop adapters can now be added while your system is running and brought into use. Memory must be preallocated for the additional GX card use. If the GX loop adapter is added without memory preallocation, an IPL is required to allocate the memory and to bring the adapter into use. The new firmware level also supports concurrent maintenance of the GX adapters. If the GX adapter fails, you can replace the card with a working card without powering down your system. Note that the partitions that depend on I/O attached to the failed GX adapter would be affected during the outage and adapter replacement.
The #4329 282.25 GB 15k rpm SCSI disk drive is physically identical to the #1269 282.25 GB 15k rpm disk drive announced in 2007, but feature #4329 designates the disk drive is located in a #5094/5294/9194/8294, #0595/5095, or 520/525/550/570 system unit. The #1269 is located in an EXP24 disk enclosure.
Intelligent PDU+
Continuous power usage data can be collected on your System i configuration via a #7109 intelligent power distribution unit (PDU+). The intelligent PDU+ includes 12 electrical outlets per PDU for the #0551 1.8 m rack, #0553 2.0 m rack, and #0555 25U rack. The #7109 is interchangeable with the #7188 PDU. However, only the #7109 PDU+ can collect usage data. You can display power usage data from the IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager. Data administrators can use the information to monitor the power consumption of the data center at various times of the day, week, or month. They can use that information to identify anomalies and manage loads when electrical demands or costs are high. Electrical usage information correlates to heat output, so the data can also offer insights into air conditioning requirements.
The Active Energy Manager, which displays the power consumption information collected by an intelligent PDU+, is the same application that can offer a way to reduce energy consumption of specific POWER6 570 configurations that use only 12X I/O drawers and have no HSL I/O drawers/towers. Using the Active Energy Manager, you can enable and disable power saver mode automatically, based on time of day or processor use. Scheduling power saver mode for high energy usage times can reduce peak energy consumption and help lower the cost of energy used. Enabling this mode during low processor use periods, such as nights and weekends, can reduce overall energy consumption without disrupting business operations.
Edition content
Changes have been made to the following editions for the specified models.
XML Toolkit for iSeries™ (5733-XT1) is replaced by XML Toolkit for IBM System i (5733-XT2).
9406-550
- 7155 — Enterprise Edition for #0910 (1/4 way)
- 7630 — Solution Edition for #0910 (1/4 way)
9406-570
- 7747 — Enterprise Edition for #0934 (2/4 way)
- 7748 — Enterprise Edition for #0935 (4/8 way)
- 7749 — Enterprise Edition for #0936 (8/16 way)
9406-595
- 5890 — Enterprise Edition for #0953 (8/16 way)
- 5891 — Enterprise Edition for #0954 (16/32 way)
- 5892 — Enterprise Edition for #0955 (32/64 way)
IBM Virtualization Engine™ Enterprise Workload Manager for i5/OS 5733-EWA) is removed without replacement to simplify the edition.
9406-550
- 7155 — Enterprise Edition for #0910 (1/4 way)
- 7630 — Solution Edition for #0910 (1/4 way)
9406-570
- 7747 — Enterprise Edition for #0934 (2/4 way)
- 7748 — Enterprise Edition for #0935 (4/8 way)
- 7749 — Enterprise Edition for #0936 (8/16 way)
9406-595
- 5890 — Enterprise Edition for #0953 (8/16 way)
- 5891 — Enterprise Edition for #0954 (16/32 way)
- 5892 — Enterprise Edition for #0955 (32/64 way)
Workplace Services Express (5733-WSE) is removed without replacement to simplify the edition.
9406-520
- 7734 — Enterprise Edition (1 way 1200 CPU)
- 7735 — Enterprise Edition (1 way 2800 CPU)
- 7736 — Enterprise Edition (1/2 way 3800-7100 CPU)
9406-550
- 7155 — Enterprise Edition for #0910 (1/4 way)
- 7630 — Solution Edition for #0910 (1/4 way)
9406-570
- 7747 — Enterprise Edition for #0934 (2/4 way)
- 7748 — Enterprise Edition for #0935 (4/8 way)
- 7749 — Enterprise Edition for #0936 (8/16 way)
9406-595
- 5890 — Enterprise Edition for #0953 (8/16 way)
- 5891 — Enterprise Edition for #0954 (16/32 way)
- 5892 — Enterprise Edition for #0955 (32/64 way)
Product preview: IBM plans to enable POWER6 i570 systems to add an additional processor enclosure (node) without powering down the system (hot-node add).
The additional POWER6 570 enclosure is ordered as a system upgrade and added to the original system while operations continue. The additional resources of the new enclosure can be assigned to existing or new applications, as required.
In addition, in certain cases, IBM plans to provide the capability for POWER6 i570 systems that have experienced a failure and rebooted without one of the processor enclosures active, to be able to have the deactivated enclosure repaired and reintegrated into the active system without powering down the system (cold-node repair). The additional resources of the repaired system unit enclosure can be assigned to existing or new applications, as required.
This capability is planned to be available at no additional charge to existing POWER6 i570 users via a system firmware upgrade later in 2008. (Additional processor enclosures are ordered and charged according to normal business practices.)
Previews provide insight into IBM plans and directions. General availability, prices, ordering information, and terms and conditions will be provided when the product is announced. All statements regarding IBM's plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice. Any reliance on these previews or statements of general direction is at the relying party's sole risk and will not create liability or obligation for IBM.
Planning information
The new smart IOA Fibre Channel attachment uses either a PCI-X or PCI-e adapter running under i5/OS V6R1 on POWER6 systems. These Fibre Channel controllers can support either tape or disk. However, for performance reasons, it is not recommended that tape and disks be attached to the same physical Fibre Channel controller and run concurrently.
The tape library support for the smart IOA Fibre Channel controller is planned to be made available in stages as shown in the following table. Some older libraries are not planned to be supported with these controllers, and you can continue to attach them using the existing IOP-based Fibre Channel controllers.
Library/Drive Drive/Media
Available at initial release of Smart IOA
3592 3592 J1A / 3592 E05
3584 (TS3500) LTO 2 / 3
3592 J1A / 3592 E05
3494 3592 J1A / 3592 E05
Stage 2 — by 4Q08
3573 (TS3100, TS3200) LTO 3 / 4
3576 (TS3310) LTO 3 / 4
3577 (TS3400) 3592 E05
IOP-based required; Smart IOA support is not planned.
3581 3582, 3583, 3490, LTO 1
3570, 3590, 9348 LTO 2, other than in 3584
i5/OS support for IBM System Storage™ DS4700 and DS4800 on POWER6 systems
i5/OS V6R1, through the enhanced capability of the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS), supports the attachment of the IBM System Storage DS4700 and DS4800 products to POWER6 systems. The attachment through VIOS is fully transparent to the i5/OS operating system and supports all types of objects, including database. The DS4700 and DS4800 are attached to the VIOS via a Fibre Channel adapter.
For best performance and reliability, the DS4700 and DS4800 Fibre Channel disk drives are strongly recommended over the SATA disk drives. You should consider DS4700 or DS4800 SATA drive configurations only when price is the primary decision factor.
Accessibility by people with disabilities
You can request a U.S. Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) containing details on accessibility compliance at
Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act
IBM System i models are capable, when used in accordance with IBM's associated documentation, of
satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provided that any
assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it.
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| Product positioning |
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For POWER6 systems running i5/OS V6R1, the new smart IOA Fibre Channel adapters offer up to a four-to-one improvement in PCI slot efficiency compared to the existing IOP/IOA Fibre Channel implementation. To measure the improvement using the number of ports attached to a SAN disk storage unit, start with today's IOP/IOA implementation. For Fibre Channel attached disk, one IOP and one IOA disk controller is needed for each Fibre Channel port. But for the new smart Fibre Channel IOA, only one dual-port adapter (requiring one PCI slot) is needed instead of two IOPs plus two IOP-based Fibre Channel disk controllers (up to a four-to-one savings). Or viewing in a slightly different way, an IOP/IOA pair can support up to 32 LUNs, or 16 LUNs per PCI slot. The smart IOA can support up to 64 LUNs per port, or up to 128 LUNs per adapter (up to an eight-to-one savings per PCI slot).
Rearchitected pathlinks offer significantly better disk performance compared to the earlier IOP/IOA implementation. Although internal disk performance still has an advantage in some situations, a properly configured IBM DS8000 nearly equals internal disk performance. IBM DS8000 is supported, but IBM ESS 800 and IBM DS6000™ via smart IOA Fibre Channel is not.
Smart Fibre Channel IOA attached tape offers alternate IPL capability, a function not available on an IOP-based Fibre Channel adapter. Negligible performance difference is anticipated for Fibre Channel attached tape when comparing IOP/IOA to smart IOA configurations. Refer to the Description section and the planning Web site for additional information on which tape libraries can attach via the smart Fibre Channel IOAs.
Compared to the existing #7188 PDU, the new #7109 intelligent PDU+ has the same number of electrical outlets per PDU, amperage per outlet and PDU, circuit breaker structure, power cord options, and 1 EIA rack size. Although it is deeper than the #7188, it also fits in the side pockets of the #0551 1.8 m and #0553 2.0 m racks. The #7188 PDU does not offer power monitoring.
Business Partner information
If you are a Direct Reseller - System Reseller acquiring products from IBM, you may link directly to Business Partner information for this announcement. A PartnerWorld ID and password are required (use IBM ID).
BP Attachment for Announcement Letter 108-073
Trademarks
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| Publications |
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No publications are shipped with the announced features. The IBM Systems Information Center provides you with a single information center where you can access product documentation for IBM systems hardware, operating systems, and server software. Through a consistent framework, you can efficiently find information and personalize your access. The IBM Systems Information Center is at
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These services help you learn about, plan, install, manage, or optimize your IT infrastructure to be an On Demand Business. They can help you integrate your high-speed networks, storage systems, application servers, wireless protocols, and an array of platforms, middleware, and communications software for IBM and many non-IBM offerings. IBM is your one-stop shop for IT support needs.
For details on available services, contact your IBM representative or visit
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| Technical information |
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Planning information
Cable orders: No cable orders required.
Security, auditability, and control
System i™ systems use the security and auditability features of IBM i5/OS™. Use of these facilities is optional. The security measures supplied by i5/OS are designed to reduce the risk of users changing or destroying data resources, but do not prevent it. The i5/OS security features include the use of passwords, a security option to limit a user to only functions provided by customer-designed menus, and a security option to limit read/write access for files, libraries, and folders during normal operations. To achieve increased security, the i5/OS controls should be combined with physical security, division of duties, and other appropriate measures.
The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security features,
administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and communications
facilities.
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| IBM Electronic Services |
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IBM has transformed its delivery of hardware and software support services to help you achieve higher system availability. Electronic Services is a Web-enabled solution that offers an exclusive, no-additional-charge enhancement to the service and support available for IBM servers. These services are designed to provide the opportunity for greater system availability with faster problem resolution and preemptive monitoring. Electronic Services comprises two separate, but complementary, elements: Electronic Services news page and Electronic Services Agent.
The Electronic Services news page is a single Internet entry point that replaces the multiple entry points traditionally used to access IBM Internet services and support. The news page enables you to gain easier access to IBM resources for assistance in resolving technical problems.
The Electronic Service Agent™ is no-additional-charge software that resides on your server. It monitors events and transmits system inventory information to IBM on a periodic, client-defined timetable. The Electronic Service Agent automatically reports hardware problems to IBM. Early knowledge about potential problems enables IBM to deliver proactive service that may result in higher system availability and performance. In addition, information collected through the Service Agent is made available to IBM service support representatives when they help answer your questions or diagnose problems. Installation and use of IBM Electronic Service Agent for problem reporting enables IBM to provide better support and service for your IBM server.
To learn how Electronic Services can work for you, visit
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| Prices |
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The prices provided in this announcement are suggested retail prices for the U.S. only and are provided for your information only. Dealer prices may vary, and prices may also vary by country. Prices are subject to change without notice. For additional information and current prices, contact your local IBM representative.
Features and specify codes
Purchase
Description Feature price CSU
i5/OS V6R1 M0 Machine Code 0534 $ 0 Yes
#3678 Load Source Specify 0840 0 Yes
#4329/#1269 Load Source Spec 0841 0 Yes
300GB 15k rpm Disk Unit 3585 1,999 Yes
282.25GB 15k rpm Disk Unit 4329 2,799 Yes
1Gb Ethernet UTP 4-port Adapter 5717 1,099 Yes
4Gbps Fibre Channel (2-Port) 5749 3,308 Yes
Cable Restraint Hardware 7099 60 No
Intelligent PDU Plus 7109 1,455 Yes
Quantity 150 of #4329 7511 419,850 Yes
Adv POWER(TM) Virt -- Enterprise 7995 1,999 Yes
Conversions
Feature conversions
Parts Purchase
From To: returned price
4329 1269 No $0
1269 4329 No 0
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| Order now |
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To order, contact the Americas Call Centers, your local IBM representative, or your IBM Business Partner.
To identify your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, call 800-IBM-4YOU (426-4968).
Phone: 800-IBM-CALL (426-2255)
Fax: 800-2IBM-FAX (242-6329)
Internet: callserv@ca.ibm.com
Mail: IBM Teleweb Customer Support
ibm.com Sales Execution Center, Americas North
3500 Steeles Ave. East, Tower 3/4
Markham, Ontario
Canada
L3R 2Z1
Reference: YE001
The Americas Call Centers, our national direct marketing organization, can add your name to the mailing list for catalogs of IBM products.
Note: Shipments will begin after the planned availability date.
Trademarks
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