Server Architecture. The Sun Fire X2270. Solve greater computational challenges faster. White Paper March Abstract

Transcription

1 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Solve greater computational challenges faster White Paper March 2009 Abstract Offering a compact form factor, the powerful performance of Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series, innovative high-speed data storage options, and the versatility to execute most any x86 or x64 application, the Sun Fire X2270 server is an excellent building block for Web infrastructure and high-performance computing environments. This white paper describes the architecture of the Sun Fire X2270 server, including the processor technology, I/O subsystem, and system management features.

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary...1 Escalating Business and Computational Challenges...2 Sun Fire X2270 server... 3 Creating a superior platform... 5 Meeting industry demands... 6 The Intel Advantage...8 New Intel Core Microarchitecture... 8 Intel Xeon Processor 5500 platform Server Architecture Motherboard Memory architecture PCI Express expansion On-Board interfaces Internal storage Power and cooling System management controller Flash Technology Solid state drives Sun Flash Modules Solaris ZFS file system Sun Flash Analyzer System Management Sun ILOM service processor SNMP Sun xvm Ops Center Operating System Support The Solaris Operating System Linux environments Microsoft Windows environments VMware virtualization technology Summary For more information... 35

3 1 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Executive Summary Researchers, engineers, e-commerce pioneers, and financial analysts constantly face new challenges that drive demand for greater computational power and throughput. To support more extensive exploration, geophysicists need tools to analyze deeper oceanic seismic maps. Electronic design engineers must synthesize and verify increasingly complex integrated circuits. In finance and e-commerce, IT professionals must find ways to create highly-responsive Web applications and mine growing datasets with increasing efficiency. An alliance forged between Sun and Intel brings together the necessary elements to create systems that support the most demanding workloads at top performance and an affordable price. The Sun Fire X2270 server provides a prime example of combining Intel products and Sun engineering expertise to deliver outstanding quality, performance, and price/performance. A follow-on product to the successful Sun Fire X2250 server, the Sun Fire X2270 server takes advantage of Sun s Open Network Systems design approach, optimizing and maximizing all the individual components of the system the architecture. The Sun Fire X2270 server includes some of the fastest technology that Intel has to offer, including Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series with integrated memory controller and fast QuickPath Interconnects (QPI) to link processors to each other and to the I/O subsystem. With specific optimizations for the New Intel Core Microarchitecture, the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) takes full advantage of the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series to achieve outstanding performance. To maximize I/O responsiveness, the Sun Fire X2270 server delivers the high-speed throughput of PCI Express 2.0. In addition, the Sun Fire X2270 server supports internal solid state disks (SSDs) and Sun Flash Modules, accelerating data transfer rates well beyond traditional approaches. Making this offering even more compelling, the Sun Fire X2270 server also provides a low-voltage processor option, efficient front-to-back cooling, and compact form factor to help minimize power and real estate costs. The Sun Fire X2270 server is ideal for a variety of projects, including highperformance computing (HPC) applications and Web infrastructure initiatives. Support for simultaneous execution of 32-bit and 64-bit applications and a flexible choice of operating systems including, the Solaris OS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and VMware operating environments helps maximize the versatility of this platform. Sun has a long history of providing exceptional platforms to serve the needs of compute-intensive Web and scientific applications. Backed by that experience, the performance of the Sun Fire X2270 server is optimized for the requirements of demanding workloads.

4 2 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 1 Escalating Business and Computational Challenges Across a wide spectrum of industries, organizations continue to confront greater computational challenges than ever before. Oil and gas companies need solutions that can help them meet the world s everincreasing demands for energy. These organizations rely heavily on technology to increase efficiency in the areas of exploration, data acquisition, and production. In the electronic design industry, the complexity of integrated circuit (IC) devices is increasing dramatically. Integrated circuits now commonly incorporate hundreds of millions of gates, placing strain on the task of completing simulations within a reasonable timeframe. To avoid losing business to the competition, e-commerce companies are required to quickly respond to potential buyers and sellers. As customers constantly, buy, sell, and compare items, back-end systems must keep pace by rapidly querying vast catalogs of information. To improve productivity and economize the product development process, manufacturers need to reduce their dependence on physical prototypes. As a result, engineers need to run increasing numbers of simulations at higher resolution. Financial institutions must keep pace with the constant trading of securities. To complete orders accurately, these organizations need to efficiently query large collections of information and make rapid updates. Through computational biology, the melding of information technology and the life sciences, scientists are putting applications such as bioinformatics, molecular modeling, bio-simulation, clinical informatics, and medical imaging to work in such diverse fields as human therapeutics, diagnostics, prognostics, and forensics. As a result, information technology has become an essential component in the advancements and achievements within the life sciences arena. High-performance, high-caliber tools help organizations capitalize on the valuable talents of engineering professionals and scientific researchers. With the proper equipment, individuals can confront greater challenges, express new ideas and visions, and engage their skills to the greatest effect. Investing in superior technology provides the potential to solve problems more quickly, and with higher quality than with lesser tools. Sun set the industry standards for system design with its Open Network System approach. By integrating and optimizing open compute, storage, networking, and software technologies from across the company s portfolio, Sun creates high-

5 3 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture performance, efficient, scalable systems that maximize the economics of computing. Based on Open Network System design principals, the Sun Fire X2270 server (Figure 1) is optimized to take full advantage of the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series, flash technology, PCI Express 2.0, and high-density internal storage. As a result, the Sun Fire X2270 server is an ideal platform for confronting increasingly demanding computational challenges without breaking budgets. Figure 1. The Sun Fire X2270 server offers two sockets for Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series in a 1U chassis. Sun Fire X2270 server The Sun Fire X2270 server is a 1U, two-socket x64 server designed to offer advanced features and capabilities. The energy-efficient Sun Fire X2270 server utilizes processor and memory speed grades that are among the fastest available, and eliminates I/O bottlenecks through support for internal solid state drives and flash technology. As an Open Network System offering, the Sun Fire X2270 also supports operating system and application choices that can easily be managed by third-party systems management tools. This flexibility allows organizations to avoid the lock-in of proprietary solutions, helping lower costs and ease manageability. The following technology selections maximize the value of the Sun Fire X2270 server for technical computing workloads and Web infrastructure deployments: Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series (formerly Nehalem-EP) Intel 5500 chipset (formerly Tylersburg-24D) and ICH10-R South Bridge High-performance QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) Three-channel Integrated Memory Controller supporting up to 1333 MT/sec Registered DDR3 DIMMs Turbo Boost Mode and HyperThreading capabilities PCI Express 2.0 technology Intel 82575EB Gigabit Ethernet controller (formerly Zoar) Support for solid state drives and Sun Flash Modules Energy-efficient 60W Intel Xeon processor option An optional Sun ILOM service processor

6 4 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture The Sun Fire X2270 server demonstrates Sun s commitment to economy and performance by delivering industry-leading price/performance and performance per watt. In fact, the Sun Fire X2270 server offers up to three times the performance, at 66% the energy consumption of current-generation systems. By offering more memory capacity and drive spindles than similar systems in the same product class, the Sun Fire X2270 server can provide organizations with up to 50% savings on datacenter real estate expenses. Entry-level only from a cost perspective, the Sun Fire X2270 server is a system worthy of being placed at the center of performance-critical projects. Table 1 describes the features of the Sun Fire X2270 server. Table 1. Sun Fire X2270 system characteristics Enclosure Processor Memory Internal Storage System I/O Sun Fire X2270 Server 1 rack unit (1U) Up to two Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series Intel Xeon X5570, 2.93 GHz, 8MB cache, 6.4 GT/sec QPI, HT, Turbo, 95W Intel Xeon X5550, 2.66 GHz, 8MB cache, 6.4 GT/sec QPI, HT, Turbo, 95W Intel Xeon E5540, 2.53 GHz, 8MB cache, 5.86 GT/sec, QPI, HT, Turbo, 80W Intel Xeon L5520, 2.40 GHz, 8MB cache, 5.86 GT/sec QPI, HT, Turbo, 60W Intel Xeon E5504, 2.00 GHz, 4MB cache, 4.80 GT/sec QPI, No HT, No Turbo, 80W Six DIMM slots per CPU 2 GB or 4 GB DDR MT/sec or 1333 MT/sec ECC Registered DIMMs Up to 24 GB per CPU, maximum 48 GB per system Up to four 3.5-inch SATA hard disk drives or solid state drives 500 GB or 1000 GB hard disk drives 32 GB solid state drive Up to two 24 GB Sun Flash Modules No internal DVD/CD-RW support (utilize USB device or ILOM Remote KVMS) Two Gigabit Ethernet ports (one port can be shared with the service processor) One RJ45 Serial port (shared with the optional service processor) Four USB 2.0 ports (2 front, 2 rear) Expansion One 16-lane PCI Express 2.0 slot Power Operating Systems Optional Service Processor Non-redundant, 600W power supply Solaris Operating System, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server, Microsoft Windows Server, VMware ESX Server IPMI 2.0 compliant, Web, graphical, and command line interface SNMP V1, V2c, and V3, and SSH V2 support One dedicated 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port and one VGA video port Remote Keyboard, Video, Mouse, and Storage (KVMS)

7 5 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Creating a superior platform Organizations with intense computational workloads demand servers that can offer top performance while also providing cost-savings, energy-efficiency, ease-ofmanagment, and investment protection. Maximize performance and headroom The Sun Fire X2270 server delivers a level of performance that can help organizations save money by tackling complex computing problems with fewer physical platforms. Built with the highest-performance Intel Microarchitecture, DDR3 memory, Intel Quickpath (QPI) technology, and PCI Express 2.0 support, the Sun Fire X2270 server provides top entry-class server processing performance. Through the flexibility to incorporate up to 48 GB of memory, two Sun Flash Modules, solid state drives and as much as twice the storage of similar systems in the same class, the Sun Fire X2270 server also provides organizations with plenty of I/O headroom and performance. Optimize energy efficiency By combining Intel Intelligent Power Technology with Sun s energy-efficient system design principles, the Sun Fire X2270 server can help organizations save on power and cooling costs. The system lowers energy costs by automatically adjusting processors and memory into the lowest available power state to meet the current workload. In addition, the compact form factor and high memory and I/O density of this platform helps to minimize real estate requirements. In fact, the Sun Fire X2270 server nearly doubles the computing resources over previous generations while maintaining the same footprint and incurring only minimal power and cooling increases. Simplify system management Some organizations conduct remote management while others treat entrylevel servers as field-replaceable units. Sun offers options to accommodate both approaches. Those using remote management require the ability to perform basic monitoring, control, and administration from a remote location. The optional Sun Integrated Lights-Out Management (ILOM) service processor supports remote execution of management functions that do not require physically touching the system. Based on industry standards, the Sun ILOM service processor also easily integrates into existing management environments. At the same time, the Sun ILOM service processor is offered as an optional component, helping to lower costs in environments where servers are managed as field replaceable units. Protect Investments Given the tightening economy, maximizing and protecting IT investments is a high priority for many organizations. By taking advantage of the flexibility of the Sun Fire X2270 server, organizations can utilize one hardware platform for a range of IT

8 6 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture project requirements. The Sun Fire X2270 server supports 32-bit and 64-bit computing and the Solaris OS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and VMware operating environments. The flexibility of the Sun Fire X2270 server allows organizations to match the operating system choice to the job at hand, and maximizes reuse of investments in training and procedures. Meeting industry demands The speed and flexibility of the Sun Fire X2270 server extends the usefulness of this system to a broad range of applications. The following sections highlight some of the specific industries and application areas that can benefit from the performance and features of the Sun Fire X2270 server. Visualize larger models Oil and gas companies and life science researchers are constantly pushing for the ability to visualize larger models. These organizations can benefit from the performance and expansion characteristics of the Sun Fire X2270 server. The large 48 GB memory capacity of the Sun Fire X2270 server allows geophysicists to analyze deeper oceanic seismic maps and biologists to model larger molecular structures. Assessing how much crude oil sits below the earth s surface requires computations against a massive dataset, a process well served by the high-speed 1333 MT/sec DDR3 Registered DIMMs. Analyzing genetic sequences is a computationally demanding job that can be accelerated by the Intel Xeon Processors 5500 Series with 6.4 giga-transfers (GT/sec) QuickPath interconnects. Rigorous testing with SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 and Red Hat Enterprise Server 4 and 5 helps ensure that the Sun Fire X2270 server supports a wide array of oil and gas applications. Recognizing that IT organizations place the highest premium on absolute compatibility, Sun works closely with ISVs such as Landmark, Paradigm, and Schlumberger for application certification. Accelerate design cycles Equipped with Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series with 6.4 GT/sec QuickPath interconnects, integrated memory controller, and Intel Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, the Sun Fire X2270 server allows electrical engineers to rapidly synthesize, simulate, and verify sections of processor and ASIC designs. Automotive engineers can utilize the Sun Fire X2270 server to quickly simulate more realistic, higher-resolution crash tests and ultimately reduce dependence on physical prototypes during the design process. The Sun Fire X2270 server also provides one PCI Express lane expansion slot for connecting to 10 Gigabit Ethernet, InfiniBand, Fiber Channel HBAs, or external third-party options such as NVIDIA QuadroPlex graphic solutions, helping engineers visualize more data sets simultaneously.

9 7 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Maximize financial returns Financial institutions and e-commerce companies store extensive collections of information and require fast access to data as customers constantly buy, sell, and make comparisons. In order to optimize performance, some organizations invest in large quantities of DRAM to achieve fast access to working sets. Unfortunately, the expense of DRAM can make this strategy cost-prohibitive. Another approach to improve responsiveness is to increase the I/O operations per second (IOPS) delivered by the storage system. While deploying massive arrays of hard disks can be effective, this approach wastes a large amount of space on each disk and increases energy and real estate costs. By supporting internal solid state disks and up to two Sun Flash Modules, the Sun Fire X2270 server offers a cost-effective alternative to improving the performance of I/O intensive applications.

10 8 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 2 The Intel Advantage Sun collaborates closely with the Intel Corporation to design and bring to market a broad server family based on the latest Intel Xeon processor technology. In the Sun Fire X2270 server, Sun s well-known system engineering expertise combines with Intel s processor design proficiency to emphasize performance, quality, reliability, and eco-responsibility. Engineers at both companies work together to optimize system performance under the Solaris OS as well as other operating environments. The Sun Fire X2270 server incorporates Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series (formerly Nehalem-EP) and includes a revolutionary new interconnect and microarchitecture design. The server motherboard is populated with up to two processors, allowing the system to deliver quick response times and high throughput for performance-hungry applications. Compatible with a legacy of IA-32 software, these 64-bit processors support a large volume of existing 32-bit applications as well as emerging 64-bit applications. This chapter introduces the new Intel Xeon processors and chipsets used in the Sun Fire X2270 server. For detailed information on these components, please see the following Web site: New Intel Core Microarchitecture With each release of a new processor series, Intel alternates between enhancing the manufacturing process (shrinking the processor die) and redesigning the core microarchitecture. Over a year ago, Intel transitioned to a 45nm manufacturing process that enabled smaller transistors, allowing the previous processor generation to consume less power, achieve faster switching times, and provide greater on-die density than the generation before. This year, Intel is introducing a totally new microarchitecture design in the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series at the same time reaping the benefits from its previous expertise with 45nm silicon manufacturing. Figure 2 depicts the New Intel Core Microarchitecture (formerly Nehalem) of the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series.

11 9 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Core 0 Core 1 Core 2 Core 3 64KB L1 cache 64KB L1 cache 64KB L1 cache 64KB L1 cache 256KB L2 cache 256KB L2 cache 256KB L2 cache 256KB L2 cache 8MB Shared L3 cache DDR3 memory controller QuickPath Interconnects Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 QP0 QP1 QP2 QP3 3 x 64-bit 1.33 GT/sec Up to 10.6 GB/sec per channel 4 x 20-bit 6.4 GT/sec Up to 25.6 GB/sec per link Figure 2. The Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series offers four cores per die, integrates a DDR3 memory controller, and implements Intel QuickPath technology. This new Intel Xeon processor generation is targeted at delivering optimal performance for bandwidth-intensive, threaded applications, with a microarchitecture that features the following significant innovations over previous designs: Intel QuickPath technology This technology provides a high-speed, pointto-point interconnect between processors, memory, and I/O. The Intel QuickPath interconnect (QPI) links processors in a distributed shared memory design that provides high-bandwidth and low-latency memory access. Because it is a pointto-point interconnect, processors do not contend for a single bus when accessing memory and I/O, and do not compete for bus bandwidth enhancing scalability. Each QPI port includes two unidirectional links that support from 4.8 GT/sec up to 6.4 GT/sec per link, offering up to 12.8 GB/sec bandwidth in each direction for a total bandwidth of 25.6 GB/sec significantly higher than previous bus designs. Multiple processor cores Within the Sun Fire X2270 server, the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series microarchitecture offers four cores per die.

12 10 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Integrated DDR3 memory controller Implemented as a separate component in earlier architectures, the memory controller is now integrated on the processor die. The processor design creates a Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA)-style memory architecture since each processor in multisocketed systems can access local memory (connected to the local memory controller) as well as remote memory that is connected to another processor. In addition to independent channel mode operation in which each memory channel supports direct memory access, the integrated memory controller also supports the following two modes: Memory channel mode increases reliability through memory mirroring. In this mode, two memory channels operate as mirrors of each other. The same content is written to both channels simultaneously, creating data redundancy. As a consequence of mirroring, the amount of usable system memory reduces to half of the total physical memory installed. To utilize memory channel mode, both channels must be populated with identical DIMM types. Lockstep channel mode operates two memory channels in lockstep, increasing the reliability of each memory operation. In this mode, the cache line is split across two channels, both channels must be populated identically, and memory mirroring and sparing are not supported. Regardless of the mode in use, the integrated memory controller also increases data protection through support for demand and patrol scrubbing and single device data correction (SDDC). Demand and patrol scrubbing technology proactively searches system memory, repairing correctable errors. In the case of uncorrectable errors, the algorithm permanently marks the memory location as unreadable. x4 and x8 SDDC offer an advanced form of ECC technology that protects computer memory systems from any single memory chip failure. This technology can detect and correct 1-bit to 4-bit internal data and data pin failures within one DDR memory device, and detect up to 8-bit internal data and data pin failures within two DDR memory devices. SDDC performs this function by scattering the bits of an ECC word across multiple memory chips, such that the failure of any one memory chip affects only one ECC bit. (Note: x8 SDDC is only available in lockstep channel mode) Advanced cache model Each core includes an associated Level-1 (L1) instruction/data cache (64 KB per core) and a large integrated Level-2 (L2) cache (256 KB per core). Also, all cores on a die share access to an inclusive Level-3 (L3) cache. The L3 cache varies in size from 4 MB to 8 MB, depending on the specific processor model. Extended SSE4 (Streaming SIMD Extensions) These processor extensions improve performance for XML, string, and text processing.

13 11 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Virtualization enhancements Embedded virtualization technologies provide hardware-based assistance for I/O device virtualization, improved virtualization efficiency, and enhanced connectivity within a virtualized server. Intel HyperThreading (HT) technology This technology provides two virtual threads per core, increasing performance for highly threaded applications. Intel Turbo Boost Technology For both multithreaded and single-threaded workloads, this technology increases performance by taking advantage of processor and system power and thermal headroom. The Turbo Boost feature can increase performance up to two or three speed bins (266 or 400 MHz) above typical performance levels. Turbo Boost and HyperThreading capabilities vary according to specific processor models. Intel Intelligent Power Technology When a processor workload decreases, unneeded components cores, cache, and memory are put into sleep mode to reduce power consumption. Modular architecture The New Intel Core Microarchitecture is modular, allowing a range of implementations to meet a variety of application needs and price points. The diversity between processor types (Table 2) results from differentiation in the number of cores, the size of the on-die L3 cache, the speed of QPI links, and maximum speed to memory, as well as support for Turbo Boost mode and HyperThreading functionality. The Sun Fire X2270 server is available with processors of each type shown in Table 2. Table 2. Differentiation between microarchitecture implementations. Processor type Number of cores L3 cache QPI link speed Max memory speed Turbo Boost bins Performance 4 8MB 6.4 GT/sec 1333 MT/sec 3 yes Volume 4 8MB 5.86 GT/sec 1066 MT/sec 2 yes Value 2 or 4 4MB 4.8 GT/sec 800 MT/sec N/A no Hyper Threading Power management technologies Continuing the trend of reducing the processor energy footprint, Intel has designed a microarchitecture that facilitates high performance while minimizing power consumption. Enhancements to the microarchitecture add a greater number of CPU power states and decrease latency when a core switches from one state to another. In fact, the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series has up to 15 operating states, offers a two microsecond state-to-state transition latency, and reduces CPU idle power to 10 W. Power gates that reside on the die allow idle cores to go to a near-zero power state independently of one another.

14 12 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture To further conserve energy, memory, QPI, and PCI Express circuitry can also transition to lower power states. Using DIMM self-refresh, DIMMs are automatically idled when all CPU cores in the system are idle. DIMM Clock Enable (CKE) automatically places idle DIMMs into a lower power state. QPI links and PCI Express lanes are also placed in reduced power states during periods of inactivity. The processor design helps to conserve power use, which can directly translate into energy savings and reduced operational costs. Table 3 lists typical power envelopes for the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series configurable in the Sun Fire X2270 server. Because of innovative power efficiencies in the microarchitecture, even the highest speed processors in the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series have a power envelope of only 95W in comparison to the previous generation of high-speed processors which exhibited a power envelope as high as 120W. Table 3. Power envelopes of Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series Processor Processor speed QPI link speed Power Intel Xeon X GHz 6.4 GT/sec 95W Intel Xeon X GHz 6.4 GT/sec 95W Intel Xeon E GHz 5.86 GT/sec 80W Intel Xeon L GHz 5.86 GT/sec 60W Intel Xeon E GHz 4.8 GT/sec 80W Intel Xeon Processor 5500 platform The Sun Fire X2270 server supports up to two Intel Xeon processors interfacing to each other and to the Intel 5500 I/O Hub (IOH) over Intel QuickPath technology interconnects. The IOH interfaces to an Intel 82801JR I/O Controller Hub (ICH10R), providing expandability and high-i/o throughput. Each Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series Platform is designed to match processor performance with memory capacity, I/O expandability, and interconnect bandwidth. Chapter 3 includes system block diagrams and descriptions. For more information on the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series and the related platform, please see

15 13 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 3 Server Architecture The Sun Fire X2270 server is based on a highly-integrated system architecture that emphasizes performance, memory bandwidth, and I/O capabilities. The sections that follow detail the physical and architectural aspects of this system. Motherboard As shown in Figure 3, the Sun Fire X2270 server motherboard includes two Intel Xeon processors interconnected to each other and the Intel 5500 Chipset using Intel s QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology. The Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series each have one integrated memory controller with three DDR3 channels and up to two DIMMs per channel. The Intel 5500 Chipset provides 24 PCI Express 2.0 lanes, 16 of which are used for the single PCI Express expansion slot. Four PCI Express 2.0 lanes connect the Intel 5500 Chipset to the Intel 82575EB Gigabit Ethernet controller. The Intel 82801JR I/O Controller Hub provides PCI, SATA, and USB connectivity. Out of the six SATA devices provided by the I/O Controller Hub, four ports are utilized by the drive slots that support both internal SATA hard disk drives and solid state drives. The two remaining SATA ports are connected to the two Sun Flash Module slots. An optional Sun ILOM service processor daughter card completes the architecture. The motherboard of the Sun Fire X2270 server supports the following system architecture features: Integrated memory controller on each CPU, offering three 64-bit channels that each support two DIMMs and deliver up to 1.33 GT/sec or 10.6 GB/sec of bandwidth each. The Intel QuickConnect Architecture, providing 6.4 GT/sec links, delivering up to 25 GB/sec of total bandwidth. High-speed PCI Express 2.0 slot for high-performance I/O expansion Two Gigabit Ethernet ports with RJ-45 connectors to provide fast network connectivity (one port can be utilized for side-band management). A six-channel SATA-II disk controller, supporting two Sun Flash Modules and up to four SATA hard disk or solid state disk drives.

16 14 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture An optional Sun ILOM service processor daughter card with an ASPEED AST2100 integrated communications processor provides system management and video capabilities In the absence of the optional Sun ILOM service processor daughter card: The graphics interface and dedicated network management port are unavailable The serial port connects directly to the I/O controller hub LEDs and fans are controlled by the BIOS DDR3 Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series DDR3 DDR3 QPI DDR3 TM XEON TM XEON DDR3 QPI QPI DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 PCIe 2.0 x16 (8 GB/sec) Intel 82575EB 2x Flash Modules Intel 5500 I/O Hub USB (PCIe x4) PCI 32-bit 33 MHz AST2100 Side-Band Interface Gigabit Ethernet Management 10/100 Ethernet VGA Video ESI (PCIe x4) Virtual UART Optional SP Board 4x SATA Hard Disk or Solid State Drive 2 x Front USB 2.0 4x SATA 2x SATA Intel 82801JR I/O Controller Hub LPC USB USB USB Serial RJ-45 1 x Internal USB x Rear USB 2.0 Front Panel USB Back Panel Figure 3. The Sun Fire X2270 server architecture

17 15 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Memory architecture The memory architecture of the Sun Fire X2270 server contributes to the platform s high performance. Each CPU includes a high-bandwidth, integrated DDR3 memory controller that reduces access latency. Up to six extended ECC memory modules per CPU are supported. Memory slots can be populated with the following DIMM types: 2 GB DDR MT/sec 2 GB DDR MT/sec 4 GB DDR MT/sec The following DIMM population rules and best practices can help organizations create configurations with the best possible performance. Since each processor contains a separate memory controller, a DIMM slot is only accessible when the corresponding processor slot is populated Populate the DIMM slots for each memory channel that are the farthest from the CPU first. For example, populate D5, D3, and D1 first; then D4, D2, and D0 second. (DIMM numbering starts with D0 in the position closest to the processor and increases moving out to the end of the memory bank) Populate single-rank (SR) or dual-rank (DR) DIMMs in sets of three for each CPU, one per memory channel. The best performance is achieved by preserving symmetry. For example, installing three of the same kind DIMMs, one per memory channel and ensuring that both CPUs are utilizing the same DIMMs sizes populated in the same manner. DIMMs for the Sun Fire X2270 server are available in two speeds, 1066 MT/sec and 1333 MT/sec. Although mixing DIMM types within a configuration is supported, the system operates all memory only as fast as the slowest DIMM. In certain configurations, DIMMs operate slower than the maximum individual DIMM speed, please see Table 4. Table 4. Memory DIMM speeds by configuration Configuration Two DIMMs per channel One DIMM per channel One DIMM per channel DIMM Speed 1066 MT/sec 1333 MT/sec (if using 1333 MT/sec DIMM) 1066 MT/sec (if using 1066 MT/sec DIMM) PCI Express expansion High-bandwidth I/O access and flexible expansion are critical to meet evolving business and application requirements. The Sun Fire X2270 server provides one internal 16-lane, low-profile, PCI Express slot with support for PCI Express 2.0 technology. Adapter cards insert into a 90-degree angle PCI Express riser slot

18 16 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture that provides x16 mechanical and electrical support. PCI Express 2.0 doubles the interconnect bit rate, increasing the aggregated bi-directional bandwidth of a 16-lane link to approximately 16 GB/sec. Populating this slot with an optional InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, or other high-speed adapter card provides high-bandwidth connectivity to additional network or storage devices. On-Board interfaces In order to accommodate the attachment of a full complement of I/O devices, the Sun Fire X2270 server provides integrated Gigabit Ethernet, serial, and USB ports. In addition, the Sun Fire X2270 M2 server provides two USB ports on the front panel of the system. The front and rear panel of the Sun Fire X2270 server are shown in Figure 4. Please note that in the absence of the optional Sun ILOM service processor, the VGA port and network management (Net Mgt) connectors do not appear on the rear interface of the Sun Fire X2270 server. Locator LED Fault LED Power LED USB Ports Hard Disk Drive and Solid State Drive Slots Power Supply Gigabit Ethernet Ports VGA Port PCI Express Slot Serial Port USB Ports Net Mgt Figure 4. Front and rear panel of the Sun Fire X2270 server

19 17 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Internal storage The internal storage options for the Sun Fire X2270 server help organizations increase data throughput for I/O sensitive applications. The Sun Fire X2270 server supports the following internal storage options: SATA GB or 1000 GB hard disk drives SATA GB solid state disk drives (SSDs) in 3.5 carrier with bracket adapter Internal 24 GB Sun Flash Modules in a mini-dimm form factor installed on the motherboard Hard disk drives and solid state drives for the Sun Fire X2270 server utilize an innovative drive carrier that helps maximize air flow above and below each drive. Drives insert into a modular disk tray and cable-free disk backplane that increases reliability and serviceability. The carrier includes an ejection handle that simplifies drive removal. Drive status lights indicate Ready to remove, Fault, and Status. Using the four internal hot-swappable drive bays, the Sun Fire X2270 server can support up to a maximum of 4 TB. The RAID controller embedded inside the Intel I/O Controller Hub supports RAID 0, 1, 5, or 10 on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 operating environments and requires Intel Matrix Storage Technology, available at: For more information on the capabilities and benefits of solid state drives and Sun Flash Modules for the Sun Fire X2270 server, please see Chapter 4 Flash Technology. Power and cooling Built to support energy efficiency, the power and cooling subsystem of the Sun Fire X2270 server helps maintain cost-effective datacenter operation. The chassis of the Sun Fire X2270 server is cooled with front-to-back airflow. A sensor chip within the service processor modulates fan speed. In the absence of the Sun ILOM service processor daughter card, the BIOS performs this function. The service processor reads the fan speeds and turns the fan fault LED on if the rotations per minute (RPM) falls under a specific threshold. The Sun Fire X2270 server provides a single, 600 Watt power supply. To assist with proactive maintenance, the power supply is actively monitored by the system.

20 18 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture System management controller The Sun Fire X2270 server offers an optional Sun ILOM service processor, allowing remote management of activities that do not require physically touching the system. Industry standards are embraced throughout, letting these systems easily integrate into existing environments. The Sun ILOM service processor is an optional component of the Sun Fire X2270 server, helping organization further lower the cost of projects without remote management requirements. More information about the optional service processor can be found Chapter 5 System Management.

21 19 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 4 Flash Technology Modern servers are driving throughput levels that rapidly outpace the capabilities of typical storage solutions. While many servers can achieve processing capabilities in excess of one million I/O operations Per Second (IOPS), today s fastest hard disk drives are only capable of about 300 to 400 IOPS. To match throughput more closely to server performance and meet the challenging demands of data-intensive applications, many datacenters implement large pools of high-speed disk drives. In some cases, a large buffer of expensive DRAM is also deployed so that the application s working set can be stored in memory to reduce latency. Flash technology provides a more economical alternative that can dramatically enhance application I/O performance while also operating with significantly better energy-efficiency than conventional rotational hard disk drives (HDDs). The Sun Fire X2270 server supports flash technology in the form of solid state drives (SSDs) and internal Sun Flash Modules. Solid state drives Recent advances in the quality of flash technology have made solid-state drives (SSDs) an effective and reliable solution for enterprise storage. Flash technology contains no moving parts, avoiding the seek times and rotational latencies inherent with traditional hard disk drive technology. Because SSDs offer low latency and are significantly less expensive than DRAM storage, they balance cost and performance in a manner that can provide tremendous value for I/O-intensive workloads. SSDs utilize a disk drive form factor (Figure 5) and are directly supported by the drive bays of the Sun Fire X2270 server. The operating system and BIOS for the Sun Fire X2270 server views the SSDs as standard SATA drives. Figure 5. Sample solid state drive for the Sun Fire X2270 server

22 20 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Sun Flash Modules Engineered by Sun the Sun Flash Module is a storage innovation that combines NAND flash components and a flash memory controller (FMC) to provide an industrystandard SATA device in a compact, highly efficient form factor. The Sun Fire X2270 server supports installation of up to two 24 GB Sun Flash Modules to deliver a highcapacity and high-performance storage option for I/O sensitive applications. Similar to SSDs, Sun Flash Modules are viewed by the operating system and BIOS as standard SATA drives. Table 5 provides the characteristics of the Sun Flash Module and Figure 6 shows the key components on the front and back of the Sun Flash Module. Table 5. Sun Flash Module characteristics Feature Capacity Buffer cache Form factor Reliability Peak performance per module Description 24 GB 64 MB JEDEC MO-285A, 3 Gb SATA-II/SAS-I 7 x 24 x 3 years (100% write duty cycle) Random write: 20,000 IOPS Random read: 24,000 IOPS Sequential write: 150MB/sec Sequential read: 250MB/sec Flash Memory Controller LED Indicator Flash NAND Flash NAND Flash NAND Flash NAND DRAM Voltage Regulator Figure 6. Front and rear views of Sun Flash Module

23 21 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Components of the Sun Flash Module include: NAND SLC flash Each module contains eight 4 GB SLC NAND components (four on the front side and four on the back), for a total of 32 GB of which 24 GB is addressable for primary back-end storage. Excess capacity is used to optimize performance and longevity. Because of the availability of spare blocks, slower erase cycles can occur independently in the background, and faulty blocks can be mapped out so they are not reused. DRAM 64 MB of DDR-400 DRAM per module provides a local buffer to accelerate flash write performance and maintain active data structures. Automatically draining the write buffer to non-volatile flash memory helps to protect data integrity in the event of sudden power loss to the array. Flash memory controller Each Sun Flash Module incorporates a Marvell flash memory controller a SATA-2 controller that allows each module to communicate via standard SATA protocol. The controller manages the back-end storage and buffer cache, and provides a communication interface to the system. To extend the life of NAND devices, the controller performs wear-leveling (a technique that decreases wear by minimizing writes to the same location) and on-the-fly ECC error correction (34 bits per 2 KB of data). The controller is also responsible for tracking and mapping out bad blocks. In addition, the controller load-balances and interleaves data accesses to back-end NAND devices to accelerate I/O operations. Voltage regulator A voltage regulator on each module governs the single 3.3v input voltage to the module. LED indicator An LED indicator on each module is used to signal the location of a faulty module, helping to speed servicing if necessary. Logical block diagram Figure 7 depicts a logical block diagram of a single Sun Flash Module. Four 1 GB NAND die are stacked together in a single package, forming each of the eight NAND flash devices. Each NAND device communicates via a single SATA-2 interface to the flash memory controller. The controller also interfaces to the 64 MB DRAM and the voltage regulator, and provides a connection to the array s SAS expander, which communicates to the controller using standard SATA-2 commands. The NAND devices are enterprise-quality components, which means they have an extended lifespan rating compared to commercial-grade flash components. To develop enterprise-grade NAND SLC devices, Sun engineers worked closely with NAND manufacturers to make specific reliability enhancements. These design changes allow Sun s enterprise-quality SLC NAND devices to exhibit greater endurance. In addition, Sun performs extensive quality assurance testing and component screening to optimize NAND device reliability. A worst-case estimate

24 22 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture of module life is 7 x 24 x 3 years (given the worst case of 100% duty cycle under large sequential writes). Under normal workloads, this level of reliability translates to approximately a 10-year data retention rate. For more information on flash technology, please see NAND NAND NAND NAND NAND NAND NAND NAND Flash Memory Controller DDR MB DRAM Voltage Regulator SATA-2 3.3v Figure 7. Logical block diagram of the Sun Flash Module Solaris ZFS file system Taking best advantage of the performance and cost characteristics of flash technology requires an enabling technology that can transparently combine the strengths of HDDs, SSDs, and Sun Flash Modules. The Solaris ZFS file system can harness these technologies within Hybrid Storage Pools to create a solution that offers a balance between the speed of flash technology and the economy of HDDs. A Hybrid Storage Pool automatically places data on the most appropriate storage media to optimize performance and manage costs. In fact, the ZFS file system can transparently cache data on SSDs without any need to modify applications. For more information, please see the solution brief Solaris ZFS Enables Hybrid Storage Pools Shatters Economic and Performance Barriers, available at: Sun Flash Analyzer To help simplify the adoption of flash technology, the Sun Flash Analyzer tool can be utilized to detect I/O intensive applications that can best benefit from flash. The Sun Flash Analyzer tool runs on the Solaris 10 OS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux operating environments and can easily be downloaded at the following Web site: 1. In Sun Fire X2270 servers that do not include the optional service processor, control over the platform fans and LEDs is achieved via the capabilities of the platform BIOS.

25 23 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 5 System Management A horizontally-scaled architecture can provide the best possible performance for many types of workloads, including scientific analysis, Web applications, and product design engineering. Unfortunately, this architectural approach often requires provisioning, monitoring, and managing a large number of servers. Remote server monitoring, system management, and task automation capabilities can help ease administrative burden. To address this need, the Sun Fire X2270 server provides a full complement of advanced system management features through installation of an optional Sun ILOM Service Processor 1. The Sun Fire X2270 server also supports open standards to simplify integration with Sun and third-party enterprise management software tools. Sun ILOM service processor Lights-out management features provided by the Sun ILOM service processor can help organizations simplify system management tasks. The Sun ILOM service processor is a Sun-designed customer replaceable unit (CRU) daughter card. Powered by an ASPEED AST2100 integrated communications processor, the service processor runs independent of the host platform, executing a robust, security-hardened operating system. Capabilities of the Sun ILOM service processor include the following: Full local and remote keyboard, video, mouse, and storage (RKVMS) access via redirection over IP, eliminating the need for KVM switches Monitoring and reporting of environmental, power, hardware, BIOS, and operating system events Remote power control, diagnostics, media attachment, and flash upgrades of the system BIOS and service processor software System configuration information retrieval User configurable serial console access through a physical port or redirected through the management network Java -enabled remote console access across a secure Web connection Multi-level role based access with support for RADIUS, LDAP, and Microsoft Active Directory Service lookup of authentication data Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) V1, V2c, and V3 support

26 24 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture For system management operations, the AST2100 uses the following connections: Two USB ports for virtual devices (both ports are routed directly on the motherboard between the AST2100 and the ICH10R) One RJ45 RS-232 serial interface for console redirection Two RJ45 10/100 MB/sec Ethernet network interfaces for IP-based management connections (one for dedicated out-of-band management, and one shared hostport for side-band management) One HD-15 SVGA video port for local video output Management functions provided by the service processor are implemented by Sun ILOM 2.0 system management software. This software provides an Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI 2.0) Baseboard Management Controller, platform control agents, diagnostics software, and Remote Keyboard, Video, Mouse, and Storage (RKVMS) drivers. Many other Sun servers incorporate this same firmware, providing organizations with a single, consistent, and standards-based management interface. Secure access to the service processor and associated ILOM software functions is available in several ways: Intuitive browser-based user interface (BUI) over SSL Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) command line interface over Secure Shell (SSH) Redirection of the platform console, keyboard, mouse, and video to the Sun ILOM Remote Console application SNMP v3 interfaces, providing easy integration with Sun xvm Ops Center, or third- party applications from companies such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM IPMI 2.0 command interface, for remote management using IPMI-based tools, such as IPMItool Maximizing management flexibility While system management tools can play an important role in streamlining operations, organizations must consider the best approach for each environment. Executing management software directly on the host with or without use of a service processor is known as in-band management. Using a dedicated Ethernet or serial port to execute administrative tasks independent of the host is known as out-of-band management. Sharing a single Ethernet port for host and service processor network connectivity is known as side-band management. Table 6 offers a comparison of each of these management strategies.

27 25 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Table 5. Comparison of in-band, out-of-band, and side-band management In-band Out-of-band Side-band Characteristics Benefits Ideal use cases Relies upon operating system-resident software Management tasks utilize platform compute resources Utilizes a dedicated Ethernet or serial port for administrative traffic Management tasks execute on an independent service processor The host and service processor share an Ethernet port and are each assigned an independent MAC and IP address Management tasks execute on an independent service processor Use of a single network connection and switch port minimizes cost and complexity. Continuous access to management capabilities even when host is disabled Management tasks do not consume host resources Increased security by physically separating management traffic and server data Continuous access to management capabilities even when host is disabled Management traffic uses part of the host network bandwidth Requires only one switch port, lowering implementation costs Minimizes processing overhead on the host Heterogeneous environments with requirements to provide a common administrative tool across all platforms Environments with compute or bandwidth intensive applications Projects with complex management requirements or high-levels of administrative burden Cost-sensitive environments The Sun Fire X2270 server offers extensive flexibility by supporting in-band, out-ofband, and side-band management. Organizations can choose a single management method or utilize in-band management in tandem with out-of-band or sideband management approaches. The Sun Fire X2270 server provides out-of-band management across a dedicated 10/100 Mb Ethernet port or a RS232 serial port on the Sun ILOM service processor. Side-band management is supported over one of the two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces that is shared by both the host and the service processor (Figure 8). When utilizing a side-band management approach, the single, shared physical Ethernet port provides unique MAC addresses and IP addresses for both the platform and the service processor. Side-band management can provide all the benefits of out-of-band management at considerable cost savings, by eliminating the need to consume a switch port for both the management and platform connection Side-band management capabilities are not enabled by default. To enable this feature, please consult product documentation for the Sun Fire X2270 server.

28 26 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Intel 82575EB 2 x 1GB Ethernet 0 & 1 Intel 5500 I/O Hub PCI Express x4 AST2100 Side-band Connection Management 10/100 Ethernet Figure 8. Side-band management takes advantage of the connection between the AST2100 and the Intel 82575EB Gigabit Ethernet controller on the motherboard In-band server management In-band server management offers the opportunity for organizations to take advantage of industry-standard protocols and applications across all datacenter platforms. The Sun Fire X2270 server facilitates in-band server management by supporting the IPMI 2.0 and SNMP v1, v2c, and v3 standards. Operating systemresident platform management functions for the Sun Fire X2270 server are accomplished using one of the following two options: IPMI with a Keyboard Controller Style (KCS) interface and an IPMI kernel driver SNMP agents Out-of-band and side-band server management Out-of-band and side-band management approaches support the completion of administrative tasks without placing unnecessary burden on the host. This administrative strategy is desirable for performance-intensive environments. While in-band management only works as long as the host operating system is up and running, out-of-band and side-band management are fully functional even while the host is powered off. In order for side-band management to work even while the host is shut down, the Intel 82575EB Gigabit Ethernet network controller device operates on stand-by power (similar to the service processor). Although out-of-band and sideband approaches differ in the approach to network connectivity, these methods offer similar capabilities and benefits. Based on serial port redirection (serial-over-lan), serial port connectivity to the ILOM service processor provides direct console access to the command line interface (CLI) and to the system console stream. The CLI is designed to follow the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Command Line Protocol (CLP).

29 27 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Utilizing Ethernet connectivity, administrators can access a Web interface or command-line interface (CLI). A secure shell (SSH) session is required for access to the CLI and the Web interface supports both secure (https) and non-secure (http) access. Secure access is the default configuration for Web-based access. Remote keyboard, video, mouse, and storage (RKVMS) The ILOM Service Processor provides access to Keyboard, Video, Mouse, and Storage (RKVMS) remotely over IP. Remote video display is accomplished through the Java Web Start software known as Sun ILOM Remote Console. To set up a system as a remote console, ILOM Remote Console software is downloaded from the ILOM service processor to the target machine 1. From this point onward, the ILOM Remote Console executes locally. Since ILOM Remote Console does not run on the server, it does not put overhead on the host. ILOM Remote Console software can be used to redirect the BIOS and setup screens as well as all other platform video output. A true remote video console to the management console is provided by handling the input and output to and from virtual devices and the Sun Fire X2270 server. With 8-bit and 16-bit support and 8MB of video memory, the SVGA display provides resolutions up to 1024 x 768. A single instance of ILOM Remote Console can open multiple sessions to manage several remote servers simultaneously. The two USB 2.0 ports connected to the ILOM service processor enable remote keyboard, mouse, and storage functions. The ILOM Remote Console software captures keyboard, mouse, floppy, CD, and DVD input on the management console and redirects it over IP to the ILOM service processor. Keyboard, mouse, and storage inputs are then transmitted over the USB ports to the server. The Sun Fire X2270 server interprets these inputs as originating from locally connected USB devices. These devices are called Virtual devices. ILOM Remote Console can also be used to boot the remote server from a local device. The virtual device can be a local physical device or an image file. Several types of devices can be redirected as virtual devices by ILOM Remote Console, including the following: CD/DVD-ROM Floppy USB flash disk drives CD/DVD-ROM image (.iso files) Floppy image (.img files) 1. ILOM Remote Console requires the installation of Java Runtime Environment 5.0 on the management console

30 28 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Intelligent platform management interface Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) refers to the autonomous monitoring, logging, recovery, and inventory control features implemented in hardware and firmware. The key differentiation of Intelligent Platform Management is that these functions are independent of the main CPU, BIOS, and OS. There are two major components of platform management: the system management controller (or BMC) and System Management Software (SMS). Intelligent Platform Management provides key capabilities that allow enterprise-class management for high-availability systems. The ILOM service processor provides autonomous sensor monitoring and event logging. Typical sensor-related events are out-of-range temperature or voltage and fan failure. When an event occurs, it is noted in the system event log and made available to the system management controller. The system management controller is powered by the power supply stand-by voltage and will function even when the server is powered down or the operating system has crashed. As a result, platform status can be obtained and recovery initiated under situations where in-band delivery mechanisms are unavailable. In modern systems, the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) provides a hardware-level interface specification for monitoring and control functions. It defines a standard, abstract, message-based interface between the BMC and SMS and a common set of commands for operations such as accessing sensor values, setting thresholds, logging events, and controlling a watchdog timer. IPMI messages can be used to communicate with the BMC over serial and LAN interfaces, so software designed for in-band (local) management can be re-used for out-of-band (remote) management simply by changing the low-level communications layer. IPMItool IPMItool is a simple command-line interface to systems that support the IPMI v2.0 specification. IPMItool provides the ability to remotely read the sensor data repository and print sensor values, display the contents of the system event log, print field-replaceable unit information, read and set LAN configuration parameters, and perform remote chassis power control. IPMItool was originally written to take advantage of IPMI-over-LAN interfaces. This tool is also capable of interfacing with the system through a Linux kernel device driver such as OpenIPMI or the Solaris BMC driver within the Solaris 10 OS. IPMItool is available under a BSD-compatible license. System Management Software (SMS) is generally complex and is only part of a much larger management picture. However, system administrators and developers can use command-line tools and scripting to manage these complex systems. IPMItool takes a different approach to SMS and provides a completely command-line oriented tool.

31 29 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture IPMItool is not designed to replace the OpenIPMI library. Where possible, IPMItool supports printing comma-separated values for output to facilitate parsing by other scripts or programs. IPMItool is designed to run quick command-response functions that can be as simple as turning the system on or off, or as complex as reading in the sensor data records and extracting and printing detailed sensor information for each record. New features in ILOM3.0 Since ILOM system management functionality is implemented in firmware, it can be easily upgraded even after a server is deployed. For example, as support becomes available for ILOM 3.0 on the Sun Fire X2270 server, this firmware can be deployed as a free upgrade. As compared to ILOM 2.0, ILOM 3.0 provides many new features and capabilities, including improved security, improved usability, and easier integration into the datacenter environment. Table 7 lists new features for ILOM 3.0. Table 7. Sample list of new features in ILOM 3.0 Category General Scalability and Usability Security Feature DNS support Timezone support Configuration backup and restore Restore to factory defaults Enhanced LDAP and LDAP/SSL support Java-based remote storage CLI Power management capabilities Ability to generate new SSH keys Scalability and Usability User-configurable filtering of hardware monitoring information in CLI and web interface Use host name to access other services by name, such as LDAP, Active Directory, LDAP/SSL More granular user roles Predefined root and default accounts User SSH key authentication Ability to disable the network management port when you are using only the serial port Ability to disable individual services, such as IPMI, SSH, and KVMS, so that the port is closed Serviceability Data collection utility to diagnose system problems More information about ILOM 2.0 and 3.0 features is available in the documentation sets at

32 30 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture SNMP The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) provides remote access to monitor and control network devices and to manage configurations, statistics collection, performance, and security on a network. SNMP is a network management protocol used almost exclusively in TCP/IP networks. The Sun Fire X2270 server provides SNMP MIBs (Management Information Base) to manage and monitor the servers using any SNMP-capable network management system, such as HP OpenView Network Node Manager (NNM), Tivoli, CA Unicenter, or IBM Director. The MIB data describes the information being managed, reflects current and recent server status, and provides server statistics. The ILOM service processor supports SNMP v1, v2c, and v3. SNMP v3 is enabled by default; v1 and v2c are disabled by default. SNMP sets may be enabled and disabled and are disabled by default. SNMP traps can be generated from within the service processor. An IPMI-specific trap, called a Platform Event Trap (PET), may also be generated. The following SNMP MIBs are supported: The system group and SNMP group from the RFC1213 MIB SNMP-FRAMEWORK-MIB SNMP-USER-BASED-SM-MIB SNMP-MPD-MIB ENTITY-MIB SUN-PLATFORM-MIB Sun xvm Ops Center Sun xvm Ops Center software is a highly-scalable datacenter management platform that helps organizations improve systems lifecycle management and process automation. The capabilities of Sun xvm Ops Center can simplify management of datacenter requirements such as server consolidation, compliance reporting, and rapid provisioning. This management platform helps provision and administer both physical and virtual datacenter assets in environments that include Sun Fire X2270 servers as well as other Sun and non-sun hardware running Windows and Linux operating systems and the Solaris OS. Sun xvm Ops Center provides a single console to facilitate the following key capabilities within globally dispersed heterogeneous IT environments: Server discovery and inventory management Automatically scans and identifies servers across the network, even when powered off, allowing faster deployment and management of IT assets.

33 31 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Firmware and bare metal server provisioning Delivers automatic and hands off installation of bare-metal operating systems, RPMs and firmware, bringing new efficiencies to IT departments. Patch management and updating Provides up-to-date patch management tools for Red Hat, SUSE and the Solaris OS, offering organizations greater control over datacenter plans and minimizing downtime. In addition, unique patch simulation capabilities remove uncertainty from the software update process. Managing and monitoring Securely and remotely manages users and heterogeneous datacenter assets, and proactively resolves problems by monitoring critical parameters, improving the security and stability of systems. Compliance reporting Provides an up-to-date view into the system state, patch status, and software portfolio, helping improve the speed and accuracy of report and compliance validation. These automation capabilities can be used in conjunction with configuration management investments to achieve knowledge-based change management. Taking advantage of Sun xvm Ops Center software can help organizations create a more compliant Solaris OS environment that requires less maintenance and recovery down time and can lead to considerable cost savings.

34 32 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 6 Operating System Support Support for a variety of 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems can help protect investments in server hardware. The Sun Fire X2270 server supports multiple operating systems, letting organizations deploy a choice of application environments without having to shift hardware platforms when software requirements change. This added flexibility can reduce cost and complexity and help organizations to increase return on investment while lowering risk. The Sun Fire X2270 server is certified to run the Solaris 10 OS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Microsoft Windows, and VMware operating environments. To help streamline maintenance efforts, support contracts for each of these operating systems are available from Sun. Up-to-date operating system support information for the Sun Fire X2270 server can be found at the following Web site: The Solaris Operating System As a part of a strategic alliance, Sun and Intel have been working together from design and architecture through implementation to optimize the Solaris OS to unleash the power and capabilities of current and future Intel Xeon processors. Since 2007, engineering teams from the two companies have delivered a range of enhancements for Solaris on Xeon processors. This collaboration has focused on optimizing how the Solaris platform and the New Intel Core Microarchitecture work together on the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series, with compelling results: Improved performance The Solaris OS takes advantage of the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series, including Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, Intel Turbo Boost Technology, and the new Intel QuickPath Technology resulting in significant performance improvements. Automated power efficiency and utilization The Solaris OS has been optimized to take advantage of Intel s power management functions, improving energy efficiency and performance-per-watt through Integrated Power Gates and Automated Power States. Increased reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) The Solaris Fault Management Architecture (FMA) infrastructure is enhanced to take advantage of the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series RAS features to provide an even stronger enterprise compute solution. Virtualization enhancements The Solaris OS delivers cost-effective virtualization by taking advantage of Intel Virtualization Technology features.

35 33 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Distributed under a commercial and open source licensing model, the Solaris 10 OS offers many innovative technologies that change the equation for organizations needing to reduce costs, minimize complexity, and eliminate risk. The Solaris 10 OS is optimized for Sun systems and supported on over one thousand third-party x86 systems. In addition, the Solaris 10 OS is available for download without cost, and with no requirement to purchase a support contract, offering an economic advantage over other community-based operating system offerings. The Solaris 10 OS also includes more than 180 applications from the free and open source software (F/OSS) community, and thousands of others are freely available for download over the Internet. The Solaris OS includes features not found in any other operating system, including: Solaris Dynamic Tracing (DTrace) is a powerful tool that provides a true, system level view of application and kernel activities, even those running in a Java Virtual Machine. System administrators, integrators, and developers can use this dynamic instrumentation to reduce the time to diagnose problems from days and weeks to minutes and hours, providing faster data-driven fixes. Solaris Containers technology provides a powerful approach to virtualization and software partitioning, yielding many private execution environments within a single instance of the Solaris OS. Using this technology, organizations can improve resource utilization, reduce downtime, and lower solution costs. Sun Predictive Self Healing technology automatically diagnoses, isolates, and recovers from many hardware and application faults. As a result, business-critical applications and essential system services can continue uninterrupted in the event of software failures, major hardware component breakdowns, and software misconfiguration problems. Resource management facilities built into the Solaris 10 OS allow computing resources to be allocated among individual tasks and users in a structured, policy driven fashion. The Solaris OS resource management facilities can help organizations to proactively allocate, control, and monitor systems. Resources such as CPU time, processes, virtual memory, connect time, and logins can be managed on a fine-grained basis to help organizations obtain more predictable service levels. Linux environments Sun offers and supports the leading Linux variants on the Sun Fire X2270 server, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. As the leader in enterprise services for UNIX software, Sun brings decades of expertise to Linux environments. Sun support contracts for Linux provide all front-line support and transparent access to back-line support from Red Hat and Novell.

36 34 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Sun is one of the largest contributors to the open-source community. Areas of contribution include OpenOffice.org, Mozilla, GNOME, and X.org. In addition, Sun provides key software offerings for Linux including the following: Lustre parallel file system Sun Ray Server Software Sun xvm software StarOffice productivity suite Java Desktop Powered Program Sun Studio, Sun Java Studio Creator, and NetBeans IDE software MySQL database Microsoft Windows environments Organizations are constantly seeking to reduce the variety of platforms in the datacenter. To help this effort, the Sun Fire X2270 server can run the Microsoft Windows operating environment. The Sun Fire X2270 server has passed stringent Microsoft compatibility test suites. Support contracts for Microsoft Windows are also available from Sun. This certification and support demonstrates Sun s commitment to providing the best platforms to run not only the Solaris OS and Linux, but Microsoft Windows as well. VMware virtualization technology Virtualization solutions from VMware help improve asset utilization, operational efficiency, and business agility. The VMware Infrastructure product suite is available for Sun hardware systems with full support from Sun. VMware virtualization technology also combines with key Solaris 10 OS features such as, Solaris DTrace, Solaris Containers, and Solaris Predictive Self Healing software. As a result, organizations can create powerful IT solutions through virtualization. In fact, utilizing VMware virtual infrastructure software with the Solaris 10 OS for consolidation projects can increase system utilization by up to ten times. By taking advantage of technology from VMware, enterprises can further capitalize on the high-performance, scalability, and energy efficiency of the Sun Fire X2270 server.

37 35 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture Chapter 7 Summary Organizations with technical computing and demanding Web services applications need solutions that can help speed operations and provide a competitive edge. Computing systems must deliver exceptional throughput and flexibility. At the same time, keeping costs low remains a priority. With hundreds of servers deployed, system management and energy costs also become key factors in achieving a low total cost of ownership. The Sun Fire X2270 server featuring powerful Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series, the New Intel Core Microarchitecture, and innovative flash memory storage options offers flexible, high-performance computing at an entry-level price. Providing sophisticated functionality in an easy-to-cool compact design, the Sun Fire X2270 server is ideal for rack-dense system environments. In fact, the Sun Fire X2270 server delivers industry-leading price/performance and performance/watt and offers exceptional memory and internal storage capacity. Combined with a choice of operating systems and scalable system management tools, the Sun Fire X2270 server is a powerful and manageable server that is ideal for compute-intense Web and scientific applications. Building on over 25 years of system design expertise and excellence, the Sun Fire X2270 server demonstrates that Sun continues to deliver system innovation that maximizes the economics of computing with breakaway efficiency and intelligent scale. For more information To learn more about Sun products and the benefits of the Sun Fire X2270 server, contact a Sun sales representative, or consult the related documents and Web sites listed in Table 7. Table 7. Web sites for more information. Description Sun Fire X2270 server Solaris Operating System Sun Services Overview Sun xvm Ops Center Linux offerings from Sun Microsoft Windows offerings from Sun Virtualization Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series URL sun.com/servers/x2270 sun.com/solaris sun.com/service sun.com/xvmopscenter sun.com/software/linux sun.com/software/windows sun.com/datacenter/consolidation intel.com/products/processor/xeon/5500

38 The Sun Fire X2270 Server Architecture 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, CA USA Phone or SUN (9786) Web sun.com 2009 All rights reserved. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, Lustre, MySQL, NetBeans, Solaris, Sun Fire, Sun Ray, and ZFS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. Intel and Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. Information subject to change without notice. Printed in USA SunWIN #: /09