HP SL6000 User Manual

HP ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System technology

technology brief

Abstract.............................................................................................................................................. 3

Mechanical design for extreme scale-out computing................................................................................. 3

HP ProLiant z6000 G6 chassis .......................................................................................................... 4

Rack and cabling options.................................................................................................................. 4

SL6000 server trays ......................................................................................................................... 5

HP ProLiant SL160z G6 server ....................................................................................................... 7

HP ProLiant SL170z G6 server ....................................................................................................... 8

HP ProLiant SL2x170z G6 server ................................................................................................... 9

Intel Xeon 5500 Series processor technology ........................................................................................ 10

Multi-level caches........................................................................................................................... 11

QuickPath Interconnect controller ..................................................................................................... 12

Hyper-Threading ............................................................................................................................ 12

Turbo Boost technology................................................................................................................... 13

Processor socket technology................................................................................................................ 13

Memory technologies ......................................................................................................................... 14

DDR3 memory enhancements .......................................................................................................... 14

Controlled fan speed .................................................................................................................. 14

Reduced operating voltage.......................................................................................................... 14

Unbuffered and registered DIMMs ................................................................................................... 15

I/O technologies ............................................................................................................................... 16

PCI Express technology................................................................................................................... 16

Serial ATA technology .................................................................................................................... 16

Networking technologies ................................................................................................................ 17

High Performance Computing technologies ....................................................................................... 17

Power and thermal technologies.......................................................................................................... 17

Power supply options...................................................................................................................... 18

Redundant power operation ............................................................................................................ 18

Management and deployment............................................................................................................. 20

Systems management and monitoring............................................................................................... 20

Power and thermal management with the Power Management Controller ............................................. 20

Remote management and control with ProLiant Onboard Administrator ................................................ 22

IPMI 2.0 and DCMI 1.0.................................................................................................................. 22

Server deployment ......................................................................................................................... 23

Data security technology with the Trusted Platform Module ..................................................................... 23

Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 23

Appendix: PPIC command line utility.................................................................................................... 24

For more information.......................................................................................................................... 25

Call to action .................................................................................................................................... 25

Abstract

The HP ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System implements an entirely new mechanical design and architecture in the industry-standard server market. The SL6000 server family is optimized for extreme scale-out computing applications such as High Performance Computing, large-scale enterprise server deployments, and the latest web and cloud computing applications. HP expertise in design and technology implementation in the SL6000 system led to achieving a record-setting performance in the SPECpower_ssj2008

∗

benchmark: In the benchmark report published on November 4, 2009, HP

ProLiant SL2x170z G6 server garnered the SPECpower_ssj2008 result of 2316 overall ssj_ops/watt

Based on industry-standard components, the ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System provides extreme density and high performance at low acquisition costs. SL6000 servers are uniquely serviceable in racks and are optimized for power and cooling efficiency. Simplified management and monitoring of each server reduce the cost and effort needed to manage thousands of servers.

Mechanical design for extreme scale-out computing

Computing environments such as High Performance Computing, large-scale enterprise server deployments, and the latest web and cloud computing applications require unusually high processing power and density plus maximized operating efficiency. For the ProLiant SL servers, HP developed a new mechanical design and infrastructure to meet several customer needs:

∗

• Economical purchase price

• Extreme density

• High performance

• Programmable power supplies for maximizing power efficiency

• Highly efficient and inexpensive cooling subsystem

• Integrated remote system management

• Easy, in-rack serviceability

A ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System consists of a 2U ProLiant z6000 G6 chassis and two self-contained 1U server trays, each with its own industry-standard processors, Double Data Rate-3 (DDR3) memory, I/O, and storage (Figure 1). The rack-mountable chassis includes a highly efficient and modular power and cooling infrastructure that supports the slide-in pluggable server trays. More information about the ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System is available at

http://www.hp.com/servers/SL6000.

∗

SPEC® and the benchmark name SPECpower_ssj® are registered trademarks of the Standard Performance

Evaluation Corporation. Benchmark results stated above reflect results published on www.spec.org as of 11/04/2009. For the latest benchmark results, visit

∗

http://www.spec.org/power_ssj2008/.

Figure 1. HP ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System

HP ProLiant z6000 G6 chassis

The HP ProLiant Scalable System implements a new chassis/rack architecture in the industry-standard server market space. The chassis provides shared power and cooling to the system components by means of one or two high efficiency, HP common slot power supplies and up to four system fans. Each 2U chassis contains an embedded microcontroller that provides power metering and throttling capabilities for the entire chassis. The chassis has no midplane and the I/O connectors are at the front of the chassis to optimize serviceability and to provide unrestricted airflow to the two server trays.

Rack and cabling options

The z6000 G6 chassis mounts into an industry standard 19-inch rack using standard mounting hardware or an HP rack using a more cost-effective 10U bulk rail system (only for HP racks). The standard rail kit or the 10U bulk rail kit can be mixed within the HP rack to optimize the deployment. In a 42U rack, it is possible to install 21 z6000 G6 chassis containing a total of 42 server trays. To avoid risk of personal injury or damage to the equipment, HP ProLiant z6000 G6 chassis should be installed first in the bottom of a rack and added from the bottom to the top until the rack is fully populated. Network switches provide an aggregation point for all network cables and are typically installed in the middle of the rack to accommodate shorter cable lengths and to optimize serviceability. In the rear, all power cables are cleanly installed on the right side of the cabinet (Figure

2). For detailed information about rack and cabling options, refer to the HP ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System Cabling Guide at this website:

http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01769895/c01769895.pdf.

Figure 2. Front and rear views of HP 42U rack fully populated with SL6000 systems

SL6000 server trays

HP developed multiple SL6000 server trays to meet various customer needs: memory capacity, internal storage, or compute density. The chassis supports two server trays of the same model within an SL6000 chassis. To optimize air flow, if one server tray is removed for maintenance, fan speeds increase to ensure adequate cooling of the other tray. If a server tray is removed and a replacement tray is not immediately available, users should install a tray blank within two minutes to maintain proper cooling. The z6000 tray blank kit is a core option available for the z6000 G6 chassis.

Each server tray accommodates Intel® Xeon® 5500 Series processors, DDR3 memory, an integrated Serial ATA (SATA) controller with HP Smart Array software RAID, non hot-plug SATA storage drives housed in quick-release drive carriers, an integrated dual-port 1 gigabit network adapter, and an optional PCIe 2.0 x16 slot available on a riser.

While SL6000 server trays include an integrated SATA RAID controller, they also support optional HP Smart Array SAS controllers and SAS hard drives. For specific information on supported SAS controllers, SAS hard drive options, and server node storage configuration, refer to the HP technology document “Configuring SATA and SAS in HP ProLiant SL6000 servers” at

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01893303/c01893303.pdf.

For easy servicing, video and serial ports, USB ports, NIC ports, and optional out-of-band management LAN ports are located on the front panel of each server tray. Also on the front panel are two LEDs for health and UID status, and an access port for a low profile PCIe 2.0 x16 adapter (Figures 3 and 4).

Figure 3. Front view of a ProLiant z6000 G6 chassis fully populated with two HP ProLiant SL170z G6 server trays

Figure 4. Front view of a ProLiant z6000 G6 chassis fully populated with two HP ProLiant SL160z G6 server trays

HP ProLiant SL160z G6 server

The SL160z G6 server tray is optimized for maximum expansion (Figure 5). The system board accommodates up to two Intel Xeon 5500 Series processors and up to 18 slots for DDR3 memory modules (nine per processor). In addition to the optional PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 x16 slot, there is room for another optional internal PCIe 2.0 x4 slot. The SL160z G6 server can support large form factor (LFF), small form factor (SFF), or solid state (SSD) SATA storage drives housed in quick-release drive carriers. More detailed information about memory configuration and internal drive support is available in the QuickSpecs at this URL:

www.hp.com/servers/SL160z.

Figure 5. Internal view of the HP ProLiant SL160z G6 server tray

HP ProLiant SL170z G6 server

The HP ProLiant SL170z G6 server tray is optimized for maximum storage capability (Figure 6). It supports LFF, SFF, or SSD SATA storage drives housed in quick-release drive carriers. The system board accommodates up to two Intel Xeon 5500 Series processors and provides up to 16 slots for DDR3 memory modules (eight per processor). More detailed information about memory configuration and internal drive support is available in the QuickSpecs at this URL:

www.hp.com/servers/SL170z.

Figure 6. Internal view of the HP ProLiant SL170z G6 server tray

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