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Scalable server delivers a unique, innovative design with extreme
performance
IBM System x3950 M2
Highlights
■
Scalable solution delivers
outstanding performance for
realising business demands
with an easy pay-as-you-grow
design
■
Balanced design provides
additional memory, processing
power and input/output (I/O)
on demand
■
Consistent, reliable
performance delivers advanced
data protection to help manage
your risk.
Engineered with the needs of
enterprise organisations in mind, the
IBM x3950 M2 provides a scalable,
efficient and highly reliable solution.
This fourth generation X-Architecture
enterprise server combines 64-bit
performance in a balanced design. The
x3950 M2 can help organisations meet
business demands with confidence and
since many organisations require
servers that expand as business grows,
the x3950 M2 provides the flexibility to
run more applications on the same
piece of hardware. These features
deliver an optimised solution for large
database enterprise application and
virtualization services.
Manage growth, complexity with enhanced
scalability
The x3950 M2 provides an
uncomplicated, cost-effective and
highly flexible solution. With the ability
to scale up to a maximum of 96 cores
using Intel
®
six-core processors, while
maintaining balanced performance
between processors, memory and I/O,
the x3950 M2 can easily accommodate
business expansion and the resulting
need for additional application space.
Unique flexibility of the configurations
allows the system to populate a
minimum of two central processing
units (CPUs) per chassis for additional
access to memory and I/O that
addresses an organisation’s specific
application requirements. This flexibility
allows for the creation of a 12-core,
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32-Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM)
server utilising only two processor
sockets for processor licensing-
constrained applications and can be
scaled to a 48-core, 128-DIMM server
utilising only eight processors.
The system’s optimised design
improves software features and
hardware functionality. Deploying multi-
chassis configurations is now simpler
and easier, helping organisations
reduce the time it takes to deploy a
new chassis, or boot a system. The
x3950 M2 accommodates easier
firmware upgrades and can help make
updates easier and more efficient.
Cable management is simplified by
reducing the number of systems
management network cables required.
This is achieved by incorporating in-
band management within the scalability
cable. Reduced cabling helps
customers to manage growth and
complexity more efficiently.
Innovation for business advantage
The x3950 M2 offers more power
combined with superior performance.
As business expands and organisations
try to keep pace with faster, more
intense data demands, the need for a
powerful system becomes more
important. The x3950 M2 helps provide
reliable performance for high-end tasks
while protecting IT investments. Now in
its fourth generation, the system:
●
Introduces the first Intel Xeon
®
processor-based 8-socket system to
achieve the 1,000,000 transactions
per minute milestone for x86-64
systems and surpass it by more than
20 percent
1
●
Accelerates TPC-C performance
with up to 40 percent improvement
over the Intel 7300 processor seriesbased platform
1
●
Provides up to 1.5 times better
8-socket TPC-H performance over
the Intel 7300 processor seriesbased platform for faster business
decision analysis
1
●
Features in more than
100 cumulative #1 benchmarks,
including a #1 8-socket benchmark
2
●
Enables customers to get the
performance they desire, with
unique near-linear performance
improvement when doubling the
processors and memory.
Manage risk with proven reliability
Organisations depend on their
database systems to function reliably to
protect and process critical data. The
x3950 M2 is built on IBM eX4
technology that can deliver consistent,
high-end performance and advanced
features to meet the needs of
enterprise customers at a low entry
price point. With its efficient design, the
x3950 M2 can help run an increased
number of applications on one server,
with a higher threshold for protecting
data. Also, the system’s enhanced
memory subsystems work together to
minimise bottlenecks, promoting fast,
efficient and balanced functionality.
Designed for mission-critical availability,
the x3950 M2 offers advanced Active
Memory features, including:
●
Memory ProteXion to help prevent
data loss. An advanced design
provides a deeper level of
redundancy that corrects singlechip errors to help keep the memory
up and running longer without
risking data integrity
●
IBM Chipkill memory to help
correct multiple, single-bit errors
using off-the-shelf DIMMs
●
Memory Mirroring with hot-swap
and hot-add support to help protect
data through the ability to write
simultaneously to independent
redundant memory cards
3
●
Advanced Buffer eXecution (ABX)
provides on-board technology to
help resist chip failure and improve
availability and reliability, while
delivering reduced power
consumption.
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Highly efficient data centres
The x3950 M2 is not only efficient in
terms of scalability and utilisation, it also
leverages power-efficiency features
such as:
●
Improved power management,
operating at a lower wattage than
competitive systems and the Double
Data Rate (DDR) II memory used
in the x3950 M2 uses up to
37 percent less power than the
Fully Buffered DIMMs used by the
competition, providing energy and
financial savings
●
Enhanced energy efficiency to
deliver a ‘green’ solution and help
reduce business costs
●
IBM Systems Director Active
Energy Manager helps monitor and
cap power consumption to improve
energy efficiency and help lower
costs.
A flexible system for enterprise databases
With exceptional scalability, dependable
performance and increased ease-of-
use, the x3950 M2 provides a
comprehensive solution to data
management. The exclusive balanced
design enabled by IBM eX4 technology
offers a significant advantage over
competitors’ systems by enabling less
expensive processors (with smaller
internal cache) to do the work of the
more expensive processors with larger
internal cache required by competitors,
with equal or better performance
4
. The
advanced features offer more data
performance and protection than ever
before.
IBM System x3950 M2 at a glance
Form factor
Rack/4U per chassis
Processor
Intel Xeon Processor 7400 series up to X7460 (2.67 GHz six cores)/1066 MHz front-side bus
Number of processors (std/max)
2/4 per chassis (optional 2, 3, 4 chassis support)
Cache (max)
Up to 16 MB
Memory5(max)
4 GB or 8 GB/256 GB max PC2-5300 DDR II
Expansion slots
7 total PCI-Express half-length, (2 Active PCI-Express)
Disk bays (total/hot-swap)
4/4 2.5" Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)
Maximum internal storage
5, 6
587 GB SAS per chassis (supports 73.4 GB and 146.8 GB hard disk drives (HDDs))
Network interface
Integrated dual Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) with TCP-IP Offload Engine (TOE)
Power supply (std/max)
1440W 220V 2/2
Hot-swap components
Power supplies, fans, memory, HDDs and PCI-Express adapters
Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID)
Integrated RAID-0, -1, optional RAID 5
support
Systems management
Alert on LAN 2, Automatic Server Restart, IBM Director, IBM ServerGuide, Remote Supervisor
Adapter II SlimLine, light path diagnostics (independently powered), Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA)
on HDDs, processors, VRMs, fans and memory, Wake on LAN, Dynamic System Analysis (DSA)
Operating systems supported
Microsoft®Windows®Server 2003 (Standard, Enterprise and Datacentre editions 32-bit and
64-bit), 32- and 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux®and SUSE Enterprise Linux, (Server and
Advanced Server), VMware ESX Server
Limited Warranty
7
Three year customer replaceable unit (CRU) and on-site limited warranty
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References in this publication to IBM products,
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to an IBM product, program or service is not
intended to imply that only IBM products,
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1
Visit www.tpc.org or ibm.com/systems/x/
resources/benchmarks/index.html for more
information.
2
Visit ibm.com/systems/x/resources/
benchmarks/index.html for more information.
3
Hot-add memory functionality requires operating
system support.
4
Benchmark results available from www.tpc.org/
tpcc/results/tpcc_last_ten_results.asp.
5
Maximum internal hard disk and memory
capacities may require the replacement of any
standard hard drives and/or memory and the
population of all hard disk bays and memory
slots with the largest capacity supported drives
available. When referring to variable speed
CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs and DVDs, actual
playback speed will vary and is often less than
the maximum possible.
6
When referring to storage capacity,
TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Accessible
capacity is less.
7
IBM hardware products are made from new
parts, or new and serviceable used parts.
Regardless, our warranty terms apply. For a
copy of applicable product warranties, contact
your local IBM sales representative or visit:
ibm.com/servers/support/machine_warranties
IBM makes no representation or warranty
regarding third-party products or services.
Telephone support may be subject to additional
charges. For on-site labour, IBM will attempt to
diagnose and resolve the problem remotely
before sending a technician.
XSD03021-GBEN-01
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