IBM B24X User Manual

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IBM Ethernet Switch B24X

IBM System x at-a-glance guide

The IBM Ethernet Switch B24X is a compact, high-performance, high-availability, and high-density 10 GbE solution that meets mission-critical data center and High Performance Computer (HPC) requirements. It can support 1 GbE servers until they are upgraded to 10 GbE-capable Network Interface Cards (NICs), simplifying migration to 10 GbE server farms.

In addition, the B24X is a fully featured switch with IPv4 Layer 3 capabilities that can provide cost-efficient 10 GbE network aggregation for 1 GbE access switches. The switch runs a feature-rich and mature IronWare Operating System with an industry-standard command-line interface (CLI), minimizing re-training and operational costs. Supporting a full range of Request for Comments (RFC) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards for interoperability, along with compatibility for vendor-specific protocols such as Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) and Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree Plus (PVRST+), the B24X integrates seamlessly into existing network infrastructures.

Figure 1. IBM Ethernet Switch B24X (front view)

Figure 2. IBM Ethernet Switch B24X (back view)

Did you know

The IBM Ethernet Switch B24X is the most power-efficient 10 Gbps switch in its class at 176 watts per twenty-four 10 GbE ports. This saves customers up to 56% in power and cooling costs over competing switches. In addition, the high-performance, cut-through, full-mesh non-oversubscribed (1:1) architecture of the B24X offers up to twice the performance with lower latencies and uses up to 2 - 3 times less rack space.

The no-compromise B24X also features data center class network resiliency and hardware availability features to support non-stop networking, making the switch ideal as an all-purpose Top of Rack switch

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 1

providing network connectivity to servers within a rack, or as a compute node interconnect in HPC

environments. Complemented by a full Ethernet and IP product portfolio available from IBM System Networking, IBM B24X can also be part of a standardized network infrastructure running on the proven IronWare Operating System.

Part number information

Table 1 lists the orderable part numbers for the B24X and associated options through System x.

Table 1. IBM part numbers and feature codes for ordering

Description

Part number Feature code

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 0563-012 0563-HC5

300 W AC Power Supply (for 1+1 redundancy) 69Y0373 4774

10 GbE 300 m, SFP+, 10GBASE-SR (duplex LC, MMF, 850 nm,

69Y0389 6416

OM)

Note: OM = Optical Monitoring supported. SMF = single-mode fiber. MMF = multi-mode fiber. MMF distance supported depends on cabling type. Use OM3 50

m (2000 MHz*km) MMF to support the farthest

distances.

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X (0563-012 / 0563-HC5) ships with the following:

One IBM Ethernet Switch B24X, which includes:

Twenty-four 10/1 GbE SFP+ ports plus four 10/100/1000 MbE RJ-45 ports

One out-of-band 10/100/1000 MbE RJ-45 management port

One DB9 male serial console port

One hot-swappable triple-fan tray

One (of two) 300 W AC hot-swappable power supply

One 1.5 m DB9 female-to-DB9 female straight-through serial console cable

Rack mount brackets for mounting into an EIA-310D compliant rack

IBM Ethernet Switch x-series Installation and User Guide

Statement of limited warranty

Brocade end user license agreement

Safety and regulatory notices

CD-ROM with manuals and environmental notices

Note: Qualified SFP+ or SFP transceivers are required for each SFP+ port and are not included.

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 2

Power cords are not included and must be specified at the time of order. The B24X has a C14 inlet to receive a C13 power plug. Table 2 lists the available power cable options.

Table 2. Power cord options

Description

Part number

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/230V, C13 to CEE7-VII (Europe) 39Y7917

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to DK2-5a (Denmark) 39Y7918

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to SEV 1011-S24507 (Swiss) 39Y7919

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to SI 32 (Israel) 39Y7920

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to SABS 164 (S. Africa) 39Y7922

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to BS 1363/A (UK) 39Y7923

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to AS/NZ 3112 (Australia/NZ) 39Y7924

Line cord – 2.8 m, 220-240V, C13 to KETI (S. Korea) 39Y7925

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to (2P+Gnd) (India) 39Y7927

Line cord – 2.8 m, 220-240V, C13 to GB 2099.1 (China) 39Y7928

Line cord – 2.8m, 125V, C13 to NBR 6147 (Brazil) 39Y7929

Line cord – 2.8 m, 10A/250V, C13 to IRAM 2073 (Australia) 39Y7930

Line cord – 4.3 m, 10A/125V, C13 to NEMA 5-15P (US) 39Y7931

Line cord – 4.3 m, 10A/100-250V, C13 to IEC 320-C14 39Y7932

Line cord – 1.5 m, 10A/100-250V, C13 to IEC 320-C14 39Y7937

Each SFP+ optical transceiver, such as the 10GBASE-SR SFP+, requires fiber optic cabling with duplex LC connectors to connect to another optical transceiver. See the “Network cabling requirements” section for additional details.

Each 10/100/1000 MbE RJ-45 port or the 1 GbE copper SFP transceiver (1000BASE-T) requires copper CAT 5e or higher cabling for connectivity. Table 3 lists the available copper cable options.

Table 3. Ethernet copper cable (RJ-45) options

Description IBM part number

0.6 m Ethernet cable (blue) 40K5679

1.5 m Ethernet cable (blue) 40K8785

3 m Ethernet cable (blue) 40K5581

10 m Ethernet cable (blue) 40K8927

25 m Ethernet cable (blue) 40K8930

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 3

Additional options are available through IBM System Networking HVEC channels. Table 4 lists the

orderable part numbers for these additional options.

Table 4. IBM part numbers and feature codes for ordering (System Networking HVEC)

Description IBM part

number

IBM feature code

10 GbE Direct Attach SFP+, 1 m, Active TwinAx copper cable 45W2398 2711

10 GbE Direct Attach SFP+, 3 m, Active TwinAx copper cable 45W2408 2731

10 GbE Direct Attach SFP+, 5 m, Active TwinAx copper cable 45W3039 2751

1 GbE 100 m SFP, 1000BASE-T (RJ-45, connects to CAT5 or higher cabling)

45W2813 2202

1 GbE 550 m SFP, 1000BASE-SX (duplex LC, MMF, 850 nm, OM) 45W2815 2211

1 GbE 10 km SFP, 1000BASE-LX (duplex LC, SMF, 1310 nm, OM) 45W2816 2212

1 GbE 70 km SFP, 1000BASE-LHA (duplex LC, SMF, 1550 nm, OM) 45W2817 2213

10 GbE 10 km, SFP+, 10GBASE-LR (duplex LC, SMF, 1310 nm,

45W4264 2131

OM)

Note: OM = Optical Monitoring supported. SMF = single-mode fiber. MMF = multi-mode fiber. MMF distance supported depends on cabling type. Use OM3 50

m (2000 MHz*km) MMF to support the farthest

distances.

The B24X has twenty-four dual-speed 10/1 GbE SFP+ ports enabling customers to seamlessly transition their 1 GbE devices to 10 GbE speeds by upgrading the transceiver. Qualified SFP+ or SFP transceivers are required for each SFP+ port and are not included. Up to twenty-four 10 GbE SFP+ or 1 GbE SFP transceivers are supported on each IBM Ethernet Switch B24X.

10 GbE SFP+ optical –SR (10GBASE-SR) transceivers support distances up to 300 m, which is ideal for connectivity within a data center. 10 GbE SFP+ optical –LR (10GBASE-LR) transceivers support extended distances up to 10 km.

Figure 3. SFP+/SFP optical transceiver - Receives duplex LC connectors

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 4

For cost-effective server connectivity within a rack, 10 GbE copper direct attach SFP+ active TwinAx cables are available. These cables have two 10 GbE SFP+ transceivers attached on either end of the cable and have been tested for compatibility with the Brocade 10Gb CNA, QLogic 10Gb CNA, and Emulex 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter for IBM System x. Compatibility with other 10 GbE server adapters and network devices is up to the user to determine.

Figure 4. 10 GbE Direct Attach SFP+ TwinAx cable

Features and benefits

The features and benefits are:

Comprehensive standards support: Supporting a wide range of open IEEE and RFC standards, the B24X is fully interoperable with existing network environments. In addition, the B24X supports vendor-specific protocols such as Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), native support for Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree Plus (PVRST+), and static trunks to EtherChannel for further supportability.

Built for the data center: The B24X features front-to-back airflow, allowing installation into racks with a hot-cold aisle design without the need for complicated air baffles. All ports are found on the front side of the switch for easy serviceability.

Flexible deployment: Dynamic Layer 3 routing allows the B24X to support multiple deployment options, including a Top of Rack access switch supporting inter-VLAN routing within a rack or a cost-effective aggregation switch.

High availability: Hot-swappable and redundant power supplies and fan trays reduce downtime and allow you to meet your service level agreements by increasing switch availability.

Best-in-class power efficiency: At only 176 W per twenty-four 10 GbE ports, the low power consumption reduces operational costs tied to power and cooling and allows data centers running out of power to deploy more assets.

High performance: Supporting full-line rate traffic on all ports with no over-subscription and 488 Gbps of internal forwarding performance, the B24X also uses an advanced cut-through forwarding architecture featuring low latencies to support time-sensitive applications such as real-time video and market trading/exchange applications.

Industry-standard CLI: Minimize re-training and personnel costs while increasing operational efficiencies by utilizing a management interface with which the network team is already familiar.

Mature operating system: The feature-rich and time-tested IronWare Operating System running on the B24X and all IBM b-type system networking devices provides a consistent experience across the network.

Upgrade without rip-and-replace: With dual-speed 10/1 GbE SFP+ ports plus four additional 1 GbE RJ-45 ports, the B24X supports a mix of 10 GbE and 1 GbE servers on the same switch without needing to force upgrades of existing systems.

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 5

Granular network visibility: Hardware-based sFlow v5 provides packet sampling for analysis, trending, and application of automated policies based on thresholds using industry applications such as Brocade Ironview Network Manager.

Cost competitive: The B24X includes all software capabilities and a 3-year warranty of the base product, simplifying ordering while being priced extremely competitively compared with other vendors.

Specifications

The IBM Ethernet Switch B24X supports the following specifications when running IronWare R04.2.x and higher. Be aware that Layer 3 capabilities are supported on IronWare R04.2.x and higher, and further details can be found by navigating the IBM Support website:

://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/Overview/Hardware/Systems/System_x/Network_Solutions/0563

http

Form-factor

1 RU; 43.5 cm (17.1 in.) width x 4.28 cm (1.7 in.) height x 39.4 cm (15.5 in.) depth

Rack-mount into 19” EIA-310D compliant rack, Telco rack, or table-top

Ports (data)

Twenty-four dual-speed 10/1 GbE SFP+ ports

Four 10/100/1000 MbE RJ-45 ports

Ports (management, out-of-band)

One10/100/1000 MbE RJ-45 port

One DB9 male serial console port

Power supplies, fans, and airflow

Two 300 W AC hot-swappable power supplies supported for 1+1 redundancy (base switch comes with one)

One hot-swappable fan tray with three 2+1 redundant fans

Front-to-back airflow supporting data center hot-cold aisle deployments

Performance

488 Gbps line speed full-duplex throughput

363 Mpps forwarding capacity

1.5 micro-second latency

Jumbo frames

Supported: up to 9216-byte Ethernet frame sizes

Media (transceivers)

10 GbE SFP+ -SR transceivers and direct attach copper TwinAx cables available

VLANs

Up to 4096 maximum VLANs

802.1Q tagging

802.1Q-in-Q tagging

Dual-mode VLANs (tagged and untagged traffic across same port)

Port-based VLANs

VLAN groups

Private VLANs

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 6

Link aggregation

Up to eight links per group, 28 link groups per switch

Static trunks compatible with Cisco EtherChannel

802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) for dynamic trunk groups

Quality of service (QoS) and rate shaping

Eight queues per port with strict priority (SP), weighted round robin (WRR), and combined SP/WRR schedulers

802.1p Class of Service (CoS)

IP DSCP/DiffServ (Type of Service) to priority mapping

ACL, port, and static MAC address to priority mapping

Layer 2 CoS and Layer 3 DSCP re-marking

Outbound rate shaping

Layer 2

Up to 32,000 MAC addresses.

Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol Plus (PVST/PVST+/PVRST+) compatibility in default configuration supports smooth implementation into Cisco Layer 2 environments.

802.1d Spanning tree Protocol (STP).

802.1w Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP).

802.1s Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) enables multiple STP instances and forwarding paths for more efficient traffic distribution.

Virtual Switch Redundancy Protocol (VSRP) alternative to STP and includes sub-second convergence and Layer 2 redundancy based on the VRRPE protocol.

Metro Ring Protocol (MRP) v1/v2 enables fast, sub-second convergence in ring topologies. IGMPv1/v2/v3 Snooping and PIM-SM Snooping reduce multicast flooding in a Layer 2 network.

Root Guard prevents rogue devices from hijacking STP root.

BPDU Guard prevents rogue devices from participating in STP.

DHCP Assist helps DHCP servers respond correctly to devices in a different subnet than the DHCP server.

Layer 3

Up to 12,000 IPv4 routes

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) v1/v2

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) v2

Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) v1/v2/v3

Protocol Independent Multicast Dense Mode (PIM-DM) v1/v2 and Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) v2

Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) for load balancing across up to eight paths

Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) and VRRP-E (Enhanced)

IBM Ethernet Switch B24X 7

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