IBM BladeCenter T 8720, BladeCenter T 8730, eServer BladeCenter T 8720, eServer BladeCenter T 8730 Installation And User Manual

BladeCenter T

Types 8720 and 8730

Installation and
User’s Guide

Welcome. . .

This

Guide

setting up, configuring, and
using your BladeCenterT unit.

For detailed information about
your BladeCenterT unit, view
the publications on the
Documentation CD.

You can also find the most
current information about your
BladeCenter T unit and servers
on the IBM Web site at:
http://www.ibm.com/pc/support

Installation

and User’s

contains information for

Install the

BladeCenter T unit

in the rack.

Install and

start the blade

servers

Install an operating system on each
blade server (choose one method)

Using ServerGuide

Go to the Web for instructions,

http://www.ibm.com/pc/support

Install additional

applications, such as

IBM systems management

software and IBM

ServeRAID programs on

the blade servers

Using the NOS

installation instructions

at www.ibm.com/pc/support

System is ready to use.

Go to the Server Support

flowchart to register

and profile your server.

Server Support

Server working

properly?

Yes

No

Check all cables for loose connections
and verify that all optional devices you
installed are on the ServerProven list.
You can view the ServerProven list at

http://www.ibm.com/pc/compat/

Problem

solved?

®

Yes

No

Register your computer. Go to

http://www.ibm.com/pc/register/

View information about IBM support line at

http://www.ibm.com/services/sl/products/

or view support telephone numbers at

http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/

Use the troubleshooting
information provided with
your server to determine
the cause of the problem
and the action to take.

Problem

solved?

Yes

No

Flash the latest levels of BIOS,
service processor, diagnostics,
and RAID code.
You can download this code at

http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/

Yes

Problem

solved?

View support telephone numbers at

http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/

Hardware

No Software

Hardware or

software problem?

ER s e r v e r



BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730

Installation and User’s Guide

©

US

Note:

Before using this information and the product it supports, read the general information in Appendix B,
“IBM Statement of Limited Warranty Z125-4753-07 11/2002,” on page 85 and Appendix C, “Notices,” on
page 101.

First Edition (May 2004)

Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2004. All rights reserved.

Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract

with IBM Corp.

25

©

Contents

Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Inventory Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Related documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Features and specifications of the BladeCenter T Type 8720 unit . . . . . . .5

Features and specifications of the BladeCenter T Type 8730 unit . . . . . . .6

The IBM

Eserver

BladeCenter T Documentation CD . . . . . . . . . . .7

Hardware and software requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Using the Documentation Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Notices and statements used in this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

What the BladeCenter T unit offers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Reliability, availability, and serviceability features . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Major components of the BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730 . . . . . . .12

Front view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Rear view Type 8720 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Rear view Type 8730 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Chapter 2. Setting up the BladeCenter T hardware . . . . . . . . . .15

Rack installation guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Option installation guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

System reliability considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Handling static-sensitive devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Connecting the BladeCenter T unit to power . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Connecting the BladeCenter T type 8720 to dc power . . . . . . . . .20

Connecting the BladeCenter T type 8730 to ac power . . . . . . . . .21

Starting the BladeCenter T unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Shutting down the BladeCenter T unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Chapter 3. Removing and installing BladeCenter T modules and options

Preinstallation steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Removing and installing the bezel assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Removing the bezel assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Installing the bezel assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Removing and installing power modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Removing a power module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Installing a power module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Removing and installing the media tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Removing the media tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Installing the media tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Removing and installing management modules . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Removing a management module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Installing a management module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Removing and installing blower modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Removing a blower module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Installing a blower module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Removing and installing the KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) module . . . . .39

Removing the KVM module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Installing the KVM module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Removing and installing the LAN module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Removing the LAN module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Installing the LAN module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Removing and installing I/O modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Copyright IBM Corp. 2004

iii

iv

Removing an I/O module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Installing an I/O module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Blade servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Blade server expansion options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

I/O expansion option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Expansion unit option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Storage Expansion Unit option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

PCI I/O-expansion Unit option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Removing and installing a blade server or filler module . . . . . . . . .47

Installing a blade server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Removing a blade server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Chapter 4. BladeCenter T components, controls, and LEDs . . . . . . .51

Front view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

System service cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Management module controls and indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Media tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Power modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Rear view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Blower modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) module indicators and input/output connectors 56

LAN-module indicators and input/output connectors . . . . . . . . . .58

I/O modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Chapter 5. Configuring the BladeCenter T unit . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Setting up the remote connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Cabling the Ethernet port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Management and configuration program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Setting up the management and configuration program . . . . . . . . .64

Starting the management and configuration program . . . . . . . . . .65

Setting management and configuration program options . . . . . . . . .67

Configuring the external Ethernet port . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Configuring the internal Ethernet port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Configuring management ports on I/O modules . . . . . . . . . . .68

Saving and restoring the configuration file . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Configuring an I/O module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

What to configure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Supporting Ethernet failover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Configuring the Ethernet controllers in the blade servers . . . . . . . .69

BladeCenter T networking guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Using Remote Deployment Manager Version 4.11 Update 3 or later . . . . .72

Using IBM Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Communicating with the IBM Director software . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Chapter 6. Solving problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Diagnostic tools overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Troubleshooting charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Monitor problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Power problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Management module problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Blower module problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Options problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Light path diagnostics feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Identifying problems using the light path diagnostics feature . . . . . . .78

Light path diagnostics LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

Chapter 7. Sharing resources among the blade servers . . . . . . . .81

Appendix A. Getting help and technical assistance . . . . . . . . . .83

Before you call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Using the documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Getting help and information from the World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . .84

Software service and support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Hardware service and support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Appendix B. IBM Statement of Limited Warranty Z125-4753-07 11/2002 . .85

Part 1 - General Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Part 2 - Country-unique Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Part 3 - Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Appendix C. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Edition notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Important notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Product recycling and disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Battery return program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Electronic emission notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) statement . . . . . . . . 104

Industry Canada Class A emission compliance statement . . . . . . . . 104

Australia and New Zealand Class A statement . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

United Kingdom telecommunications safety requirement . . . . . . . . 104

European Union EMC Directive conformance statement . . . . . . . . 105

Taiwanese Class A warning statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chinese Class A warning statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Japanese Voluntary Control Council for Interference (VCCI) statement

105

Power cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Contents

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BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

©

Safety

Before installing this product, read the Safety Information.

Antes de instalar este produto, leia as Informações de Segurança.

Pred instalací tohoto produktu si prectete prírucku bezpecnostních instrukcí.

Læs sikkerhedsforskrifterne, før du installerer dette produkt.

Lees voordat u dit product installeert eerst de veiligheidsvoorschriften.

Ennen kuin asennat tämän tuotteen, lue turvaohjeet kohdasta Safety Information.

Avant d’installer ce produit, lisez les consignes de sécurité.

Vor der Installation dieses Produkts die Sicherheitshinweise lesen.

Prima di installare questo prodotto, leggere le Informazioni sulla Sicurezza.

Les sikkerhetsinformasjonen (Safety Information) før du installerer dette produktet.

Antes de instalar este produto, leia as Informações sobre Segurança.

Copyright IBM Corp. 2004

vii

To

v Do

v

v

v

v

v

v

To

To

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Antes de instalar este producto, lea la información de seguridad.
Läs säkerhetsinformationen innan du installerar den här produkten.

Statement 1:

DANGER

Electrical

current from power, telephone, and communication cables is

hazardous.

avoid a shock hazard:

not connect or disconnect any cables or perform installation,
maintenance, or reconfiguration of this product during an electrical
storm.

Connect all power cords to a properly wired and grounded electrical
outlet.

Connect to properly wired outlets any equipment that will be attached to
this product.

When possible, use one hand only to connect or disconnect signal
cables.

Never turn on any equipment when there is evidence of fire, water, or
structural damage.

Disconnect the attached power cords, telecommunications systems,
networks, and modems before you open the device covers, unless
instructed otherwise in the installation and configuration procedures.

Connect and disconnect cables as described in the following table when
installing, moving, or opening covers on this product or attached
devices.

Connect:

Turn everything OFF.
First, attach all cables to devices.
Attach signal cables to connectors.
Attach power cords to outlet.
Turn device ON.

viii

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

Disconnect:

Turn everything OFF.
First, remove power cords from outlet.
Remove signal cables from connectors.
Remove all cables from devices.

a

Do

v

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v

of

v Do

v

Statement 2:

CAUTION:
When replacing the lithium battery, use only IBM Part Number 33F8354 or an
equivalent type battery recommended by the manufacturer. If your system has

module containing a lithium battery, replace it only with the same module
type made by the same manufacturer. The battery contains lithium and can
explode if not properly used, handled, or disposed of.

not:

Throw or immerse into water
Heat to more than 100°C (212°F)
Repair or disassemble

Dispose

the battery as required by local ordinances or regulations.

Statement 3:

CAUTION:
When laser products (such as CD-ROMs, DVD drives, fiber optic devices, or
transmitters) are installed, note the following:

not remove the covers. Removing the covers of the laser product could
result in exposure to hazardous laser radiation. There are no serviceable
parts inside the device.

Use of controls or adjustments or performance of procedures other than
those specified herein might result in hazardous radiation exposure.

DANGER

Some

laser products contain an embedded Class 3A or Class 3B laser

diode. Note the following.

Laser radiation when open. Do not stare into the beam, do not view directly
with optical instruments, and avoid direct exposure to the beam.

Class 1 Laser Product
Laser Klasse 1
Laser Klass 1
Luokan 1 Laserlaite
Appareil A Laser de Classe 1

`

Safety

ix

≥ 18 kg

≥ 32 kg

≥ 55 kg

x

Statement 4:

(39.7 lb)

(70.5 lb)

(121.2 lb)

CAUTION:
Use safe practices when lifting.

Statement 5:

CAUTION:
The power control button on the device and the power switch on the power
supply do not turn off the electrical current supplied to the device. The device
also might have more than one power cord. To remove all electrical current
from the device, ensure that all power cords are disconnected from the power
source.

1 2

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

a

a

Statement 8:

CAUTION:
Never remove the cover on a power supply or any part that has the following
label attached.

Hazardous voltage, current, and energy levels are present inside any
component that has this label attached. There are no serviceable parts inside
these components. If you suspect a problem with one of these parts, contact

service technician.

Statement 12:

CAUTION:
The following label indicates a hot surface nearby.

Statement 13:

DANGER

Overloading

branch circuit is potentially a fire hazard and a shock hazard
under certain conditions. To avoid these hazards, ensure that your system
electrical requirements do not exceed branch circuit protection
requirements. Refer to the information that is provided with your device for
electrical specifications.

Safety

xi

To

Statement 20:

CAUTION:

avoid personal injury, before lifting the unit, remove all the blades to

reduce the weight.

Statement 21:

CAUTION:
Hazardous energy is present when the blade is connected to the power
source. Always replace the blade cover before installing the blade.

xii

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

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Chapter 1. Introduction

The IBM

®

ERserver

BladeCenter™T Types 8720 and 8730 units are rack-mounted,
high-density, high-performance blade server systems developed for NEBS
telecommunications network applications and other applications requiring physical
robustness.

The BladeCenter T unit uses blade servers, switches, and other components that
are common to the IBM BladeCenter product line. This common component
strategy makes it ideal for applications in telecommunications networks that need
high levels of computing power and access to common off-the-shelf middleware
packages that are used in IT data centers. The BladeCenter T unit supports up to
eight blade servers and four I/O modules, making it ideally suited for networking
environments that require a large number of high-performance servers in a small
amount of space. The BladeCenter T unit provides common resources that are
shared by the blade servers, such as power, cooling, system management, network
connections, backplane, and I/O (CD-ROM drive and connectors for USB,
keyboard, video, mouse, and network interfaces).

Performance, ease of use, reliability, robustness (NEBS/ETSI compliance), and
expansion capabilities were key considerations in the design of the BladeCenter T
unit. These design features make it possible for you to customize the system
hardware to meet your needs today, while providing flexible expansion capabilities
for the future.

This

Installation and User’s Guide

provides information about:
Setting up and cabling the BladeCenter T unit
Starting and configuring the BladeCenter T unit
Installing options in the BladeCenter T unit
Performing basic troubleshooting of the BladeCenter T unit

Copyright IBM Corp. 2004

Installation and User’s Guide

This

and other documents that provide detailed

information about the BladeCenter T unit are provided in Portable Document Format
(PDF) on the IBM

BladeCenter T Documentation

CD.

The BladeCenter T unit comes with a three-year limited warranty. You can obtain
up-to-date information about the BladeCenter T Type 8720 or 8730 model and other
IBM xSeries

®

server products at http://www.ibm.com/eserver/xseries/.

You can register the BladeCenter T unit and blade servers at
http://www.ibm.com/pc/register/.

1

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A

in

on

2

Record information about your BladeCenter T unit in the following table. You will
need this information when you register the BladeCenter T unit with IBM.

Product name
Machine type (8720 or

IBM

Eserver

BladeCenter T unit

____________________________________________________

8730)
Model number
Serial number

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

The serial number and model number are located in three places on the
BladeCenter T unit:

Top of the BladeCenter T unit.
Front of the bezel assembly.
Front of the BladeCenter T unit.

The labels on the top and the front of the bezel assembly of the BladeCenter T unit
are shown in the following illustration.

Serial number label

A

C

1

3

0

0

W

!

O
D

C

U

T

A

I
C
N

N
C

I

A

T

U

C

D

O

!

W

0

0

3

1

C

A

A

C

1

3

0

0

W

!

O

D
C

U

T

A

I
C
N

server

N
C

I

A

T

U

C

D

O

!

W

0

0

3

1

D

S

E

C

A

Serial number label

set of user labels comes with each blade server. When you install a blade server

the BladeCenter T unit, write identifying information on a label and place the label

the BladeCenter T unit bezel.

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

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CD

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The following illustration shows the placement of the label, to the side of the blade
server, on the BladeCenter T unit.

Important: Do not place the label on the blade server itself or in any way block the

ventilation holes on the blade server.

Inventory Checklist

The IBM BladeCenter T Type 8720 or 8730 unit comes with the following items:

Bezel assembly (with filter)
BladeCenter T unit lift handles (4)
One alarm panel cable
Two power distribution unit (PDU) power cords (Type 8730 only)
Documentation package, which includes the IBM

CD

CMM

1

CMM

2

User
label

BladeCenter T Documentation

Related documentation

addition to this
provided in PDF on the IBM
your IBM BladeCenter T unit:

Safety Information

This document contains translated caution and danger statements. Each caution

and danger statement that appears in the documentation has a number that you

can use to locate the corresponding statement in your language in the

Information

BladeCenter T rack installation instructions

These documents contain instructions for installing the BladeCenter T unit in a

4-post and 2-post rack.

BladeCenter T Management Module Installation Guide

This document contains instructions for installing an IBM BladeCenter T

management module option in a BladeCenter T unit and creating the initial

configuration.

BladeCenter T Management Module User’s Guide

This document contains instructions for using the Web interface to configure the

management modules in a BladeCenter T unit.

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730 Hardware Maintenance Manual and

Troubleshooting Guide

This document contains information to help you solve BladeCenter T problems

yourself, and it contains information for service technicians.

Installation and User’s

BladeCenter T Documentation

document.

Guide, the following documentation is

that comes with

Safety

Chapter 1. Introduction

3

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in

1. Go to

2. In

3. On

4. In

5.

at

4

v

BladeCenter HS20 Type 8832 Installation and User’s Guide

This document contains instructions for setting up a BladeCenter HS20 blade
server and basic instructions for installing some options. It also contains general
information about the blade server.

BladeCenter HS20 Type 8832 Hardware Maintenance Manual and
Troubleshooting Guide

This document contains information to help you solve BladeCenter HS20
problems yourself, and it contains information for service technicians.

BladeCenter HS40 Type 8839 Installation and User’s Guide

This document contains instructions for setting up a BladeCenter HS40 blade
server and basic instructions for installing some options. It also contains general
information about the blade server.

BladeCenter HS40 Type 8839 Hardware Maintenance Manual and
Troubleshooting Guide

This document contains information to help you solve BladeCenter HS40
problems yourself, and it contains information for service technicians.

Installation and User’s Guide

for each BladeCenter T option
These documents contain instructions for setting up and configuring the option,
such as a switch module, and a description of the option features.

Additional documents might be included on the IBM

BladeCenter T Documentation

CD.
Your BladeCenter T unit or blade servers might have features that are not described

the documentation that you received with the BladeCenter T unit. The

documentation might be updated occasionally to include information about those
features, management-module firmware updates, or technical updates. These
updates are available from the IBM Web site. Complete the following steps to check
for updated documentation and technical updates:

http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/.

the Learn section, click Online publications.

the ″Online publications″ page, in the Brand field, select Servers.

the Family field, select BladeCenter T.

Click Continue.

addition to reviewing the documents in this library, review the IBM

In

BladeCenter T Planning and Installation Guide

http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/ for

Eserver

information to help you prepare for system installation and configuration.

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

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–

–

Features and specifications of the BladeCenter T Type 8720 unit

The following table provides a summary of the features and specifications of the
BladeCenter T Type 8720 unit.

Table 1. BladeCenter T Type 8720 features and specifications

Media tray (on front):

DVD/CD-RW drive: slim IDE
Two Universal Serial Bus (USB) v1.1
ports
System-status panel

Module

bays (on front):

Eight hot-swap blade bays
Four hot-swap power-module bays
Two hot-swap management-module
bays

Module bays (on rear):

Four hot-swap I/O module bays
Four hot-swap blower bays
One hot-swap KVM (keyboard, video,
mouse) module
One hot-swap LAN module

modules:

Power

Standard: Two 1300-watt or greater
hot-swap -48 V dc (-48 to -60 V dc)
power modules

Power modules 1 and 2 supply
power to:

Blade bays 1 through 4
Management modules 1 and 2
I/O modules 1 and 2
Media tray
All KVM, LAN, and alarm
interfaces
All four blower modules

–

Power modules 1 and 2 provide
redundancy to each other

Maximum: Four 1300-watt or greater

v

hot-swap -48 V dc (-48 to -60 V dc)
power modules

Power modules 3 and 4 supply
power to:

Blade bays 5 through 8
I/O modules 3 and 4

–

Power modules 3 and 4 provide
redundancy to each other
Blowers are powered by all four
power modules

LAN module:

Two 10/100 Mb Ethernet remote
management connections
One DSUB 15P alarm connector

module:

KVM

Video port (analog)

®

PS/2

keyboard port
PS/2 mouse port
System-status panel

I/O modules:

Standard: None
Maximum: Four

Two hot-swap 1 Gb Ethernet
four-port switch modules
Two hot-swap switch modules of
another network-communication
standard, such as Fibre Channel

Management

module:

Standard: One hot-swap management
module providing system-management
functions for the BladeCenter T unit

Maximum: Two hot-swap management
modules (one active, one redundant)

Redundant

cooling:

Four variable-speed hot-swap blowers

Front bezel with changeable filter

Upgradeable microcode:

Management-module firmware
I/O-module firmware (not all I/O module

types)
Blade server service processor firmware

(BIOS, service processor)

U):

Size

Height: 349.25 mm (13.75 in. or 8 U)
Depth: 508 mm (20 in.) from front of
chassis to rear I/O connector plane
Maximum depth: 600 mm (23.62 in.)
including bezel, handles, and cable
bend radius.
Width: 442 mm (17.4 in.)
Weight:

Fully configured with modules and
blade servers: Approx. 86.64 kg (191
lb)
Fully configured without blade
servers: Approx. 44.45 kg (98 lb)

Security

features:

Login password for remote connection
Secure Shell (SSH) for command-line
interface
Secure socket layer (SSL) security for
remote Web management access

Predictive

Failure Analysis

®

(PFA)

alerts:

Blowers
Blade-dependent features
Power supplies

Declared acoustical noise emission levels
for normal operations:

Sound-power levels (upper-limit): 7.5 bels
Sound-pressure levels (average), for four
one-meter bystander positions: 59 dBA

noise emission levels stated are the

The
declared upper limit sound-power levels, in
bels, for a random sample of machines. All
measurements made in accordance with ISO
7779 and reported in conformance with ISO

9296.

Environment:

Air temperature:

Altitude: -60 to 1800 m (-197 ft to 6000
ft)

BladeCenter T on: 5° to 40°C (41° to
104°F)
BladeCenter T on (short term): -5° to
55°C (23° to 131°F)

Altitude: 1800 m to 4000 m (6000 ft to

–

13000 ft)

BladeCenter T on: 5° to 30°C (41° to
86°F)
BladeCenter T on (short term): -5° to
45°C (23° to 113°F)

–

System unit off: uncontrolled

Rate of temperature change: 30°C/hour

v

(54°F/hour)
Humidity:

BladeCenter T on: 5% to 85%
BladeCenter T on (short term): 5% to
90% not to exceed 0.024 water/kg of dry
air
BladeCenter T off: uncontrolled

Electrical

input:

power

Input voltage: -48 V dc to -60 V dc

output:

Heat

Input kilovolt-amperes (kVA) approx.

Minimum configuration: 0.2 kVA

–

Maximum configuration: 3.3 kVA

BTU output

v

Ship configuration:
673 Btu/hour (197 watts)
Full configuration:
11229 Btu/hour (3291 watts)

Chapter 1. Introduction

5

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6

Features and specifications of the BladeCenter T Type 8730 unit

The following table provides a summary of the features and specifications of the
BladeCenter T Type 8730 unit.

Table 2. BladeCenter T Type 8730 features and specifications

Media tray (on front):

DVD/CD-RW drive: slim IDE
Two Universal Serial Bus (USB) v1.1
ports
System-status panel

Module

bays (on front):

Eight hot-swap blade bays
Four hot-swap power-module bays
Two hot-swap management-module
bays

Module bays (on rear):

Four hot-swap I/O module bays
Four hot-swap blower bays
One hot-swap KVM (keyboard, video,
mouse) module
One hot-swap LAN module

modules:

Power

Standard: Two 1300-watt or greater
220-volt (200-240 V ac) hot-swap
power modules

Power modules 1 and 2 supply
power to:

Blade bays 1 through 4
Management modules 1 and 2
I/O modules 1 and 2
Media tray
All KVM, LAN, and alarm
interfaces
All four blower modules

–

Power modules 1 and 2 provide
redundancy to each other

Maximum: Four 1300-watt or greater

v

220-volt (200-240 V ac) hot-swap
power modules

Power modules 3 and 4 supply
power to:

Blade bays 5 through 8
I/O modules 3 and 4

–

Power modules 3 and 4 provide
redundancy to each other
Blowers are powered by all four
power modules

LAN module:

Two 10/100 Mb Ethernet remote
management connections
One DSUB 15P alarm connector

module:

KVM

Video port (analog)
PS/2 keyboard port
PS/2 mouse port
System-status panel

I/O modules:

Standard: None
Maximum: Four

Two hot-swap 1 Gb Ethernet
four-port switch modules
Two hot-swap switch modules of
another network-communication
standard, such as Fibre Channel

Management

module:

Standard: One hot-swap management
module providing system-management
functions for the BladeCenter T unit

Maximum: Two hot-swap management
modules (one active, one redundant)

Redundant

cooling:

Four variable-speed hot-swap blowers

Front bezel with changeable filter

Upgradeable microcode:

Management-module firmware
I/O-module firmware (not all I/O module

types)
Blade server service processor firmware

(BIOS, service processor)

U):

Size

Height: 349.25 mm (13.75 in. or 8 U)
Depth: 508 mm (20 in.) from front of
chassis to rear I/O connector plane
Maximum depth: 600 mm (23.62 in.)
including bezel, handles, and cable
bend radius.
Width: 442 mm (17.4 in.)
Weight:

Fully configured with modules and
blade servers: Approx. 86.64 kg (191
lb)
Fully configured without blade
servers: Approx. 44.45 kg (98 lb)

Security

features:

Login password for remote connection
Secure Shell (SSH) for command-line
interface
Secure socket layer (SSL) security for
remote Web management access

Predictive

Failure Analysis (PFA) alerts:

Blowers
Blade-dependent features
Power supplies

Declared acoustical noise emission levels
for normal operations:

Sound-power levels (upper-limit): 6.7 bels
Sound-pressure levels (average), for four
one-meter bystander positions: 57 dBA

noise emission levels stated are the

The
declared upper limit sound-power levels, in
bels, for a random sample of machines. All
measurements made in accordance with ISO
7779 and reported in conformance with ISO

9296.

Environment:

Air temperature:

Altitude: -60 to 1800 m (-197 ft to 6000
ft)

BladeCenter T on: 5° to 40°C (41° to
104°F)
BladeCenter T on (short term): -5° to
55°C (23° to 131°F)

Altitude: 1800 m to 4000 m (6000 ft to

–

13000 ft)

BladeCenter T on: 5° to 30°C (41° to
86°F)
BladeCenter T on (short term): -5° to
45°C (23° to 113°F)

–

System unit off: uncontrolled

Rate of temperature change: 30°C/hour

v

(54°F/hour)
Humidity:

BladeCenter T on: 5% to 85%
BladeCenter T on (short term): 5% to
90% not to exceed 0.024 water/kg of dry
air
BladeCenter T off: uncontrolled

Electrical

input:

Sine-wave input (50 or 60 Hz single-phase)
required
Input voltage:

Minimum: 200 V ac
Maximum: 240 V ac

Heat output:

Input kilovolt-amperes (kVA) approx.

Minimum configuration: 0.2 kVA
Maximum configuration: 3.1 kVA

–
BTU output

v

Ship configuration:
673 Btu/hour (197 watts)
Full configuration:
10440 Btu/hour (3060 watts)

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

CD

CD

v

v

v 32 MB of

v

a

v If

v If

– If

e is

– If

sh

To

The IBM

Eserver

The IBM

BladeCenter T Documentation CD

Eserver BladeCenter T Documentation

your server in Portable Document Format (PDF) and includes the IBM
Documentation Browser to help you find information quickly.

Hardware and software requirements

The IBM
minimum hardware and software:

Eserver BladeCenter T Documentation

Microsoft

®

Windows NT

®

4.0 (with Service Pack 3 or later), Windows

Windows 2000, or Red Hat Linux
100 MHz microprocessor

RAM

Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 (or later) or xpdf, which comes with Linux operating
systems

Note: Acrobat Reader software is included on the CD, and you can install it

when you run the Documentation Browser.

Using the Documentation Browser

Use the Documentation Browser to browse the contents of the CD, read brief
descriptions of the books, and view books using Adobe Acrobat Reader or xpdf.
The Documentation Browser automatically detects the regional settings in use in
your system and displays the books in the language for that region (if available). If

book is not available in the language for that region, the English version is

displayed.

contains documentation for

requires the following

®

98,

Use one of the following procedures to start the Documentation Browser:

Autostart is enabled, insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. The

Documentation Browser starts automatically.

Autostart is disabled or is not enabled for all users:

you are using a Windows operating system, insert the CD into your

CD-ROM drive and click Start --> Run. In the Open field, type

e:\win32.bat

where

the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive, and click OK.

you are using Red Hat Linux, insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive; then,

run the following command from the /mnt/cdrom directory:

runlinux.sh

Select your server from the Product menu. The Available Topics list displays all
the books for your server. Some books might be in folders. A plus sign (+) indicates
each folder or book that has additional books under it. Click the plus sign to display
the additional books.

When you select a book, a description of the book appears under Topic
Description. To select more than one book, press and hold the Ctrl key while you
select the books. Click View Book to view the selected book or books in Acrobat
Reader or xpdf. If you selected more than one book, all the selected books are
opened in Acrobat Reader or xpdf.

search all the books, type a word or word string in the Search field and click

Search. The books in which the word or word string appears are listed in order of

Chapter 1. Introduction

7

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v

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v

to

v

v

v

of

v

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the most occurrences. Click a book to view it, and press Crtl+F to use the Acrobat
search function or Alt+F to use the xpdf search function within the book.

Click Help for detailed information about using the Documentation Browser.

Notices and statements used in this document

The caution and danger statements that appear in this document are also in the
multilingual

Documentation

statement in the
The following notices and statements are used in this document:

Notes: These notices provide important tips, guidance, or advice.
Important: These notices provide information or advice that might help you avoid

inconvenient or problem situations.

Attention: These notices indicate potential damage to programs, devices, or

data. An attention notice is placed just before the instruction or situation in which
damage could occur.

Caution: These statements indicate situations that can be potentially hazardous

you. A caution statement is placed just before the description of a potentially

hazardous procedure step or situation.

Danger: These statements indicate situations that can be potentially lethal or

extremely hazardous to you. A danger statement is placed just before the
description of a potentially lethal or extremely hazardous procedure step or
situation.

Safety Information

document, which is on the IBM

CD. Each statement is numbered for reference to the corresponding

Safety Information

document.

BladeCenter T

What the BladeCenter T unit offers

The design of the BladeCenter T unit takes advantage of advancements in server
technology. It provides up to eight functionally separate servers and their shared
resources in a single center. The BladeCenter T unit with blade servers installed
has the following features:

IBM Enterprise X-Architecture

IBM Enterprise X-Architecture
technologies to build powerful, scalable, reliable Intel™-processor-based servers.
Enterprise X-Architecture technology includes features such as light path
diagnostics, Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA), scalability, and Real Time
Diagnostics.

Expansion capabilities

You can add blade servers to the BladeCenter T unit as needed, to a maximum

eight blade servers.

Note: If any blade server or option is in blade bay 5 through 8 or if an I/O

module is in I/O-module bay 3 or 4, power modules must be present in all
four power-module bays.

Some blade servers have connectors for options that add capabilities to the
blade server, such as an I/O expansion card to add a network interface, or a
storage expansion unit to add SCSI hard disk drives.

Hot-swap capabilities

The front bays on the BladeCenter T unit are hot-swap blade, power-module, and
management-module bays; the rear bays on the BladeCenter T unit are hot-swap
I/O, KVM, LAN, and blower-module bays. You can add, remove, or replace blade

™

technology leverages proven innovative IBM

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

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servers or power, management, I/O, KVM, LAN or blower modules in hot-swap
bays within specified time limits and without removing power from the
BladeCenter T unit. See Chapter 3, “Removing and installing BladeCenter T
modules and options,” on page 25 for detailed instructions.

Attention: To maintain proper system cooling, each unoccupied bay must

contain a filler blade or filler module.

Redundancy capabilities

The following redundant components in the BladeCenter T unit enable continued
operation if one of the components fails:

Power modules: In normal operation, the redundant power modules provide
redundant power feeds to share the system load. If one of the power modules
fails, the working power module handles the entire load. You can then replace
the failed power module without shutting down the BladeCenter T unit.

Blowers: In normal operation, the redundant blower modules share the system
load. If one of the blowers fails, the other three working blowers handle the
entire load. You can then replace the failed blower without shutting down the
BladeCenter T unit.

Management modules: Only one management module is active at a time. If a
second management module has been installed and the active management
module fails, the secondary (redundant) management module becomes the
active management module containing the current BladeCenter T
configuration and status information. You can then replace the failed
management module without shutting down the BladeCenter T unit.

BladeCenter T backplane characteristics: The backplane has the following
redundancy characteristics:

Hot-pluggable connectors for the following components:

Eight blade servers
Four I/O modules
Two management modules
Four power supplies
Four blowers

Redundant high-speed SERDES interconnects between blade servers and

­switches

Support for redundant management modules

Redundant I2C communications between management modules and all
modules (except the blade servers)

Redundant RS-485 communications between management modules and
blade servers

Redundant analog video connections from blade servers to management
modules

Redundant USB connections between blade servers and management
modules

Redundant, secure Ethernet management port between switches and
management modules

Redundant network connection capabilities

v

Configuring a pair of Ethernet switch modules in I/O-module bays 1 and 2
provides support for Ethernet failover configured on blade servers. See
“Configuring an I/O module” on page 68 for more information. If the I/O
expansion options in your blade servers can be configured for failover,

Chapter 1. Introduction

9

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on

10

configuring a pair of switch modules in I/O-module bays 3 and 4 provides support
for the failover configured on the I/O expansion options.

Note: A system configuration with I/O expansion options in I/O-module bays 3

and 4 requires a unit configuration with power supplies in power-module
bays 3 and 4.

Other network-interface I/O expansion options, such as the IBM BladeCenter
Fibre Channel Expansion Card, can have similar capability for redundant network
connections. See the documentation that comes with the I/O expansion module
and I/O module for more information about configuring for redundant network
connections.

System-management capabilities

The BladeCenter T unit comes with a service processor in the management
module. The service processor in the management module, the
system-management firmware that is provided with your BladeCenter T unit, and
the service processor in each blade server, enable you to remotely manage the
BladeCenter T unit, its components, and the blade servers. The management
module also multiplexes the keyboard, mouse, and video ports and the USB port
across the multiple blade servers.

The service processor in each blade server provides blade server system
monitoring, event recording, and alert capability.

See Chapter 5, “Configuring the BladeCenter T unit,” on page 61 for more
information.

Network environment support

This BladeCenter T unit supports up to two Ethernet-compatible I/O modules
(switch modules or pass-thru modules), for blade server integrated Ethernet
controller communication with the network. Each I/O module provides one
internal connection to each blade server, up to eight internal connections per I/O
module.

The BladeCenter T unit also supports two additional I/O modules, for a total of
four I/O modules. The two additional I/O modules support the network interface

the optional I/O expansion card installed on one or more blade servers in the

BladeCenter T unit.

Note: The two additional I/O modules must be compatible with the network

interface on the optional I/O expansion cards in the blade servers.

Each of these two additional I/O modules provides one internal connection to the
optional I/O expansion card, up to eight internal connections per I/O module.

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

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Reliability, availability, and serviceability features

Three of the most important features in server design are reliability, availability, and
serviceability (RAS). These factors help to ensure the integrity of the data that is
stored on your blade server; that your blade server is available when you want to
use it; and that should a failure occur, you can easily diagnose and correct the
failure with minimal inconvenience.

The BladeCenter T unit has the following RAS features:

Shared key components, such as power, cooling, backplane, and I/O
All components serviced from the front or rear of the BladeCenter T unit
Automatic error retry and recovery
Automatic restart after a power failure
Built-in monitoring for blower, power, temperature, and voltage
Built-in monitoring for module redundancy
Customer support center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Error codes and messages
Fault-resistant startup
Remote system management through the management module
Remote management module firmware upgrade
Remote upgrade of blade server service processor microcode
Built-in self-test (BIST)
Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) alerts
Redundant components

Blowers with speed-sensing capability
I/O modules
Management modules
Power modules

Redundant system features in the backplane

v

Hot-swap components

Blade servers
Blowers with speed-sensing capability
I/O modules
KVM module
LAN module
Management module
Media tray
Power modules

System automatic inventory at startup

v

System error logging

1

1. Service availability will vary by country. Response time varies; may exclude holidays.

Chapter 1. Introduction

11

12

Major components of the BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730

The following illustration shows the major components of the BladeCenter T unit.

Note: The illustrations in this document might differ slightly from your hardware.

KVM module

I/O module

Front view

LAN
module

A

C

1

3

0

0

W

O

D
C
U

T

A

I
C
N

Management module

Filler blade

Blower module

(4 units)

Power module

I

A

T
U
C

D

O

!

W

0

0

3

1
C

A

D
S
E

Blade server

!

O

D
C
U

T

A

I
C
N

N
C

Media tray

r
rve

e

s

Bezel assembly

Attention: To maintain proper system cooling, each module bay must contain

either a module or a filler module; each blade bay must contain either a blade
server or a filler blade.

The following illustration shows the components on the front view of the
BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730 unit.

Management-module bay 1

Power module 1

CMM

1

Management-module bay 2

Power module 2

CMM

2

Power module 3

ESD connector

See Chapter 4, “BladeCenter T components, controls, and LEDs,” on page 51 for
details about the components and indicators.

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

Blade server 1

Blade server 8

Power module 4

Front panelMedia tray

Rear view Type 8720

The following illustration shows the components on the rear of the BladeCenter T
Type 8720 unit.

KVM module

Blower module 2

Blower module 4

See Chapter 4, “BladeCenter T components, controls, and LEDs,” on page 51 for
details about the components and indicators.

Rear view Type 8730

The following illustration shows the components on the rear of the BladeCenter T
Type 8730 unit.

I/O module 2 I/O module 1

I/O module 4

Type 8720

TOP

D

CRT

MNR

MJR

BTM

E

ESD connector

TOP

D

2

1

Alarms

BTM

E

I/O module 3

I/O module 2 I/O module 1

Type 8730

LAN module

Blower module 1

DC-power connectors

Blower module 3

KVM module

Blower module 2

24

TOP

D

CRT

MNR

MJR

TOP

D

2

1

Alarms

13

LAN module

Blower module 1

AC-power connectors

Blower module 4

I/O module 4

E

ESD connector

BTM

E

Blower module 3

I/O module 3

BTM

See Chapter 4, “BladeCenter T components, controls, and LEDs,” on page 51 for
details about the components and indicators.

Chapter 1. Introduction

13

14

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide

To

≥ 18 kg

≥ 32 kg

≥ 55 kg

v

v If

v

in

©

Chapter 2. Setting up the BladeCenter T hardware

This chapter provides instructions for setting up, connecting to system power,
starting, and shutting down the BladeCenter T unit.

Rack installation guidelines

Statement 20:

CAUTION:

avoid personal injury, before lifting the unit, remove all the blades to

reduce the weight.

Statement 4:

(39.7 lb)

(70.5 lb)

(121.2 lb)

CAUTION:
Use safe practices when lifting.

Before you begin to install the BladeCenter T unit in a rack, read the following
information:

Install the BladeCenter T unit in a rack before installing any blowers, power
modules, or blade servers in the BladeCenter T unit.

your BladeCenter unit has blowers, power modules, or blade servers already
installed, remove them first. See Chapter 3, “Removing and installing
BladeCenter T modules and options,” on page 25 for detailed instructions on
removing these devices.

Important: Reinstalling a blade server into a different bay than the one from

which it was removed could have unintended consequences. Some configuration
information and update options are established according to bay number. You
might need to reconfigure the blade server.

Detailed instructions for installing and cabling a BladeCenter T unit in a rack are

the rack installation instructions that come with the rack kits.

Copyright IBM Corp. 2004

15

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Option installation guidelines

Before you begin to install options in the BladeCenter T unit, read the following
information:

Read the safety information beginning on page vii and the guidelines in “Handling
static-sensitive devices” on page 17. This information will help you work safely
with your BladeCenter T unit and options.

Blue on a component indicates touch points, where you can grip the component

remove it from or install it in the server, open or close a latch, and so on.

Orange on a component or an orange label on or near a component indicates
that the component can be hot-swapped, which means that you can remove or
install the component while the BladeCenter T unit is running. (Orange can also
indicate touch points on hot-swap components.) See the instructions for removing

installing a specific hot-swap component for any additional procedures that

you might have to perform before you remove or install the component.
You do not have to disconnect the BladeCenter T unit from power to install or

replace any of the hot-swap modules in the BladeCenter T unit. You must shut
down the operating system and turn off a hot-swap blade server on the front of
the BladeCenter T unit before removing the blade server, but you do not have to
shut down the BladeCenter T unit itself.

For a list of supported options for your server, go to
http://www.ibm.com/pc/compat/.

System reliability considerations

help ensure proper cooling and system reliability, make sure that:

Each of the module bays on the front and rear of the BladeCenter T unit has
either a module or filler module installed.

Each of the blade bays on the front of the BladeCenter T unit has either a blade
server or filler blade installed.

Each of the drive bays in a blade server storage expansion option has either a
hot-swap drive or a filler panel installed.

Each of the PCI slots in a blade server PCI I/O expansion option has either a
PCI adapter or a PCI filler bracket installed

removed hot-swap module or drive is replaced within 1 minute of removal.
removed hot-swap blade is replaced within 20 minutes of removal.
failed blower is replaced as soon as possible, to restore cooling redundancy.

BladeCenter T Types 8720 and 8730: Installation and User’s Guide