IBM Flex System 68Y8588 Product Manual
®
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node
IBM Redbooks Product Guide
The IBM® Flex System™ Storage Expansion Node is a locally attached storage node that is dedicated
and directly attached to a single half-wide compute node. The Storage Expansion Node provides storage
capacity for Network Attach Storage (NAS) workloads, providing flexible storage to match capacity,
performance, and reliability needs.
Ideal wokloads include distributed database, transactional database, NAS infrastructure, video
survellance and streaming solutions.
Figure 1 shows the IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node attached to an IBM Flex System x240
Compute Node.
Figure 1. IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node (right) attached to an x240 Compute Node (left)
Did you know?
The Storage Expansion Node adds 12 drive bays to the attached compute node and all bays in the
expansion node are hot-swap. The drive bays slide out on an internal rail system; provided that a suitable
RAID level is employed, a failed drive can be removed while the system is still running. With storage
capacity of up to 12 TB, the Storage Expansion Node is ideal for applications that can use large amounts
of additional local storage.
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node 1
Part number information
Table 1. Ordering part number and feature code
Description Part number Feature code
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node 68Y8588 A3JF
The part number includes the following items:
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node
Double-wide shelf
Documentation CD that contains the
Warranty information and Safety flyer and Important Notices document
Installation and Service Guide
Supported servers
The IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node is supported when it is attached to the IBM Flex System
compute nodes listed in Table 2. Only one Expansion Node can be attached to each compute node.
Table 2. Supported servers
Part
Description
number
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node 68Y8588 Y* Y* N N N N
* The Storage Expansion Node requires that both processors be installed in the x220 and x240.
Features
The System Expansion Node has the following features:
Connects directly to supported compute nodes via a PCIe 3.0 interface to the compute node's
interposer connector (also known as the ETE connector)
Support for 12 hot-swap 2.5-inch drives, accessible via a sliding tray
Support for 6 Gbps SAS and SATA drives, both HDDs and SSDs
Based on an LSI SAS2208 6 Gbps RAID on Chip (ROC) controller
Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and 50 as standard. JBOD also supported. Optional RAID 6 and 60 with a
Features on Demand upgrade.
Optional 512 MB or 1 GB cache with cache-to-flash super capacitor offload
Includes an expansion shelf to physically support the Storage Expansion Node and its compute node
attached together
Internal and external light path diagnostics
Optional Feature on Demand upgrades for RAID 6, 60 support and SSD performance and caching
enablers
Optional support for SSD performance acceleration and SSD caching with Features on Demand
upgrades
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node 2
Support for up to 64 virtual drives, up to 128 drive groups, up to 16 virtual drives per one drive group,
and up to 32 physical drives per one drive group
Support for logical unit number (LUN) sizes up to 64 TB
Configurable stripe size up to 1 MB
Compliant with Disk Data Format (DDF) configuration on disk (COD)
S.M.A.R.T. support
Managed through the IMMv2 management processor on the compute node and with the MegaRAID
Storage Manager management software
Architecture
Figure 2 shows the architecture of the Storage Expansion Node when connected to a compute node.
Figure 2. Architecture of the Storage Expansion Node
The Expansion Node connects to a standard-width compute node using the interposer cable, which plugs
into the expansion connector on the compute node. This link forms a PCIe 3.0 x8 connection between
Processor 2 on the compute node and the LSI RAID controller in the Expansion Node. The result is that
the compute node sees the disks in the expansion node as locally attached. Management of the Storage
Expansion Node is via the IMM2 located on the compute node.
Note: The expansion connector in the x220 and x240 compute nodes is routed through processor 2.
Therefore, processor 2 must be installed in the compute node.
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node 3
Supported disk drives
The Storage Expansion Node is a PCIe 3.0 and a SAS 2.1 complaint enclosure supporting up to twelve
2.5-inch drives. The drives can be HDD or SSD, and both SAS or SATA. Drive modes supported are
JBOD or RAID-0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60.
The drives are accessed by opening the handle on the front of the Storage Expansion Node and sliding
out the drive tray. Opening the drive tray can be done while it is operational. Figure 3 shows the Storage
Expansion Node connected to an x240 compute node and with the drive tray extended part way out. With
the drive tray extended, all twelve hot-swap drives can be accessed on the left side of the tray.
Figure 3. Storage Expansion Node with drive tray part way extended
The following table lists the hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) supported within the
Storage Expansion Node. Both SSDs and HDDs can be installed inside the unit at the same time.
Preferred practice when creating logical drives is to use similar disk types. For example, for a RAID 1 pair,
choose identical drive types, SSD or HDD.
Table 3. Supported drives
Part number Feature code Description Maximum
supported
NL SATA HDDs
81Y9722 A1NX IBM 250GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD 12
81Y9726 A1NZ IBM 500GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD 12
81Y9730 A1AV IBM 1TB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD 12
10K SAS HDDs
81Y9650 A282 IBM 900GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD 12
90Y8872 A2XD IBM 600GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD 12
90Y8877 A2XC IBM 300GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD 12
Solid state drives
90Y8643 A2U3 IBM 256GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise Value SSD 12
IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node 4
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