®
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters
IBM System x at-a-glance guide
The IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters provide a new generation of ultra-high-performance storage
based on solid state device technology for System x and BladeCenter. These adapters are alternatives to
disk drives and are available in several sizes, from 160 GB to 1.2 TB. Designed for high-performance
servers and computing appliances, these adapters deliver throughput of up to 300,000 I/O operations per
second (IOPS), while providing the added benefits of lower power, cooling, and management overhead,
and a smaller storage footprint.
The IBM 320GB High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapter is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The IBM 320GB High IOPS SS and MS Class SSD PCIe Adapter
Did You Know?
These adapters use flash memory as the storage medium, contain no moving parts, and do not have the
issues associated with vibration, noise, and mechanical failure. The adapters are built as block devices on
a PCIe bus with advanced wear-leveling, advanced ECC, and N+1 chip-level redundancy, providing
unparalleled reliability and efficiency.
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 1
Part number information
Table 1 lists the ordering part numbers and feature codes.
Table 1. Ordering part numbers and feature codes
Description Part number Feature code
IBM 160GB High IOPS SS Class SSD PCIe Adapter 46M0877 0096
IBM 320GB High IOPS MS Class SSD PCIe Adapter 46M0898 1649
IBM 320GB High IOPS SD Class SSD PCIe Adapter 46M0878 0097
320GB High IOPS SLC Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4535 A1NE
640GB High IOPS MLC Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4531 A1NC
640GB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4519 5985
640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4539 A1ND
1.28TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4527 A1NB
The part numbers for the adapters include the following items:
One PCIe adapter with 3U bracket
2U bracket (except for the Duo adapters, 81Y4519, 81Y4539, and 81Y4527)
Quick install guide
Documentation on a USB key
Safety flyer
Figure 2 shows the 640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x
Figure 2. 640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 2
Features
Based on standard PCIe architecture coupled with silicon-based NAND clustering storage technology, the
High IOPS Adapters are optimized for System x racks and can be deployed in blades via the PCIe
expansion units. These scalable designs come with both Single Level Cell (SLC) and MultiLevel Cell
(MLC) technologies in standard PCIe form factors. While MLC offers a cost-effective alternative, SLC
provides over 12X more endurance and up to 30% better performance over MLC.
These adapters use NAND flash memory as the basic building block of solid-state storage and contain no
moving parts, thus they are less sensitive to issues associated with vibration, noise, and mechanical
failure. These adapters are built as block devices on a PCIe bus with advanced wear-leveling, ECC, and
N+1 chip-level redundancy providing unparalleled reliability and efficiency.
Typical uses are applications with ultra-high performance I/O needs:
Data-in-memory applications
Medium to large databases
Cache
Video
Data warehousing
Business intelligence and analytics
Decision support
The IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters have the following features:
Performance features :
High performance - 230 times better IOPS. That means, for example, 97,014 IOPS at 4K block
random reads versus 420 IOPS for a 15K RPM 146GB disk drive.
Low latency of 50 μs - 1% of the latency of a 15K RPM 146GB disk drive.
600 MB/s random writes sustained.
Reliability features:
Predictable lifetime.
Up to 25 years of data retention.
N+1 redundancy built-in to ensure data protection
Available in SLC or MLC
11-bit ECC protection.
Advance bad-block management algorithms enable taking blocks out of service when their failure rate
becomes unacceptable.
IBM High IOPS Launch Manager management suite.
Energy efficiency features :
Low power consumption for performance: 9W delivering 100,000 IOPS versus 5.5W for 420 IOPS
from a 15K RPM 146GB disk drive.
Only 57 kWh/yr at 100,000 IOPS sustained.
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 3
Specifications
The IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters have the following specifications:
Storage capacity from 160 GB to 1.28 TB
Functions as a PCIe storage and controller device -- operating system sees a block device
PCI Express host interface as listed in Table 2
Note: These adapters cannot be used as bootable devices.
Table 2. PCI Express host interface specification
Description Part number PCIe interface
IBM 160GB High IOPS SS Class SSD PCIe Adapter 46M0877 PCIe 1.0a (Gen1) x4
IBM 320GB High IOPS MS Class SSD PCIe Adapter 46M0898 PCIe 1.0a (Gen1) x4
IBM 320GB High IOPS SD Class SSD PCIe Adapter 46M0878 PCIe 2.0 (Gen2) x8
320GB High IOPS SLC Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4535 PCIe 1.0a (Gen1) x4
640GB High IOPS MLC Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4531 PCIe 1.1 (Gen1) x4
640GB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4519 PCIe 2.0 (Gen2) x8
640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4539 PCIe 2.0 (Gen2) x8
1.28TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x 81Y4527 PCIe 2.0 (Gen2) x8
Comparison
Table 3 shows a comparison between the High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters and solid-state drives.
Table 3. Comparison
High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters Solid-state drive
Model 160
Part number
Capacity 160 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 640 GB 640 GB 640 GB 1.28 TB 400 GB 1.6 TB
Max IOPS
4KB Read
Max IOPS
4KB Write
Max transfer
Read
Max transfer
Write
SLC
46M0877 46M0898 81Y4535 46M0878 81Y4531 81Y4519 81Y4539 81Y4527 43W7726 43W7746
129K 128K 189K 301K 129K 301K 358K 316K Non-RAID: 203K
130K 108K 154K 110K 136K 109K 374K 277K Non-RAID: 140K
754
MBps
635
MBps
320
MLC
735
MBps
476
MBps
320
SLC
787
MBps
769
MBps
320
SLC
Duo
1524
MBps
1129
MBps
640
MLC
763
MBps
543
MBps
640
MLC
Duo
1703
MBps
961
MBps
640
SLC
Duo
1538
MBps
1047
MBps
1.28
MLC
1511
MBps
818
MBps
eXFlash
1.8” 50GB
MLC
(8 drives)
RAID 5: 121K
RAID 5: 22K
Non-RAID: 2052 MBps
RAID 5: 1668 MBps
Non-RAID: 1864 MBps
RAID 5: 1141 MBps
eXFlash
1.8” 200GB
MLC
(8 drives)
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 4
Physical specifications
Table 4 lists the dimensions and weight of each card.
Table 4. Physical specifications
Adapter Dimensions
IBM 160GB High IOPS SS Class SSD PCIe Adapter
IBM 320GB High IOPS MS Class SSD PCIe Adapter
320GB High IOPS SLC Adapter for IBM System x
640GB High IOPS MLC Adapter for IBM System x
IBM 320GB High IOPS SD Class SSD PCIe Adapter
640GB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x
640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x
1.28TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter for IBM System x
Operating environment
The adapters are supported in this environment:
Temperature:
10° to 35°C (50° to 95°F) at 0 to 914 m (0 to 3,000 ft)
10° to 32°C (50° to 32°F) at 914 to 2,133 m (3,000 to 7,000 ft)
Relative humidity:
20% to 80% (non-condensing)
Warranty
Height: 1.6 cm (0.625 in)
Width: 7.0 cm (2.75 in)
Depth: 16.8 cm (6.625 in)
Weight: 138 g (0.3 lb)
Height: 1.6 cm (0.625 in)
Width: 11.0 cm (2.75 in)
Depth: 17.0 cm (6.625 in)
Weight: 279 g (0.61 lb)
The IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters have a three-year limited warranty.
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 5
Supported servers
The IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters are supported in the IBM System x servers listed in Table 5.
Table 5. Supported System x servers (Part 1)
Adapter
IBM 160GB High IOPS SS Class SSD
IBM 320GB High IOPS MS Class SSD
IBM 320GB High IOPS SD Class SSD
320GB High IOPS SLC Adapter
640GB High IOPS MLC Adapter
640GB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter
640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter
1.28TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter
46M0877 N N N N N N N N N N N Y N
46M0898 N N N N N N N N N N N Y N
46M0878 N N N N N N N N N N N Y N
81Y4535 N N N N N N N N N N Y Y Y
81Y4531 N N N N N N N N N N Y Y Y
81Y4519 N N N N N N N N N N Y Y Y
81Y4539 N N N N N N N N N N Y Y Y
81Y4527 N N N N N N N N N N Y Y Y
Table 5. Supported System x servers (Part 2)
Adapter
IBM 160GB High IOPS SS Class SSD
IBM 320GB High IOPS MS Class SSD
IBM 320GB High IOPS SD Class SSD
46M0877 N N Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y Y* N
46M0898 N N Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y Y* N
46M0878 N N Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y N Y†
320GB High IOPS SLC Adapter
640GB High IOPS MLC Adapter
640GB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter
640GB High IOPS SLC Duo Adapter
1.28TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter
81Y4535 Y N Y Y N Y N N N N Y N N
81Y4531 Y N Y Y N Y N N N N Y N N
81Y4519 Y N Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y Y* N
81Y4539 Y N Y Y N Y N N N N Y N N
81Y4527 Y N Y Y N Y N N N N Y N N
* The HS22 supports these adapters with the addition of the IBM BladeCenter PCI Express I/O Expansion
Unit (PEU3e), part number 43W4391
† The HX5 supports these adapters with the addition of the IBM BladeCenter PCI Express Gen 2
Expansion Blade (BPE4), part number 46M6730
See IBM ServerProven for the latest information on the adapters supported by each System x server type:
http://ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/.
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 6
Supported operating systems
The IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters support the following operating systems:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003/2003 R2, Datacenter x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003/2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003/2003 R2, Standard x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Web x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard Edition
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server with Xen x64 Edition
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server x64 Edition
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server x64 Edition
SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 10 for AMD64/EM64T
SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 10 with Xen for AMD64/EM64T
SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 11 for AMD64/EM64T
SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 11 with Xen for AMD64/EM64T
Related publications
For more information refer to these documents:
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters documentation
IBM High IOPS SSD Management Application
Release Notes
User Guide for Linux
User Guide for Windows
http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5083907
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters product page
http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/disk/ssd/ssd_adapters.html
IBM US Announcement Letters
http://ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=dd&subtype=ca&&htmlfid=897/ENUS109-396
http://ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=dd&subtype=ca&&htmlfid=897/ENUS111-051
IBM System x Configuration and Options Guide
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1SCOD-3ZVQ5W
IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 7
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IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 8
This document was created or updated on January 4, 2012.
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IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters 9
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