IBM X3200 User Manual

An affordable single-socket, dual-core server with high performance and data protection for small
and medium businesses

Product Guide

September 2006

Product Overview

CONTENTS

Product Overview 1

Selling Features 1

Key Features 3

Key Options 8

x3200 Images 9

x3200 Specifications 10

The Bottom Line 12

Server Rec. Map 13

For More Information 14

Legal Information 14

IBM System x3200

Value-priced performance, capacity and availability

The single-socket IBM
outstanding value to workgroups by combining scalable performance and availability features at an
outstanding price. The x3200 supports the latest dual-core Intel
designed with either an 800MHz or a 1067MHz front-side bus (FSB), 64-bit extensions (EM64T), and
2MB or 4MB L2 cache, to help provide customers with the computing power they need to match their
business needs and growth. For the first time in a product of this class, the x3200 supports Xeon
processors, which provide outstanding longevity and stability, in addition to substantially improved
performance compared to the previous-generation x206m server. (Future models will support the quad-

core Xeon processor, when available.) In addition, the x3200 uses industry-standard 667MHz PC2­5300 ECC (Error Checking and Correcting) memory—for high performance and reliability.

All models offer impressive scalability, including dual-processor support, up to 8GB of memory and up to
four simple-swap or hot-swap enterprise-class Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drives with a total

capacity of up to 2TB
an internal storage capacity of 1.2TB. For additional performance and high availability, the x3200 offers

integrated hardware RAID-0/1/1E support standard in the hot-swap SAS/SATA models (optional for
simple-swap SATA models). To meet customers’ backup requirements, the x3200 supports a choice of

half-high tape drives, a DVD-RAM optical drive, or a GoVault removable disk drive. The x3200 ships
as a tower unit; an optional rack conversion kit turns the x3200 into a 5U rack-mounted server to save
precious data center floor space.

Standard in the x3200 is a mini Baseboard Management Controller (mBMC) that enables users to
manage and control the server easily—both locally and remotely. This high level of manageability is
designed to keep costs down and the system up—even when network usage increases. Other
advanced features that help maximize network availability by increasing uptime, include simple-swap or

hot-swap/redundant HDDs, hot-swap/redundant power and fans; temperature-controlled fans with
Calibrated Vectored Cooling
remote power control.

With the inclusion of unique IBM service and support features such as IBM Director, IBM
ServerGuide

equally well designed for a locally managed data center environment as for a remotely managed or
stand-alone environment, while offering maximum availability.

For a balance of high-performance dual-core processing, high availability and vast internal SAS storage
at a budget price, the x3200 is the ideal system.

™

®

System x3200, incorporating IBM X-Architecture™ features, provides

®

Xeon™ and Pentium® D processors,

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, or up to four high-performance hot-swap Serial-Attach SCSI (SAS) drives with

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; and industry-standard IPMI 1.5 support, including highly secure

and support for the optional IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine, the x3200 is

Selling Features Price/Performance

The x3200 offers numerous features to boost performance and reduce product and operating costs:

• Models containing the dual-core Pentium D processor, with fast 800MHz front side bus and 4MB of
independent (2MB per core) Level 2 cache, offer high-performance at an entry price.

• Models containing the dual-core Xeon processor, with high-end 1066MHz front side bus and 2MB or
4MB of shared Level 2 cache, offer superior performance and durability, capable of tackling the

toughest jobs.

• Low-voltage processors draw less power and produce less waste heat than high-voltage
processors, thus helping to reduce data center energy costs.

• Ultra-fast 667MHz PC2-5300 DDR II ECC memory offers high speed and high availability.

1

GB equals 1,000,000,000 bytes and TB equals 1,000,000,000,000 bytes when referring to hard disk drive capacity. Accessible

capacity may be less.

Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.

1

An affordable single-socket, dual-core server with high performance and data protection for small
and medium businesses

• One x8 high-speed PCI-E adapter slot offers investment protection by supporting high-performance
adapters, such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand cards, none of which will run in older
conventional PCI slots.

• Integrated hardware RAID-0/1/1E support at no extra charge and without consuming a valuable
adapter slot. RAID-0 offers improved disk performance via data striping; RAID-1 offers disk mirroring
for high availability, and RAID-1E provides mirroring functionality with an odd number of drives.

• Support for up to four 3.5-inch hot-swap SAS or SATA hard disk drives standard in some models
offer high-performance with high availability. The SAS/SATA controller provides full-duplex (2 x
300MBps) data transfers for SAS drives. For lower cost with high capacity, other models support up
to four simple-swap Serial ATA drives. The SATA drives offer performance approximately equal to
that of Ultra320 SCSI.

• The integrated Gigabit Ethernet controller with IPMI 1.5 support provides high-speed network
communications.

• A high degree of device integration, including SAS/SATA, RAID, Gigabit Ethernet, systems
management and video controllers, lowers costs and frees up valuable adapter slots.

Flexibility

The x3200 has the ability to grow with a customer’s application requirements, thanks to:

• Support for a choice of dual-core Pentium D processors with 2.8 and 3.4GHz clock rates, 800MHz
FSB and 130W power draw, or dual-core Xeon processors with 1.86, 2.13, and 2.4GHz clock rates,
1066MHz FSB, and 65W power draw.

• Up to 8GB of high-speed DDR2 system memory.

• Five available adapter slots: two high-performance PCI-E (x8, x1), and three legacy PCI (32-bit,

33MHz) slots in all models.

• The seven USB 2.0 ports (six external, one internal) are up to 40X faster
This provides speedy access to external HDDs (non-arrayed), optical drives, internal and external
tape drives, and other USB devices. Two ports are on the front of the unit and four are on the back,
for easy access. The internal port is reserved for a half-high tape drive.

• Up to four internal 3.5-inch simple-swap SATA or hot-swap SAS or SATA HDDs and a half-high
tape drive, DVD-RAM drive or GoVault drive. This provides tremendous internal storage capability,

along with full data backup.

• Alternatively, iSCSI or Fibre Channel-attached storage can be attached using IBM System Storage
or TotalStorage servers.

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than older USB 1.1 ports.

Manageability

Powerful systems management features simplify local and remote management of the x3200:

• The x3200 includes a mini Baseboard Management Controller (mBMC) to monitor server
availability, perform Predictive Failure Analysis, etc., and trigger IBM Director alerts.

• Integrated IPMI 1.5 support alerts IBM Director to anomalous environmental factors, such as voltage
and thermal conditions. It also supports highly secure remote power control using data encryption.

• IBM Director 5.1x is provided for proactive systems management. It comes with a portfolio of tools,
including Management Processor Assistant, RAID Manager, Update Assistant, Software Distribution
and a Real Time Diagnostics tool. In addition, IBM Director offers extended systems management
tools for additional server management and increased availability.

• An optional Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine provides additional systems management
capabilities, including Web-based out-of-band control; virtual floppy and optical drive support;

Windows “blue screen” error capture; LDAP and SSL support; and remote redirection of PCI video,
text, keyboard and mouse. And it does all this without consuming a valuable adapter slot.

™

Availability and Serviceability

The x3200 provides many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime:

• x3200 servers use standard ECC memory, which can correct certain types of memory errors. This
can help reduce downtime caused by memory failure.

• Toolless cover removal provides easy access to upgrades and serviceable parts. Similarly, the
Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine, simple-swap or hot-swap/redundant HDDs, as well as
hot-swap/redundant fans and power supplies (model-specific) can be installed and replaced

without tools, meaning greater system uptime while these components are being serviced.

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Data transfer rates may be less than the maximum possible.

Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.

2

An affordable single-socket, dual-core server with high performance and data protection for small
and medium businesses

• Integrated RAID-1/1E arrays allow the server to keep operating in the event of a drive failure

• IPMI 1.5 supports highly secure remote system power control using data encryption. This allows an

administrator to restart a server without having to visit it in person, saving travel time and getting the
server back up and running quickly and securely.

• Temperature-controlled fans adjust to compensate for changing thermal characteristics. At the
lower speeds they draw less power and suffer less wear. Equally important in a crowded data center,
temperature-controlled fans produce less ambient noise in the data center than if they were
constantly running at full speed.

• The three-year (parts and labor) limited onsite warranty
Type 4363) helps give your customers peace of mind and greater investment protection than a one­year warranty does.

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offered on selected models (Machine

Key Features High-Performance Processors

The x3200 supports either an Intel Pentium processor or an Intel Xeon processor, allowing customers to
choose the most appropriate processor for their business needs. The x3200 offers a choice of processor
clock rates, FSB speeds and power draw:

• 130W dual-core Pentium D processor model 915 or 945 (operating at 2.8 or 3.4GHz, respectively)
with 64-bit extensions, an 800MHz FSB, and 4MB of L2 processor cache (2MB per core)

• 65W dual-core Xeon processor models 3040 or 3050 (operating at 1.86 or 2.13GHz, respectively),
with 64-bit extensions, low power draw, a 1066MHz FSB, and 2MB of shared L2 processor cache

• 65W dual-core Xeon processor model 3060 (operating at 2.4GHz), with 64-bit extensions, low
power draw, a 1066MHz FSB, and 4MB of shared L2 processor cache

The dual-core Xeon processors contain one unified shared 4MB cache, while the Pentium D
processors have independent 2MB caches (2MB per core). The shared cache is dynamically allocated
between the two cores as needed. The two cores appear to software as two physical processors. Dual­core processors offer considerably higher performance than a same-speed processor with a single core.

Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) 64-bit extensions allow the Xeon processor to use
large memory addressing when running with a 64-bit operating system. This in turn lets individual
software processes directly access more than 4GB of RAM, which was the limit of 32-bit addressing.
This can result in much higher performance for certain kinds of programs, such as database
management and CAD. Additional registers and instructions (SSE3) can further boost performance for
applications written to use them. Customers should contact their software provider to determine their
software support for EM64T.

The 1066MHz FSB (which connects memory to the processor) boasts a peak rate of 8.53GBps, or up to
one-third higher throughput at the same processor clock speed than an 800MHz FSB (6.4GBps) used
in the Pentium D systems. This may result in much higher data transfer rates.

Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed, to reduce
power draw.

Execute Disable Bit functionality can help prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks
when combined with a supporting operating system.

High-Speed DDR II ECC Memory

The x3200 supports up to 8GB of memory in 4 DIMM sockets. It uses PC2-5300 double data rate II
(DDR II) memory (operating at 667MHz) for faster access, and provides ECC memory protection.

The x3200 supports either 1, 2, or 4 DIMMs. When 2 or 4 DIMMs are installed, memory operates in two-
way interleaved mode for increased performance.

Memory is available in kits consisting of one 512MB or two 1GB or 2GB DIMMs.

Hot-Swap/Redundant Components

System availability is maximized through the use of hot-swap and redundant components, including:

• Hot-swap/redundant or simple-swap hard disk drives (with RAID-1/1E protection standard)

• Hot-swap, redundant power supplies (optional, model-specific)

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For terms and conditions or copies of the IBM Statement of Limited Warranty, call 800-772-2227 in the U.S. In Canada call 800-

426-2255. Telephone support may be subject to additional charges. For warranties including onsite labor, a technician is sent after
IBM attempts to resolve the problem remotely. International warranty service is available in any country in which this product is
sold.

Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.

3

An affordable single-socket, dual-core server with high performance and data protection for small
and medium businesses

Disk/Tape Controllers

Some x3200 models include an integrated four-port LSI 1064e SAS/SATA controller. Other x3200
models include a SATA controller only, integrated into the Intel chipset. (All models provide a dedicated
internal SATA port for a GoVault removable disk backup device.)

The integrated controller in all hot-swap models supports up to four internal SAS LVD (low-voltage
differential) hot-swap drives standard , and provides data transfer speeds of up to 300MB per second
in each direction (full-duplex) for SAS drives, for an aggregate speed of 600MBps, nearly double that
of Ultra320 SCSI’s 320MBps (half-duplex) bandwidth. The serial design of the SAS bus allows
maximum performance to be maintained as additional drives are added. This controller also supports up
to four Serial ATA (SATA) drives at 300MBps (half-duplex).

The integrated controller in the hot-swap models offers hardware RAID-0/1/1E support for SAS or SATA
drives.

The simple-swap SATA models offer an integrated SATA controller, which supports up to four internal
simple-swap LVD SATA drives at the same 300MBps (half-duplex) throughput.

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Large HDD Storage Capacity

The x3200 offers a choice of disk storage, supporting up to four 3.5-inch simple-swap Serial ATA
(SATA) drives or four hot-swap high-performance Serial-Attach SCSI (SAS) or SATA drives:

SAS

• 10,000 RPMs — 36.4, 73.4, 146.8 or 300GB (1.2TB maximum)—hot-swap

• 15,000 RPMs — 36.4, 73.4 or 146.8GB (587.6TB)

SATA

• 7,200 RPMs — 80, 160, 250 or 500GB (2.0TB)—simple-swap or hot-swap

Notes: Enterprise-class 500GB SATA drives offer increased reliability compared to lower-capacity
SATA drives. Hot-swap SAS drives use the Converged Tray for interchangeability with other IBM
System x

If the customer needs more storage space, terabyte capacities are possible with external direct-attach,
NAS and SAN solutions.

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and IBM eServer™ xSeries® systems.

Drive Bays

All x3200 models contain 7 drive bays standard. All models offer two 5.25-inch bays, four 3.5-inch
HDD bays, and one 3.5-inch floppy drive bay. Some models support up to four hot-swap SAS or
SATA drives; other models support up to four simple-swap SATA drives.

An optical drive (either a 48X CD-ROM or 48X/32X/48X/16X CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo drive,
depending on the model) with an IDE interface ships standard in one 5.25-inch bay. The other 5.25-inch
bay supports one of several backup options: a half-high tape drive, a DVD-RAM drive, or a GoVault
removable disk drive. The tape drive must have a SCSI or USB 2.0 interface. (A SCSI tape drive would
require an optional SCSI controller; an internal USB port is provided standard.) The GoVault drive has a
SATA interface. No diskette drive is supplied with any model; an external USB floppy drive may be
used, if needed.

Hot-swap and simple-swap drives may be inserted or removed through the front of the server. Hot-swap
drives do not require powering off the system. Simple-swap SATA drives do require powering off the
system first; however, no tools or jumpers are required for installation and removal, allowing for faster,
simpler servicing than fixed drives.

For still more storage, a direct-attach, iSCSI, or SAN external expansion option can be added, using an
optional controller.

Internal Backup

The x3200 supports several internal half-high backup options. Supported technologies include:

• DDS-6

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Data transfer rates depend on many factors and are often less than the maximum possible.

Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.

• DLTV4

• DVD-RAM

• GoVault

• LTO-3 Ultrium

• VXA-3

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An affordable single-socket, dual-core server with high performance and data protection for small
and medium businesses

Gigabit Ethernet Controller

The x3200 includes one integrated Broadcom 5721 Gigabit Ethernet controller for up to 10X higher
maximum throughput than a 10/100 Ethernet controller.

It also supports highly secure remote power management using IPMI 1.5, plus Wake on LAN
(Preboot Execution Environment) flash interface. Optional PCI adapters offering failover and load
balancing between adapters are available for added throughput and increased system availability.

®

and PXE

High-Performance Adapter Slots

The x3200 provides two PCI-E (PCI Express) full-length/full-height adapter slots (Slots 1 and 2). One
(Slot 2) is a x8 (“by 8”) 4GBps slot, capable of supporting x1/x4/x8 adapters at full speed. The other
(Slot 1) is a x1 (500MBps) slot. Slots 3, 4, and 5 are full-length/full-height legacy 33MHz PCI slots.

PCI-Express is a high-performance, low-latency, next-generation serial I/O bus that is rapidly replacing
the older parallel PCI and PCI-X buses. A x8 PCI-E adapter offers approximately four times the
maximum throughput of a 133MHz PCI-X adapter
66MHz PCI-X slot.)

The RAID daughtercard and Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine card plug into dedicated slots on
the planar. This, coupled with the fact that the SAS/SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, systems management
and video controllers are integrated onto the system board, means that all PCI/PCI-E adapter slots are
all available, which offers customers a wide degree of latitude in expansion options.

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. (A x1 adapter offers throughput similar to a 64-bit

Ultra-Efficient Cooling

Strategically located fans, combined with efficient airflow paths, provide highly effective system cooling
for the x3200, known as Calibrated Vectored Cooling. The server includes three hot-swap fans. In
addition, each power supply contains a fan.

The fans automatically adjust speeds in response to changing thermal requirements, from minimum
RPMs to maximum, depending on the zone, redundancy, and internal temperatures. When the
temperature inside the server increases, the fans speed up to maintain the proper ambient temperature.
When the temperature returns to a normal operating level, the fans return to their default speed. Why
not simply run the fans at 100% capacity all the time? For several good reasons: to reduce the ambient
noise, reduce the wear-and-tear on the fans and reduce the server power draw. The reduction in
ambient noise and power draw may be relatively minor for a single server, but put dozens or hundreds in
a data center and it can make a big difference!

In addition, the server uses hexagonal ventilation holes in the chassis. Hexagonal holes can be
grouped more densely than round holes, providing greater airflow through the system cover.

This cooling scheme is important because newer, more powerful, processors generate a significant
amount of heat, and heat must be controlled for the system to function properly.

Other Features

• Seven USB 2.0 ports — Provides flexibility to add high-speed external devices. The USB 2.0
specification supports up to 480Mbps transfer rates. (Note: Not all USB 2.0 devices are capable of
achieving this rate.) Two ports are provided on the front of the server, four are on the back, and one
is internal to support a USB-interface tape drive.

• Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine support — This optional full-function systems
management adapter adds local and remote management functions without consuming an adapter
slot.

• Toolless chassis — The cover can be opened without tools, and many components can be installed
or removed and replaced without tools, including the optical drive, hot-swap HDDs, PCI and PCI-E
adapters, as well as the integrated RAID controller and optional Remote Supervisor Adapter II
SlimLine. This can save a servicer significant time.

Rack Cable Management and KVM Console Switching

IBM Advanced Connectivity Technology (ACT) is an optional feature that offers many advantages over
standard KVM cabling across the entire System x and xSeries product line. So now customers can
interconnect all of their servers with one smart cabling architecture. ACT cabling eliminates the need for
one-to-one direct connections between each server and a KVM switch by using a daisy-chain approach.

Here’s how it works: A KVM Conversion Option (KCO) plugs into the back of any System x or xSeries
server and converts the KVM signal to standard CAT5 network cabling signals. Inexpensive CAT5 cable
(with RJ-45 connectors on each end) then daisy-chains the first server to a KCO in the next server in the
rack. Because CAT5 cabling is industry-standard, customers can assemble cables to fit on-site. There is
a short KCO dongle (250mm/10”) for servers without a cable management arm and a longer (1.5m/5 ft)
one for servers that do have cable management arms. The KCO allows up to 16 servers to be chained

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Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.