Integrated server overview
An integrated server is a combination of integrated server hardware, network components, virtual storage (virtual disks), shared devices, and IBM® i integrated server configuration objects.
Server hardware
The server hardware is the physical hardware (such as the processor and memory) that the integrated server runs on. There are several types of server hardware that can be used for integrated servers, depending on your needs. The integrated server hardware is an external System x or BladeCenter product that is attached to IBM i with iSCSI initiator and target adapters. See Attaching servers to IBM i using iSCSI for more information about the types of hardware that can be used for integrated servers.
iSCSI adapters
Both IBM i and the integrated server contain iSCSI adapters, which are connected over an Ethernet network. The integrated server uses its iSCSI adapter to connect to the iSCSI adapter in IBM i. Using this connection, the integrated server can access virtual storage, shared tape and optical devices, and virtual Ethernet resources on IBM i. See Attaching servers to IBM i using iSCSI for more information.
Virtual storage
Each integrated server uses virtual storage that contain the integrated server operating system, applications, and data. This virtual storage is allocated from IBM i disk storage. The integrated server treats these drives as physical disk drives that are contained within the server. However, the integrated server does not actually have any physical disk drives of its own. See Storage management for integrated servers for more information about virtual storage.
Shared tape and optical devices
An integrated Windows server can share
supported tape and optical devices that are connected to the hosting IBM i partition. Shared IBM i devices are accessed
as if they were local to the integrated Windows server. By default, IBM i tape and optical devices
are automatically accessible by an integrated Windows server. You can choose
to restrict which of these IBM i devices
the integrated Windows server can
access. A subset of IBM i tape
devices are supported for use with various Windows versions. See the IBM i iSCSI Solution Guide
for
more information.Network
Each integrated server has one or more connections to a network. Physical network connections with a network adapter are supported for all types of integrated servers. Power server virtual Ethernet network connections are supported by integrated Windows servers. See Networking concepts for integrated servers for more information about the types of network connections that can be used with integrated servers.
IBM i integrated server configuration objects
Configuration objects in IBM i describe each integrated server. The IBM i configuration objects identify the hardware that the integrated server runs on, the virtual storage that the integrated server uses,the iSCSI target and initiator adapters that the integrated server uses, the
virtual Ethernet connections that an integrated Windows server uses, and
many other attributes of the server. See IBM i configuration objects for integrated servers for more information.