Overview - BNT 10-port 10 Gb Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter H, HT

Content

Planned availability date: 17 Jun 2009

Overview

(PN 46C7191) The BNT 10-port 10 Gb Ethernet Switch Module is a high-speed addition to the BladeCenter switch portfolio. It offers scalability in LAN switch complexity while maintaining ease of management. The BNT 10-port 10 Gb Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter is a new switch option designed for the next-generation IBM BladeCenter chassis that enables administrators to provide full Layer 2/3 10 Gb LAN switching and routing capabilities to each server within a BladeCenter chassis. Such consolidation flattens the topology of the data center infrastructure through convergence of storage and data networks, thus helping reduce the number of discrete devices, management consoles, and different management systems. The BNT 10 Gb Switch Module is a full-fabric Ethernet switch and is available in a 10-port active configuration. It supports high-performance up to 10 Gb per second Ethernet data processing solutions across the LAN. Key features:

• Up to 10-port 10 Gb Ethernet switch with 14 internal, midplane ports for server connectivity and 10 external, SFP-enabled ports for target or fabric connectivity
• Line rate performance with no packet drop
• HSSM form factor
• Ports:
  • 24x 10 Gb ports
  • 10x 10 Gb SFP+ external uplinks; ports can be configured as 10 Gb SFP+ or 1 Gb SFP; up to 8x 10 Gb ports can be connected to bridge module
  • 1 x1 Gb external uplink port
  • 14 x 10 Gb internal server links; server links can be configured as 10 Gb or 1 Gb
  • 2x internal MM ports

(PN 46M6181) The IBM 10 Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module is ideal for clients looking to enable end-to-end non-blocking 10 Gb setup within the chassis. This device supports both Ethernet and CEE (Converged Enhanced Ethernet) packets, allowing clients to connect their BladeCenter Chassis to a FCoE capable Top of the Rack switch module. The following outlines the features and functionality of the 10 Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for IBM BladeCenter:

• 14 SFP+ pass-thru ports
• Direct one-one mapping
• Support for SR, LR, and DAC copper cables
• Simple monitoring via AMM
• Single wide High Speed Module form
• Conformance to BladeCenter BCH and BCH-T requirements
• Helps provide self test and diagnostics capability
• Simple connectivity
• Configure to Order capability

Pass-thru modules are I/O options that can be used for direct connections of blade ports to the external infrastructure devices such as network or storage switches. The pass-thru module is almost like a traditional network patch-panel - it just routes internal blade ports to the outside. Standard modules were used in non-high-speed bays 1 to 4 to provide up to 10 Gbps connectivity to external connections. BladeCenter high-speed pass-thru supports only the InfiniBand protocol and requires two bay slots. There are three types of standard pass-thru modules: copper pass-thru module (CPM), optical pass-thru module (OPM), and intelligent copper pass-thru module (ICPM). All of them are capable of carrying Ethernet signals but only exclusively either copper or fiber signals. IBM offers a high-speed pass-thru module (4X InfiniBand Pass-thru Module) as well which occupies two adjacent high-speed slots and is used to route InfiniBand signals from 4X DDR InfiniBand blades high-speed expansion cards to outside, and each single port on this module represents a single connection from one port of the expansion card. Interconnect modules are represented by the Multi-Switch Interconnect Module at this time. The Multi-Switch Interconnect Module (MSIM) is used only with the BladeCenter H chassis, and it provides a means for existing standard switch modules to communicate with blade servers using BladeCenter H's high-speed fabric. This module is installed into two adjacent high-speed switch slots, and this gives the possibility to increase the number of standard ports per blade up to eight without density losses. The 10 Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for IBM BladeCenter (46M6181) provides an unconfigured network connection that enables the blade servers in the BladeCenter unit to connect to an existing network infrastructure. No configuration of the module is required. The module provides a single connection from each blade - one SFP+ connector goes directly from each of the 14 blades in the chassis to an external SFP+ connection into an external switch or patch panel. If you install the module in bay 7 of the chassis, then it will route all Ethernet signals from NIC 1 in a high-speed daughter card out to the external connection from each side. Similarly, if you put the module in bay 9, it will route all Ethernet signals from NIC 2 in a high-speed daughter card out to the external connection from each blade.

Blades have made inroads into enterprise data centers by delivering higher density with a lower footprint and reduced costs for power and cooling compared to traditional rack servers. Now with multicore environments, there is an increased need for faster I/O such as 10 Gb Ethernet.

Key prerequisites

IBM BladeCenter H and BladeCenter HT chassis. The 10 Gb Ethernet Pass-thru module is supported only on the BCH and BCHT chassis. Refer to IBM ServerProven for a complete list of individual systems and operating systems interoperability.

At a glance

The BNT 10-port 10 Gb Ethernet Switch Module is the latest Ethernet switching option for the IBM BladeCenter. This offering allows BladeCenter integration with virtually any open-standards-based local area network (LAN). The IBM 10 Gb Pass-Thru Module is ideal for clients looking to enable end-to-end non-blocking 10 Gb setup within the chassis.

Marketing and replacement part number information

Warranty

Warranty: One year limited warranty on both options. Service type CRU Tier 1.