IBM System x - x3550 M3

Item specifics

• Manufacturer IBM
• Model IBM - System x3550 M3
• Product Type Entry-Level Server
• Form Factor Rack
• Platform LINUX, Windows
• Announced 16-Mar-10
• Available 31-Mar-10
• Archived 31-Mar-14
• Architecture x86
• Rack Units 1U
• Operating System Red Hat Linux, SUSE Linux, Windows
• Processor Family Xeon
• Processor Options Xeon E5620 (2.40GHz 80W) Xeon L5630 (2.13GHz 40W) Xeon E5645 (2.40GHz 80W) Xeon X5650 (2.66GHz 95W) Xeon X5660 (2.80GHz 95W) Xeon X5670 (2.93GHz 95W)
• Max Processor Chips 2
• Max Processor Cores 12
• Cache 4MB, 8MB or 12MB L2
• Chipset Intel 5520
• Memory Minimum 2 GB
• Memory Maximum 288 GB
• Memory Type DDR3 SDRAM
• DIMM Type UDIMM, RDIMM
• Memory DIMM Slots Standard 18
• Max Memory DIMM Slots 18
• Memory Protection ECC, Chipkill, Sparing, Mirroring
• Disk Type SATA, SAS, Solid State
• Disk Controller ServeRAID BR10il v2, ServeRAID M101x/M501x
• Internal Disk Bays 8
• Bays Information 4 x 2.5" hot-swap disk drive bays (standard) _x000D_ 4 x 2.5" hot-swap disk drive bays (optional) _x000D_ 1 x optical drive bay (optional for four drive bay models only)
• Disk Max Internal 12,800 GB
• RAID Support 0, 1, 1E, 5, 10, 50
• Hot-Swap Disks SATA, SAS, SSD
• Media Drive Optional
• I/O Technology PCI Express 2.0
• I/O Slot Types 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 (full-height, half-length) _x000D_ 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 (low profile) _x000D_ Both PCI Express slots convertible to PCI-X via riser card option 64-bit/133MHz
• I/O Max Slots 2
• I/O Internal Slots 2
• Networking Integrated dual Gigabit Ethernet
• Dimensions Height: 4.3 cm (1.69 in) Width: 44 cm (17.32 in) Depth: 71.1 cm (27.99 in)
• Weight 15.9 kg (35.05 lbs) (max)
• Max Power (Calculated) 663 W (3,819 CO2e kg pa)
• Max Power (Theoretical) 780 W (4,493 CO2e kg pa)
• Max Heat (Calculated) 2,387 kJ/hr (2,262 Btu/hr)
• Max Heat (Theoretical) 2,807 kJ/hr (2,660 Btu/hr)
• Hot-Swap/Redundant Cooling Fans Yes/Yes
• Hot-Swap/Redundant Power Supply Yes/Optional
• System Management IBM Integrated Management Module Predictive Failure Analysis Integrated Service Processor Diagnostic LEDs light path diagnostics panel Automatic Server Restart IBM Systems Director and IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager IBM ServerGuide
• Warranty 30 Days (Dafault), 1, 2 & 3 Years (Upgradable)

Product Description

Introduction

The IBM® System x3550 M3 builds on the latest Intel Xeon processor technology with extreme processing power and superior energy-management and cooling features. With twice the performance of previous generations and a flexible, energy-smart design that integrates low-wattage components, the x3550 M3 can help you meet demanding workloads at a lower cost per watt.

Suggested uses: customers requiring a highly available, energy-efficient, rack-optimized solution for physical and virtual intensive commercial environments like eBusiness/eCommerce, collaboration, virtualization, database, and enterprise resource planning applications.

Figure 1 shows the IBM System x3550 M3.


Figure 1. The IBM System x3550 M3

Did you know?

The x3550 M3 offers a flexible, scalable design and simple upgrade path to eight HDDs or SSDs, and 288 GB of memory. In addition, a built-in altimeter provides more efficient power utilization and lower noise levels.

Comprehensive systems management tools such as advanced diagnostics, a cable management arm, and the ability to control resources from a single point make it easy to deploy, integrate, service, and manage. The server also offers an upgrade to four built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports without consuming an additional PCI Express slot.

Key features

The challenge of a high-performance business is to do more with less—serve more Web pages, handle more secure connections, support more email users. You need to reduce the costs of doing business and improve the service you deliver to your customers while lowering your overall risk. The dual-socket IBM System x3550 M3 can reduce your costs with its energy-smart design. It can improve service with reduced operational complexity and increased management functionality. It will lower your IT risk with the resiliency that comes from having no single point of failure. And like all IBM servers, the x3550 M3 offers you the trust that comes from IBM global reach, service, and support.

Performance

The x3550 M3 offers numerous features to boost performance and reduce costs:

• Up to two 6-core Xeon 5600 series processors offering superior performance. Xeon 5600 series processors offer up to 54% better performance than the previous generation 5500 series processors (workload dependent).
• Eighteen DIMMs of registered 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC memory provide speed, high availability, and a memory capacity of up to 288 GB.
• High-performance 6 Gbps SAS RAID controllers and 15K RPM 6 Gbps SAS disk drives in a variety of capacities to suit your local storage requirements.
• The use of solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of or along with traditional spinning drives (HDDs) can significantly improve I/O performance. An SSD can support 20,000 I/O operations per second (IOPS) whereas a typical HDD handles fewer than 500 IOPS.

Flexibility and scalability

The x3550 M3 has the ability to grow with your application requirements with these features:

• Very high density computing in a 1U dual-socket server.
• A choice of 4-core or 6-core processors with clock rates from 1.6 GHz to 3.6 GHz.
• 18 DIMM sockets allowing memory expansion of up to 288 GB.
• A choice of power supplies including 460 W, 675 W AC or DC, or energy-efficient 675 W.
• Five USB 2.0 ports available - two front, two rear, and one internal for an embedded hypervisor.
• Storage bay flexibility: Up to eight hot-swap 2.5" drive bays for SAS or SATA HDDs, or solid-state drives (intermixing supported); or four 2.5" bays plus an internal optical drive bay.
• Direct-attach SAS storage with the EXP2512, EXP2524, and EXP3000 storage enclosures is supported. IBM System Storage servers, including network-attached storage (NAS), and iSCSI or Fibre Channel-attached storage, can also be attached.
• The x3550 M3 provides two PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 x16 I/O slots for increased network or storage connectivity.

Manageability and security

Powerful systems management features simplify local and remote management of the x3550 M3:

• The x3550 M3 includes an Integrated Management Module (IMM) to monitor server availability, perform Predictive Failure Analysis, and trigger IBM Systems Director alerts.
• An optional Virtual Media Key enables additional systems management capabilities, including web-based out-of-band remote control (keyboard video and mouse), remote optical drive support, Windows “blue screen” error capture, and support for LDAP and SSL protocols.
• Text Console Redirection support allows the administrator to remotely view x3550 M3 text messages over Serial or LAN connections.
• Integrated industry-standard Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) next-generation BIOS. New capabilities include:
  • Human readable event logs — no more beep codes.
  • Complete out-of-band coverage by the Advance Settings Utility to simplify remote setup.
  • A complete setup solution, allowing adapter configuration functions to be moved into UEFI.
• Integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 support.
• Industry-standard AES NI support for faster, stronger encryption.
• Integrated IPMI 2.0 support alerts IBM Systems Director to anomalous environmental factors, such as voltage and thermal conditions. It also supports highly secure remote power control using data encryption.
• IBM Systems Director is included for proactive systems management. IBM Systems Director comes with a portfolio of tools, including IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager, IBM Service and Support Manager, and others. IBM Systems Director also offers extended systems management tools for additional server management and increased availability. When a problem is encountered, IBM Systems Director can issue administrator alerts via email, pager, and other methods.
• IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager provides advanced power management features with actual real-time energy monitoring, reporting, and capping features.

Availability and serviceability

The System x3550 M3 provides many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime:

• The x3550 M3 servers offer Chipkill ECC memory protection (when using x4 DIMMs). Chipkill memory is up to 16 times better than standard ECC memory at correcting memory errors. This can help reduce downtime caused by memory errors.
• The x3550 M3 offers memory mirroring for redundancy in the event of a non-correctable memory failure.
• Toolless cover removal provides easy access to upgrades and serviceable parts, such as HDDs and memory. Similarly, the Virtual Media Key and the ServeRAID controller can be installed and replaced without tools. This means less time (and therefore less money) spent servicing the x3550 M3.
• The server offers hot-swap and redundant fan modules and power supplies and hot-swap disk drives (redundant when implemented in conjunction with a RAID controller). These features mean greater system uptime.
• Toolless slides ship with the server, together with a cable management arm (CMA), that allows the rack server to easily slide into place.
• The drop-down light path diagnostics panel and individual light path LEDs quickly lead the technician to failed (or failing) components. This simplifies servicing, speeds up problem resolution, and helps improve system availability.
• Solid-state drives (SSDs) offer significantly better reliability than traditional mechanical HDDs for greater uptime.
• The three-year (parts and labor) limited onsite warranty provides peace of mind and greater investment protection than a one-year warranty does.

Energy efficiency

The System x3550 M3 has an energy-efficient design with features including the following:

• Low-voltage processors draw less energy and produce less waste heat than high-voltage processors, thus helping to reduce data center energy costs. Available 4-core Xeon 5600 series processors use only 40 W and 6-core processors consume as little as 60 W.
• Optional solid-state drives (SSDs) use only 2 W of power per drive, compared to 9 - 10 W for 2.5-inch HDDs. This is as much as 80% less power than a 2.5-inch HDD would use, with a corresponding reduction in heat output that further improves the overall bottom line.
• Support for 1.35 V low-voltage DDR3 memory DIMMs that consume 20% less energy.
• Energy-efficient components, including low-voltage transistors and voltage regulator modules, and power supplies that are up to 90% efficient.
• The x3550 M3 uses hexagonal ventilation holes in the chassis. Hexagonal holes can be grouped more densely than round holes, providing more efficient airflow through the system chassis. This ultimately results in reduced operational costs.
• An altimeter works in conjunction with the IMM to govern fan rotation based on the readings that it delivers. This saves money under normal conditions because the fans do not have to spin at high speed.

Locations of key components

Figure 2 shows the front of the server, with key components identified.


Figure 2. Front view of the IBM System x3550 M3

Figure 3 shows the rear of the server.


Figure 3. Rear view of the IBM System x3550 M3

Figure 4 shows the locations of key components inside the server.


Figure 4. Inside view of the IBM System x3550 M3

Standard specifications

Table 1. Standard specifications

Components	Specification
Form factor	1U Rack.
Processor	Up to two six-core (up to 3.46 GHz) or quad-core (up to 3.6 GHz) Intel Xeon 5600 series processors with QuickPath Interconnect technology up to 6.4 GT/s, and up to 1333 MHz memory speed.
Memory cache	Up to 12 MB L3.
Chipset	Intel 5520.
Memory	Up to 18 DIMM sockets (9 DIMMs per processor). Up to 288 GB with 16 GB DDR3 RDIMMs and 18 populated DIMM slots (up to 144 GB with 9 DIMMs per processor), or up to 48 GB with 4 GB DDR3 UDIMMs and 12 populated DIMM slots (up to 24 GB with 6 DIMMs per processor).
Memory protection	ECC, ChipKill (for x4-based memory DIMMs), Memory Mirroring, and Memory Sparing.
Disk drive bays	Up to eight 2.5" hot-swap SAS/SATA HDDs or solid-state drives (SSDs).
Maximum internal storage	Up to 7.2 TB with 900 GB SAS HDDs, or up to 8.0 TB with 1 TB SATA HDDs, or up to 1.6 TB with 200 GB SSDs. Intermix of SAS/SATA/SSD is supported.
RAID Support	RAID 0, 1, 1E with ServeRAID-BR10il v2 or M1015; RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, 50 with M5014 or M5015. Optional upgrade to RAID 5 is available for M1015. Optional upgrade to RAID 6, 60 is available for M5014/M5015.
Optical drive bays	One with optional Optical Drive Enablement Kit, support for DVD-ROM or Multiburner. If used, the maximum number of HDD bays is limited to 4.
Tape drive bays	None.
Network interfaces	Integrated 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports, plus 2 ports on optional Gigabit Ethernet with Ethernet Daughter Card (does not consume PCI slot).
PCI Expansion slots	Up to 3 slots (up to 2 standard slots are available; one slot is dedicated to RAID controller), dependant on the riser cards used. Standard models have: Slot 1: PCI Express 2.0 x16, Low-profile Slot 2: PCI Express 2.0 x16, full-height, half-length Each slot is implemented using a riser card. Each PCIe riser card can be replaced with a PCI-X riser card offering one PCI-X 64-bit/133 MHz slot.
External ports	Two USB 2.0 and one DB-15 video on front. Two USB 2.0, one DB-15 video, one DB-9 serial, one RJ-45 systems management, up to 4 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet network ports (2 standard, 2 optional) on rear. One internal USB port for embedded hypervisor.
Cooling	IBM Calibrated Vectored Cooling™ with 6 counter-rotating hot swap fans with N+1 redundancy. Altimeter is to control fan speed based on atmospheric pressure.
Power supply	Up to 2 redundant hot-swap 460 W AC or 675 W AC or 675 W high efficiency (HE) AC power supplies with 90%+ efficiency. 675 W -48 V DC models are available via CTO.
Hot-swap components	Hard drives, power supplies, fans.

Systems management	UEFI, IBM Integrated Management Module (IMM), Predictive Failure Analysis, Light Path Diagnostics, Automatic Server Restart, IBM Systems Director* and IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager™, IBM ServerGuide. Optional Virtual Media Key for remote presence (graphics, keyboard & mouse).
Security features	Power-on password, administrator's password, Trusted Platform Module (TPM).
Video	Matrox G200eV with 16 MB memory integrated into the IMM. Maximum resolution is 1280x1024 at 75 Hz with 16M colors.
Operating systems supported	Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2012, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5 and 6, Red Hat Enterprise MRG 1.0/2.0 Realtime, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 and 11, VMware ESX 4/4.1 and VMware ESXi 4/4.1 embedded hypervisor, Sun Solaris 10, VMware vSphere 5/5.1.
Limited warranty	Three-year customer replaceable unit and onsite limited warranty with 9x5/next business day (NBD) response time.
Service and Support	Optional service upgrades are available through IBM ServicePacs®: 24x7/next business day or 4 hours onsite repair, 1-year or 2-year warranty extension, remote technical support for IBM hardware and selected IBM and third-party (Microsoft, Linux, VMware) software.
Dimensions	Height: 43 mm (1.7 in), width: 440 mm (17.3 in), depth: 711 mm (28.0 in)
Weight	Minimum configuration 12.7 kg (28 lb), maximum configuration 15.9 kg (35.1 lb)