IBM manual z890 and z990 Theoretical Maximum Coupling Link Speed, Connectivity, Options

Connectivity	z890 ISC-3	z890 ICB-3	z890 ICB-4
Options
G5/G6 ISC	1 Gbps	n/a	n/a
	Compatibility
z800/z900 ISC-3	2 Gbps	n/a	n/a
	Peer Mode
z890/z990 ISC-3	2 Gbps	n/a	n/a
	Peer Mode
G5/G6 ICB	n/a	n/a	n/a
z900 ICB-2	n/a	n/a	n/a
z990 ICB-2	n/a	n/a	n/a
z900 ICB-3	n/a	1 GBps	n/a
		Peer Mode
z890/z990 ICB-3	n/a	1 GBps Peer Mode	n/a
		Recommendation
		use ICB-4s
z890/z990 ICB-4	n/a	n/a	2 GBps
			Peer Mode

z890 and z990 Theoretical Maximum Coupling Link Speed

•ISC-3. InterSystem Coupling Facility-3 channels provide the connectivity required for resource or data sharing between the Coupling Facility and the systems directly attached to it.

•ISC-3 channels are point-to-point connections that require a unique channel defi nition at each end of the channel. ISC-3 channels operating in Peer Mode pro- vide connection between zSeries (z800/z890/z900/z990) general purpose models and zSeries Coupling Facilities. ISC-3 channels operating in Compatibility Mode pro- vide connection between zSeries and HiPerLink (ISC-2) channels on 9672 G5 and G6 and the 9674 R06 Models. A four port ISC-3 card structure is provided on the z890 processors. It consists of a mother card with two daugh- ter cards which have 2 ports each. Each daughter card is capable of operation at 1 Gbps in Compatibility Mode or 2 Gbps in peer mode up to a distance of 10 km. From 10 to 20 km, an RPQ card which comes in 2 port increments is available which runs at 1 Gbps in both Peer and Compatibility Modes. The mode is selected for each port via CHPID type in the IOCDS. The ports

are activated in one port increments. The z890 supports a maximum of 48 links (12 features, 4 links per feature). Note: A maximum of 32 ISC-3s can be defi ned in Com- patibility Mode.

•ISC-2. HiPerLinks. HiPerLinks, based on single-mode CF links, are available on 9672s (G3 - G6) and 9674s only. ISC-3s replace HiPerLinks on zSeries 800, 900, 890 and 990 models.

•ICB-2. The Integrated Cluster Bus-2 is used to provide high-speed coupling communication between a zSeries server or CF and a 9672 G5/G6 server or CF over short distances (~7 meters). For longer distances, ISC links must be used. The z990 features the STI-2 card which resides in an I/O cage and provides 2 ICB-2 ports each capable of up to 333 MBps. The ports are activated in one port increments. Up to 4 STI-2 cards, 8 ICB-2 links are available on the z990. ICB-2 is not offered on the z890.

•ICB-3. The Integrated Cluster Bus-3 is used to provide high-speed coupling communication between a z990 server or CF and a z800/z900 server or CF or between two z800/z900s over short distances (~7 meters). For longer distances, ISC-3 links must be used. The z890/ z990 features the STI-3 card which resides in an I/O cage and provides 2 ICB-3 ports each capable of up to 1 GBps. The ports are activated in one port increments. Up to 8 STI-3 cards, 16 ICB-3 links are available on the z890. ICB-3 links operate in “peer mode.”

•ICB-4. The Integrated Coupling Bus-4 is a “native” cou- pling connection available for connecting a z890/z990 server or CF to another z890/ z990 server or CF over short distances. Capable of up to 2.0 GBps, the ICB-4 is the fast external coupling connection available for the z890/z990. The ICB-4 connection consists of one link that directly attaches to an STI port on the system and does not require connectivity to a card in the I/O cage. One feature is required for each end of the link. Up to 8 ICB-4 features can be confi gured on a z890.

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