IBM L2/3 2.2 IBM Eserver BladeCenter architecture

6 Nortel Networks L2/3 Ethernet Switch Module for IBM Eserver BladeCenter

To get the most value from your IBMEserver BladeCenter investment throughout its life

cycle, you need smart, effective systems management which will keep your availability high

and costs low.

IBM Director, our acclaimed industry standards-based workgroup software, delivers

comprehensive management capability for IntelliStation®, ThinkCentre, ThinkPad, and

IBM Eserver BladeCenter and xSeries hardware to help reduce costs and improve

productivity. IBM Director is hardware that is designed for intelligent systems management. It

offers the best tools in the industry and can save you time and money by increasing

availability, tracking assets, optimizing performance, and enabling remote maintenance.

This exclusive collection of software utilities provides advanced server management and

maximum availability through the following components:

򐂰Server Plus Pack

򐂰Application Workload Manager

򐂰Scalable Systems Manager

򐂰Real-Time Diagnostics

򐂰Electronic Service Agent™

򐂰Tape Drive Management Assistant

For more information about advanced server management, see:

http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/systems_management/xseries_sm.html

IBM deployment tools help minimize the tedious work that can be involved in getting your

servers and clients ready to run. These tools include:

򐂰Remote Deployment Manager

��Software Distribution Premium Edition

򐂰ServerGuide™

򐂰ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit

򐂰UpdateXpress

For more information about IBMEserver BladeCenter deployment and update

management, visit:

http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/systems_management/xseries_sm.html

2.2 IBM Eserver BladeCenter architecture

In this section, we look into the architectural design of the IBMEserver BladeCenter chassis

and its components.

Figure 2-2 on page 7 illustrates the BladeCenter midplane. The midplane has two similar

sections (upper and lower) that provide redundant functionality. The processor blades (blade

servers) plug into the front of the midplane. All other major components plug into the rear of

the midplane (for example, power modules, switch modules, and management modules). The

processor blades have two connectors, one that is connected to the upper section and one