A pSeries 690 system can have up to two racks, which support up to eight I/O drawer
subsystems.
The Hardware Management Console for pSeries (HMC) is used to manage the
resources in the system. The system can be configured as a full system partition, which
means that all resources of the system are used as a single system.
The system can also be configured into multiple (or logical) partitioned systems. With a
logically partitioned system, system resources can be divided into a number of systems
each running in its own partition.
Numerous configurations of pSeries 690 systems can be managed from one Hardware
Management Console. A second Hardware Management Console can be used for
redundancy.
System Configurations
The system configuration may vary. Possible configurations include:
vMultiple pSeries 690s attached to one Hardware Management Console (HMC)
vTwo HMCs attached to one pSeries 690
vTwo HMCs jointly managing up to eight pSeries 690s
The following components make up the base configuration of the pSeries 690:
vRack and Bulk Power Subsystem (BPA) The BPAis the main power control unit for
the pSeries 690. This redundant bulk power assembly distributes power at 350 V to
each drawer where conversion is made to the required chip level.
vProcessor Subsystem The processor subsystem is a 17 EIA-unit-high drawer. The
processor subsystem contains the backplane, up to four processor modules, up to 16
L3 cache modules, up to four I/O books, up to eight memory books, and cooling
blowers. The processor subsystem drawer also contains the power subsystem
components used in the conversion of 350 V bulk power to the supply voltages
required by the various internal components.
Several memory book sizes are available. The minimum memory requirement to
operate this system is 8 GB, and the maximum amount of memory is 256 GB.
vMedia Drawer The media drawer is a 1 EIA-unit high drawer containing an operator
panel, 1.44 MB floppy diskette drive, one SCSI optical drive (either a CD-ROM or a
DVD-RAM), signal cables, power cables, a 1 EIA-unit-high 24-inch rack-mountable
sheet metal enclosure, and miscellaneous mechanical hardware. Three additional
SCSI bays are available to add optional CD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, or 4-mm tape
drives:
– Variable Speed SCSI-2 CD-ROM Drive
– SCSI DVD-RAM Drive
– 4-mm Internal Tape Drive
vIntegrated Battery Feature (IBF) (optional) The IBF is a 2 EIA-unit-high drawer that
can be added to your system. The IBF provides backup electric power in case of a
power outage. You can install up to two IBFs in the base rack configuration. One
additional IBF can be installed in an expansion rack.
2Eserver pSeries 690 User’s Guide