A cost-optimized storage-rich alternative to traditional enterprise 2U dual-socket servers

High-Performance Adapter Slots

The x3620 M3 provides three PCIe (PCI Express) Gen 2 I/O slots for long-term investment protection. PCI Express Gen 2 is the next-generation of high-performance, low-latency, serial I/O bus. Each slot is capable of supporting Gen 1 or Gen 2 adapters.

•One x16/x8 (x16 physical/x8 electrical) full-height, half-length (8Gbps)

•One x8/x8 (x8 physical/x8 electrical) full-height, half-length (8Gbps)

•One x16/x4 (x16 physical/x4 electrical) low profile (4Gbps) — for ServeRAID cards, only

Dual-Port Gigabit Ethernet Controller

The x3620 M3 includes one dual-portintegrated Intel 82575 Gigabit Ethernet controller standard, for up to 10X higher maximum throughput than a 10/100 Ethernet controller and failover support.

The controller also supports IPMI 2.0, plus Wake on LAN® and PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) flash interface. Optional PCI adapters offering failover and load balancing between adapters are available for added throughput and increased system availability.

10 Gigabit Ethernet Integrated Virtual Fabric Adapter for IBM

The Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter (part number 49Y4200 with special riser card, supported by CTO) is an industry-leading performance and scalability per watt, dual-port network adapter for 10Gbps Ethernet (10GbE) networks. It offers the benefits and flexibility of I/O convergence in a single end-to-end solution. Protocol offload for stateless TCP/IP and TCP Chimney provide maximum bandwidth with minimum use of CPU resources. It achieves line rate 10Gbps performance with support for TCP/IP stateless offloads and TCP Offload Engine (TOE) support. TOE reduces system processor utilization, providing increased system performance and reducing overall system power requirements.

The adapter is based on the Emulex OneConnect Universal Converged Network Adapter (UCNA) platform that also includes the capability for future upgrades to Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI protocol offloads. By using a common infrastructure for Ethernet and storage networks, data centers can reduce capital expense (CapEx) for adapters, switches and cables, and operational expense (OpEx) for power, cooling and IT administration.

End-to-end data protection with hardware parity, CRC, ECC and other advanced error checking and correcting ensure that data is safe from corruption.

Integrated dual 10Gbps Ethernet ports:

•IPv4/IPv6 TCP, UDP checksum offload; Large Send Offload (LSO); Large Receive Offload; Receive Side Scaling (RSS); IPV4 TCP Chimney Offload

•VLAN insertion and extraction

•Jumbo frames up to 9000 Bytes

•Preboot eXecutive Environment (PXE) 2.0 network boot support

•Interrupt coalescing

•Load balancing and failover support including adapter fault tolerance (AFT), switch fault tolerance (SFT), adaptive load balancing (ALB), teaming support and IEEE 802.3ad

Note: You must have either one SFP+ transceiver or one SFP+ direct-attached cable for each of the two 10Gb ports on the adapter.

Ultra-Efficient Cooling

Strategically located fans, combined with efficient airflow paths, provide highly effective system cooling for the x3620 M3. The base server with one power supply includes four fan modules, for redundant cooling. Each module includes 2 back-to-back fans with counter-rotating blades. In addition, each power supply also contains a fan.

The system contains two cooling zones. Zone 1 (incorporating one fan module) cools the PCIe slots, Zone 2 (three fan modules) cools both processors and all the DIMMs.

The fans automatically adjust speeds in response to changing thermal requirements depending on the zone and internal temperatures. When the temperature inside the server increases, the fans speed up to maintain the proper ambient temperature. When the temperature returns to a normal operating level, the fans return to their default speed.

Why not simply run the fans at 100% capacity all the time? For several good reasons: to reduce the ambient noise, reduce the wear-and-tear on the fans and reduce the server power draw. The reduction in ambient noise and power draw may be relatively minor for a single server, but put dozens or hundreds in a data center and it can make a big difference.

In addition, the server uses hexagonal ventilation holes in the chassis. Hexagonal holes can be

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IBM X3620 M3 specifications High-Performance Adapter Slots, Dual-Port Gigabit Ethernet Controller, Ultra-Efficient Cooling
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X3620 M3 specifications

The IBM X3620 M3 is a robust 2U rack server that debuted as part of IBM's System X portfolio. It is designed to meet the demands of various workloads, from virtualization to database hosting and business applications. With its emphasis on reliability, performance, and expandability, the X3620 M3 has garnered attention from small to medium-sized businesses as well as enterprise users.

One of the standout features of the X3620 M3 is its dual-socket architecture, which supports Intel Xeon 5600 series processors. This configuration allows for impressive performance capabilities, with the ability to install up to two six-core processors, giving enterprises the horsepower needed for demanding applications. Additionally, the server's memory support can extend up to 192 GB with DDR3 RAM, enabling high-speed data processing and multitasking efficiencies. This capacity allows the X3620 M3 to handle multiple virtual machines simultaneously without sacrificing performance.

In terms of storage, the IBM X3620 M3 offers flexible options. The server is equipped with up to eight hot-swap 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drive bays, supporting Serial ATA (SATA) or SAS drives. This not only enhances the system's capability for storage expansion but also provides redundancy and increased data protection through RAID configurations. The integrated SAS RAID controller bolsters data integrity, ensuring that critical enterprise information remains safe.

The X3620 M3 also prioritizes versatility and efficiency. Its energy-efficient design incorporates features such as AdvancedPM, which helps optimize power consumption based on workload demands. This can lead to significant cost savings for data centers focused on energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction.

Furthermore, the server supports various network connectivity options, including Integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports and the ability to add additional networking cards. This ensures that the server can be tailored to meet specific networking needs, enhancing overall application performance.

In summary, the IBM X3620 M3 is an adaptable and high-performing rack server that addresses a wide range of business computing requirements. Its combination of powerful processing capabilities, extensive memory support, flexible storage options, and energy-efficient design makes it a favorable choice for businesses looking to maximize their IT investments. With its emphasis on reliability and performance, the X3620 M3 remains a competitive option in the ever-evolving server landscape.
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