IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

Front cover

IBM Flex System
Interoperability Guide
Quick reference for IBM Flex System
Interoperability

Covers internal components and
external connectivity

Latest updates as of
30 January 2013

David Watts
Ilya Krutov

ibm.com/redbooks Redpaper

International Technical Support Organization

IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

30 January 2013

REDP-FSIG-00

Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page v.

This edition applies to:

IBM PureFlex System
IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis
IBM Flex System Manager
IBM Flex System x220 Compute Node
IBM Flex System p260 Compute Node
IBM Flex System p24L Compute Node
IBM Flex System p460 Compute Node
IBM 42U 1100 mm Enterprise V2 Dynamic Rack

© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2012, 2013. All rights reserved.
Note to U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule
Contract with IBM Corp.

Contents

Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
The team who wrote this paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Now you can become a published author, too! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Comments welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Stay connected to IBM Redbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Summary of changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
30 January 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
8 December 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
29 November 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
13 November 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
2 October 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x

Chapter 1. Chassis interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Chassis to compute node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Switch to adapter interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.1 Ethernet switches and adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 Fibre Channel switches and adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.3 InfiniBand switches and adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Switch to transceiver interoperability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.1 Ethernet switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.2 Fibre Channel switches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.3 InfiniBand switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4 Switch upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4.1 IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4.2 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 & EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switch . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4.3 IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4.4 IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4.5 IBM Flex System FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5 vNIC and UFP support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6 Chassis power supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.7 Rack to chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 2. Compute node component compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 Compute node-to-card interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Memory DIMM compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.1 x86 compute nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.2 Power Systems compute nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3 Internal storage compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.1 x86 compute nodes: 2.5-inch drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.2 x86 compute nodes: 1.8-inch drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.4 Embedded virtualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.5 Expansion node compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.5.1 Compute nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.5.2 Flex System I/O adapters - PCIe Expansion Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. iii

2.5.3 PCIe I/O adapters - PCIe Expansion Node. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.5.4 Internal storage - Storage Expansion Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.5.5 RAID upgrades - Storage Expansion Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Chapter 3. Software compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1 Operating system support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.1.1 x86 compute nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.2 IBM Fabric Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Chapter 4. Storage interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.1 Unified NAS storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.2 FCoE support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.3 iSCSI support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.4 NPIV support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.5 Fibre Channel support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.5.1 x86 compute nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Abbreviations and acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Related publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
IBM Redbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Other publications and online resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Help from IBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

iv IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

Notices

This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A.

IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult
your local IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area.
Any reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM
product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does
not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to
evaluate and verify the operation of any non-IBM product, program, or service.

IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The
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writing, to:
IBM Director of Licensing, IBM Corporation, North Castle Drive, Armonk, NY 10504-1785 U.S.A.

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PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR
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This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made
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IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without
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obtained in other operating environments may vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made
on development-level systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on
generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been estimated through
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accuracy of performance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Questions on the
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© Copyright IBM Corp. 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. v

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vi IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

Preface

To meet today’s complex and ever-changing business demands, you need a solid foundation
of compute, storage, networking, and software resources. This system must be simple to
deploy, and be able to quickly and automatically adapt to changing conditions. You also need
to be able to take advantage of broad expertise and proven guidelines in systems
management, applications, hardware maintenance, and more.

The IBM® PureFlex™ System combines no-compromise system designs along with built-in
expertise and integrates them into complete and optimized solutions. At the heart of PureFlex
System is the IBM Flex System™ Enterprise Chassis. This fully integrated infrastructure
platform supports a mix of compute, storage, and networking resources to meet the demands
of your applications.

The solution is easily scalable with the addition of another chassis with the required nodes.
With the IBM Flex System Manager™, multiple chassis can be monitored from a single panel.
The 14 node, 10U chassis delivers high speed performance complete with integrated servers,
storage, and networking. This flexible chassis is simple to deploy, and scales to meet your
needs in the future.

This IBM Redpaper™ publication is a reference to compatibility and interoperability of
components inside and connected to IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System solutions.

The latest version of this document can be downloaded from:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/fsig

The team who wrote this paper
This paper was produced by a team of specialists from around the world working at the
International Technical Support Organization, Raleigh Center.

David Watts is a Consulting IT Specialist at the ITSO Center in Raleigh. He manages
residencies and produces IBM Redbooks® publications for hardware and software topics that
are related to IBM System x® and IBM BladeCenter® servers and associated client
platforms. He has authored over 300 books, papers, and web documents. David has worked
for IBM both in the US and Australia since 1989. He is an IBM Certified IT Specialist and a
member of the IT Specialist Certification Review Board. David holds a Bachelor of
Engineering degree from the University of Queensland (Australia).

Ilya Krutov is a Project Leader at the ITSO Center in Raleigh and has been with IBM since
1998. Before joining the ITSO, Ilya served in IBM as a Run Rate Team Leader, Portfolio
Manager, Brand Manager, Technical Sales Specialist, and Certified Instructor. Ilya has
expertise in IBM System x and BladeCenter products, server operating systems, and
networking solutions. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the Moscow
Engineering and Physics Institute.

Special thanks to Ashish Jain, the former author of this document.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. vii

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viii IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

Summary of changes

This section describes the technical changes made in this edition of the paper and in previous
editions. This edition might also include minor corrections and editorial changes that are not
identified.

30 January 2013
New information
More specifics about configuration support for chassis power supplies, Table 1-17 on
page 15.
Windows Server 2012 support, Table 3-1 on page 32.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 support for the p260 model 23X, Table 3-2 on page 33

Changed information
x440 restriction regarding the use of the ServeRAID M5115 is now removed with the
release of IMM2 firmware build 40a,
Updated the Fibre Channel support section, 4.5, “Fibre Channel support” on page 41.

8 December 2012
New information
Added Table 2-2 on page 19 indicating which slots I/O adapters are supported in with
Power Systems compute nodes.
The x440 now supports UDIMMs, Table 2-3 on page 20

29 November 2012
Changed information
Clarified that the use of expansion nodes requires that the second processor be installed
in the compute node, Table 2-10 on page 26.
Corrected the NPIV information, 4.4, “NPIV support” on page 41.
Clarified NAS supported, 4.1, “Unified NAS storage” on page 38.

13 November 2012
This revision reflects the addition, deletion, or modification of new and changed information
described below.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. ix

New information
Added information about these new products:
– IBM Flex System p260 Compute Node, 7895-23X
– IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch
– IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switch
– IBM Flex System CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter
– IBM Flex System EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter
– IBM Flex System Storage® Expansion Node
– IBM Flex System PCIe Expansion Node
– IBM PureFlex System 42U Rack
– IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node
The x220 now supports 32 GB LRDIMM, page Table 2-3 on page 20
The Power Systems™ compute nodes support new DIMMs, Table 2-4 on page 21.
New 2100W power supply option for the Enterprise Chassis, 1.6, “Chassis power
supplies” on page 14.
New section covering Features on Demand upgrades for scalable switches, 1.4, “Switch
upgrades” on page 9.

Changed information
Moved the FCoE and NPIV tables to Chapter 4, “Storage interoperability” on page 37.
Added machine types & models (MTMs) for the x220 and x440 when ordered via AAS
(e-config), Table 1-1 on page 2
Added footnote regarding power management and the use of 14 Power Systems compute
nodes with 32 GB DIMMs, Table 1-1 on page 2
Added AAS (e-config) feature codes to various tables of x86 compute node options. Note
that AAS feature codes for the x220 and x440 are the same as those used in the HVEC
system (x-config). However the AAS feature codes for the x240 are different than the
equivalent HVEC feature codes. This is noted in the table.
Updated the FCoE table, 4.2, “FCoE support” on page 39
Updated the vNIC table, Table 1-14 on page 13
Clarified that the ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Expansion Kit (90Y4391) and x240 USB
Enablement Kit (49Y8119) cannot be installed at the same time, Table 2-6 on page 23.
Updated the table of supported 2.5-inch drives, Table 2-5 on page 22.
Updated the operating system table, Table 3-1 on page 32

2 October 2012
This revision reflects the addition, deletion, or modification of new and changed information
described below.

New information
Temporary restrictions on the use of network and storage adapters with the x440, page 18

Changed information
Updated the x86 memory table, Table 2-3 on page 20
Updated the FCoE table, 4.2, “FCoE support” on page 39

x IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

Updated the operating system table, Table 3-1 on page 32
Clarified the support of the Pass-thru module and Fibre Channel switches with IBM Fabric
Manager, Table 3-4 on page 35.

Summary of changes xi

xii IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

1

Chapter 1. Chassis interoperability
The IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis is a 10U next-generation server platform with
integrated chassis management. It is a compact, high-density, high-performance, rack-mount,
and scalable server platform system. It supports up to 14 one-bay compute nodes that share
common resources, such as power, cooling, management, and I/O resources within a single
Enterprise Chassis. In addition, it can also support up to seven 2-bay compute nodes or three
4-bay compute nodes when the shelves are removed. You can mix and match 1-bay, 2-bay,
and 4-bay compute nodes to meet your specific hardware needs.

Topics in this chapter are:
1.1, “Chassis to compute node” on page 2
1.2, “Switch to adapter interoperability” on page 3
1.3, “Switch to transceiver interoperability” on page 5
1.4, “Switch upgrades” on page 9
1.5, “vNIC and UFP support” on page 13
1.6, “Chassis power supplies” on page 14
1.7, “Rack to chassis” on page 16

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. 1

1.1 Chassis to compute node
Table 1-1 lists the maximum number of compute nodes installed in the chassis.

Table 1-1 Maximum number of compute nodes installed in the chassis
Compute nodes Machine type Maximum number of
compute nodes in the
System x Power System Enterprise Chassis
(x-config) (e-config)
8721-A1x 7893-92X
(x-config) (e-config)

x86 compute nodes

IBM Flex System x220 Compute Node 7906 7906-25X 14 14



IBM Power Systems compute nodes

IBM Flex System p24L Compute Node None 1457-7FL 14a 14a

IBM Flex System p260 Compute Node (POWER7®) None 7895-22X 14a 14a

IBM Flex System p260 Compute Node (POWER7+™) None 7895-23X 14a 14a

IBM Flex System p460 Compute Node None 7895-42X 7a 7a

Management node

IBM Flex System Manager 8731-A1x 7955-01M 1b 1b
a. For Power Systems compute nodes: if the chassis is configured with the power management policy “AC Power
Source Redundancy with Compute Node Throttling Allowed”, some maximum chassis configurations containing
Power Systems compute nodes with large populations of 32GB DIMMs may result in the chassis having insufficient
power to power on all 14 compute nodes bays. In such circumstances, only 13 of the 14 bays would be allowed to
be powered on.
b. One Flex System Manager management node can manage up to four chassis

2 IBM Flex System Interoperability Guide

1.2 Switch to adapter interoperability
In this section, we describe switch to adapter interoperability.

1.2.1 Ethernet switches and adapters
Table 1-2 lists Ethernet switch to card compatibility.

Switch upgrades: To maximize the usable port count on the adapters, the switches may
need additional license upgrades. See 1.4, “Switch upgrades” on page 9 for details.

Table 1-2 Ethernet switch to card compatibility
CN4093 EN4093R EN4093 EN4091 EN2092
10Gb 10Gb 10Gb 10Gb 1Gb
Switch Switch Switch Pass-thru Switch

Part number 00D5823 95Y3309 49Y4270 88Y6043 49Y4294

Part Feature A3HH / A3J6 / A0TB / A1QV / A0TF /
number codesa Feature codesa ESW2 ESW7 3593 3700 3598

None None x220 Embedded 1 Gb Yesb Yes Yes No Yes

None None x240 Embedded 10 Gb Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

None None x440 Embedded 10 Gb Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

49Y7900 A1BR / 1763 EN2024 4-port 1Gb Yes Yes Yes Yesc Yes
Ethernet Adapter

90Y3466 A1QY / EC2D EN4132 2-port 10 Gb No Yes Yes Yes No
Ethernet Adapter

None None / 1762 EN4054 4-port 10Gb Yes Yes Yes Yesc Yes
Ethernet Adapter

90Y3554 A1R1 / 1759 CN4054 10Gb Virtual Yes Yes Yes Yesc Yes
Fabric Adapter

None None / EC24 CN4058 8-port 10Gb Yesd Yesd Yesd Yesc Yese
Converged Adapter

None None / EC26 EN4132 2-port 10Gb No Yes Yes Yes No
RoCE Adapter
a. The first feature code listed is for configurations ordered through System x sales channels (x-config). The second
feature code is for configurations ordered through the IBM Power Systems channel (e-config)
b. 1 Gb is supported on the CN4093’s two external 10 Gb SFP+ ports only. The 12 external Omni Ports do not support
1 GbE speeds.
c. Only two of the ports of this adapter are connected when used with the EN4091 10Gb Pass-thru.
d. Only six of the eight ports of the CN4058 adapter are connected with the CN4093, EN4093R, EN4093R switches
e. Only four of the eight ports of CN4058 adapter are connected with the EN2092 switch.

Chapter 1. Chassis interoperability 3

1.2.2 Fibre Channel switches and adapters
Table 1-3 lists Fibre Channel switch to card compatibility.

Table 1-3 Fibre Channel switch to card compatibility
FC5022 FC5022 FC5022 FC3171 FC3171
12-port 24-port 24-port switch Pass-thru
ESB

Part number 88Y6374 00Y3324 90Y9356 69Y1930 69Y1934

Part Feature Feature codesa A1EH / A3DP / A2RQ / A0TD / A0TJ /
number codesa 3770 ESW5 3771 3595 3591

69Y1938 A1BM / 1764 FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Adapter

95Y2375 A2N5 / EC25 FC3052 2-port 8Gb FC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Adapter

88Y6370 A1BP / EC2B FC5022 2-port 16Gb FC Yes Yes Yes No No
Adapter

1.2.3 InfiniBand switches and adapters
Table 1-4 lists InfiniBand switch to card compatibility.

Table 1-4 InfiniBand switch to card compatibility
IB6131 InfiniBand
Switch

Part number 90Y3450
Part Feature
number codesa Feature codea A1EK / 3699

90Y3454 A1QZ / EC2C IB6132 2-port FDR InfiniBand Adapter Yesb

None None / 1761 IB6132 2-port QDR InfiniBand Adapter Yes
b. To operate at FDR speeds, the IB6131 switch will need the FDR upgrade, as described in 1.4, “Switch upgrades” on
page 9


1.3 Switch to transceiver interoperability
This section specifies the transceivers and direct-attach copper (DAC) cables supported by
the various IBM Flex System I/O modules.

1.3.1 Ethernet switches
Support for transceivers and cables for Ethernet switch modules is shown in Table 1-5.

Table 1-5 Modules and cables supported in Ethernet I/O modules
CN4093 EN4093R EN4093 EN4091 EN2092


Part Feature Feature codesa A3HH / A3J6 / A0TB / A1QV / A0TF /
number codesa ESW2 ESW7 3593 3700 3598

SFP transceivers - 1 Gbps

81Y1622 3269 / IBM SFP SX Transceiver Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
EB2A (1000Base-SX)

81Y1618 3268 / IBM SFP RJ45 Transceiver Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
EB29 (1000Base-T)

90Y9424 A1PN / IBM SFP LX Transceiver Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
ECB8 (1000Base-LX)

SFP+ transceivers - 10 Gbps

44W4408 4942 / 10 GBase-SR SFP+ (MMFiber) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
3282

46C3447 5053 / IBM SFP+ SR Transceiver Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
EB28 (10GBase-SR)

90Y9412 A1PM / IBM SFP+ LR Transceiver Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
ECB9 (10GBase-LR)

QSFP+ transceivers - 40 Gbps

49Y7884 A1DR / IBM QSFP+ SR Transceiver Yes Yes Yes No No
EB27 (40Gb)

8 Gb Fibre Channel SFP+ transceivers

44X1964 5075 / IBM 8 Gb SFP+ SW Optical Yes No No No No
3286 Transceiver

SFP+ direct-attach copper (DAC) cables

90Y9427 A1PH / 1m IBM Passive DAC SFP+ Yes Yes Yes No Yes
None

90Y9430 A1PJ / 3m IBM Passive DAC SFP+ Yes Yes Yes No Yes
None

90Y9433 A1PK / 5m IBM Passive DAC SFP+ Yes Yes Yes No Yes
ECB6


CN4093 EN4093R EN4093 EN4091 EN2092


Part Feature Feature codesa A3HH / A3J6 / A0TB / A1QV / A0TF /
number codesa ESW2 ESW7 3593 3700 3598

49Y7886 A1DL / 1m 40 Gb QSFP+ to 4 x 10 Gb Yes Yes Yes No No
EB24 SFP+ Cable

49Y7887 A1DM / 3m 40 Gb QSFP+ to 4 x 10 Gb Yes Yes Yes No No
EB25 SFP+ Cable

49Y7888 A1DN / 5m 40 Gb QSFP+ to 4 x 10 Gb Yes Yes Yes No No
EB26 SFP+ Cable

95Y0323 A25A / IBM 1m 10 GBase Copper No No No Yes No
None SFP+ Twinax (Active)

95Y0326 A25B / IBM 3m 10 GBase Copper No No No Yes No

95Y0329 A25C / IBM 5m 10 GBase Copper No No No Yes No

81Y8295 A18M / 1m 10 GbE Twinax Act Copper No No No Yes No
None SFP+ DAC (active)

81Y8296 A18N / 3m 10 GE Twinax Act Copper No No No Yes No

81Y8297 A18P / 5m 10 GE Twinax Act Copper No No No Yes No

QSFP cables

49Y7890 A1DP / 1m IBM QSFP+ to QSFP+ Yes Yes Yes No No
EB2B Cable

49Y7891 A1DQ / 3m IBM QSFP+ to QSFP+ Yes Yes Yes No No
EB2H Cable

Fiber optic cables

90Y3519 A1MM / 10m IBM MTP Fiber Optical Yes Yes Yes No No
EB2J Cable

90Y3521 A1MN / 30m IBM MTP Fiber Optical Yes Yes Yes No No
EC2K a Cable


1.3.2 Fibre Channel switches
Support for transceivers and cables for Fibre Channel switch modules is shown in Table 1-6.

Table 1-6 Modules and cables supported in Fibre Channel I/O modules
FC5022 FC5022 FC5022 FC3171 FC3171
12-port 24-port 24-port switch Pass-thru
ESB

Part number 88Y6374 00Y3324 90Y9356 69Y1930 69Y1934

Part Feature Feature codesa A1EH / A3DP / A2RQ / A0TD / A0TJ /
number codesa 3770 ESW5 3771 3595 3591

16 Gb transceivers

88Y6393 A22R / Brocade 16 Gb SFP+ Optical Yes Yes Yes No No
5371 Transceiver

8 Gb transceivers

88Y6416 A2B9 / Brocade 8 Gb SFP+ SW Optical Yes Yes Yes No No
5370 Transceiver

44X1964 5075 / IBM 8 Gb SFP+ SW Optical No No No Yes Yes
3286 Transceiver

4 Gb transceivers

39R6475 4804 / 4 Gb SFP Transceiver Option No No No Yes Yes
3238


1.3.3 InfiniBand switches
Support for transceivers and cables for InfiniBand switch modules is shown in Table 1-7.

Compliant cables: The IB6131 switch supports all cables compliant to the InfiniBand
Architecture specification.

Table 1-7 Modules and cables supported in InfiniBand I/O modules
IB6131 InfiniBand
Switch

Part number 90Y3450
Part Feature
number codesa Feature codesa A1EK / 3699

49Y9980 3866 / 3249 IB QDR 3m QSFP Cable Option (passive) Yes

90Y3470 A227 / ECB1 3m FDR InfiniBand Cable (passive) Yes


1.4 Switch upgrades
Various IBM Flex System switches can be upgraded via software licenses to enable
additional ports or features.

Switches covered in this section:
1.4.1, “IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch” on page 9
1.4.2, “IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 & EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switch” on page 10
1.4.3, “IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch” on page 11
1.4.4, “IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch” on page 11
1.4.5, “IBM Flex System FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch” on page 12

1.4.1 IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch
The CN4093 switch is initially licensed for fourteen 10 GbE internal ports, two external 10
GbE SFP+ ports, and six external Omni Ports enabled.

Further ports can be enabled, including 14 additional internal ports and two external 40 GbE
QSFP+ uplink ports with the Upgrade 1 (00D5845) and 14 additional internal ports and six
additional external Omni Ports with the Upgrade 2 (00D5847) license options.

Upgrade 1 and Upgrade 2 can be applied on the switch independently from each other or in
combination for full feature capability.

Table 1-8 shows the part numbers for ordering the switches and the upgrades.

Table 1-8 CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch part numbers and port upgrades
Part Feature Description Total ports enabled
number codea
Internal External External External
10Gb 10Gb SFP+ 10Gb Omni 40Gb QSFP+

00D5823 A3HH / ESW2 Base switch (no upgrades) 14 2 6 0

00D5845 A3HL / ESU1 Add Upgrade 1 28 2 6 2

00D5847 A3HM / ESU2 Add Upgrade 2 28 2 12 0

00D5845 A3HL / ESU1 Add both Upgrade 1 and 42 2 12 2
00D5847 A3HM / ESU2 Upgrade 2
a. The first feature code listed is for configurations ordered through System x sales channels. The second feature
code is for configurations ordered through the IBM Power Systems channel.

Each upgrade license enables additional internal ports. To take full advantage of those ports,
each compute node needs the appropriate I/O adapter installed:
The base switch requires a two-port Ethernet adapter (one port of the adapter goes to
each of two switches)
Adding Upgrade 1 or Upgrade 2 requires a four-port Ethernet adapter (two ports of the
adapter to each switch) to use all internal ports
Adding both Upgrade 1 and Upgrade 2 requires a six-port Ethernet adapter (three ports to
each switch) to use all internal ports


1.4.2 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 & EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switch
The EN4093 and EN4093R are initially licensed with fourteen 10 Gb internal ports enabled
and ten 10 Gb external uplink ports enabled. Further ports can be enabled, including the two
40 Gb external uplink ports with the Upgrade 1 and four additional SFP+ 10Gb ports with
Upgrade 2 license options.

Upgrade 1 must be applied before Upgrade 2 can be applied. These are IBM Features on
Demand license upgrades.

Table 1-9 lists the available parts and upgrades.

Table 1-9 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch part numbers and port upgrades
Part Feature Product description Total ports enabled
number codea
Internal 10 Gb uplink 40 Gb uplink

49Y4270 A0TB / 3593 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb 14 10 0
Scalable Switch
10x external 10 Gb uplinks
14x internal 10 Gb ports

05Y3309 A3J6 / ESW7 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093R 10Gb 14 10 0
Scalable Switch
10x external 10 Gb uplinks
14x internal 10 Gb ports

49Y4798 A1EL / 3596 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb 28 10 2
Scalable Switch (Upgrade 1)
Adds 2x external 40 Gb uplinks
Adds 14x internal 10 Gb ports

88Y6037 A1EM / 3597 IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb 42 14 2
Scalable Switch (Upgrade 2) (requires
Upgrade 1):
Adds 4x external 10 Gb uplinks
Add 14x internal 10 Gb ports

Each upgrade license enables additional internal ports. To take full advantage of those ports,
each compute node needs the appropriate I/O adapter installed:
The base switch requires a two-port Ethernet adapter (one port of the adapter goes to
each of two switches)
Upgrade 1 requires a four-port Ethernet adapter (two ports of the adapter to each switch)
to use all internal ports
Upgrade 2 requires a six-port Ethernet adapter (three ports to each switch) to use all
internal ports

Consideration: Adding Upgrade 2 enables an additional 14 internal ports. This allows a
total of 42 internal ports -- three ports connected to each of the 14 compute nodes. To take
full advantage of all 42 internal ports, a 6-port or 8-port adapter is required, such as the
CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter.

Upgrade 2 still provides a benefit with a 4-port adapter because this upgrade enables an
extra four external 10 Gb uplinks as well.


1.4.3 IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch
The EN2092 comes standard with 14 internal and 10 external Gigabit Ethernet ports enabled.
Further ports can be enabled, including the four external 10 Gb uplink ports with IBM
Features on Demand license upgrades. Upgrade 1 and the 10 Gb Uplinks upgrade can be
applied in either order.

Table 1-10 IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch part numbers and port upgrades
Part number Feature codea Product description

49Y4294 A0TF / 3598 IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch
14 internal 1 Gb ports
10 external 1 Gb ports

90Y3562 A1QW / 3594 IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch
(Upgrade 1)
Adds 14 internal 1 Gb ports
Adds 10 external 1 Gb ports

49Y4298 A1EN / 3599 IBM Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch (10 Gb
Uplinks)
Adds 4 external 10 Gb uplinks
a. The first feature code listed is for configurations ordered through System x sales channels. The
second feature code is for configurations ordered through the IBM Power Systems channel.

The standard switch has 14 internal ports, and the Upgrade 1 license enables 14 additional
internal ports. To take full advantage of those ports, each compute node needs the
appropriate I/O adapter installed:
The base switch requires a two-port Ethernet adapter installed in each compute node (one
port of the adapter goes to each of two switches)
Upgrade 1 requires a four-port Ethernet adapter installed in each compute node (two ports
of the adapter to each switch)

1.4.4 IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch
The IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch is a 32 port InfiniBand switch. It has 18
FDR/QDR (56/40 Gbps) external ports and 14 FDR/QDR (56/40 Gbps) internal ports for
connections to nodes.

This switch ships standard with quad data rate (QDR) and can be upgraded to fourteen data
rate (FDR) with an IBM Features on Demand license upgrade. Ordering information is listed
in Table 1-11.

Table 1-11 IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch Part Number and upgrade option
Part number Feature codesa Product Name

90Y3450 A1EK / 3699 IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch
18 external QDR ports
14 QDR internal ports

90Y3462 A1QX / ESW1 IBM Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch (FDR Upgrade)
Upgrades all ports to FDR speeds
a. The first feature code listed is for configurations ordered through System x sales channels. The
second feature code is for configurations ordered through the IBM Power Systems channel.


1.4.5 IBM Flex System FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch
Table 1-12 lists the available port and feature upgrades for the FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable
Switches. These upgrades are all IBM Features on Demand license upgrades.

Table 1-12 FC5022 switch upgrades
24-port 24-port 16 Gb
16 Gb 16 Gb SAN switch
ESB switch SAN switch
Part Feature
number codesa Description 90Y9356 00Y3324 88Y6374

88Y6382 A1EP / 3772 FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch (Upgrade 1) No No Yes

88Y6386 A1EQ / 3773 FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch (Upgrade 2) Yes Yes Yes

00Y3320 A3HN / ESW3 FC5022 16Gb Fabric Watch Upgrade No Yes Yes

00Y3322 A3HP / ESW4 FC5022 16Gb ISL/Trunking Upgrade No Yes Yes
a. The first feature code listed is for configurations ordered through System x sales channels. The second feature code is
for configurations ordered through the IBM Power Systems channel.

Table 1-13 shows the total number of active ports on the switch after applying compatible port
upgrades.

Table 1-13 Total port counts after applying upgrades
Total number of active ports

24-port 16 Gb 24-port 16 Gb 16 Gb SAN switch
ESB SAN switch SAN switch

Ports on Demand upgrade 90Y9356 00Y3324 88Y6374

Included with base switch 24 24 12

Upgrade 1, 88Y6382 (adds 12 ports) Not supported Not supported 24

Upgrade 2, 88Y6386 (adds 24 ports) 48 48 48


1.5 vNIC and UFP support
Table 1-14 lists vNIC (virtual NIC) and UFP (Universal Fabric Port) support by combinations
of switch, adapter, and operating system.

In the table, we use the following abbreviations for the vNIC modes:
vNIC1 = IBM Virtual Fabric Mode
vNIC2 = Switch Independent Mode

10 GbE adapters only: Only 10 Gb Ethernet adapters support vNIC and UFP. 1 GbE
adapter do not support these features.

Table 1-14 Supported vNIC modes
Flex System I/O module EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch EN4091 10Gb Ethernet Pass-thru
EN4093R 10Gb Switch
CN4093 10Gb Converged Switch

Top-of-rack switch None IBM RackSwitch™ G8124E
IBM RackSwitch G8264

Operating system Windows Linuxab VMwarec Windows Linuxab VMwarec

10Gb onboard LOM (x240 and x440) vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1
vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2
UFPd UFPd UFP UFP UFP UFP

CN4054 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1 vNIC1
90Y3554 (e-config #1759) vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2 vNIC2
UFPd UFPd UFPd UFP UFP UFP

EN4054 4-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter
The EN4054 4-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter does not support vNIC nor UFP.
(e-config #1762)

EN4132 2-port 10 Gb Ethernet Adapter
The EN4132 2-port 10 Gb Ethernet Adapter does not support vNIC nor UFP.
90Y3466 (e-config #EC2D)

CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged The CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter does not support vNIC nor
Adapter, (e-config #EC24) UFP.

EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter,
The EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter does not support vNIC nor UFP.
(e-config #EC26)
a. Linux kernels with Xen are not supported with either vNIC1 nor vNIC2. For support information, see IBM RETAIN®
Tip H205800 at http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=migr-5090480.
b. The combination of vNIC2 and iBoot is not supported for legacy booting with Linux.
c. The combination of vNIC2 with VMware ESX 4.1 and storage protocols (FCoE and iSCSI) is not supported.
d. The CN4093 10Gb Converged Switch is planned to support Universal Fabric Port (UFP) in 2Q/2013


1.6 Chassis power supplies
Power supplies are available either as 2500W or 2100W capacities. The standard chassis
ships with two 2500W power supplies. A maximum of six power supplies can be installed.
The 2100W power supplies are only available via CTO and through the System x ordering
channel.

Table 1-15 shows the ordering information for the Enterprise Chassis power supplies. Power
supplies cannot be mixed in the same chassis.

Table 1-15 Power supply module option part numbers
Part Feature Description Chassis models
number codesa where standard

43W9049 A0UC / 3590 IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 2500W Power Module 8721-A1x (x-config)
7893-92X (e-config)

47C7633 A3JH / None IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 2100W Power Module None

A chassis powered by the 2100W power supplies cannot provide N+N redundant power
unless all the compute nodes are configured with 95W or lower Intel processors. N+1
redundancy is possible with any processors.

Table 1-16 shows the nodes that are supported in chassis when powered by either the
2100W or 2500W modules.

Table 1-16 Compute nodes supported by the power supplies
Node 2100W 2500W
power supply power supply

IBM Flex System Manager management node Yes Yes

x220 (with or without Storage Expansion Node or PCIe Expansion Node) Yes Yes

x240 (with or without Storage Expansion Node or PCIe Expansion Node) Yesa Yesa

x440 Yesa Yesa

p24L No Yesa

p260 No Yesa

p460 No Yesa

V7000 Storage Node (either primary or expansion node) Yes Yes
a. Some restrictions based on the TDP power of the processors installed or the power policy enabled. See Table 1-17
on page 15.


Table 1-17 on page 15 lists details of the support for compute nodes supported based on type
and number of power supplies installed in the chassis and the power policy enabled (N+N or
N+1).

In this table, the colors of the cells have the following meaning:

Supported with no restrictions as to the number of compute nodes that can be installed

Supported but with restrictions on the number of compute nodes that can be installed.

Table 1-17 Specific number of compute nodes supported based on installed power supplies
Compute CPU 2100W power supplies 2500W power supplies
node TDP
rating N+1, N=5 N+1, N=4 N+1, N=3 N+N, N=3 N+1, N=5 N+1, N=4 N+1, N=3 N+N, N=3
6 total 5 total 4 total 6 total 6 total 5 total 4 total 6 total

x240 60W 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

70W 14 14 13 14 14 14 14 14

80W 14 14 13 14 14 14 14 14

95W 14 14 12 13 14 14 14 14

115W 14 14 11 12 14 14 14 14

130W 14 14 11 11 14 14 14 14

135W 14 14 11 11 14 14 13 14

x440 95W 7 7 6 6 7 7 7 7

115W 7 7 5 6 7 7 7 7

130W 7 7 5 5 7 7 6 7

p24L All Not supported 14 14 12 13

p260 All Not supported 14 14 12 13

p460 All Not supported 7 7 6 6

x220 50W 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

60W 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

70W 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

80W 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

95W 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

FSM 95W 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

V7000 N/A 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Assumptions:
All Compute Nodes fully configured
Throttling and over subscription is enabled

Tip: Consult the Power configurator for exact configuration support:
http://ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/resources/powerconfig.html


1.7 Rack to chassis
IBM offers an extensive range of industry-standard and EIA-compatible rack enclosures and
expansion units. The flexible rack solutions help you consolidate servers and save space,
while allowing easy access to crucial components and cable management.

Table 1-18 lists the IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis supported in each rack cabinet.

Table 1-18 The chassis supported in each rack cabinet
Part number Rack cabinet Supports the
Enterprise Chassis

93634CX IBM PureFlex System 42U Rack Yes (recommended)

93634DX IBM PureFlex System 42U Expansion Rack Yes (recommended)

93634PX IBM 42U 1100 mm Deep Dynamic rack Yes (recommended)

201886X IBM 11U Office Enablement Kit Yes

93072PX IBM S2 25U Static standard rack Yes

93072RX IBM S2 25U Dynamic standard rack Yes

93074RX IBM S2 42U standard rack Yes

99564RX IBM S2 42U Dynamic standard rack Yes

93084PX IBM 42U Enterprise rack Yes

93604PX IBM 42U 1200 mm Deep Dynamic Rack Yes

93614PX IBM 42U 1200 mm Deep Static rack Yes

93624PX IBM 47U 1200 mm Deep Static rack Yes

9306-900 IBM Netfinity® 42U Rack No

9306-910 IBM Netfinity 42U Rack No

9308-42P IBM Netfinity Enterprise Rack No

9308-42X IBM Netfinity Enterprise Rack No

Varies IBM NetBay 22U No


2

Chapter 2. Compute node component
compatibility
This chapter lists the compatibility of components installed internally to each compute node.

2.1, “Compute node-to-card interoperability” on page 18
2.2, “Memory DIMM compatibility” on page 20
2.3, “Internal storage compatibility” on page 22
2.4, “Embedded virtualization” on page 25
2.5, “Expansion node compatibility” on page 26


2.1 Compute node-to-card interoperability
Table 2-1 lists the available I/O adapters and their compatibility with compute nodes.

Power Systems compute nodes: Some I/O adapters supported by Power Systems
compute nodes are restricted to only some of the available slots. See Table 2-2 on page 19
for specifics.

Table 2-1 I/O adapter compatibility matrix - compute nodes
Supported servers

p260 22X

p260 23X
System x x-config e-config

x440b

p24L

p460
x220

x240
part feature feature
number code codea I/O adapters

Ethernet adapters

49Y7900 A1BR 1763 / A10Y EN2024 4-port 1Gb Ethernet Adapter Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

90Y3466 A1QY EC2D / A1QY EN4132 2-port 10 Gb Ethernet Adapter Y Y Y N N N N

None None 1762 / None EN4054 4-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter N N N Y Y Y Y

90Y3554 A1R1 1759 / A1R1 CN4054 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter Y Y Y N N N N

90Y3558 A1R0 1760 / A1R0 CN4054 Virtual Fabric Adapter Upgradec Y Y Y N N N N

None None EC24 / None CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter N N N Y Y Y Y

None None EC26 / None EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter N N N Y Y Y Y

Fibre Channel adapters

69Y1938 A1BM 1764 / A1BM FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

95Y2375 A2N5 EC25 / A2N5 FC3052 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter Y Y Y N N N N

88Y6370 A1BP EC2B / A1BP FC5022 2-port 16Gb FC Adapter Y Y Y N N N N

InfiniBand adapters

90Y3454 A1QZ EC2C / A1QZ IB6132 2-port FDR InfiniBand Adapter Y Y Y N N N N

None None 1761 / None IB6132 2-port QDR InfiniBand Adapter N N N Y Y Y Y

SAS

90Y4390 A2XW None / A2XW ServeRAID M5115 SAS/SATA Controllerd Y Y Yb N N N N
a. There are two e-config (AAS) feature codes for some options. The first is for the x240, p24L, p260 and p460 (when
supported). The second is for the x220 and x440.
b. For compatibility as listed here, ensure the x440 is running IMM2 firmare Build 40a or later
c. Features on Demand (software) upgrade to enable FCoE and iSCSI on the CN4054. One upgrade needed per
adapter.
d. Various enablement kits and Features on Demand upgrades are available for the ServeRAID M5115. See the
ServeRAID M5115 Product Guide, http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0884.html?Open


For Power Systems compute nodes, Table 2-2 shows which specific I/O expansion slots each
of the supported adapters can be installed in to. Yes in the table means the adapter is
supported in that I/O expansion slot.

Tip: Table 2-2 applies to Power Systems compute nodes only.

Table 2-2 Slot locations supported by I/O expansion cards in Power Systems compute nodes
Feature Description Slot 1 Slot 2 Slot 3 Slot 4
code (p460) (p460)

10 Gb Ethernet

EC24 IBM Flex System CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter Yes Yes Yes Yes

EC26 IBM Flex System EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter No Yes Yes Yes

1762 IBM Flex System EN4054 4-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter Yes Yes Yes Yes

1 Gb Ethernet

1763 IBM Flex System EN2024 4-port 1Gb Ethernet Adapter Yes Yes Yes Yes

InfiniBand

1761 IBM Flex System IB6132 2-port QDR InfiniBand Adapter No Yes No Yes

Fibre Channel

1764 IBM Flex System FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter No Yes No Yes

Chapter 2. Compute node component compatibility 19

2.2 Memory DIMM compatibility
This section covers memory DIMMs for both compute node families. It covers the
following topics:
2.2.1, “x86 compute nodes” on page 20
2.2.2, “Power Systems compute nodes” on page 21

2.2.1 x86 compute nodes
Table 2-3 lists the memory DIMM options for the x86 compute nodes.

Table 2-3 Supported memory DIMMs - x86 compute nodes
Part x-config e-config Description x220 x240 x440
number feature featurea,b

Unbuffered DIMM (UDIMM) modules

49Y1403 A0QS EEM2 / A0QS 2GB (1x2GB, 1Rx8, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC Yes No No
DDR3 1333MHz LP UDIMM

49Y1404 8648 EEM3 / 8648 4GB (1x4GB, 2Rx8, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC Yes Yes Yes
DDR3 1333MHz LP UDIMM

Registered DIMMs (RDIMMs) - 1333 MHz and 1066 MHz

49Y1405 8940 EM05 / None 2GB (1x2GB, 1Rx8, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC No Yes No
DDR3 1333MHz LP RDIMM

49Y1406 8941 EEM4 / 8941 4GB (1x4GB, 1Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC Yes Yes Yes

49Y1407 8942 EM09 / 8942 4GB (1x4GB, 2Rx8, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC Yes Yes Yes

49Y1397 8923 EM17 / 8923 8GB (1x8GB, 2Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC Yes Yes Yes

49Y1563 A1QT EM33 / A1QT 16GB (1x16GB, 2Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 Yes Yes Yes
ECC DDR3 1333MHz LP RDIMM

49Y1400 8939 EEM1 / 8939 16GB (1x16GB, 4Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-8500 CL7 ECC Yes Yes No

90Y3101 A1CP EEM7 / None 32GB (1x32GB, 4Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-8500 CL7 ECC No No No

Registered DIMMs (RDIMMs) - 1600 MHz

49Y1559 A28Z EEM5 / A28Z 4GB (1x4GB, 1Rx4, 1.5V) PC3-12800 CL11 ECC Yes Yes Yes

90Y3178 A24L EEMC / A24L 4GB (1x4GB, 2Rx8, 1.5V) PC3-12800 CL11 ECC Yes Yes No

90Y3109 A292 EEM9 / A292 8GB (1x8GB, 2Rx4, 1.5V) PC3-12800 CL11 ECC Yes Yes Yes

00D4968 A2U5 EEMB / A2U5 16GB (1x16GB, 2Rx4, 1.5V) PC3-12800 CL11 ECC Yes Yes Yes


number feature featurea,b

Load-reduced DIMMs (LRDIMMs)

49Y1567 A290 EEM6 / A290 16GB (1x16GB, 4Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 No Yes Yes
ECC DDR3 1333MHz LP LRDIMM

90Y3105 A291 EEM8 / A291 32GB (1x32GB, 4Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 Yes Yes Yes
ECC DDR3 1333MHz LP LRDIMM
b. For memory DIMMs, the first feature code listed will result in two DIMMs each, whereas the second feature code
listed contains only one DIMM each.

2.2.2 Power Systems compute nodes
Table 2-4 lists the supported memory DIMMs for Power Systems compute nodes.

Table 2-4 Supported memory DIMMs - Power Systems compute nodes
Part e-config Description p24L p260 p260 p460
number feature 22X 23X

78P1011 EM04 2x 2 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes No Yes

78P0501 8196 2x 4 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes Yes Yes

78P0502 8199 2x 8 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes No Yes

78P1917 EEMD 2x 8 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes Yes Yes

78P0639 8145 2x 16 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes No Yes

78P1915 EEME 2x 16 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes Yes Yes

78P1539 EEMF 2x 32 GB DDR3 RDIMM 1066 MHz Yes Yes Yes Yes


2.3 Internal storage compatibility
This section covers supported internal storage for both compute node families. It covers the
following topics:
2.3.1, “x86 compute nodes: 2.5-inch drives” on page 22
2.3.2, “x86 compute nodes: 1.8-inch drives” on page 23

2.3.1 x86 compute nodes: 2.5-inch drives
Table 2-5 lists the 2.5-inch drives for x86 compute nodes.

Table 2-5 Supported 2-5-inch SAS and SATA drives
number feature featurea

10K SAS hard disk drives

90Y8877 A2XC None / A2XC IBM 300GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD N N Y

42D0637 5599 3743 / 5599 IBM 300GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF Slim-HS HDD Y Y N

44W2264 5413 None / 5599 IBM 300GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF Slim-HS SED N N Y

90Y8872 A2XD None / A2XD IBM 600GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD N N Y

49Y2003 5433 3766 / 5433 IBM 600GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF Slim-HS HDD Y Y N

81Y9650 A282 EHD4 / A282 IBM 900GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y Y

15K SAS hard disk drives

90Y8926 A2XB None / A2XB IBM 146GB 15K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD N N Y

42D0677 5536 EHD1 / 5536 IBM 146GB 15K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF Slim-HS HDD Y Y N

81Y9670 A283 EHD5 / A283 IBM 300GB 15K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y Y

NL SAS hard disk drives

81Y9690 A1P3 EHD6 / A1P3 IBM 1TB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y Y

90Y8953 A2XE None / A2XE IBM 500GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD N N Y

42D0707 5409 EHD2 / 5409 IBM 500GB 7200 6Gbps NL SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y N

NL SATA hard disk drives

81Y9730 A1AV EHD9 / A1AV IBM 1TB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y Y

81Y9722 A1NX EHD7 / A1NX IBM 250GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y Y

81Y9726 A1NZ EHD8 / A1NZ IBM 500GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD Y Y Y

Solid-state drives - Enterprise

00W1125 A3HR None / A3HR IBM 100GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise SSD Y Y Y

43W7746 5420 None / 5420 IBM 200GB SATA 1.8" MLC SSD Y Y Y

43W7718 A2FN EHD3 / A2FN IBM 200GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS SSD Y Y Y

43W7726 5428 None / 5428 IBM 50GB SATA 1.8" MLC SSD Y Y Y



Solid-state drives - Enterprise value

49Y5839 A3AS None / A3AS IBM 64GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise Value SSD Y Y N

90Y8648 A2U4 EHDD / A2U4 IBM 128GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise Value SSD Y Y Y

90Y8643 A2U3 EHDC / A2U3 IBM 256GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise Value SSD Y Y Y

49Y5844 A3AU None / A3AU IBM 512GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise Value SSD Y Y N

2.3.2 x86 compute nodes: 1.8-inch drives
The x86 compute nodes support 1.8-inch solid-state drives with the addition of the
ServeRAID M5115 RAID controller plus the appropriate enablement kits. For details about
configurations, see ServeRAID M5115 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM Flex System, TIPS0884.

Tip: The ServeRAID M5115 RAID controller is installed in I/O expansion slot 1 but can be
installed along with the Compute Node Fabric Connector (aka periscope connector) used
to connect the onboard Ethernet controller to the chassis midplane.

Table 2-6 lists the supported enablement kits and Features on Demand activation upgrades
available for use with the ServeRAID M5115.

Table 2-6 ServeRAID M5115 compatibility
Part Feature Description x220 x240 x440
number codea

90Y4390 A2XW ServeRAID M5115 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM Flex System Yes Yes Yes

Hardware enablement kits - IBM Flex System x220 Compute Node

90Y4424 A35L ServeRAID M5100 Series Enablement Kit for IBM Flex System x220 Yes No No

90Y4425 A35M ServeRAID M5100 Series IBM Flex System Flash Kit for x220 Yes No No

90Y4426 A35N ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Expansion Kit for IBM Flex System x220 Yes No No


90Y4342 A2XX ServeRAID M5100 Series Enablement Kit for IBM Flex System x240 No Yes No

90Y4341 A2XY ServeRAID M5100 Series IBM Flex System Flash Kit for x240 No Yes No

90Y4391 A2XZ ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Expansion Kit for IBM Flex System x240 No Yesb No


46C9030 A3DS ServeRAID M5100 Series Enablement Kit for IBM Flex System x440 No No Yes

46C9031 A3DT ServeRAID M5100 Series IBM Flex System Flash Kit for x440 No No Yes

46C9032 A3DU ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Expansion Kit for IBM Flex System x440 No No Yes


number codea

Feature on-demand licenses (for all three compute nodes)

90Y4410 A2Y1 ServeRAID M5100 Series RAID 6 Upgrade for IBM Flex System Yes Yes Yes

90Y4412 A2Y2 ServeRAID M5100 Series Performance Upgrade for IBM Flex System Yes Yes Yes

90Y4447 A36G ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Caching Enabler for IBM Flex System Yes Yes Yes
a. The feature codes listed here are for both x-config (HVEC) and e-config (AAS), with the exception of those for the
x240 which are for HVEC only.
b. If the ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Expansion Kit (90Y4391) is installed, the x240 USB Enablement Kit
(49Y8119) cannot also be installed. Both the x240 USB Enablement Kit and the SSD Expansion Kit both include
special air baffles that cannot be installed at the same time.

Table 2-7 lists the drives supported in conjunction with the ServeRAID M5115 RAID
controller.

Table 2-7 Supported 1.8-inch solid-state drives
number codea

43W7746 5420 IBM 200GB SATA 1.8" MLC SSD Yes Yes Yes

43W7726 5428 IBM 50GB SATA 1.8" MLC SSD Yes Yes Yes

49Y5993 A3AR IBM 512GB SATA 1.8" MLC Enterprise Value SSD No No No

49Y5834 A3AQ IBM 64GB SATA 1.8" MLC Enterprise Value SSD No No No
a. The feature codes listed here are for both x-config (HVEC) and e-config (AAS), with the exception of those for the
x240 which are for HVEC only.

Local storage options for Power Systems compute nodes are shown in Table 2-8. None of the
available drives are hot-swappable. The local drives (HDD or SDD) are mounted to the top
cover of the system. If you use local drives, you must order the appropriate cover with
connections for your wanted drive type. The maximum number of drives that can be installed
in any Power Systems compute node is two. SSD and HDD drives cannot be mixed.

Table 2-8 Local storage options for Power Systems compute nodes
e-config Description p24L p260 p460
feature

2.5 inch SAS HDDs

8274 300 GB 10K RPM non-hot-swap 6 Gbps SAS Yes Yes Yes



7069 Top cover with HDD connectors for the p260 and p24L Yes Yes No

7066 Top cover with HDD connectors for the p460 No No Yes

1.8 inch SSDs

8207 177 GB SATA non-hot-swap SSD Yes Yes Yes


e-config Description p24L p260 p460
feature

7068 Top cover with SSD connectors for the p260 and p24L Yes Yes No

7065 Top Cover with SSD connectors for p460 No No Yes

No drives

7067 Top cover for no drives on the p260 and p24L Yes Yes No

7005 Top cover for no drives on the p460 No No Yes

2.4 Embedded virtualization
The x86 compute nodes support an IBM standard USB flash drive (USB Memory Key) option
preinstalled with VMware ESXi or VMware vSphere. It is fully contained on the flash drive,
without requiring any disk space.

On the x240 the USB memory keys plug into the USB ports on the optional x240 USB
Enablement Kit. On the x220 and x440, the USB memory keys plug directly into USB ports on
the system board.

Table 2-9 lists the ordering information for the VMware hypervisor options.

Table 2-9 IBM USB Memory Key for VMware hypervisors

49Y8119 A33M None / None x240 USB Enablement Kit No Yesb No

41Y8300 A2VC EBK3 / A2VC IBM USB Memory Key for VMware ESXi 5.0 Yes Yes Yes

41Y8307 A383 None / A383 IBM USB Memory Key for VMware ESXi 5.0 Update1 Yes Yes Yes

41Y8298 A2G0 None / A2G0 IBM Blank USB Memory Key for VMware ESXi Yes Yes Yes
Downloads
b. If the x240 USB Enablement Kit (49Y8119) is installed, the ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Expansion Kit
(90Y4391) cannot also be installed. Both the x240 USB Enablement Kit and the SSD Expansion Kit both include
special air baffles that cannot be installed at the same time.

You can use the Blank USB Memory Key, 41Y8298, to use any available IBM customized
version of the VMware hypervisor. The VMware vSphere hypervisor with IBM customizations
can be downloaded from the following website:
http://ibm.com/systems/x/os/vmware/esxi

Power Systems compute nodes do not support VMware ESXi installed on a USB Memory
Key. Power Systems compute nodes support IBM PowerVM® as standard.

These servers do support virtual servers, also known as logical partitions or LPARs. The
maximum number of virtual serves is 10 times the number of cores in the compute node:
p24L: Up to 160 virtual servers (10 x 16 cores)
p260: Up to 160 virtual servers (10 x 16 cores)
p460: Up to 320 virtual servers (10 x 32 cores)


2.5 Expansion node compatibility
This section describes the two expansion nodes and the components that are compatible with
each.
2.5.1, “Compute nodes” on page 26
2.5.2, “Flex System I/O adapters - PCIe Expansion Node” on page 26
2.5.3, “PCIe I/O adapters - PCIe Expansion Node” on page 27
2.5.4, “Internal storage - Storage Expansion Node” on page 28
2.5.5, “RAID upgrades - Storage Expansion Node” on page 29

2.5.1 Compute nodes
Table 2-10 lists the expansion nodes and their compatibility with compute nodes.

Table 2-10 I/O adapter compatibility matrix - compute nodes
Supported servers

p260 22X

p260 23X
System x x-config e-config

p24L

p460
x220

x240

x440
number code code Description

81Y8983 A1BV A1BV IBM Flex System PCIe Expansion Node Ya Ya N N N N N

68Y8588 A3JF A3JF IBM Flex System Storage Expansion Node Ya Ya N N N N N
a. The x220 and x240 both require the second processor be installed.

2.5.2 Flex System I/O adapters - PCIe Expansion Node
The PCIe Expansion Node supports the adapters listed in Table 2-11.

Storage Expansion Node: The Storage Expansion Node does not include connectors for
additional I/O adapters.

Table 2-11 I/O adapter compatibility matrix - expansion nodes
System x x-config e-config Supported in PCIe
part number feature code feature codea I/O adapters Expansion Node

Ethernet adapters

49Y7900 A1BR 1763 / A1BR EN2024 4-port 1Gb Ethernet Adapter Yes

90Y3466 A1QY EC2D / A1QY EN4132 2-port 10 Gb Ethernet Adapter Yesb

None None 1762 / None EN4054 4-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter No

90Y3554 A1R1 1759 / A1R1 CN4054 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter Yesb

90Y3558 A1R0 1760 / A1R0 CN4054 Virtual Fabric Adapter Upgradec Yes

None None EC24 / None CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter No

None None EC26 / None EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter No


System x x-config e-config Supported in PCIe
part number feature code feature codea I/O adapters Expansion Node

Fibre Channel adapters

69Y1938 A1BM 1764 / A1BM FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter Yes

95Y2375 A2N5 EC25 / A2N5 FC3052 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter Yes

88Y6370 A1BP EC2B / A1BP FC5022 2-port 16Gb FC Adapter Yes

InfiniBand adapters

90Y3454 A1QZ EC2C / A1QZ IB6132 2-port FDR InfiniBand Adapter Yes

None None 1761 / None IB6132 2-port QDR InfiniBand Adapter No

SAS

90Y4390 A2XW Note / A2XW ServeRAID M5115 SAS/SATA Controller No
b. Operates at PCIe 2.0 speeds when installed in the PCIe Expansion Node. For best performance install adapter
directly on Compute Node.
c. Features on Demand (software) upgrade to enable FCoE and iSCSI on the CN4054. One upgrade needed per
adapter.

2.5.3 PCIe I/O adapters - PCIe Expansion Node
The PCIe Expansion Node supports for up to four standard PCIe 2.0 adapters:
Two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots that support full-length, full-height adapters (1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, and
16x adapters supported)
Two PCIe 2.0 x8 slots that support low-profile adapters (1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x adapters
supported)

Storage Expansion Node: The Storage Expansion Node does not include connectors for
PCIe I/O adapters.

Table 2-12 lists the supported adapters. Some adapters must be installed in one of the
full-height slots as noted. If the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 is installed in the Expansion Node, then
an adapter cannot be installed in the other full-height slot. The low-profile slots and Flex
System I/O expansion slots can still be used, however.

Table 2-12 Supported adapter cards
System x x-config e-config Description Maximum
part feature feature supported
number code code

46C9078 A3J3 A3J3 IBM 365GB High IOPS MLC Mono Adapter (low-profile adapter) 4

46C9081 A3J4 A3J4 IBM 785GB High IOPS MLC Mono Adapter (low-profile adapter) 4

81Y4519 5985 5985 640GB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter (full-height adapter) 2

81Y4527 A1NB A1NB 1.28TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter (full-height adapter) 2

90Y4377 A3DY A3DY IBM 1.2TB High IOPS MLC Mono Adapter (low-profile adapter) 4

90Y4397 A3DZ A3DZ IBM 2.4TB High IOPS MLC Duo Adapter (full-height adapter) 2


System x x-config e-config Description Maximum
part feature feature supported
number code code

94Y5960 A1R4 A1R4 NVIDIA Tesla M2090 (full-height adapter) 1a
a. if the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 is installed in the Expansion Node, then an adapter cannot be installed in the other
full-height slot. The low-profile slots and Flex System I/O expansion slots can still be used

Consult the IBM ServerProven® site for the current list of adapter cards that are supported in
the Expansion Node:
http://ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/flexsystems.html

Note: Although the design of Expansion Node allows for a much greater set of standard PCIe
adapter cards, the preceding table lists the adapters that are specifically supported. If the PCI
Express adapter that you require is not on the ServerProven web site, use the IBM
ServerProven Opportunity Request for Evaluation (SPORE) process to confirm compatibility
in the desired configuration.

2.5.4 Internal storage - Storage Expansion Node
The Storage Expansion Node adds 12 drive bays to the attached compute node. The
expansion node supports 2.5-inch drives, either HDDs or SSDs.

PCIe Expansion Node: The PCIe Expansion Node does not support any HDDs or SSDs.

Table 2-13 shows the hard disk drives and solid state drives supported within the Storage
Expansion Node. Both SSD and HDD can be installed inside the unit at the same time,
although as per best practice it is recommended that logical drives are created of similar type
of disks. ie for a RAID 1 pair, choose identical drive types, SSD or HDD.

Table 2-13 HDDs and SSDs supported in Storage Expansion Node
System x x-config e-config Description
number code code

NL SATA HDDs

81Y9722 A1NX A1NX IBM 250GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD

81Y9726 A1NZ A1NZ IBM 500GB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD

81Y9730 A1AV A1AV IBM 1TB 7.2K 6Gbps NL SATA 2.5" SFF HS HDD

10K SAS HDDs

81Y9650 A282 A282 IBM 900GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD

90Y8872 A2XD A2XD IBM 600GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD

90Y8877 A2XC A2XC IBM 300GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF G2HS HDD

Solid state drives (SSD)

90Y8643 A2U3 A2U3 IBM 256GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS Enterprise Value SSD


2.5.5 RAID upgrades - Storage Expansion Node
The Storage Expansion Node supports the RAID upgrades listed in Table 2-14.

PCIe Expansion Node: The PCIe Expansion Node does not support any of these
upgrades.

Table 2-14 FOD options available for the Storage Expansion Node
System x x-config e-config Description
number code code

Hardware upgrades

81Y4559 A1WY A1WY ServeRAID M5100 Series 1GB Flash/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x

81Y4487 A1J4 A1J4 ServeRAID M5100 Series 512MB Flash/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM System x

Features on Demand upgrades (license only)

90Y4410 A2Y1 A2Y1 ServeRAID M5100 Series RAID 6 Upgrade for IBM Flex System

90Y4447 A36G A36G ServeRAID M5100 Series SSD Caching Enabler for IBM Flex System

90Y4412 A2Y2 A2Y2 ServeRAID M5100 Series Performance Accelerator for IBM Flex System


3

Chapter 3. Software compatibility
This chapter describes aspects of software compatibility.

3.1, “Operating system support” on page 32
3.2, “IBM Fabric Manager” on page 34

Unless it is otherwise specified, updates or service packs equal to or higher within the same
operating system release family and version of the operating system are also supported.
However, support for newer major versions are not supported unless specifically identified.

For customers interested in deploying operating systems not listed here, IBM can provide
customers with server hardware only warranty support. For operating system and software
support, customers must contact the operating system vendor or community. Customers
must obtain the operating system and OS software support directly from the operating system
vendor or community. For more information, see “Additional OS Information” on the IBM
ServerProven web page.


3.1 Operating system support
For the latest information, see IBM ServerProven at the following website:
http://ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/nos/flexmatrix.shtml

Table 3-1 lists the operating systems supported by the x86 compute nodes.

Table 3-1 Operating system support - x86 compute nodes
Model x220 x240 x440

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Yes Yes Yes

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Yes (SP1) Yes (SP1) Yes (SP1)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition Yes (SP1) Yes (SP1) No

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter x64 Edition Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard x64 Edition Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Web x64 Edition Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server x64 Edition Yes (U2) Yes (U2) Yes (U3)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server with Xen x64 Edition Yes (U7)ab Yes (U7)b Yes (U8)b

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server x64 Edition Yes (U7) Yes (U7) Yes (U8)

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 for AMD64/EM64T SP2 Yes (SP2) Yes (SP1) Yes (SP2)

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 with Xen for AMD64/EM64T SP2 Yes (SP2)ab Yes (SP1)b Yes (SP2)b

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 for AMD64/EM64T SP4 Yes (SP4) Yes (SP4) Yes (SP4)

VMware ESXi 4.1 Yes (U2)a Yes (U2)c Yes (U2)

VMware ESX 4.1 Yes (U2)a Yes (U2)c Yes (U2)

VMware vSphere 5 Yesa Yesc Yes (U1)

VMware vSphere 5.1 Yesa Yesc Yes
a. Xen and VMware hypervisors are not supported with ServeRAID C105 (software RAID), but are supported with
ServeRAID H1135 Controller 90Y4750 and ServeRAID M5115 Controller 90Y4390.
b. Only pNIC mode is supported with Xen kernels. For support information, see RETAIN Tip H205800 at
http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=migr-5090480.
c. The IMM2 Ethernet over USB must be disabled using the IMM2 web interface. For support information, see
RETAIN Tip H205897 at http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=migr-5090620.


Table 3-2 lists the operating systems supported by the Power Systems compute nodes.

Table 3-2 Operating system support - Power Systems compute nodes
Model p24L p260 p260 p460
22X 23X

IBM AIX® Version 7.1 No Yes Yes Yes

IBM AIX Version 6.1 No Yes Yes Yes

IBM i 7.1 No Yes Yes Yes

IBM i 6.1 No Yesa Yesa Yesa

IBM Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) 2.2.1.4 Yes Yes No Yes

IBM Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) 2.2.2.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 for IBM POWER® Yes (U7) Yes (U7) Yes (U9) Yes (U7)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 for IBM POWER Yes (U2) Yes (U2) Yes (U3) Yes (U2)

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 for IBM POWERb Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2) Yes (SP2)
a. IBM i 6.1 is supported but cannot be ordered preinstalled from IBM Manufacturing.
b. With current maintenance updates available from SUSE to enable all planned functionality.

Specific technology levels, service pack, and APAR levels are as follows:
For the p260 (model 22X), and p460:
– IBM i 6.1 with i 6.1.1 machine code, or later
– IBM i 7.1 TR4, or later
– VIOS 2.2.1.4, or later
– AIX V7.1 with the 7100-01 Technology Level with Service Pack 3 with APAR IV14284
– AIX V7.1 with the 7100-01 Technology Level with Service Pack 4, or later
– AIX V6.1 with the 6100-07 Technology Level, with Service Pack 3 with APAR IV14283
– AIX V6.1 with the 6100-07 Technology Level, with Service Pack 4, or later
– AIX V5.3 with the 5300-12 Technology Level with Service Pack 6, or later. An IBM
AIX 5L V5.3 Service Extension is also required.
For the p260 (model 23X):
– IBM i 6.1 with i 6.1.1 machine code, or later
– IBM i 7.1, or later
– VIOS 2.2.2.0 or later
– AIX V7.1 with the 7100-02 Technology Level or later
– AIX V6.1 with the 6100-08 Technology Level or later
– AIX V6.1 with the 6100-07 Technology Level, with Service Pack 71, or later
– AIX V6.1 with the 6100-06 Technology Level with Service Pack 111 , or later
– AIX V5.3 with the 5300-12 Technology Level with Service Pack 7, or later. An IBM
AIX 5L V5.3 Service Extension is required.

1 Planned availability March 29, 2013

Chapter 3. Software compatibility 33

3.2 IBM Fabric Manager
IBM Fabric Manager is a solution that you can use to quickly replace and recover compute
nodes in your environment. It accomplishes this task by assigning Ethernet MAC, Fibre
Channel WWN, and SAS WWN addresses so that any compute nodes plugged into those
bays take on the assigned addresses. This configuration enables the Ethernet and Fibre
Channel infrastructure to be configured once and before any compute nodes are connected
to the chassis.

For information about IBM Fabric Manager, see the following website:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/flex/fabricmanager

The operating systems that IBM Fabric Manager supports are listed in the IBM Flex System
Information Center at the following website:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.iof
m.doc/dw1li_supported_os.html

Table 3-3 lists the adapters that support IBM Fabric Manager and the compute nodes that
they can be installed in.

Table 3-3 IBM Fabric Manager support - adapters
Part Feature Description x220 x240 x440 p24L p260 p460
number codesa

Ethernet expansion cards

None None / 1762 EN4054 4-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab Yes Yes Yes

90Y3554 A1R1 / 1759 CN4054 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter Yes Yes Yes N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab

49Y7900 A1BR / 1763 EN2024 4-port 1Gb Ethernet Adapter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

90Y3466 A1QY / EC2D EN4132 2-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter Yes Yes Yes N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab

None None / EC24 CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged Adapter N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab Yes Yes Yes

None None / EC26 EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab Yes Yes Yes

Fibre Channel expansion cards

95Y2375 A2N5 / EC25 FC3052 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter Yes Yes Yes N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab

69Y1938 A1BM / 1764 FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

88Y6370 A1BP / EC2B FC5022 2-port 16Gb FC Adapter Yes Yes Yes N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab

InfiniBand expansion cards

None None / 1761 IB6132 2-port QDR InfiniBand Adapter N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab No No No

90Y3454 A1QZ / EC2C IB6132 2-port FDR InfiniBand Adapter No No No N/Ab N/Ab N/Ab
b. Not applicable. This combination of adapter and compute node is not supported.


Table 3-4 lists the supported switches.

Table 3-4 IBM Fabric Manager support - switches
Description Part Feature Support IBM
number codes Fabric Manager

Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch 00D5823 A3HH / ESW2 No

Flex System Fabric EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switch 95Y3309 A3J6 / ESW7 No

Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch 49Y4270 A0TB / 3593 Yes - VLAN failovera

Flex System EN2092 1Gb Ethernet Switch 49Y4294 A0TF / 3598 Yes - VLAN failovera

Flex System EN4091 10Gb Ethernet Pass-thru 88Y6043 A1QV / 3700 Yesb

Flex System FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch 88Y6374 A1EH / 3770 Yesb

Flex System FC5022 16Gb 24-port SAN Scalable Switch 00Y3324 A3DP / ESW5 Yesb

Flex System FC5022 16Gb ESB Switch 90Y9356 A2RQ / 3771 Yesb

Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch 69Y1930 A0TD / 3595 Yesb

Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Pass-thru 69Y1934 A0TJ / 3591 Yesb

Flex System IB6131 InfiniBand Switch 90Y3450 A1EK / 3699 No
a. VLAN failover (port based or untagged only) is supported
b. IBM Fabric Manager is transparent to pass-thru and Fibre Channel switch modules. There is no dependency
between IBM Fabric Manager and these modules.

IBM Fabric Manager V3.0 is supported on the following operating systems (see 3.1,
“Operating system support” on page 32 for operating systems supported by each compute
node):
Microsoft Windows 7 (client only)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2
Microsoft Windows Server 2008
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11

IBM Fabric Manager V3.0 is supported on the following web browsers:
Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 9
Firefox 14

IBM Fabric Manager V3.0 is supported on Java Runtime Edition 1.6.

Chapter 3. Software compatibility 35

4

Chapter 4. Storage interoperability
This chapter describes storage subsystem compatibility.

4.1, “Unified NAS storage” on page 38
4.2, “FCoE support” on page 39
4.3, “iSCSI support” on page 40
4.4, “NPIV support” on page 41
4.5, “Fibre Channel support” on page 41

Tip: Use these tables only as a starting point. Configuration support must be verified
through the IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) found at the following
website:
http://ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic/interoperability.wss

The tables in this chapter and in SSIC are used primarily to document Fibre Channel SAN
and FCoE-attached block storage interoperability and iSCSI storage when a hardware iSCSI
initiator host adapters are used.


4.1 Unified NAS storage
NFS, CIFS and iSCSI protocols on storage products such as IBM N series, IBM Storwize®
V7000 Unified, and SONAS are supported with IBM Flex System based on the requirements
including operating system levels.

See the following interoperability documentation provided for those products for specific
support:
N series interoperability:
http://ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S7003897
IBM Storwize V7000 Unified
http://ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S1003911
IBM Storwize V7000
SVC 6.4: http://ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S1004113
SVC 6.3: http://ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S1003908
SONAS
http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/sonasic/sonas1ic/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.s
onas.doc%2Fovr_nfssupportmatrix.html

Software iSCSI: Generally iSCSI would be supported with all types of storage as long as
software iSCSI initiators are used on the servers running supported OS and device driver
levels.


4.2 FCoE support
This section lists FCoE support. Table 4-1 lists FCoE support using Fibre Channel targets.
Table 4-2 on page 40 lists FCoE support using native FCoE targets (that is, end-to-end
FCoE).

through the IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) web site:

Table 4-1 FCoE support using FC targets
Ethernet Flex System I/O FC Forwarder Supported Operating Storage targets
adapter module (FCF) SAN fabric systems

10Gb DS8000®
onboard Cisco MDS SVC
EN4091 10Gb
LOM (x240) Cisco 9124 IBM Storwize
Ethernet
+ FCoE Nexus 5010 Cisco MDS V7000
Pass-thru
upgrade, Cisco 9148 V7000 Storage
(vNIC2 and Windows
90Y9310 Nexus 5020 Cisco MDS Node (FC)
pNIC) Server
10Gb 9513 TS3200, TS3310,
2008 R2 TS3500
onboard
SLES 10
LOM (x440)
EN4093 10Gb Brocade SLES 11
+ FCoE IBM B-type
Switch (vNIC1, VDX 6730 RHEL 5
upgrade,
vNIC2, UFP, RHEL 6 DS8000
90Y9310
and pNIC) Cisco ESX 4.1 SVC
CN4054
EN4093R Nexus 5548 vSphere Storwize V7000
10Gb Cisco MDS
10Gb Switch Cisco 5.0 V7000 Storage
Adapter,
(vNIC1, vNIC2, Nexus 5596 Node (FC)
90Y3554
UFP and pNIC) IBM XIV®
+ FCoE
upgrade, CN4093 10Gb Converged Switch IBM B-type
90Y3558 (vNIC1, vNIC2 and pNIC) Cisco MDS

EN4093 10Gb
(pNIC only)
Brocade
EN4093R IBM B-type
VDX 6730
10Gb Switch
(pNIC only) DS8000
CN4058 AIX 6.1
SVC
8-port 10Gb EN4093 10Gb AIX 7.1
Storwize V7000
Converged Switch (pNIC Cisco VIOS 2.2
V7000 Storage
Adapter, only) Nexus 5548 SLES 11.2
Cisco MDS Node (FC)
EC24 EN4093R Cisco RHEL 6.3
IBM XIV
10Gb Switch Nexus 5596
(pNIC only)

CN4093 10Gb Converged Switch IBM B-type
(pNIC only) Cisco MDS

Chapter 4. Storage interoperability 39

Table 4-2 FCoE support using FCoE targets (end-to-end FCoE)
Ethernet adapter Flex System I/O Operating Storage targets
module systems

Windows Server 2008 R2
10Gb onboard LOM (x240) +
SLES 10
FCoE upgrade, 90Y9310 CN4093 10Gb
SLES 11
10Gb onboard LOM (x440) + Converged Switch V7000 Storage
RHEL 5
FCoE upgrade, 90Y9310 (vNIC1, vNIC2, and Node (FCoE)
RHEL 6
CN4054 10Gb Adapter, 90Y3554 pNIC)
ESX 4.1
+ FCoE upgrade, 90Y3558
vSphere 5.0

AIX 6.1
CN4093 10Gb AIX 7.1
CN4058 8-port 10Gb Converged V7000 Storage
Converged Switch VIOS 2.2
Adapter, EC24 Node (FCoE)
(pNIC only) SLES 11.2
RHEL 6.3

4.3 iSCSI support
Table 4-3 lists iSCSI support using a hardware-based iSCSI initiator.

IBM System Storage Interoperation Center normally only lists support for iSCSI storage
attached using hardware iSCSI offload adapters in the servers. Flex System compute nodes
support any type of iSCSI (1Gb or 10Gb) storage as long as software iSCSI initiator device
drivers that meet the storage requirements for operating system and device driver levels are
met.

through the IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) web site:

Table 4-3 Hardware-based iSCSI support
Ethernet adapter Flex System I/O module Operating systems Storage targets

10Gb onboard LOM
EN4093 10Gb Switch
(x240)a Windows Server 2008 R2 SVC
(vNIC1, vNIC2, UFP,
10Gb onboard LOM SLES 10 & 11 Storwize V7000
and pNIC)
(x440)a RHEL 5 & 6 V7000 Storage Node
EN4093R 10Gb Switch
CN4054 10Gb ESX 4.1 (iSCSI)
(vNIC1, vNIC2, UFP
Virtual Fabric vSphere 5.0 IBM XIV
and pNIC)
Adapter, 90Y3554b
a. iSCSI/FCoE upgrade is required, IBM Virtual Fabric Advanced Software Upgrade (LOM), 90Y9310
b. iSCSI/FCoE upgrade is required, IBM Flex System CN4054 Virtual Fabric Adapter Upgrade, 90Y3558


4.4 NPIV support
NPIV is supported on all Fibre Channel and FCoE adapters that are supported in the compute
nodes. See Table 2-1 on page 18 for the list of supported adapters.

IBM i support: IBM i 6.1 and i 7.1 NPIV attachment for SAN volumes requires 520 byte
sectors on those volumes. At this time, only the DS8000s, DS5100 and DS5300 SANs
have this capability.

4.5 Fibre Channel support
This section discusses Fibre Channel support for IBM BladeCenter. The following topics are
covered:
4.5.1, “x86 compute nodes”

Tip: Use these tables only as a starting point. Not all combinations may be supported.
Configuration support must be verified through the IBM System Storage Interoperation
Center (SSIC) web site:

Table 4-1 lists Fibre Channel storage support for x86 compute nodes.

Table 4-4 Fibre Channel support: x86 compute nodes
FC adapter Flex System I/O module External SAN Operating FC storage
fabric systems targets

FC3171 8Gb switch,
69Y1930
FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC3171 8Gb Pass-thru, V7000
FC Adapter, 69Y1934 Microsoft Storage
Cisco MDS
69Y1938 FC5022 16Gb 12-port, Windows Node (FC)
IBM b-type
FC3052 2-port 8Gb 88Y6374 Server 2008 DS3000
Brocade
FC Adapter, FC5022 16Gb 24-port, RHEL 5 DS5000
95Y2375 00Y3324 RHEL 6 DS8000
FC5022 16Gb 24-port SLES 10 SVC
ESB, 90Y9356 SLES 11 V7000
FC5022 16Gb 12-port, ESX 4.1 V3500
88Y6374 vSphere 5.0 V3700
FC5022 2-port 16Gb vSphere 5.1 XIV
FC5022 16Gb 24-port, IBM b-type
FC Adapter, Tape
00Y3324 Brocade
88Y6370
FC5022 16Gb 24-port
ESB, 90Y9356

Chapter 4. Storage interoperability 41

Table 4-5 lists Fibre Channel storage support for Power Systems compute nodes.

Table 4-5 Fibre Channel support: Power Systems compute nodes
FC expansion card Flex System I/O module External SAN fabric Operating FC storage
systems targets

FC3171 8Gb switch, V7000
3595 Storage
FC3171 8Gb Pass-thru, AIX 6.1 Node (FC)
3591 AIX 7.1 DS8000
IBM b-type
FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC5022 16Gb 12-port, VIOS 2.2 SVC
Brocade
FC Adapter, 1764 3770 SLES 11 V7000
Cisco MDS
FC5022 16Gb 24-port, RHEL 5 V3500
ESW5 RHEL 6 V3700
FC5022 16Gb 24-port XIV
ESB, 3771 Tape


Abbreviations and acronyms
APAR Authorized Problem Analysis SAN storage area network
Reports
SAS Serial Attached SCSI
DAC dual address cycle
SATA Serial ATA
DIMM dual inline memory module
SDD Subsystem Device Driver
ECC error checking and correcting
SED self-encrypting drive
ESB Enterprise Switch Bundle
SFF Small Form Factor
FC Fibre Channel
SFP small form-factor pluggable
FDR fourteen data rate
SLES SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
GB gigabyte
SR short range
HDD hard disk drive
SSD solid-state drive
HH half-high
SSIC System Storage Interoperation
HPC high performance computing Center
HS hot swap SVC SAN Volume Controller
I/O input/output TOR top of rack
IB InfiniBand UDIMM unbuffered DIMM
IBM International Business Machines USB universal serial bus
IT information technology VIOS Virtual I/O Server
ITSO International Technical Support WWN worldwide name
Organization
LOM LAN on motherboard
LP low profile
LR long range
LRDIMM load-reduced DIMM
MAC media access control
MDS Multilayer Director Switch
MLC multilevel cell
MTP Multi-fiber Termination Push-on
N/A not applicable
NL nearline
NPIV N_Port ID Virtualization
OS operating system
QDR quad data rate
QSFP Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable
RAID redundant array of independent
disks
RDIMM registered DIMM
RETAIN Remote Electronic Technical
Assistance Information Network
RHEL Red Hat Enterprise Linux
RPM revolutions per minute
RSS receive-side scaling


Related publications

The publications listed in this section are considered particularly suitable for a more detailed
discussion of the topics covered in this paper.

IBM Redbooks
The following IBM Redbooks publications provide additional information about the topic in this
document. Note that some publications referenced in this list might be available in softcopy
only.

You can search for, view, download or order these documents and other Redbooks,
Redpapers, Web Docs, draft and additional materials, at the following website:
ibm.com/redbooks
IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System Products and Technology, SG24-7984
IBM Flex System p260 and p460 Planning and Implementation Guide, SG24-7989
IBM Flex System Networking in an Enterprise Data Center, REDP-4834
Overview of IBM PureSystems, TIPS0892

IBM Redbooks Product Guides are also available for the following IBM Flex System
components:
Chassis and compute nodes
Switches and pass-through modules
Adapter cards

You can find these publications at the following web page:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/portals/puresystems?Open&page=pgbycat

Other publications and online resources
These publications and websites are also relevant as further information sources:
Configuration and Option Guide, found at:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/xbc/cog/
IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis Power Guide, found at:
http://ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP102111
IBM Flex System Information Center:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information
IBM System Storage Interoperation Center:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic


ServerProven hardware compatibility page for IBM Flex System:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/
xREF: IBM x86 Server Reference:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/xref
IBM System x and Cluster Solutions configurator (x-config)
https://ibm.com/products/hardware/configurator/americas/bhui/asit/install.html
IBM Configurator for e-business (e-config)
http://ibm.com/services/econfig/

Help from IBM
IBM Support and downloads
ibm.com/support

IBM Global Services
ibm.com/services


Back cover ®

IBM Flex System
Interoperability Guide
Redpaper ™

Quick reference for To meet today’s complex and ever-changing business demands, you
need a solid foundation of compute, storage, networking, and software INTERNATIONAL
IBM Flex System
resources. This system must be simple to deploy, and be able to TECHNICAL
Interoperability
quickly and automatically adapt to changing conditions. You also need SUPPORT
to be able to take advantage of broad expertise and proven guidelines ORGANIZATION
Covers internal in systems management, applications, hardware maintenance, and
components and more.
external connectivity The IBM PureFlex System combines no-compromise system designs
along with built-in expertise and integrates them into complete and
Latest updates as of optimized solutions. At the heart of PureFlex System is the IBM Flex BUILDING TECHNICAL
30 January 2013 System Enterprise Chassis. This fully integrated infrastructure platform INFORMATION BASED ON
supports a mix of compute, storage, and networking resources to meet PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
the demands of your applications.
IBM Redbooks are developed
The solution is easily scalable with the addition of another chassis with by the IBM International
the required nodes. With the IBM Flex System Manager, multiple Technical Support
chassis can be monitored from a single panel. The 14 node, 10U Organization. Experts from
chassis delivers high speed performance complete with integrated IBM, Customers and Partners
servers, storage, and networking. This flexible chassis is simple to from around the world create
deploy, and scales to meet your needs in the future. timely technical information
based on realistic scenarios.
This IBM Redpaper publication is a reference to compatibility and Specific recommendations
interoperability of components inside and connected to IBM PureFlex are provided to help you
System and IBM Flex System solutions. implement IT solutions more
effectively in your
environment.

For more information:
ibm.com/redbooks

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