Specifications

Chapter 1. Introduction to IBM System Networking 10Gb Ethernet products 47
Blade server high speed ports: 10 Gb Ethernet / 1 Gb Ethernet / Fibre Channel
Switch bays seven to ten are optional high-speed switch bays. These switch bays are used
for additional Ethernet connectivity by installing the IBM Virtual Fabric 10Gb Switch Module
into the appropriate high-speed switch bays and an optional CFF-h high speed Ethernet
daughter card on the blade server. If a two (or four) port daughter card is installed, then
Interface 0 of the daughter card (HSNIC0) is connected to switch bay seven and interface 1
(HSNIC1) is connected to switch bay nine. If a four port card is installed in the blade server,
then additional switches are required to use those additional ports. Again, these connections
are hardwired from the server and cannot be changed.
Switch considerations
The IBM BladeCenter HT chassis has additional ISL links between the switch bays, as shown
in Figure 1-25 on page 46. These interconnects do not change how the server’s NICs
interface to the switches, but allow for internal switch interconnection. The ISL interposers are
optional for switch bays one and two, and three and four, but are not optional for switch bays
seven to ten. Care must be taken when initially configuring switch modules where ISL
interposers are involved. Network loops can be created inside the chassis if the sPanning
Tree Protocol is not configured on ports 13 and 14 of the switch modules.
Ensure that you check the IBM ServerProven site for compatibility between blade servers, I/O
adapters, and switches before implementation:
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/
More information
For more information about the IBM BladeCenter HT, see the following resources:
򐂰 IBM BladeCenter HT Announcement Letter:
http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&htmlfi
d=897/ENUS110-209&appname=USN
򐂰 IBM BladeCenter Products and Technology, SG24-7523
򐂰 IBM BladeCenter HT Installation and Users Guide:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/bladectr/documentation/topic/com.ibm.b
ladecenter.8750.doc/bc_8750_iug.html
򐂰 IBM BladeCenter HT Trouble Shooting:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/bladectr/documentation/topic/com.ibm.b
ladecenter.8750.doc/bc_8750_pdsg.html