Product guide
Ultrascalability combined with extreme availability
features and industry-leading performance
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3
memory in 5U; two chassis with two MAX5 units support up to 6TB in 10U.
• Alternatively, with 96 DIMM slots the server and MAX5 can be populated with
inexpensive 2GB DIMMs (for 192GB), while gaining the performance boost from using
12 memory controllers (8 in the server and four more in the MAX5 unit).
• IBM FlexNode partitioning allows a physical two-node configuration to be remotely
reconfigured by software into logical single-node servers, as needs change or for daily
peak and off-peak workloads. For example, FlexNode partitioning provides the flexibility
of running the server as one 8-socket server at night for heavy-duty batch processing,
and as two 4-socket servers during the day for separate interactive workloads—all
remotely and automatedly, without need for an onsite visit.
• 2-Port 10Gb Ethernet adapter and 2-port Gigabit Ethernet controller standard in most
models, optional in the others. (Two 2-port 10Gb adapters and two 2-port Gb Ethernet
controllers standard in two-node configurations.)
• Fast PC3-10600 DDR3 ECC memory with Chipkill error correction, double Chipkill,
Memory ProteXion
™
(redundant bit steering), memory scrubbing, memory rank
sparing, and selectable memory mirroring and partial mirroring protection provides
speed and high availability.
• Seven high-speed PCIe Gen 2 adapter slots (six available with 10GbE NIC installed)
offer investment protection by supporting high-performance adapters, such as 10Gb
Ethernet, Fibre Channel, Converged Network Adapter (CNA), and InfiniBand
™
adapters.
• Up to 4.8TB of internal high-speed hot-swap SAS storage, or 4TB of low-cost hot-swap
SATA storage, using eight 2.5-inch HDDs per chassis (9.6TB or 8TB, respectively, in a
2-node configuration); up to 3.2TB of hot-swap solid-state storage per chassis, using
16 SSDs (6.4TB per two nodes).
• Integrated Management Module (IMM) standard in each chassis.
• Optional ServeRAID controllers that support RAID-0/1/10/5/50/6/60 and high-
performance SSD drives.
Key Features
Multicore
Xeon Processors
The x3850 X5 and x3950 X5 ship with two high-performance Intel Xeon processors—either
the 6-, 8-,or 10-core E7 family or the 4-, 6-, or 8-core 7500 series—and support up to four per
chassis (node), allowing you to upgrade as business needs require. The eX5 servers also go
a step further by allowing you to add a second node to increase the number of sockets from
four to eight.
The system offers a choice of processor clock rates, cache sizes and power draw:
Xeon E7 Series Processors
• 130W 10-core Xeon processor models E7-8870 or E7-8850 running at 2.4 or 2.0GHz
(respectively), with low power draw per core (13W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second)
QPI speed, 1066MHz memory access, dual integrated memory controllers, 30MB of
shared L3 cache, and Intel VT, HT, and Turbo Boost technology
• 105W 10-core Xeon processor model E7-8867L running at 2.13GHz, with extremely low
power draw per core (10.5W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second) QPI speed, 1066MHz
memory access, dual integrated memory controllers, 30MB of shared L3 cache, and Intel
VT, HT, and Turbo Boost technology
• 130W 10-core Xeon processor model E7-8860 running at 2.26GHz, with low power draw
per core (13W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second) QPI speed, 1066MHz memory
access, dual integrated memory controllers, 24MB of shared L3 cache, and Intel VT, HT,
and Turbo Boost technology
• 130W 8-core Xeon processor model E7-8837 running at 2.67GHz, with reduced power
draw per core (16.25W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second) QPI speed, 1066MHz
memory access, dual integrated memory controllers, 24MB of shared L3 cache, and Intel
VT, HT, and Turbo Boost technology
• 105W 8-core Xeon processor model E7-8830 running at 2.13GHz, with low power draw
per core (13.13W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second) QPI speed, 1066MHz memory
access, dual integrated memory controllers, 24MB of shared L3 cache, and Intel VT, HT,
and Turbo Boost technology
• 130W 10-core Xeon processor model E7-4870* running at 2.4GHz, with low power draw
per core (13W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second) QPI speed, 1066MHz memory
access, dual integrated memory controllers, 30MB of shared L3 cache, and Intel VT, HT,
and Turbo Boost technology
• 130W 10-core Xeon processor models E7-4860* or E7-4850* running at 2.26 or 2.0GHz,
with low power draw per core (13W), 6.4 GTps (gigatransfers per second) QPI speed,