IBM BladeCenter Management Module - Chapter 1. Introducing the Bladecenter Management Module

Chapter 1. Introducing the BladeCenter management module
This Management Module User’s Guide contains information about configuring the
management module and managing components installed in the IBM
®
ERserver
BladeCenter
™
unit.
Your BladeCenter unit comes with one hot-swap management module in
management-module bay 1. You can add an additional management module in
management-module bay 2. Only one of these management modules can be active
at one time, functioning as the primary management module; a second
management module, if present, provides redundancy. The secondary management
module remains inactive until it is switched to act as primary.
When two management modules are installed in the BladeCenter unit, both
management modules must always have the same level of firmware, at a level that
supports redundant management module function. This helps ensure a smooth
changeover of control from the active management module to the redundant
management module. The latest level of management-module firmware is available
at the IBM Support Web site at http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/.
The management module functions as a service processor and a
keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) multiplexor for all of the blade servers installed in the
BladeCenter unit. It provides the following external connections: keyboard, mouse,
and video, for use by a local console, and one RJ-45 connector for a 10/100 Mbps
Ethernet remote management connection.
The service processor in the management module communicates with the service
processor in each blade server to support features such as: blade server power-on
requests, error and event reporting, KVM requests, and requests to use the
BladeCenter shared media tray (diskette drive, CD-ROM drive, and USB port).
You configure BladeCenter components using the management module, setting
information such as IP addresses. The management module communicates with all
components installed in the BladeCenter unit, detecting their presence or absence,
reporting their status, and sending alerts for error conditions when required.
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