IBM X3850 X6 User Manual

Chapter 2. Technology 13
The X6 systems offer a new “bookshelf” design concept that is based on a fixed chassis
mounted in a standard rack cabinet. There is no need to pull the chassis in or out of the rack
to access components because all components can be accessed either from the front or from
the rear like pulling books from a bookshelf.
Figure 2-3 shows the x3850 X6 server with one of the four Compute Books partially removed.
Figure 2-3 IBM x3850 X6 server with a Compute Book partially removed
The modular component that can be installed in a chassis is called a book. There are several
types of books available:
򐂰 Compute Books:
A Compute Book contains one processor, 24 DIMM slots, and 2 hot-swap fan modules.
It is accessible from the front of the server.
The x3850 X6 supports up to four Compute Books. The x3950 X6 supports up to eight
Compute Books.
򐂰 Storage Books:
The Storage Book contains standard 2.5-inch drives or IBM eXFlash 1.8-inch hot-swap
SSD drives. It also provides front USB and video ports, and it has two PCIe slots reserved
for internal storage adapters. The Storage Book is accessible from the front of the server.
The x3850 X6 has one Storage Book. The x3950 X6 has two Storage Books.
򐂰 I/O Books:
An I/O Book is a container that provides PCIe expansion capabilities. I/O Books are
accessible from the rear of the server.
There are three types of I/O Books:
– Primary I/O Book. This book provides core I/O connectivity, including the ML2 unique
slot for an onboard network, three standard PCIe 3.0 slots, Integrated Management
Module II, hot-swap fan modules and USB, video, serial, and systems management
ports.

IBM X3850 X6 Specifications

General

Chipset	Intel C602J
Network Controller	Integrated quad-port Gigabit Ethernet
Processor	Up to four Intel Xeon E7-4800 v2 series processors or Intel Xeon E7-8800 v2 series processors
Memory	Up to 6 TB of DDR3 ECC Registered DIMMs (RDIMMs) or Load-Reduced DIMMs (LRDIMMs)
Form Factor	4U rack server
Storage	Up to 24x 2.5" hot-swap SAS/SATA HDDs or SSDs
Expansion Slots	Up to 11 PCIe 3.0 slots
Power Supply	Up to four 1400W or 900W hot-swap power supplies
Memory Type	DDR3 RDIMM/LRDIMM
Storage Controller	ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA controller
RAID Support	RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60
Operating System Support	Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, VMware