IBM eServer Certification Study Guide: Cluster 1600 Managed by PSSP

8 IBM Eserver Certification Study Guide: Cluster 1600 Managed by PSSP

2.1 Key concepts you should study

The topics covered in this section provide a good preparation toward the

RS/6000 SP and IBM eServer Cluster 1600 certification exam. Before taking the

exam, you should understand the following key concepts:

 The hardware components that comprise an SP system.

 The types and models of nodes, frames, and switches.

 Hardware and software requirements for the control workstation.

 Levels of PSSP and AIX supported by nodes and control workstations

(especially in mixed environments).

2.2 Hardware

The basic components of the IBM eServer Cluster 1600 and RS/6000 SP are:

 The frame with its integral power subsystems

 External and internal processor nodes

 Optional dependent nodes that serve a specific function, such as high-speed

network connections

 Optional SP Switch, Switch-8, and SP Switch2 to expand your system

 A control workstation (a high-availability option is also available) and

Hardware Management Console (HMC)

 Network connectivity adapters and peripheral devices, such as tape and disk

drives

These components connect to your existing computer network through a local

area network (LAN), thus making the RS/6000 SP system accessible from any

network-attached workstation.

Figure 2-1 on page 9 shows a sample of IBM eServer Cluster 1600 components.

Chapter 2. Validate hardware and software configuration 9

Figure 2-1 Sample of Cluster 1600 managed with PSSP

The building block of RS/6000 SP is the frame. There are two sizes: The tall

frame (1.93 meters high) and the short frame (1.25 meters high). RS/6000 SP

internal nodes are mounted in either a tall or short frame. A tall frame has eight

drawers, while a short frame has four drawers. Each drawer is further divided

into two slots. A thin node occupies one slot; a wide node occupies one drawer

(two slots), and a high node occupies two drawers (four slots). An internal power

supply is included with each frame. Frames get equipped with optional processor

nodes and switches.

There are five current types of frames:

 The tall model frame

 The short model frame

 The tall expansion frame

 The short expansion frame

 The SP Switch frame

RS/6000 SP rack-mounted servers

pSeries 690

HMC

RS/6000 or pSeries

control workstation

running PSSP cluster

management

software

pSeries 680

pSeries 660

Trusted Administrative Ethernet

SP switch network

RS-232

RS-232

RS-232

IBM

IBM

RS-232

RS-232

10 IBM Eserver Certification Study Guide: Cluster 1600 Managed by PSSP

2.2.1 Overview of the available frames

For the Cluster 1600, RS/6000 SP internal nodes and SP Switch/SP Switch2

several frames are available to fit the needs of the desired configuration. A quick

summary shows the available frames and their description:

 7040-T00 19-inch system rack containing p630 (7028-6C4) or p660

(7026-6xx) servers or I/O drawers

 7040-T42 19-inch system rack containing p630 (#7028) or p660 (#7026)

servers or I/O drawers

 7040-W42 24-inch system frame containing p655 servers (#7039-651) or I/O

drawers

 9076-550 SP frame containing nodes or nodes and switch, including

expansion frame (F/C 1550)

 9076-55H SP frame containing nodes or nodes and switch (administrative

field conversion of legacy 79-inch model frame), including expansion frame

(F/C 1550)

 9076-555 SP Cluster Switch Frame, which can contain up to one SP Switch

 9076-556 SP Switch2 Frame, which can contain up to eight SP Switch2s

 9076-557 SP Switch Model for 19-inch rack, which can contain up to one SP

Switch

 9076-558 SP Switch2 Model for 19-inch rack, which can contain up to two SP

Switch2s

Model 550 - a 1.93m frame

 With eight empty node drawers for either eight wide nodes, 16 thin nodes, or

four high nodes

 A 10.5 kW, three-phase SEPBU power subsystem

Model 555 - a 1.93m SP Switch frame

This frame provides switch ports for Cluster 1600 systems of two to 16 logical

nodes. For configurations of 17 to 32 nodes, you need to add an SP expansion

frame (F/C 1555) containing one SP Switch.

 With one SP Switch node switch board, F/C 4011

 A 10.5 kW, three-phase SEPBU power subsystem

Model 556 - a 2.01m SP Switch2 frame

The Model 556 and F/C 2034 share the 79 in./2.01m frame and covers of the

pSeries 690.This frame provides node switch board (NSB) ports for Cluster 1600

and SP processor nodes for both single and two-plane switch configurations