IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

Chapter 4. IBM System x3690 X5 149

Follow these installation steps for the single SATA drive:

1. Install the single SATA HDD bay assembly into the last bay for drive bays 12 - 15.

2. Disconnect the optical drive’s cable from the planar connector.

3. Plug the cable from the single SATA HDD bay into the connector on the planar.

4. Install the SATA drive into drive bay 15.

The 2.5-inch drives require less space than the 3.5-inch drives, consume half the power,

produce less noise, can seek faster, and offer increased reliability.

Controller options with 2.5-inch drives

Table 4-22 lists the SAS controllers that are supported in the x3690 X5. Most models of the

x3690 X5 have a ServeRAID M1015 installed as standard. See 4.3, “Models” on page 124.

Table 4-22 RAID controllers compatible with SAS backplane and SAS disk drives

4.9.2 IBM eXFlash and SSD disk support

IBM eXFlash is the name of the feature of the x3690 X5 that offers high-performance 1.8-inch

SSDs via optimized eXFlash SSD backplanes and SSD controllers.

IBM eXFlash is available as an option on all models; however, workload-optimized models of

the x3690 X5 include one IBM eXFlash SSD backplane that supports eight 1.8-inch SSDs, as

Compatibility: As listed in Table 4-19 on page 147, the 2.5-inch 50 GB SSD is also

supported with the standard SAS backplane and the option SAS backplane, part numbers

60Y0338 and 60Y0369. It is not compatible with the 1.8-inch SSD eXFlash backplane,

60Y0359.

A typical configuration can be two 2.5-inch SAS disks for the operating system and two

High IOPS disks for data. Only the 2.5-inch High IOPS SSD disk can be used on the SAS

backplane. The 1.8-inch disks for the eXFlash cannot be used on the SAS backplane.

Part number Feature code Description

44E8689 3577 ServeRAID BR10i

46M0831 0095 ServeRAID M1015 SAS/SATA Controller (standard on most

models; see 4.3, “Models” on page 124)

46M0832 9749 IBM ServeRAID M1000 Advance Feature Key: Adds RAID-5 and

RAID-50 to the ServeRAID M1015 controller

46M0829 0093 ServeRAID M5015 SAS/SATA Controller

a

a. The battery is not included with the ServeRAID M5015 if ordered using the feature code, and

it is not needed if using all SSD.

46M0916 3877 ServeRAID M5014 SAS/SATA Controller

46M0969 3889 ServeRAID B5015 SSD

46M0930 5106 IBM ServeRAID M5000 Advance Feature Key: Adds RAID-6,

RAID-60, and SED Data Encryption Key Management to the

ServeRAID M5014, M5015, and M5025 controllers

81Y4426 A10C IBM ServeRAID M5000 Performance Accelerator Key: Adds Cut

Through I/O (CTIO) for SSD FastPath optimization on ServeRAID

M5014, M5015, and M5025 controllers.

150 IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

listed in “Workload-optimized x3690 X5 models” on page 125. You can add two more eXFlash

backplanes to increase the supported number of SSDs to 24.

The IBM eXFlash 8x 1.8-inch HS SAS SSD Backplane, part number 60Y0360, supports eight

1.8-inch High IOPS SSDs, as shown in Table 4-23. The eight drive bays require the same

physical space as four SAS hard disk bays. A single eXFlash backplane requires two SAS x4

input cables and one custom power/configuration cable (shipped standard). Up to four SSD

backplanes and 24 SSDs are supported in the x3690 X5 chassis.

For more information regarding eXFlash and SSD information, including a brief overview of

the benefits from using eXFlash, see 2.8, “IBM eXFlash” on page 47.

Table 4-23 x3690 X5 hard drive backplanes

Figure 4-23 shows the 8x 1.8-inch SSD backplane with its two SAS connectors.

Figure 4-23 8x 1.8-inch SSD backplane (rear view)

Table 4-24 lists the supported 1.8-inch SSDs.

Table 4-24 x3690 X5 hard drive options

The failure rate of SSDs is low because, in part, the drives have no moving parts. The 50 GB

High IOPS SSD is a Single Level Cell (SLC) device with Enterprise Wear Leveling. As a

consequence of both of these technologies, the additional layer of protection provided by a

RAID controller might not always be necessary in every client environment. In certain cases,

RAID-0 might even be an acceptable option.

Table 4-25 on page 151 lists the controllers that support SSDs.

Part

number

Feature

code

Backplane Drives supported SAS cables

included

60Y0360 9281 IBM eXFlash 8x 1.8” HS SAS SSD Backplane Eight 1.8” solid-state drives 2 short, 2 long

Part number Feature code Description Backplane used

43W7735 5314 IBM 50GB SATA 1.8-inch NHS SSD 8x eXFlash SSD