IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

Chapter 4. IBM System x3690 X5 155

IBM 6Gb SSD Host Bus Adapter

The IBM 6Gb SSD Host Bus Adapter is an ideal host bus adapter (HBA) to connect to

high-performance SSDs. With two x4 SFF-8087 connectors and a high performance

PowerPC I/O processor, this HBA can support the bandwidth that SSDs can generate.

The IBM 6Gb SSD Host Bus Adapter has the following high-level specifications:

򐂰 PCI Express 2.0 host interface

򐂰 6 Gbps per port data transfer rate

򐂰 MD2 small form factor

򐂰 PCI Express 2.0 x8 host interface

򐂰 High performance I/O Processor: PowerPC 440 at 533MHz

򐂰 UEFI support

For more information, see IBM 6Gb SSD Host Bus Adapter for IBM System x, TIPS0744,

available at the following website:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0744.html?Open

ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller

The ServeRAID B5015 is a high-performance RAID controller that is optimized for SSDs. It

has the following specifications:

򐂰 RAID 1 and 5 support

򐂰 Hot-spare support with automatic rebuild capability

򐂰 Background data scrubbing

򐂰 Stripe size of up to 1 MB

򐂰 6 Gbps per SAS port

򐂰 PCI Express 2.0 x8 host interface

򐂰 PCI MD2 low profile form factor

򐂰 Two x4 internal (SFF-8087) connectors

򐂰 SAS controller: PMC-Sierra PM8013 maxSAS 6 Gbps SAS RoC controller

򐂰 Up to eight disk drives per RAID adapter

򐂰 Performance that is optimized for SSDs

򐂰 Three multi-threading MIPS processing cores

򐂰 High performance contention-free architecture

򐂰 Up to four ServeRAID B5015 adapters supported in a system

򐂰 Support for up to four arrays/logical volumes

For more information, see ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller, TIPS0763, which is available at

the following website:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0763.html?Open

4.9.4 Battery backup placement

When you install RAID adapters that include batteries, the RAID batteries must be remotely

located to prevent the batteries from overheating. The batteries must be installed in the RAID

Important: Two variants of the 6 Gb Host Bus Adapter exist. The SSD variant has no

external port and is part number 46M0914. Do not confuse it with the IBM 6 Gb SAS HBA,

part number 46M0907, which is not supported for use with eXFlash.

Important: This controller does not use Megaraid. This controller is listed in power-on self

test (POST) and UEFI as a PMC-SIERRA card. This controller also uses maxRAID

Storage Manager for management.

156 IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

battery trays on top of the memory tray or the DIMM air baffle (whichever one is installed in

the server).

The battery trays are standard with the server. Each battery tray holds up to two batteries, to

support a maximum of four RAID adapters with attached batteries in the x3690 X5.

Table 4-27 lists the kit to order a remote battery cable.

Table 4-27 Remote battery cable ordering

The Remote Battery Cable kit, part number 44E8837, contains the following components:

򐂰 Remote battery cable

򐂰 Plastic interposer

򐂰 Plastic stand-off

򐂰 Two screws

The screws and stand-off attach the interposer to the RAID controller after the battery is

removed. Figure 4-25 shows these components.

Figure 4-25 Remote battery cable kit

The cable is routed through to the battery that is now installed in the RAID battery tray. This

tray is either attached to the memory mezzanine if a memory mezzanine is installed, or the air

baffle, which is in place of the mezzanine. Figure 4-26 shows how the battery trays are

installed in the memory mezzanine. Each battery tray can hold two batteries.

Figure 4-26 RAID battery trays on the memory mezzanine

Option Feature code Description

44E8837 5862 Remote Battery Cable Kit

Memory

mezzanine

RAID

battery

trays