IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 Technical Introduction
7
Larger cable management arm (replaces the existing arm to allow the easy installation of
the scalability cables)
ScaleXpander chip (transforms the x3850 M2 into an x3950 M2)
x3950 M2 bezel (replaces the existing bezel, and shows that the x3850 M2 has the kit
installed and is now functionally equal to an x3950 M2)
The ScaleXpander chip goes in a dedicated socket towards the front of the system board as
shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 The ScaleXpander chip installed in the x3850 M2 enables the server to scale
Multinode configurations
The x3950 M2 is the base building block, or
node
, for a scalable system. At their most basic,
these nodes are comprised of four-way SMP-capable systems with processors, memory, and
I/O devices. The x3950 M2 is the building block that allows supported 8-way, 12-way and
16-way configurations by adding additional x3950 M2s as required.
Unlike with the System x3950 and xSeries® 460, there is no special modular expansion
enclosure for the x3950 M2. The multinode configuration is simply formed by using another
x3950 M2 or an x3850 M2 that has the ScaleXpander Option Kit installed as described in
“IBM ScaleXpander Option Kit” on page 6.
Important:
The IBM ScaleXpander Option Kit is only required for an x3850 M2 that you
want to convert to an x3950 M2 and enable it to scale.
The x3950 M2 ships with the necessary components (including a scalability cable) to be
able to form an N-way configuration, and therefore does
not
require this option.
Note:
When we refer to an x3950 M2, we mean either an x3950 M2 or an x3850 M2 that
has the ScaleXpander Option Kit installed.
