A highly available and expandable, rack-dense, 1U dual-socket SMP server, for application
serving in Web environments
Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.
11
Text Console Redirection
support allows the administrator to remotely view x3550 text
messages over serial or LAN. An optional upgrade to the
Remote Supervisor Adapter II
SlimLine
adds graphical console redirection.
Predictive Failure Analysis
(PFA)
is designed to allow the system to detect impending failure of
supported components (memory, power supplies, hard disk drives, and fans)
before
actual
failure, and alert the administrator through IBM Director. This gives you the ability to
replace
the
failing component
before
it fails, resulting in increased uptime.
IBM Director
software for advanced workgroup management is included with the x3550. IBM
Director comes with a portfolio of tools, including
Management Processor Assistant, Rack
Manager, RAID Manager, Update Assistant and Software Distribution
.
Systems Director Active
Energy Manager for x86, System Availability
(a no-charge download) and
Capacity Manager
(sold separately) are available as add-ons for additional server management and increased
availability. IBM Director provides a single uniform graphical interface for all of these systems
management functions.
IBM Director enables you to customize thresholds and monitor system components (for things
like temperature, voltage regulation, etc.) to help maximize uptime.
Key Options
IBM options for System x servers help you take your servers to a
higher level
You know can rely on System x options to supply a complete solution for your business needs.
Options help you create an optimized server system to meet your data protection, storage and
availability needs. Every IBM option is designed and tested for peak performance and flexibility,
helping to maximize your return on investment. The combination of System x servers and options
lets you keep your fingers on the pulse of your e-business.
Processors
— The Intel Xeon processor provides high clock rates, dual- or quad-cores, 64-bit
extensions, a large cache and advanced features for availability and manageability. Large cache
size, combined with a fast
1333MHz
or
1066MHz
front-side bus, reduces memory latency and
facilitates the movement of data through the processor and I/O devices. (
Note:
System
performance depends not only on the number of processors in the server but also on the power
and functionality of each processor.) Adding a second processor may be a cost-effective way to
achieve significant performance improvements.
Memory
— Memory is a significant factor in systems application performance. Adding more
memory to a System x server is one of the most effective ways to increase application
performance.
For best performance in a server with a dual-core processor, there should be twice
as much memory available as for a single-core processor. The x3550 takes memory upgrades in
pairs and provides either two-way or four-way interleaving (depending on the number of DIMMs
installed).
Hard Disk Drives
— IBM hard disk drives help you improve the transaction and cost
performance of your System x servers. The choice of hard disk drives can be a critical aspect of
maximizing the I/O throughput of the system.
SAS
hard disk drives are available for the x3550
with capacities up to
300GB
(3.5-inch) apiece
at
15,000
RPMs, up to
146.8GB
(2.5-inch) apiece
at
10,000
RPMs, or up to
73.4GB
apiece
(2.5-inch) at
15,000 RPM
. 3.5-inch Serial ATA hard
disk drives are available with capacities up to
1TB
apiece
at
7,200
RPMs.
Power Supply
— The optional second power supply for the x3550 enables redundancy for hot-
swap power.
Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine
— The x3550 includes a plethora of systems
management features built-in; however, sometimes additional management capability is needed.
In those situations, the Remote Supervisor Adapter II SlimLine not only offers powerful new
features, it does so without taking up a valuable PCI-X or PCI-E adapter slot, instead using a
dedicated slot on the motherboard.
ServeRAID Controllers
— System x servers using embedded ServeRAID-8k technology allow
companies to build a reliable foundation for business-critical computing. IBM ServeRAID
technology allows an array consisting of multiple physical hard disk drives to be treated as one
logical drive. ServeRAID technology also allows data to be stored redundantly, across multiple
hard disk drives— enhancing both the integrity and the availability of the data. SAS and SATA
ServeRAID controllers offer enhanced performance due to onboard processors and cache.
Because IBM ServeRAID controllers can help significantly improve data transfer rates, this
technology is extremely effective when implementing demanding, transaction-oriented
applications. By employing the advanced fault tolerance of IBM ServeRAID technology,
companies can effectively implement networked business systems that require large amounts of
storage space for data and applications that must be available for their businesses to continue
operating.
The optional
ServeRAID-8k
SAS/SATA
controller offers enhanced performance over the
