4405ch02 Architecture and technical overview.fm
Draft Document for Review May 28, 2009 1:59 pm
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IBM Power 570 Technical Overview and Introduction
Adapter slots P1-C6 and P1-C8 share the same physical space in a system enclosure. When
a GX+ adapter is installed in GX slot P1-C8, PCIe slot P1-C6 cannot be used.
The 570 uses generation 3, blind swap cassettes to manage the installation and removal of
adapters. Cassettes can be installed and removed without removing the drawer from the rack.
2.6.1 System ports
Although each system drawer is equipped with an Integrated Virtual Ethernet adapter (IVE)
that has up to two serial ports, only the serial ports which are located on the system drawer
(non-IVE) communicate with the service processor. They are called system ports. In
operating system environment, the system ports become host virtual system ports and are
not general RS232 serial port, but rather are limited use ports available for specifically
supported functions.
The use of the integrated system ports on a 570 is limited to serial connected TTY console
functionality and IBM approved call-home modems. These system ports do not support other
general serial connection uses, such as UPS, HACMP heartbeat, printers, mice, track balls,
space balls, etc. If you need serial port function, optional PCI adapters which are described in
2.8.6, 2.8.6, “Asynchronous PCI adapters” on page 47 are available.
If an HMC is connected, a
virtual serial console
is provided by the HMC (logical device vsa0
under AIX), and you can also connect a modem to the HMC. The system ports are not usable
in this case. Either the HMC ports or the system ports can be used, but not both.
Configuration of the system ports, including basic ports settings (baud rate, etc.), modem
selection, and call-home, can be accomplished with the Advanced Systems Management
Interface (ASMI).
2.7 Integrated Virtual Ethernet adapter
The POWER6 processor-based servers extend the virtualization technologies introduced in
POWER5 by offering the Integrated Virtual Ethernet adapter (IVE). IVE, also named Host
Ethernet Adapter (HEA) in other documentation, enables an easy way to manage the sharing
of the integrated high-speed Ethernet adapter ports. It is a standard set of features that are
part of every POWER6 processor-based server.
Integrated Virtual Ethernet adapter is a 570 standard feature but you can select from different
options. The IVE comes from a general market requirements for improved performance and
virtualization for Ethernet. It offers:
Either two 10 Gbps Ethernet ports or four 1 Gbps ports or two 1 Gbps integrated ports
A low cost Ethernet solution for low-end and
mid-range System p servers
Slot 6
PCIe x8
GX+
P1-C6
P1-C8
PCIe PHB3
Short
Slot 7
GX+
P1-C9
Slot#
Description
Location code
PHB
Max Card Size
Note:
The 570 must have an HMC. In normal operation, the system ports are for service
representatives only.
