<s>
The	O
IBM	B-General_Concept
BladeCenter	I-General_Concept
was	O
IBM	O
's	O
blade	B-Architecture
server	I-Architecture
architecture	O
,	O
until	O
it	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
Flex	O
System	O
in	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
x86	B-Operating_System
division	O
was	O
later	O
sold	O
to	O
Lenovo	O
in	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Introduced	O
in	O
2002	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
engineering	O
work	O
started	O
in	O
1999	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Application
eServer	I-Application
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
was	O
relatively	O
late	O
to	O
the	O
blade	B-Architecture
server	I-Architecture
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
differed	O
from	O
prior	O
offerings	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
offered	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
x86	B-Operating_System
Intel	O
server	O
processors	O
and	O
input/output	O
(	O
I/O	O
)	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
naming	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
IBM	B-General_Concept
BladeCenter	I-General_Concept
in	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2006	O
,	O
IBM	O
introduced	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
with	O
switch	O
capabilities	O
for	O
10	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	O
and	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
4X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
IBM	B-General_Concept
BladeCenter	I-General_Concept
was	O
later	O
marketed	O
as	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
E	O
.	O
Power	O
supplies	O
have	O
been	O
upgraded	O
through	O
the	O
life	O
of	O
the	O
chassis	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
1200	O
to	O
1400	O
,	O
1800	O
,	O
2000	O
and	O
2320	O
watt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
(	O
E	O
)	O
was	O
co-developed	O
by	O
IBM	O
and	O
Intel	O
and	O
included	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
T	O
is	O
the	O
telecommunications	O
company	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
,	O
available	O
with	O
either	O
AC	O
or	O
DC	O
(	O
48	O
V	O
)	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Has	O
8	O
blade	O
slots	O
in	O
8U	O
,	O
but	O
uses	O
the	O
same	O
switches	O
and	O
blades	O
as	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
E	O
.	O
To	O
keep	O
NEBS	O
Level	O
3	O
/	O
ETSI	O
compliant	O
special	O
Network	O
Equipment-Building	O
System	O
(	O
NEBS	O
)	O
compliant	O
blades	O
are	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upgraded	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
design	O
with	O
high-speed	O
fabric	O
options	O
,	O
announced	O
in	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Backwards	O
compatible	O
with	O
older	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
switches	O
and	O
blades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
slots	O
for	O
optional	O
high-speed	O
switches	O
or	O
pass-through	O
modules	O
,	O
can	O
have	O
10	O
Gbit	O
Ethernet	O
or	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
4X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
HT	O
is	O
the	O
telecommunications	O
company	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
,	O
available	O
with	O
either	O
AC	O
or	O
DC	O
(	O
48V	O
)	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Has	O
12	O
blade	O
slots	O
in	O
12U	O
,	O
but	O
uses	O
the	O
same	O
switches	O
and	O
blades	O
as	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
.	O
But	O
to	O
keep	O
NEBS	O
Level	O
3	O
/	O
ETSI	O
compliant	O
special	O
NEBS	O
compliant	O
blades	O
are	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Targets	O
mid-sized	O
customers	O
by	O
offering	O
storage	O
inside	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
chassis	O
,	O
so	O
no	O
separate	O
external	O
storage	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
purchased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
based	O
on	O
x86	B-Operating_System
processors	O
from	O
Intel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2007	O
–	O
2008	O
)	O
This	O
model	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
High-speed	O
IO	O
option	O
of	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
backwards-compatible	O
with	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2007	O
–	O
2008	O
)	O
This	O
model	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
High-speed	O
IO	O
option	O
of	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
backwards	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2010	O
–	O
2011	O
)	O
This	O
blade	O
model	O
is	O
targeted	O
at	O
the	O
server	O
virtualization	B-General_Concept
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Memory	O
:	O
256GB	O
Max	O
(	O
16	O
DIMM	B-General_Concept
slots	O
)	O
;	O
Expandable	O
to	O
40	O
slots	O
with	O
a	O
24	O
DIMM	B-General_Concept
MAX	O
5	O
memory	O
blade	O
(	O
640GB	O
total	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
based	O
on	O
x86	B-Operating_System
processors	O
from	O
AMD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2006	O
)	O
This	O
model	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
high-speed	O
I/O	O
of	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
also	O
backwards	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2006	O
–	O
2007	O
)	O
This	O
model	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
High-speed	O
IO	O
option	O
of	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
backwards	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
based	O
on	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
-	O
or	O
Power	O
ISA-based	O
processors	O
from	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2006	O
)	O
This	O
model	O
can	O
have	O
the	O
High-speed	O
IO	O
option	O
of	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
backwards	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
regular	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Branded	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
IBM	B-Device
Power	I-Device
Systems	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Can	O
do	O
virtualization	B-General_Concept
,	O
with	O
Dynamic	B-Device
Logical	I-Device
Partitioning	I-Device
(	O
DLPAR	B-Device
)	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
based	O
on	O
Cell	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
from	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
ran	O
the	O
Sun	B-Application
Solaris	I-Application
operating	O
system	O
from	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
module	O
had	O
one	O
UltraSPARC	B-Device
T2	I-Device
with	O
64	O
threads	O
at	O
1.2	O
GHz	O
and	O
up	O
to	O
32	O
GB	O
of	O
DDR2	O
SDRAM	O
processor	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
can	O
have	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
four	O
switch	O
modules	O
,	O
but	O
two	O
of	O
the	O
switch	O
module	O
bays	O
can	O
take	O
only	O
an	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
or	O
Ethernet	O
pass-though	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
use	O
the	O
other	O
switch	O
module	O
bays	O
,	O
a	O
daughtercard	B-Device
needs	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
on	O
each	O
blade	O
that	O
needs	O
it	O
,	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
required	O
SAN	O
,	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
or	O
Myrinet	B-General_Concept
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mixing	O
of	O
different	O
type	O
daughtercards	B-Device
in	O
the	O
same	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
chassis	O
is	O
not	O
allowed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
modules	O
were	O
produced	O
by	O
IBM	O
,	O
Nortel	O
,	O
and	O
Cisco	O
Systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
all	O
cases	O
speed	O
internal	O
to	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
,	O
between	O
the	O
blades	O
,	O
is	O
non-blocking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
External	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	O
ports	O
vary	O
from	O
four	O
to	O
six	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
either	O
copper	O
or	O
optical	B-Architecture
fiber	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
variety	O
of	O
SAN	B-Architecture
switch	I-Architecture
modules	O
have	O
been	O
produced	O
by	O
QLogic	O
,	O
Cisco	O
,	O
McData	O
(	O
acquired	O
by	O
Brocade	O
)	O
and	O
Brocade	O
ranging	O
in	O
speeds	O
of	O
1	O
,	O
2	O
,	O
4	O
and	O
8	O
Gbit	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speed	O
from	O
the	O
SAN	B-Architecture
switch	I-Architecture
to	O
the	O
blade	O
is	O
determined	O
by	O
the	O
lowest-common-denominator	O
between	O
the	O
blade	O
HBA	O
daughtercard	B-Device
and	O
the	O
SAN	B-Architecture
switch	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
switch	O
module	O
has	O
been	O
produced	O
by	O
Cisco	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speed	O
from	O
the	O
blade	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
daughtercard	B-Device
to	O
the	O
switch	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
IB	O
1X	O
(	O
2.5	O
Gbit	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
copper	O
pass-through	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
only	O
with	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Fibre	O
pass-through	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
SAN	O
or	O
Myrinet	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bridge	O
modules	O
are	O
only	O
compatible	O
with	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
and	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
HT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
function	O
like	O
Ethernet	O
or	O
SAN	B-Architecture
switches	I-Architecture
and	O
bridge	O
the	O
traffic	O
to	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advantage	O
is	O
that	O
from	O
the	O
Operating	O
System	O
on	O
the	O
blade	O
everything	O
seems	O
normal	O
(	O
regular	O
Ethernet	O
or	O
SAN	O
connectivity	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
inside	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
everything	O
gets	O
routed	O
over	O
the	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-speed	O
switch	O
modules	O
are	O
compatible	O
only	O
with	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
and	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
HT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
blade	O
that	O
needs	O
the	O
function	O
must	O
have	O
a	O
high-speed	O
daughtercard	B-Device
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Different	O
high-speed	O
daughtercards	B-Device
cannot	O
be	O
mixed	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
chassis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
10	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
module	O
was	O
available	O
from	O
BLADE	O
Network	O
Technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
10	O
Gbit/s	O
connection	O
to	O
each	O
blade	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
outside	O
the	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
options	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
high-speed	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
4X	O
SDR	O
switch	O
module	O
from	O
Cisco	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
High-speed	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
pass-through	O
module	O
to	O
directly	O
connect	O
the	O
blades	O
to	O
an	O
external	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
switch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
pass-though	O
module	O
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
both	O
SDR	O
and	O
DDR	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
speeds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
high-speed	O
InfiniBand	B-Architecture
4X	O
QDR	O
switch	O
module	O
from	O
Voltaire	O
(	O
later	O
acquired	O
by	O
Mellanox	O
Technologies	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-General_Concept
Roadrunner	I-General_Concept
supercomputer	B-Architecture
used	O
a	O
custom	O
module	O
called	O
the	O
TriBlade	O
from	O
2008	O
through	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
expansion	O
blade	O
connects	O
two	O
QS22	B-General_Concept
modules	O
with	O
8	O
GB	O
RAM	O
each	O
via	O
4	O
PCIe	O
x8	O
links	O
to	O
a	O
LS21	O
module	O
with	O
16	O
GB	O
RAM	O
,	O
two	O
links	O
for	O
each	O
QS22	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
provides	O
outside	O
connectivity	O
via	O
an	O
Infiniband	B-Architecture
4x	O
DDR	O
adapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
TriBlades	O
fit	O
into	O
one	O
BladeCenter	B-General_Concept
H	O
chassis	O
.	O
</s>
