IBM Updates BladeCenter H SystemIBM Updates BladeCenter H System

IBM introduced a new architecture, interconnect technologies, and management tools as part of an upgrade for its BladeCenter H System.

The new tools and technologies are designed to increase the speed and efficiency of data transfer across blade servers and networks, says Ishan Sehgal, a program director with IBM. The new Virtual Fabric Architecture lets BladeCenter deliver a 43% system bandwidth boost over HP's BladeSystem, according to IBM.

"It underscores our commitment to openness, flexibility, embracing an ecosystem of partners, and encompassing our latest processor techologies," says Sehgal. "In 2006, we had quite a few processor announcements. Last year, we went from single to dual to quad Intel processors. We introduced a nine-core broadband engine, called Cell Broadband Engine. That is a very strong value proposition for blades."

IBM's BladeCenter H, a high-performance system, was introduced just last year. The explosion of new consumer technologies such as Web 2.0, IPTV, and online gaming, along with business technologies such as quad-core processing and virtualization, are driving the need for high-bandwidth interconnect technologies to move data traffic across high-capacity networks, reports IBM.

To push its BladeCenter abilities, the company is adding several new features under the umbrella of the Virtual Fabric Architecture:

-- a 10-gigabit Ethernet switch module made up of a Nortel 10G Ethernet Switch from Blade Network Technologies and NetXen 10G Ethernet Expansion Cards. The Nortel 10G Ethernet switch provides connectivity and ensures throughput between each BladeCenter server in a system and to the network core. The NetXen 10G expansion card is designed to provide high-performance, cost-effective connectivity for the blade.

-- A Cisco Embedded Fibre Channel Fabric Switch, which is designed to let customers deploy end-to-end Cisco intelligent storage-area network services, such as VSANs, security, and high availability. The new Fibre Channel switch is the next phase in a series of collaborations in switching between IBM and Cisco, and expands the switching offerings to include Fibre Channel, Ethernet, and InfiniBand options.

-- IBM BladeCenter Address Manager, which allows for the I/O virtualization of Ethernet and Fibre Channel connections within a system by providing users the option to assign Ethernet and Fibre Channel port addresses used by their server blades via software as an alternative to the addresses that are burned in to the hardware during manufacturing.

-- IBM Multi-Switch Interconnect Module, which can double the number of Fibre Channel or gigabit Ethernet connections to each blade.

"We talked about having fatter pipes but have also now introduced the ability to have more pipes," says Sehgal. "That's through the multi-switch interconnect module. This allows for multiple simultaneous interconnects on a blade. Depending on how your application or data center is configured, you might need multiple one-gig connections or multiple fiber channels. You were limited to just four of these connections on any given server. It was the way we were architected. Now, we are able to double those interconnects so you can connect to multiple data networks with separate connections and multiple storage networks."

All products are available today, with the exception of BladeCenter Address Manager, which is slated to be available in the second half of 2007. As for pricing, the Nortel 10G Ethernet Switch Module has a list price of $9,799 for 20 ports, the NetXen 10G Ethernet Expansion Card has a list price of $899 for a dual port; the Cisco Systems 4Gb Fibre Channel Switch Module is listed at $14,999 for 20 ports or and $8,999 for 10 ports; the QLogic Ethernet InfiniBand Bridge Module is listed at $8,149, and the QLogic InfiniBand Fibre Channel Bridge Module is listed at $9,799.