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Overview
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HP 9000 Superdome Servers (PA-8600, PA-8700, PA-8800 and PA-8900) This subchapter pertains to all HP 9000 Superdome servers (running PA-8600, PA-8700, PA-8800, or PA-8900 processors) for all markets. With Superdome, HP launches a new strategy to ensure a positive Total Customer Experience is achieved via industry leading HP Services. Our experience has shown us that large solution implementations most often succeed as a result of appropriate skills and attention being applied to the solution design and implementation. To address this on the implementation side, for Superdome, HP is responding to Customer and Industry feedback and delivering Superdome Configurations via three, pre configured Services levels: Critical Service, Proactive Service, and Foundation Service. With Superdome, we introduced a new role, the TCE Manager, who manages the fulfillment of an integrated business solution based on customer requirements. For each customer account, the TCE Manager will facilitate the selection of the appropriate configuration. For ordering instructions, please consult the ordering guide. |
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| Superdome Service Solutions | |||
| Superdome continues to provide the same positive Total Customer Experience via industry leading HP Services as with existing Superdome servers. The HP Services component of Superdome is described here: | |||
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| Solution Life Cycle |
HP customers have consistently achieved higher levels of satisfaction when key components of their IT infrastructures are implemented using the Solution Life Cycle. The Solution Life Cycle focuses on rapid productivity and maximum availability by examining customers' specific needs at each of five distinct phases (plan, design, integrate, install, and manage) and then designing their Superdome solution around those needs. |
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| Service Solutions |
HP offers three pre configured service solutions for Superdome that provide
customers with a choice of lifecycle services to address their own individual
business requirements.
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| Other Services |
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Standard Features
| NOTE: Given that PA-8600/PA-8700 are single core processors and PA-8800 and PA-8900 are dual core processors, the columns listed in this table refer to 16 processor, 32 processor and 64 processor. This terminology refers to 16 cores, 32 cores and 64 cores for Superdome PA-8600/PA-8700 and 32 cores, 64 cores and 128 cores for Superdome PA-8800 and PA-8900 systems. |
| System Size |
Minimum System
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Maximum SPU Capacities
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| 16 Processors |
PA-8600 or
PA-8700 |
PA-8800 or PA-8900
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PA-8600 or
PA-8700 |
PA-8800 or PA-8900
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| Processor cores |
1
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1
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16
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32
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| Memory |
2 GB
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2 GB
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64 GB
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256 GB
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| Cell Boards |
1 Cell Board
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1 Cell Board
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4 Cell Boards
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4 Cell Boards
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| PCI Chassis |
1 12-slot chassis
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1 12-slot chassis
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4 12-slot chassis
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4 12-slot chassis
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| 32 Processors | ||||
| Processor cores |
1
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2
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32
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64
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| Memory |
2 GB
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2 GB
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128 GB
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512 GB
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| Cell Boards |
1 Cell Board
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1 Cell Board
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8 Cell Boards
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8 Cell Boards
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| PCI Chassis |
1 12-slot chassis
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1 12-slot chassis
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8 12-slot chassis
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8 12-slot chassis
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| 64 Processors | ||||
| Processor cores |
6
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2
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64
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128
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| Memory |
6 GB
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6 GB
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256 GB
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1024 GB
NOTE: 512 GB per partition |
| Cell Boards |
3 Cell Boards
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2 Cell Boards
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16 Cell Boards
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16 Cell Boards
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| PCI Chassis |
1 12-slot chassis
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1 12-slot chassis
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16 12-slot chassis
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16 12-slot chassis
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| Standard Features |
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Configuration
| There are three basic building blocks in the Superdome system architecture: the cell, the crossbar backplane, and the I/O subsystem. Please note that Superdome with PA-8800 and PA-8900 is based on a different chip set (sx1000 or sx2000) than Superdome with PA-8600 or PA-8700. For more information on the sx1000 and sx2000 chip sets, please refer to: HP Integrity Superdome QuickSpec. |
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| Cabinets |
A Superdome system can consist of up to four different types of cabinet assemblies:
Superdome cabinets are serviced from the front and rear of the cabinet only. This enables customers to arrange the cabinets of their Superdome system in the traditional row fashion found in most computer rooms. The width of the cabinet accommodates moving it through common doorways in the U.S. and Europe. The intake air to the main (cell) card cage is filtered. This filter can be removed for cleaning/replacement while the system is fully operational. A status display is be located on the outside of the front and rear doors of each cabinet. The customer and field engineers can therefore determine basic status of each cabinet without opening any cabinet doors. For PA-8800 and PA-8900 processors (dual core per processor):
Each cabinet may contain a specific number of cell boards (consisting of processors and memory) and I/O. See the following sections for configuration rules pertaining to each cabinet. The base configuration product numbers for each of the models are as follows: |
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| Cells (Processors and Memory) |
A cell, or cell board, is the basic building block of a Superdome system. It is a symmetric multi-processor (SMP), containing:
Please note the following:
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| Crossbar Backplane | Each Crossbar backplane contains two sets of two crossbar chips that provide a non blocking connection between eight cells and the other backplane. Each backplane cabinet can support up to eight resulting in a Superdome PA-8600 or Superdome PA-8700 32 processor or Superdome PA-8800 or PA-8900 64 processor system. A backplane supporting four cells would result in a Superdome PA 8600 or Superdome PA-8700 16 processor and a Superdome PA-8800 or PA-8900 32 processor system. Two backplanes can be linked together with flex cables to produce a cabinet that can support up to 16 cells resulting in a Superdome PA-8600 or Superdome PA-8700 64 processor core or Superdome PA-8800 or PA-8900 128 processor core system. |
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| I/O Subsystem |
Each I/O chassis provides twelve I/O slots. Superdome PA-8600 and Superdome PA-8700 support I/O chassis with 12 PCI 66 capable slots, eight supported via single (1x) ropes (266 MB/s peak) and four supported via dual (2x) ropes (533 MB/s peak). Superdome PA-8800 and PA-8900 supports I/O chassis with 12 PCI-X 133 capable slots, eight supported via single enhanced (2x) ropes (533 MB/s peak) and four supported via dual enhanced (4x) ropes (1066 MB/s peak). Each Superdome cabinet supports a maximum of four internal I/O chassis. The optional I/O expansion cabinet can support three I/O chassis enclosures (ICE), each of which supports two I/O chassis for a maximum of six I/O chassis per I/O expansion cabinet. Each Each cell board connects to at most one I/O chassis, and therefore the number of I/O chassis supported is dependent on the number of cells present in the system. A Superdome system can have more cells than I/O chassis. For instance, an 8 cell Superdome can have one to eight I/O chassis. Each partition must have at least one I/O chassis with the number of I/O chassis not exceeding the number of cells. A 4-cell Superdome supports four I/O chassis for a maximum of 48 PCI slots. An 8-cell Superdome supports eight I/O chassis for a maximum of 96 PCI slots. Since a single Superdome cabinet only supports four I/O chassis, an I/O expansion cabinet and two I/O chassis enclosures are required to support all eight I/O chassis. A 16-cell Superdome supports 16 I/O chassis for a maximum of 192 PCI slots. Since two Superdome cabinets (left and right) only support eight I/O chassis, two I/O expansion cabinets and four I/O chassis enclosures are required to support all 16 I/O chassis. The four I/O chassis enclosures are spread across the two I/O expansion cabinets, either three ICE in one I/O expansion cabinet and one ICE in the other or two ICE in each. |
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| Core I/O |
Superdome's core I/O provides the base set of I/O functions required by every Superdome partition. Each partition must have at least one core I/O card in order to boot. Multiple core I/O cards may be present within a partition (one core I/O card is supported per I/O backplane); however, only one may be active at a time. Core I/O will utilize the standard long card PCI form factor but will add a second card cage connection to the I/O backplane for additional non-PCI signals (USB and utilities). This secondary connector will not impede the ability to support standard PCI cards in the core slot when a core I/O card is not installed. Newer sx2000 based systems (which support only the PA-8900) do not require and do not support the traditional core I/O card. These systems do require LAN connectivity at a minimum to support system boot. Other I/O cards can be added to this basic functionality. Any I/O chassis can support a Core I/O card that is required for each
independent partition. A system configured with 16 cells, each with its
own I/O chassis and core I/O card could support up to 16 independent partitions.
Note that cells can be configured without I/O chassis attached, but an
I/O chassis cannot be configured in the system unless attached to a cell.
Other common functions, such as Ultra/Ultra2 SCSI, Fibre Channel, and Gigabit Ethernet, are not included on the core I/O card. These functions are, of course, supported as normal add in cards. The unified 100Base-T Core LAN driver code searches to verify whether
there is a cable connection on an RJ-45 port or on an AUI port. If no
cable connection is found on the RJ-45 port, there is a busy wait pause
of 150 ms when checking for an AUI connection. By installing the loopback
connector (description below) in the RJ-45 port, the driver would think
an RJ 45 cable was connected and would not continue to search for an AUI
connection, hence eliminate the 150 ms busy wait state: |
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| I/O Expansion Cabinet |
The I/O expansion functionality is physically partitioned into four rack mounted chassis-the I/O expansion utilities chassis (XUC), the I/O expansion rear display module (RDM), the I/O expansion power chassis (XPC) and the I/O chassis enclosure (ICE). Each ICE supports up to two 12-slot I/O chassis. |
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| Factory Integration |
When an I/O Expansion cabinet is ordered as an upgrade to a Superdome system, it includes the factory testing and integration of any components that are ordered at the same time as the cabinet. This includes any I/O Chassis, PCI or PCI-X cards and peripherals. If it is ordered as an upgrade but not at the time of the Superdome system, additional installation assistance may be required and can be ordered as field installation products. |
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| Field Racking |
The only field rackable I/O expansion components are the ICE and the 12 slot I/O chassis. Either component would be field installed when the customer has ordered additional I/O capability for a previously installed I/O expansion cabinet. No I/O expansion cabinet components will be delivered to be field installed in a customer's existing rack other than a previously installed I/O expansion cabinet. The I/O expansion components were not designed to be installed in racks other than the 10K G2 Universal Rack. In other words, they are not designed for Rosebowl I, pre merger Compaq, Rittal, or other third party racks. The I/O expansion cabinet is based on the 10K G2 Universal Rack and all expansion components mount in the rack. Each component is designed to install independently in the rack. The 10K G2 Universal Rack has been modified to allow I/O interface cables to route between the ICE and cell boards in the Superdome cabinet. I/O expansion components are not designed for installation behind a rack front door. The components are designed for use with the 10K G2 Universal Rack perforated rear door. |
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| I/O Chassis Enclosure (ICE) |
The I/O chassis enclosure (ICE) provides expanded I/O capability for Superdome. Each ICE supports up to 24 I/O slots by using two 12 slot Superdome I/O chassis. The I/O chassis installation in the ICE puts the I/O cards in a horizontal position. An ICE supports one or two 12 slot I/O chassis. The I/O chassis enclosure (ICE) is designed to mount in a 10K G2 Universal Rack and consumes 9U of vertical rack space. To provide online addition/replacement/deletion access to I/O cards and hot swap access for I/O fans, all I/O chassis are mounted on a sliding shelf inside the ICE. Four (N+1) I/O fans mounted in the rear of the ICE provide cooling for the chassis. Air is pulled through the front as well as the I/O chassis lid (on the side of the ICE) and exhausted out the rear. The I/O fan assembly is hot swappable. An LED on each I/O fan assembly indicates that the fan is operating. |
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| Cabinet Height and Configuration Limitations |
Although the individual I/O expansion cabinet components are designed for installation in any Rack System E cabinet, rack size limitations have been agreed upon. IOX Cabinets will ship in either the 1.6-meter (33U) or 1.96-meter (41U) cabinet. In order to allay service access concerns, the factory will not install IOX components higher than 1.6 meters from the floor. Open space in an IOX cabinet will be available for peripheral installation. Refer to the 10K G2 Series Rack Best Practices Guide for information on rack deployment, stabilization, and transportation. Go to http://HP.com/go/rackandpower for more information. |
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| Peripheral Support |
All peripherals qualified for use with Superdome and/or for use in a Rack System E are supported in the I/O expansion cabinet as long as there is available space. Peripherals not connected to or associated with the Superdome system to which the I/O expansion cabinet is attached may be installed in the I/O expansion cabinet. |
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| Server Support |
No servers except those required for Superdome system management such
as Superdome Support Management Station or ISEE may be installed in an
I/O expansion cabinet. |
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| Standalone I/O Expansion Cabinet |
If an I/O expansion cabinet is ordered alone, its field installation can be ordered via option 750 in the ordering guide (option 950 for Superdome Advanced Architect Program Channel partners). |
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| DVD Solution |
The DVD solution for Superdome requires the following components per partition. External racks AF004A or AF014A must also be ordered with the DVD solution. |
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| NOTE: One DVD and one DAT is required per nPartition. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Superdome DVD Solutions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 0.5-meter HD-HDTS68
is required if DDS-4 is used. If using DAT72, it is recommended to use an A6829A dual port SCSI with daisy chaining to connect the DVD and the DAT72 leaving the second port available to connect a SCSI data storage device. |
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| Partitions |
Hardware Partitions Each nPar runs its own independent operating system. Different nPars may be executing the same or different revisions of an operating system. On HP Integrity Superdome systems, nPars may be executing different operating systems altogether (HP-UX, Windows Server 2003 or Linux). Please refer to the HP Integrity Superdome section for details on these operating systems. Each nPar has its own independent processors, memory and I/O resources consisting of the resources of the cells that make up the nPar. Resources may be removed from one nPar and added to another without having to physically manipulate the hardware just by using commands that are part of the System Management interface. Superdome HP-UX 11i supports static nPars. Static nPars imply that any
nPar configuration change requires a reboot of that nPar. In a future
HP-UX release, dynamic nPars will be supported. Dynamic nPars imply that
the nPar configuration changes do not require a reboot of that nPar. Using
the related capabilities of dynamic reconfiguration (i.e. on-line addition,
on-line removal), new resources may be added to an nPar and failed modules
may be removed and replaced while the nPar continues in operation. Virtual Partitions VPars is available on HP-UX 11i and therefore can run on Superdome PA 8600/PA 8700 servers. vPars on Superdome PA-8800 and PA-8900 is also supported. |
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| Mixing of PA-RISC and Itanium Cells in Superdome |
1) Which processors can be mixed in a Superdome? The first step in determining which processors can be mixed within a Superdome is to look at the chipset. A Superdome can only support one type of chipset (legacy chipset or sx1000 chipset or sx2000) at a time. The legacy chipset only supports the PA RISC architecture. The PA 8600, PA 8700, and PA 8700+ processors were supported with this chipset. As a result, they can be mixed within the Superdome but they cannot be mixed with processors supported by other chipsets (i.e., Itanium 9M with the sx1000 chipset). With the sx1000 and sx2000 chipsets, processors of like architectures
(PA RISC and Itanium architectures) that are supported by the specific
chipset can be mixed in separate hard partitions. For example, the HP
9000 Superdome supports mixing the PA 8800 and PA 8900 processors in separate
hard partitions. As an example, a subset of the PA RISC and Itanium processors
(PA 8800, PA 8900 and Itanium 9M processors) can be supported at the same
time in different hard partitions within a Superdome. The table below highlights which processors can co-exist on a Superdome in separate hard partitions. |
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2) In order to run an Itanium-based partition in an HP 9000 server, what changes are required? In order to add a new partition with Itanium 2 9M processors on an HP 9000 Superdome, the following steps are required: Step #1: Upgrade firmware on PA-RISC based partitions Step #2: Create a new hard partition in the Superdome for Itanium 2-based cell (s) Step #3: Plug in cell boards for Itanium 2-based cells Step #4: Some I/O cards may need to be added for that specific hard partition (Windows does not support the identical set of I/O cards that HP-UX 11i supports) Step #5: Load operating system for Itanium 2-based partition Upgrading a PA-RISC partition to support Itanium 2 processors would require similar steps: Step #1: Upgrade firmware on PA-RISC based partitions Step #2: Pull out existing PA-RISC cell boards Step #3: Swap existing memory into cell boards for Intel Itanium 2 processor (protects investment in current memory) Step #4: Plug in cell boards for Itanium 2-based cell boards Step #5: Some I/O cards may need to be added for that specific hard partition (Windows does not support the identical set of I/O cards that HP-UX 11i supports) Step #6: Load operating system for Itanium 2-based partition The in-box addition of Itanium 2 processors can be done with no additional hardware, no new chassis and no change to backplane. 3) When will mixing of PA-RISC and Itanium 2 processors be available? Support for mixing PA RISC and Itanium 2 processors within systems based on the sx1000 and/or sx2000 chipsets (in separate hard partitions) is available now 4) Is mixing of PA-RISC and Itanium processors factory configurable? NO. The way to do this is to enable PA RISC systems that shipped from the factory to add Itanium partitions later on in the field. In addition, HP offers the ability to enable Itanium based systems that shipped from the factory to add PA RISC partitions later on in the field. The current policy is not to allow PA RISC or Intel Itanium based partitions to be added to systems in the factory. However, depending on the geographic region, shipment of Superdome systems with a mix of PA RISC and Intel Itanium based partitions may be possible. 5) How long does it take to add an Itanium-based partition in an HP 9000 customers? The effort required to add an Itanium-based partition to an HP 9000 Superdome is slightly more than what is required to add a new PA-RISC-based partition. In both cases you have to create a new hard partition in the Superdome, plug in cell boards for the new processors and load the operating system. There are no hardware changes required to support mixing of processor types. The only known difference at this time is that a customer would need to upgrade the firmware to support the Itanium architecture. The process is currently being tested by R&D. This document will be updated as we learn more through testing. 6) Will mixing impact the overall performance of a Superdome (i.e. would an Itanium-based partition have the same performance in a mixed Superdome as in a Superdome only populated with Itanium 2 processors)? No. For example, suppose you have a hard partition with 16 Intel Itanium 2 9M processors. This partition would have the same performance in a system with a mix of PA-RISC and Itanium 2-based hard partitions as a server where all of the other partitions are Itanium 2-based. This is assuming that besides the type of processors, all of the other configuration options are the same (memory, cell board locations, number of partitions, etc). 7) Can I add PA-RISC processors to an Itanium-based Integrity Superdome? Yes. HP offers the ability to enable Itanium-based systems that shipped from the factory to add PA-RISC partitions later on in the field. This serves as a safety net/insurance policy. If the customer determines after the fact that a specific application is not ready for the Itanium technology, they can simply add a PA-RISC hard partition to that Integrity Superdome and continue the execution of the application while it is certified. 8) Why can't PA-8700+ processors be mixed with Itanium 2 9M processors? For years, HP has had a high level of investment protection with the HP 9000 Superdome. Customers have been provided with the maximum investment protection level by keeping their investment in PA8600 and PA8700 processors while adding the higher speed PA8700+. In addition, each processor type runs at its rated speed so there is no downgrading of the higher speed processors (some competitors are erroneously saying Superdome has to downgrade the higher speed processors). For example, the PA8700 runs at a full 750 MHz while the PA8600 runs at 550 MHz-there is no forcing of the PA8700 down to 550 MHz just to obtain compatibility. This is possible because the processor speeds are independent from the bus speeds. The Intel Itanium processor family is an advanced architecture featuring exceptional floating point and SSL performance. The Itanium 2 processors have the processing power that is consistent with a Superdome class high-end server. In addition, the Itanium processor accesses cache memory using a data block that is greater than twice the size of the PA8600, PA8700, and PA8700+. Thus, the Itanium processor family and subsequent PA-8800 and PA-8900 processors require a different chipset than the PA8600, PA8700, or PA8700+ processors. One of the key restrictions in mixing processors is that all cell boards in a given Superdome must have the same chipset. The PA-8700+ is supported by a legacy chipset that only supported PA-RISC processors. As a result, the PA-8700+ can only be mixed with PA-8700 and PA-8600 processors. In order to support Itanium 2 9M processors in their current HP 9000 Superdome, the customer would be required first to upgrade all of their PA-8700+ processors to PA-8800 or PA-8900 processors utilizing the sx1000 chipset. Once this is complete, the customer would then have the option of adding the Itanium 2 9M processor in a separate partition because it is also supported by the sx1000 chipset. 9) Why aren't Itanium 6M processors and mx2 dual core processor modules supported? The original plan was to enable PA RISC systems that shipped from the factory to add Itanium based partitions later on. The plan was not to allow PA RISC based partitions to be added to systems that shipped from the factory as Itanium based servers with Itanium 6M processors and/or mx2 dual core processor modules. This is the only case where we encounter a problem with no support for Itanium 6M processors and mx2 dual core processor modules. If a customer has already made the decision to go with Integrity Superdomes, it is very unlikely that they will take a back step to PA RISC based partitions. Conversely, if a customer wants to upgrade a PA RISC based partition to be Itanium based, they are much more likely to use the Itanium 9M processor than the Itanium 6M processors or mx2 dual core processor modules because of the added performance and larger cache sizes. Finally, this feature requires a significant amount of resources to test the different type of configurations supported in a Superdome. In order to provide this functionality in a timely basis to customers, we had to narrow the scope. Thus, the decision was made to not support Itanium 2 6M processors and mx2 dual core processors in a mixed processor type of system. If a customer with Itanium 6M processors or mx2 dual core processor modules wants to add PA RISC modules, they would need to first upgrade the partitions with Itanium 6M processors or mx2 dual core processor modules to Itanium 9M processors and then they could add a PA RISC based partition to the Superdome. 10) Which versions of the HP-UX 11i operating system will be supported? Currently HP supports HP UX 11.11 (HP UX 11i v1) for the PA RISC architecture as well as 11.23 (HP UX 11i v2) for Itanium processors and PA RISC processors in a mixed environment. Based on HP's testing, using HP UX 11.11 (HP UX 11i v1) in a mixed configuration requires a PA RISC Firmware update. 11) Does a customer have to power down when they add an Itanium-based partition to a PA-RISC-based Superdome? It depends. If the existing PA-RISC based partitions are running HP-UX 11i v2 and PDC 22.1 (released in December 2004) then an Itanium-based partition may be added while the PA-RISC partitions are active. If the customer is running WLM it must be patched for proper operation in a mixed environment. We are currently checking with the WLM team to see what impact this would have on the PA-RISC partitions. HP's shipping firmware for PA RISC processors does not fully support mixing if the PA RISC partitions are running HP UX 11i v1. In this case, downtime for all PA RISC based partitions would be required to update to the new PDC. The partitions could all be updated independently if desired. The above comment regarding WLM also applies. 12) What are the minimum firmware requirements for mixing various operating environments? The matrix below describes the minimum firmware requirements: |
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| Mixing Scenarios: operating systems, firmware and management tools | The following table summarizes the various operating environments supported on the PA-8800, PA-8900 and Intel Itanium 2 1.6 GHz processors: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The following table lists the minimum firmware requirements for mixing: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| NOTE:
PDC 20.8 and PDC 21.2 do not contain the required enhancements for mixing.
Customers who are running on either of these PDC versions will be required
to upgrade to PDC 22.1 to enable mixing. PDC 22.1 also happens the minimum
firmware required to support PA-8900.
Any of the above operating environments may be used on a mixed Superdome. In the process of testing all of the above combinations some issues and restrictions were discovered with WLM, gWLM and the GUI version of partition manager on HP-UX 11i v1. Firmware, operating system or application updates can resolve these issues. However, such updates may not always be possible or practical. The following mixing scenarios serve to illustrate the issues that were found during testing and possible ways to work around or resolve them. For simplicity, the first three scenarios assume that all the PA partitions in the Superdome are running the same version of HP-UX. The fourth scenario explains the more general case where the PA partitions are running different versions of HP-UX. |
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Scenario 1: PA-8800 Partitions running HP-UX 11i v1 HWE 0312
or 0406 mixed with Itanium 2 1.6 GHz Alternatives to running Parmgr GUI on the PA partitions:
The minimum firmware listed in the table above is sufficient for running this configuration. Possible Upgrades: |
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| Scenario 2: PA 8800
partitions or PA 8900 partitions running 11i v1 HWE 0412 mixed with Itanium
1.6 GHz
Known issue with the GUI version of Parmgr: Alternatives to running Parmgr GUI on the PA partitions:
The minimum firmware listed in the table above is sufficient for running this configuration. Possible upgrades: PDC must be at revision 22.3 or higher in the 11.i v1 partition. This version of PDC contains a single fix on top of PDC 22.1 that compensates for the byte reversal in the cell info structure between PA and Integrity (this is due to the different "endianness" of the processors). PDC 22.3 will be released as part of SMS rel_6.0 in September 2005. Integrity firmware must be upgraded to the version that supports vPars. This version of Integrity firmware contains a fix that populates I/O slot information in cell info structures used by the PA partition management stack. Currently shipping Integrity firmware does not populate this information and causes the PA management stack to report errors for Integrity cells. This version of Integrity firmware will be released as part of SMS rel_6.0 in September 2005. The nPartition provider ("nPar" bundle) must be updated to
version B.11.11.01.04 or above. This version will first be released on
HP UX 11.i v1 HWE 0509. The version of nPar provider that shipped with
HWE 0412 did not properly handle the single core Madison 9M processors. Scenario 3: PA-8800 partition or PA-8900 partition running 11.i v2 (HWE 0409 or 0505) mixed with Itanium 1.6 GHz This is the simplest scenario. The minimum firmware listed in the table is sufficient and all the partition management tools just work. The PA partition can manage other PA partitions and the Integrity partition and vice versa. Enjoy. Scenario 4: PA-8800 or PA-8900 partitions running a mixture of the above scenarios mixed with Itanium 1.6 GHz The previous scenarios apply to the individual partition pairs. For instance, say you have a Superdome with a PA8800 11.i v1 HWE0406 partition, a PA8900 11.i v1 HWE0412 partition a PA8800 11.i v2 partition and an Integrity partition. As described in Scenario 1 the PA8800 11.i v1 HWE0406 partition will not be able to recognize the Integrity cells. Manage the Integrity partition from the SMS, the PA8800 11.i v2 partition or using parcmds. As described in Scenario 2, the PA8900 11.i v1 HWE0412 partition cannot manage the Integrity partition with out the firmware and nPar provider upgrades outlined above. Use the SMS, the PA 11.i v2 partition or parcmds to manage the Integrity partition. |
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| Workload Manager (WLM) WLM currently uses the UNIX command "uname -i" to ensure that all the partitions it is managing are on the same Superdome. WLM verifies that all the managed partitions "uname -i" values match. It turns out the Integrity partitions and PA partitions on the same Superdome do not return the same value for "uname -i". This prevents WLM from properly managing all the partitions on a single Superdome in a mixed environment with iCAP. The WLM team has provided patches WLM A.03.00 for both 11.i v1 (PHSS_33499 s700_800 11.11 WLM A.03.00 Cumulative Patch) and 11.i v2 (PHSS_33477 s700_800 11.23 WLM A.03.00 Cumulative Patch) to resolve this issue. Customers who wish to use WLM in a mixed environment with iCAP will need to install/upgrade to version A.03.00 and install the appropriate patch. Customers who are using either WLM A.02.x or A.03.x in a non iCAP environment can use their current version of WLM with no upgrade/patch. Future versions of WLM (A.03.00.01 and later) will not require a patch. Global Workload Manager (gWLM) |
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| High Availability |
NOTE: Online addition/replacement for cell boards is not currently supported and will be available in a future HP UX release. Online addition/replacement of individual processors and memory DIMMs will never be supported.) Superdome high availability offering is as follows:
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| Multi-system High Availability |
Any Superdome partition with PA-RISC processors that is protected by Serviceguard or Serviceguard Extension for RAC can be configured in a cluster with:
Separate partitions within the same Superdome system can be configured as part of different Serviceguard clusters. Please note that when you add nodes or initially create a cluster, all nodes must be at the same version of the operating system and Serviceguard. This means that you may have to load an operating system update for hardware enablement of the newer hardware, even on older systems. Please refer to the "Compatibility and Feature Matrix" at http://docs.hp.com/hpux/onlinedocs/4076/SG%20SGeRAC%20EMS%20Support%20Matrix_10 3 03.htm |
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| Geographically Dispersed Cluster Configurations |
The following Geographically Dispersed Cluster solutions fully support cluster configurations using Superdome systems. The existing configuration requirements for non-Superdome systems also apply to configurations that include Superdome systems. An additional recommendation, when possible, is to configure the nodes of cluster in each datacenter within multiple cabinets to allow for local failover in the case of a single cabinet failure. Local failover is always preferred over a remote failover to the other datacenter. The importance of this recommendation increases as the geographic distance between datacenters increases.
From an HA perspective, it is always better to have the nodes of an HA cluster spread across as many system cabinets (Superdome and non Superdome systems) as possible. This approach maximizes redundancy to further reduce the chance of a failure causing down time. |
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Management Features
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Supportability and management features on HP 9000 Superdome are covered in the next section. |
| Service Processor (MP) | The service processor
(MP) utility hardware is an independent support system for nPartition servers.
It provides a way for you to connect to a server complex and perform administration
or monitoring tasks for the server hardware and its nPartitions. The main
features of the service processor include the Command menu, nPartition consoles,
console logs, chassis code viewers, and partition Virtual Front Panels (live
displays of nPartition and cell states).
Access to the MP is restricted by user accounts. Each user account is password protected and provides a specific level of access to the Superdome complex and service processor commands. Multiple users can independently interact with the service processor because each service processor login session is private. Up to 16 users can simultaneously log in to the service processor through its network (customer LAN) interface and they can independently manage nPartitions or view the server complex hardware states. Two additional service processor login sessions can be supported by the local and remote serial ports. These allow for serial port terminal access(through the local RS 232 port) and external modem access (through the remote RS 232 port). In general, the service processor (MP) on Superdome servers is similar to the service processor on other HP servers, while providing enhanced features necessary for managing a multiple nPartition server. For example, the service processor manages the complex profile, which defines nPartition configurations as well as complex wide settings for the server. The service processor also controls power, reset, and TOC capabilities, displays and records system events (chassis codes), and can display detailed information about the various internal subsystems. |
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| Functional capabilities: |
The primary features available through the service processor are:
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| Support Management Station (SMS) |
The Support Management Station (SMS) runs the Superdome scan tools that enhance the diagnosis and testability of Superdome. The SMS and associated tools also provide for faster and easier upgrades and hardware replacement. The purpose of the SMS is to provide Customer Engineers with an industry-leading set of support tools, and thereby enable faster troubleshooting and more precise problem root-cause analysis. It also enables remote support by factory experts who consult with and back up the HP Customer Engineer. The SMS complements the proactive role of HP's Instant Support Enterprise Edition (ISEE) that is offered to Mission Critical customers by focusing on reactive diagnosis for both mission-critical and non-mission-critical Superdome customers. The user of the SMS is the HP Customer Engineer and HP Factory Support Engineer. The Superdome customer benefits from their use of the SMS by receiving faster return to normal operation of their Superdome server and improved accuracy of fault diagnosis, resulting in fewer callbacks. HP can offer better service through reduced installation time. Functional Capabilities:
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| Console Access |
The optimal configuration of console device(s) depends on a number of factors, including the customer's data center layout, console security needs, customer engineer access needs, and the degree with which an operator must interact with server or peripheral hardware and a partition (i.e. changing disks, tapes). This section provides a few guidelines. However the configuration that makes best sense should be designed as part of site preparation, after consulting with the customer's system administration staff and the field engineering staff. Customer data centers exhibit a wide range of configurations in terms
of the preferred physical location of the console device. (The term "console
device" refers to the physical screen/keyboard/mouse that administrators
and field engineers use to access and control the server.) The Superdome
server enables many different configurations by its flexible configuration
of access to the MP, and by its support for multiple geographically distributed
console devices. Three common data center styles are:
These can each drive different solutions to the console access requirement. The considerations listed below apply to the design of provision of console
access to the server. These must be considered during site preparation.
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| Support | The following matrix describes the supported SMS and recommended console devices for all Superdomes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
SMS and Console Support Matrix
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| 1 A legacy UNIX SMS
could be an A400, A500, rp2430 or rp2470 bundle, depending on when it was
ordered 2 In order for a legacy SMS to be upgraded to support Integrity or PA-8800/PA-8900, it must be running HP-UX 11.0 or later, as sx1000 scan tools are not supported on HP-UX 10.20. 3 rx2600 SMS bundles ordered and installed prior to October 2004 will require a software upgrade in order to support an sx1000-based Superdome. As of October 2004, all rx2600 SMS bundles support PA-8800/PA-8900 and Integrity Superdomes without this upgrade. |
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| PA-8700 | |
| Hardware Requirement | NOTE:
HP-UX BASED SMS UNITS ARE NO LONGER OFFERED, as of October 1, 2007.
Customers ordering an SMS for the first time for a new PA 8700 Superdome should order the rx2600 SMS. The rx2600 SMS can also be used to manage PA8800/PA-8900 and Integrity Superdomes. Customers using the earlier-released A180 SMS must replace it with the rx2600 if they expect to use it with new Superdome or Integrity servers. Customers may use an existing rp2470 or A500 SMS to manage any new PA 8700 Superdome. One rx2600 SMS can support up to 16 Superdomes using a switch. Please note, however, that certain datacenters are so large that the networking structure will not permit the sharing of one SMS for the entire datacenter. The SMS is connected to each PA 8700 Superdome system on a private LAN. It is beneficial to have the SMS in close physical proximity to the Superdome(s) because the Customer Engineer (CE) requires SMS access to service the Superdome hardware. The physical connection from the Superdome is a private Ethernet connection and thus, the absolute maximum distance is determined by the Ethernet specification. The UNIX rx2600 SMS bundle is comprised of:
By default, the rx2600 SMS does not come with a display monitor or keyboard unless explicitly ordered to enable console access (the TFT5600 rackmounted display/mouse/keyboard is the recommended solution). See the ordering guide for details on the additional components that are required in order to use the rx2600 SMS as a console. |
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| Software Requirements |
All SMS software is preloaded in the factory and delivered to the customer as a complete solution. The rx2600 SMS supports only HP UX 11i at this time. Current versions of the SMS software have not been qualified for 64 bit Windows. To ensure only optimal diagnostic solutions are used, an integrated Windows/Linux SMS/Console is not available for PA 8700 Superdomes. All SMS software is preloaded in the factory and delivered to the customer as a complete solution. |
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| SMS Connectivity |
PA-8700 Superdome requires scan traffic to be isolated from console traffic, therefore two distinct networks are required for the SMS and/or console. The rx2600 SMS has two LAN connections on the integrated multifunction I/O that can support and connect to two LAN interfaces on the Superdome MP: the Private LAN and the Customer LAN. These two LAN connections allow SMS and console operations to be performed remotely. The 10/100Base TX port on the rx2600 is required, and is connected to the Private LAN on the Superdome MP. This connection is solely used for the various diagnostics supported by the SMS. The 10/100/1000Base TX port on the rx2600 can optionally be connected to the Superdome MP's Customer LAN for console access to the MP (and the Superdome partitions) from the existing management network. More details on console use of the rx2600 is provided later in this chapter. For use as an SMS only, the rx2600's 10/100Base-TX port is connected
to the Private LAN port on the Superdome MP. This can be done with a direct-connect
crossover cable, or by using an Ethernet switch. HP recommends the switched
connect configuration for the rx2600 SMS in order for the SMS to be shared
with other Superdomes, and remotely accessed. Providing the Ethernet switch is configured with the UNIX rx2600 SMS, additional Superdomes can be easily added into the existing infrastructure with minimal disruption and downtime. Each additional Superdome MP's Private LAN port should be connected to the Ethernet switch. Note this will share SMS scan functionality only, not console access. |
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| Console Connectivity |
PA-8700 Superdomes require scan and console to be on separate networks. Existing PA-8700 Superdome customers may have a Legacy UNIX SMS (e.g. A500 or rp2470) that required a separate console device. Typically a Unix workstation or PC was configured in these environments. These customers may continue to use their existing console device to access any new PA-8700 Superdomes. A Superdome console must meet the following requirements:
For new environments, the UNIX rx2600 SMS can also be used as a console for a PA8700 Superdome by creating a distinct network for the console traffic and including a display and keyboard. Separate networks can be created via two Ethernet hubs or one Ethernet switch. The Customer LAN port on the Superdome MP is then connected through the console hub/switch to the 10/100/1000Base TX port on the integrated I/O of the rx2600. In order to use the UNIX rx2600 SMS as a console for PA8700 Superdome,
the following components must be ordered:
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| PA-8800/PA-8900 | |
| Hardware Requirements |
NOTE: HP-UX BASED SMS UNITS ARE NO LONGER OFFERED, as of October 1, 2007. The UNIX rx2600 can also be used as an SMS for PA-8800 and PA-8900 Superdomes. The same hardware requirements as detailed in the previous section for the PA8700 SMS apply. The Windows ProLiant ML350 SMS/Console solution is supported on sx1000-based (i.e. PA-8800/PA-8900 and Integrity) Superdomes only. It is not supported on PA-8700 Superdomes. The Windows ProLiant SMS:
Provides following diagnostics tools:
The Windows ProLiant SMS/Console is comprised of a ProLiant ML350 G3/G4 and a TFT5600 retractable display monitor/keyboard/mouse to enable console access. This solution also requires (and includes) a switch. This is because scan diagnostics will not work properly if more than one IP address exists on the ProLiant SMS/Console. An important difference between the UNIX rx2600 SMS and the Windows ProLiant SMS/Console is that the ProLiant SMS, by default, provides console functionality whereas the UNIX rx2600 SMS does not. The TFT5600 retractable display/keyboard which is an optional add-on for the UNIX-based rx2600 SMS, is included by default with the Windows ProLiant SMS. Additionally, the Windows ProLiant SMS/Console includes an internal modem that is intended for connection to a phone line. This is for cases in which the Customer does not want the SMS to be on a public network, and HP Field Services needs to access the SMS (they would then access the SMS via the phone line and PCAnywhere.) A customer may not substitute any PC running Windows Server 2000 SP4 for the ProLiant SMS/Console due to the specialized software applications that have been qualified on the hardware and OS. Utilizing any other device as the SMS will void the warranty on the Superdome system and degrade the ability to service the system. The Windows ProLiant SMS bundle is comprised of:
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| Software Requirements |
All SMS software is preloaded in the factory and delivered to the customer as a complete solution. The UNIX rx2600 SMS supports only HP UX 11i at this time. Current versions of the SMS software have not been qualified for 64 bit Windows. The Windows ProLiant SMS/Console will run Windows 2000 SP4 as the default operating system. The ProLiant SMS/Console will follow the Windows OS roadmap and support later versions of this operating system as needed. The version of the scan tools used on the sx1000 Superdomes also does not require scan traffic to be isolated from console traffic. |
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| SMS/Console Connectivity |
One SMS can support up to 16 Superdomes using a switch (the Windows ProLiant SMS can support Integrity Superdomes only, and the UNIX rx2600 SMS can support both Integrity and HP 9000 Superdomes). Please note, however, that certain datacenters are so large that the networking structure will not permit the sharing of one SMS for the entire datacenter. It is beneficial to have the SMS in close physical proximity to the Superdome(s) because the Customer Engineer (CE) requires SMS access to service the Sup |