Rack-provided models hardware

IBM® Integrated Analytics System rack-mounted models contain the following hardware components.

System nodes

IBM model S822L (MT 8247-22L)

The primary compute building block of the Integrated Analytics System is the Power8 S822L Server. This server is based on the Murano DCM chip set. Each processor in the selected configuration provides 12 cores, each operating at 3.02 GHz. Each server is configured with 512 Gigabytes of DDR3 memory. The PCI slots of the server are populated with:

  • Four dual port 16 Gb Fibre Channel HBAs
  • Two Ethernet NICs, each with two 10 Gb/s ports and two 1 Gb/s ports

The front storage bay of the server is populated with two 600 GB SAS hard disk drives. These two drives are set up in a mirrored configuration and support the OS partitions for the server.

FlashSystem 900 storage arrays

The primary storage subsystem for Integrated Analytics System is the IBM FlashSystem900. This storage subsystem provides a fully resilient storage system. The major components of the FlashSystem 900 are:

  • MicroLatency® Flash Storage Modules - These modules deliver extreme performance and store the data in a RAID5 configuration across the storage elements within the module.
  • Dual Flash Controllers - providing highly availability connectivity and high IOP rates and high-bandwidth access to the storage modules.
The Integrated Analytics System uses the following configurations of the FlashSystem 900:
M4001 models
  • 12 Flash Module configuration - In this configuration the twelve 5.7 Terabyte modules are configured into one single RAID5 storage group with 10 Data Modules, one parity module and one space module.
  • 8 Flash Module configuration - In this configuration the eight 5.7 Terabyte modules are configured into one single RAID5 storage group with 6 Data Modules, one parity module and one space module.
M4002 models
12 Flash Module configuration in all flash arrays - In this configuration the twelve 8.5 Terabyte modules are configured into one single RAID5 storage group with 10 Data Modules, one parity module and one space module.

For more information on storage, see Appliance storage.

Storwize V5000 disk storage arrays

The second tier storage subsystem for the Integrated Analytics System is the IBM Storwize V5000 system. This disk storage subsystem provides additional user storage on M4002-xxxS tiered storage systems. The major components of the V5000 system are:

  • 2.5" Disk Drives - These 1.8 TB, 2.5" disk drives provide the second tier storage for the IBM Integrated Analytics System.
  • Controller Enclosures - These enclosures house both disk drives as well as the dual disk controllers that provide redundant connectivity between the compute nodes and the disk storage space.
  • Expansion Enclosures - The expansion enclosures provide housing for additional disk drives.

Each controller and expansion enclosure are populated with 24 of the 1.8 TB disk drives. The number of enclosures in the system varies depending on the model.

Network Switches

The appliance includes management, fabric, and SAN networks.
Management network
A pair of Edge-core AS4610-54T-O-AC-B GigE switches (8831-S52) forms a resilient management network. A single pair can cover up to two racks. The switch consists of 48x1G RJ-45 and 4x10G SFP+ and 2x20G QFSP+ stacking ports. It is equipped with redundant hot-swappable power supplies.
Fabric network
Data fabric consists of Mellanox MSX2410-CB2FC 10/25G switches, forming a single resilient Data Fabric. One or more pairs of the switches directly attached to Integrated Analytics System nodes are called leaf switches. Each pair of leaf switch can support up to two racks.

The Mellanox SX2410 10/25G switch supports 48 x 10/25G and 8x 40/100G ports. It is equipped with redundant hot-swappable fans and power supplies.

SAN (Fibre Channel) network
The 16 Gb/s FC SAN consists of two independent fabrics within a rack. There is no connection between SAN Fabrics in different racks.

Each rack contains a pair of IBM SAN64B-6 switches, forming two independent SAN fabrics. There is no connection between the pair, which prevents any failure to propagate from one fabric to the other. Although the switch is capable of 32 Gb/s, all FC connections are 16 Gb/s. It is equipped with redundant hot-swappable power supplies.

External connections

The rear of the rack includes a panel with network interface connections.

Figure 1. Patch Panel
Table 1. External Connections
Feature Number Description
1 GigE ports 4 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports (eth0-eth3)
10/25 GigE ports 8 10/25 Gigabit Ethernet ports (eth4-eth11) require OM-3 LC-LC cables. Up to 100 m is supported.
16 Gb Fibre Channel ports 4 16 Gb Fibre Channel ports (FCA1, FCA2, FCB1, FCB2), require OM-3 LC-LC cables. Up to 40 m is supported.
SCP ports 2 Service ports (reserved)
For more information on network configuration, see External network connectivity

High availability

High availability is accomplished through node redundancy. If a node becomes non-operational, the workload and Multiple-Logical Nodes (MLNs) are redistributed across the remaining nodes. An outage occurs while the MLNs are redistributed.

If a node becomes non-operational, the workload and MLNs are redistributed across the remaining nodes.

In a 1/3- rack appliance, a minimum of two nodes must be operating.

In a 2/3- rack appliance, a minimum of three nodes must be operating.

In a full-rack appliance, a minimum of four nodes must be operating.