Abstract
There are three expansion blades currently available for IBM BladeCenter servers:
Memory and I/O Expansion Unit, part number 42C1600
Storage and I/O (SIO) Expansion Unit, part number 39R7563
PCI Expansion Unit II (PEU2), part number 25K8373
The expansion blades add function to the blade server by adding additional memory dual inline memory modules (DIMMs), Ethernet controllers, and I/O expansion slots. This technote lists the blade server models that support these expansion blades.
Contents
There are three expansion blades currently available for IBM BladeCenter servers:
- Memory and I/O Expansion Unit, which has four memory DIMM sockets, two Ethernet controllers, and PCI-X and PCI Express I/O expansion sockets
- Storage and I/O (SIO) Expansion Unit, which has three SAS drive bays, RAID controller, and two PCI-X and one PCI Express I/O expansion sockets
- PCI Expansion Unit II (PEU2), which has two full-length PCI-X 100 MHz slots
These expansion blades attach to the server blade and double the width of the overall server. In some configurations, two expansion blades can be attached to a single blade server. The table below lists the available expansion blades and the servers that support them.
| Expansion unit | HS20 8678 | HS20 8832 | HS20 8843 | HS21 8853 | HS21 XM 7995 | HS40 8839 | LS20 8850 | LS21 7971 | LS41 7972 | JS20 8842 | JS21 8844 |
| Memory and I/O Expansion Unit, part number 42C1600 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Storage and I/O (SIO) Expansion Unit, part number 39R7563 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| PCI Expansion Unit II (PEU2), part number 25K8373 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
As you can see in the table, the HS21 type 8853 and HS21 XM type 7995 support more than one expansion blade. There are configuration requirements related to connecting multiple expansion blades as described in the sections below. You can only attach one blade of each type (for example, only one SIO expansion blade).
HS21 type 8853
For the HS21 type 8853, you can only attach two expansion blades to the server blade. Attaching three expansion blades is not supported. The following configurations are supported (note that the sequence is important; the MIO must be directly attached to the HS21, for example):
- HS21 <- MIO
- HS21 <- SIO
- HS21 <- PEU2
- HS21 <- MIO <- PEU2
- HS21 <- MIO <- SIO
- HS21 <- SIO <- PEU2
The following are unsupported combinations:
- HS21 <- PEU2 <- MIO (not supported)
- HS21 <- SIO <- MIO (not supported)
- HS21 <- PEU2 <- SIO (not supported)
Although the HS21 supports all three expansion blades, only two expansion blades can be attached to a server at one time. If used, the MIO must be the “closest” expansion blade to the blade server.
HS21 XM type 7995
For the HS21 XM type 7995, the SIO and PEU2 are both supported, in the following connection sequence:
- HS21 XM <- SIO <- PEU2
The combination HS21 XM <- PEU2 <- SIO is not supported.
HS20 type 8843
The HS20 type 8843 supports both the PEU2 and the now-withdrawn BladeCenter SCSI Storage Expansion Unit II (BSE2, part number 39R8625), but these two expansion units are not supported together.
Special Notices
This material has not been submitted to any formal IBM test and is published AS IS. It has not been the subject of rigorous review. IBM assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness. The use of this information or the implementation of any of these techniques is a client responsibility and depends upon the client's ability to evaluate and integrate them into the client's operational environment.