Abstract
The 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for IBM BladeCenter is ideal for clients looking to enable end-to-end non-blocking 10Gb setup within the chassis. This device supports both Ethernet and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) packets, which allows clients to connect a BladeCenter Chassis to an FCoE-capable top-of-rack switch.
Changes in the last update:
* Updated the list of supported adapters
Contents
The 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for IBM BladeCenter is ideal for clients looking to enable end-to-end non-blocking 10Gb setup within the chassis. This device supports both Ethernet and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE ) packets, which allows clients to connect a BladeCenter Chassis to an FCoE-capable top-of-rack switch.
The 14 10Gb Uplink ports are based on optical SFP+ technology to offer the highest performance while maintaining industry standard connectivity. This offering will also work with BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager, providing all the benefits of I/O Virtualization at 10Gb speeds.
Figure 1 shows the pass-thru module.
Figure 1. 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for IBM BladeCenter
Did you know?
Clients can use this module along with the 2-port 10Gb Converged Network Adapter (CNA) and connect to a converged top-of-rack switch such as the IBM Converged Switch B32. This setup allows clients to reduce hardware, as well as power and cooling costs, while boosting performance by operating at 10Gb bandwidth.
Part number information
Table 1 shows the part numbers to order this module and additional options.
Table 1. Part number and feature code for ordering
| Description | IBM Part number | IBM Feature code |
| 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for IBM BladeCenter | 46M6181 | 1641 |
| IBM 10GBase-SR 10GbE 850 nm Fiber SFP+ Transceiver | 44W4408 | 4942 |
The module part numbers include the following items:
- 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module
- One HSSM filler module
- Important Notices document
- Documentation CD-ROM
Note: SFP+ (small form-factor pluggable plus) transceivers are not included and must be purchased separately.
Features and specifications
The 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module includes the following features and functions:
- Single-wide high-speed switch module
- 14 internal 10Gb ports to the server blades (no auto-negotiation)
- Up to fourteen 10Gb SFP+ uplink ports (SFP+ modules are not included)
- Support for SR, LR, and DAC copper cables
- Direct one-to-one mappings of external and internal ports (no configuration required)
- Simple setup and monitoring through advanced management module
- Management-module inter-integrated Circuit (I2C) interface that provides vital product data (VPD) and register access
- Provides self-test and diagnostics capability
- No Serial over LAN (SOL) support
Supported BladeCenter chassis and expansion cards
The 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module is supported in the IBM BladeCenter chassis listed in Table 2.
Table 2. IBM BladeCenter chassis that support the 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module
 I/O module | Part number | | | | | | | |
10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module | 46M6181 | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | N |
The BladeCenter H and HT chassis have the following bays:
- BladeCenter H has four standard I/O bays (1, 2, 3, and 4), two bridge bays (5 and 6), and four high-speed bays (7, 8, 9, and 10)
- BladeCenter HT has four standard I/O bays (1, 2, 3, and 4) and four high-speed bays (7, 8, 9, and 10)
The 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module fits in one of the high-speed I/O bay (bays 7-10).
Table 3 lists the expansion cards that the 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module supports. This table also lists the chassis bays in which the switch module must be installed when used with each expansion card.
Table 3. 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module and BladeCenter chassis I/O bays support
Description | Part number | | | | | | | | | | |
2/4 Port Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFh) | 44W4479 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Broadcom 10 Gb Gen 2 2-port Ethernet Exp. Card | 46M6168 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Broadcom 10 Gb Gen 2 4-port Ethernet Exp. Card | 46M6164 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Broadcom 10Gb 2-port Ethernet Expansion Card | 44W4466 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Broadcom 10Gb 4-port Ethernet Expansion Card | 44W4465 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Broadcom 2-port 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter | 81Y3133 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Emulex 10GbE Virtual Fabric Adapter | 49Y4235 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
Emulex 10GbE Virtual Fabric Adapter Advanced | 49Y4275 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
Emulex 10GbE Virtual Fabric Adapter II | 90Y3550 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
Emulex 10GbE Virtual Fabric Adapter II Advanced | 90Y3566 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
Emulex 10GbE VFA II for IBM BladeCenter HS23 | 81Y3120 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
Emulex 10GbE VFA Advanced II for IBM BladeCenter HS23 | 90Y9332 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
HS23 Integrated 10Gb Virtual Fabric LOM | None | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y |
Intel 2-port 10Gb Ethernet Expansion Card | 42C1810 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Mellanox 2-port 10Gb Ethernet Expansion Card | 90Y3570 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
NetXen 10Gb Ethernet Expansion Card | 39Y9271 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
QLogic 2-port 10Gb Converged Network Adapter | 42C1830 | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
QLogic Ethernet and 4Gb FC Card (CFFh) | 39Y9306 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
QLogic Ethernet and 8Gb FC Card (CFFh) | 44X1940 | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Popular configurations
The 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module can be used in the following configuration.
Two-port configuration with FCoCEE support
Figure 2 shows the use of 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Modules to route two Ethernet ports from QLogic 2-port 10Gb Converged Network Adapter (CFFh) installed into each server. Two 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Modules are installed in bay 7 and bay 9 of the BladeCenter H chassis. All connections between the controller, card, and the switch modules are internal to the chassis. No internal cabling is needed. External (Top Of Rack) switches that support FCoCEE and cabling are required for the pass-thru module to operate.
Figure 2. A converged 20Gb solution using two 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Modules
The components used in this configuration are listed in Table 4.
Table 4. Components used when connecting QLogic 2-port 10Gb Converged Network Adapter (CFFh) to two 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Modules
| Diagram reference | Part number/machine type | Description | Quantity |
| Varies | IBM BladeCenter HS22 or other supported server | 1 to 14 | |
| 42C1830 | QLogic 2-port 10Gb Converged Network Adapter (CFFh) | 1 per server | |
| 8852 or 8740/8750 | BladeCenter H or BladeCenter HT | 1 | |
| 46M6181 | 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module | 2 | |
| 44W4408 | IBM 10GBase-SR SFP+ Transceiver | Up to 28* |
Connectors and LEDs
The following figure shows the front panel of the 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module and the numbering of the ports when installed in a BladeCenter H chassis. When the module is installed in a BladeCenter H chassis, the ports and LEDs are numbered from right to left, as shown in the figure.
Figure 3. Front panel of the 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for BladeCenter H chassis
The following figure shows the numbering of the ports when installed in a BladeCenter HT chassis. When the module is installed in a BladeCenter HT unit, the ports and LEDs are numbered from left to right, as shown in the figure.
Figure 4. Front panel of the 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module for BladeCenter HT chassis
The front panel contains the following components:
- LEDs display the status of the pass-thru module and the network:
- OK (indicating that the switch module has passed the power-on self-test (POST) with no critical faults and is operational)
- Pass-thru module error (indicating that the switch module has failed the POST or detected an operational fault).
- 14 SFP+ port connectors to attach SFP+ modules.
- Each external SFP+ port on the pass-thru module contains an link status LED - the port number associated with each LED is indicated in Figures 4 and 5.
Network cabling requirements
The following network cables are required for the 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module:
- 10GBASE-SR for 10Gb ports: 850 Nm wavelength, multimode fiber, 50 µ or 62.5 µ (300 meters maximum), with LC duplex connector
Related publications
For more information, see the following documents:
- 10Gb Ethernet Pass-Thru Module Installation Guide
http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5080966 - IBM Redpaper, IBM Converged Switch B32, REDP-4588-00
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp4588.html - IBM US Announcement Letter
http://ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=dd&subtype=ca&&htmlfid=897/ENUS109-288 - IBM BladeCenter Interoperability Guide
http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5073016 - IBM Redbooks publication IBM BladeCenter Products and Technology, SG24-7523
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247523.html
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.