NEW - IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module supports SAS expansion, availability and connectivity

IBM Canada Ltd. Hardware Announcement A08-1338
September 09, 2008

IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module

The IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module integrates SAS switching and RAID controller function in a legacy switch form factor, and includes the following features:

• Redundant configuration (dual RAID Controller, dual-switch and dual-BBU)


• RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and 5


• Supports two disk storage modules (DSM) with up to 12 x 3.5 in SAS drives and NL SAS drives


• SAS boot and shared storage in IBM BladeCenter S chassis


• Six local processor blade support in IBM BladeCenter S chassis


• Two internal 4X SAS 3.0 Gbps to 2 DSM systems; 6 internal 1X SAS 3.0 Gbps host connectivity to 6 blade slots


• Customer hot-swappable components


• Managed by IBM Storage Configuration Manager (SCM), IBM's storage management application component for server and storage management integration.


• The IBM BladeCenter Start Now Advisor chassis setup tool that ships with BladeCenter-S will be upgraded with RSSM and be available as a download at the same time.

IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module competitive advantages:

• BladeCenter is a leader the industry, delivering integrated storage solutions to the blade server environment. Integrated storage solution helps ease deployment, simplify the datacenter, reduce cabling, and lower costs.


• Each BladeCenter server provides redundant connections to the storage system. Customers can configure their blade servers with dual-port host bus adapters. No other tier one blade server vendor delivers this dual-port capability, which now includes the addition of the SAS expansion card.


• Through integration, BladeCenter eliminates the cables from the server to the I/O module. This not only reduces the opportunity for misconfiguration, it helps to lower the expense for cables and to reduce potential points of failure, while helping increase storage availability.


• IBM Storage Configuration Manager provides an upwardly compatible path for server and storage integrated management with IBM Director. This helps reduce overall TCO through unified systems management applications.

Planned Availability – October 24^th, 2008

Product positioning

IBM BladeCenter is the industry's premier tier one server portfolio, and has been helping clients simplify IT, making it easier to deploy, own, and manage servers, storage, and IO. Today, IBM extends that promise by announcing the BladeCenter SAS RAID Controller Module. Quite simply, the RAID Controller Module can enable the benefits of a SAN, right inside the BladeCenter S chassis.

The IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module is an innovative approach to efficient IT. Rather than manage RAID at several adapters, the SAS RAID Controller consolidates this function at the switch level, simplifying management and minimizing costs. Combine this with the ability to deliver RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and 5 while also allowing shared storage for up to six blade servers, the SAS RAID Controller Module is the only slide-in way to get your SAN up and running in no time.

IBM BladeCenter continues to lead the industry in delivering levels of function and integration not seen on any other blade offering in the industry today. These new BladeCenter options provide additional capabilities and function allowing customers to meet the needs of today's enterprise server applications and next-generation network and storage applications.

IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module (43W3584)