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Abstract
The IBM® Flash Adapters F825, F1650, and F3200 Enterprise Value for System x® are designed for the application of solid-state storage to webscale and cloud data centers. Delivering high speed, low latency, and high efficiency, this new line of flash adapters brings scalable and optimized performance to distributed scale-out architectures at low cost. These adapters are designed primarily for cost-efficient high volume servers and computing appliances to maximize compute efficiency while providing the added benefits of lower power and cooling costs, low management impact, and smaller storage footprints.
Introduction
The IBM® Flash Adapters F825, F1650, and F3200 Enterprise Value for System x® are designed for the application of solid-state storage to webscale and cloud data centers. Delivering high speed, low latency, and high efficiency, this new line of flash adapters brings scalable and optimized performance to distributed scale-out architectures at low cost. These adapters are designed primarily for cost-efficient high volume servers and computing appliances to maximize compute efficiency while providing the added benefits of lower power and cooling costs, low management impact, and smaller storage footprints.
Figure 1. IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value for System x
Figure 1. IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value for System x
Did you know?
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value use flash memory as their storage medium, contain no moving parts, and do not have the issues associated with vibration, noise, and mechanical failure. The adapters are built as block devices on a PCIe bus with advanced wear-leveling, advanced ECC, and chip-level redundancy, providing exceptional reliability and efficiency.
These adapters can provide lower operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) in applications that require high storage I/O performance compared to solutions that use a larger number of hard disk drives and solid-state drives to achieve equivalent performance.
Rigorous testing of the IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value by IBM through the IBM ServerProven® program ensures a high degree of confidence in storage subsystem compatibility and reliability. Providing an additional peace of mind, the adapters are covered under IBM warranty.
These adapters can provide lower operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) in applications that require high storage I/O performance compared to solutions that use a larger number of hard disk drives and solid-state drives to achieve equivalent performance.
Rigorous testing of the IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value by IBM through the IBM ServerProven® program ensures a high degree of confidence in storage subsystem compatibility and reliability. Providing an additional peace of mind, the adapters are covered under IBM warranty.
Part number information
Table 1 lists the information for ordering part numbers and feature codes.
Table 1. Ordering part numbers and feature codes
The part numbers for the adapters include the following items:
Table 1. Ordering part numbers and feature codes
| Description | Part number | Feature code |
| IBM Flash Adapter F825 Enterprise Value for System x | 00AE861 | A4WT |
| IBM Flash Adapter F1650 Enterprise Value for System x | 00AE864 | A4WS |
| IBM Flash Adapter F3200 Enterprise Value for System x | 00AE867 | A4WR |
The part numbers for the adapters include the following items:
- IBM Flash Adapter Enterprise Value with 3U bracket attached
- 2U bracket (F825 and F1650 adapter only)
- USB Key with documentation
- Quick Install Guide
- Important Notices document
- Warranty Flyer
Features
Based on the standard PCIe architecture coupled with silicon-based NAND clustering storage technology, the Flash Adapters Enterprise Value are optimized for System x rack servers. These scalable designs include cost-effective Multi-Level Cell (MLC) technology in standard PCIe form factors.
These adapters use NAND flash memory as the basic building block of solid-state storage and contain no moving parts, so they are less sensitive to issues associated with vibration, noise, and mechanical failure. These adapters are built as block devices on a PCIe bus with advanced wear-leveling, ECC, and chip-level redundancy providing unparalleled reliability and efficiency.
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value for System x can deliver fast and scalable performance at low latency required for webscale and cloud environments. The following typical applications require ultra-high I/O performance:
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value have many features.
Technology features
Performance features
Reliability features
Monitoring and management features
Note: These adapters cannot be used as bootable devices.
These adapters use NAND flash memory as the basic building block of solid-state storage and contain no moving parts, so they are less sensitive to issues associated with vibration, noise, and mechanical failure. These adapters are built as block devices on a PCIe bus with advanced wear-leveling, ECC, and chip-level redundancy providing unparalleled reliability and efficiency.
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value for System x can deliver fast and scalable performance at low latency required for webscale and cloud environments. The following typical applications require ultra-high I/O performance:
- Large scale transaction processing
- Cloud computing
- Content distribution
- On-demand streaming
- Data warehousing
- Business intelligence and analytics
- Decision support
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value have many features.
Technology features
- Up to 3.2 TB of solid-state storage in an industry-standard PCIe form factor.
- High-density design with cost-effective MLC NAND technology reduces storage footprint.
- Functions as a PCIe storage and controller device. The operating system sees a block device.
Performance features
- High-speed, low latency, consistent, and scalable I/O performance
- Access latency can be as low as 19 ?s
- Up to 1.5 GBps of sustained sequential throughput
- Up to 144,000 random read IOPS and up to 535,000 random write IOPS using 512 bytes data blocks
- Integrates with host processor as a memory tier for direct parallel access to flash
Reliability features
- Advanced wear leveling
- ECC protection
- Adaptive Flashback redundancy for RAID-like chip protection with self-healing capabilities
Monitoring and management features
- Power consumption
- Thermal information
- Flash wear-out
Note: These adapters cannot be used as bootable devices.
Technical specifications
Table 2 presents the technical specifications for the IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value.
Table 2. IBM High IOPS MLC Adapter technical specifications
The TBW (total bytes written) value assigned to a solid-state device is the total bytes of written data (based on the number of P/E cycles) that a device can be guaranteed to complete (the percentage of remaining P/E cycles is equal to the percentage of remaining TBW). The IBM warranty for the solid-state storage is limited to devices that have not reached the maximum guaranteed number of program/erase cycles. Solid-state storage that reaches this limit might fail to operate according to its specifications. Because of such behavior by solid-state devices, careful planning must be done to use solid-state storage in the application environments to ensure that the TBW of the device is not exceeded before the end of the required life expectancy.
Writes are tracked and reported by the adapter's management utility and might be affected by application writes, data patterns, and maintenance designed to maximize data integrity.
Table 2. IBM High IOPS MLC Adapter technical specifications
| Specification | 825 GB | 1650 GB | 3200 GB |
| Part number | 00AE861 | 00AE864 | 00AE867 |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x4 | PCIe 2.0 x4 | PCIe 2.0 x8 (x4-wired) |
| Form factor | Half height, half length | Half height, half length | Full height, half length |
| Capacity | 825 GB | 1650 GB | 3200 GB |
| Endurance | 4 PB TBW | 8 PB TBW | 20 PB TBW |
| Random read IOPS (512 bytes blocks) | 135,000 | 144,000 | 115,000 |
| Random write IOPS (512 bytes blocks) | 535,000 | 535,000 | 535,000 |
| Random read IOPS (4 KB blocks) | 130,000 | 130,000 | 115,000 |
| Random write IOPS (4 KB blocks) | 235,000 | 235,000 | 243,000 |
| Sequential read rate (1 MB blocks) | 1.4 GBps | 1.4 GBps | 1.5 GBps |
| Sequential write rate (1 MB blocks) | 1.1 GBps | 1.1 GBps | 1.3 GBps |
| Read access latency | 77 ?s | 77 ?s | 92 ?s |
| Write access latency | 19 ?s | 19 ?s | 19 ?s |
| Power requirements | 25 W max | 25 W max | 25 W max |
The TBW (total bytes written) value assigned to a solid-state device is the total bytes of written data (based on the number of P/E cycles) that a device can be guaranteed to complete (the percentage of remaining P/E cycles is equal to the percentage of remaining TBW). The IBM warranty for the solid-state storage is limited to devices that have not reached the maximum guaranteed number of program/erase cycles. Solid-state storage that reaches this limit might fail to operate according to its specifications. Because of such behavior by solid-state devices, careful planning must be done to use solid-state storage in the application environments to ensure that the TBW of the device is not exceeded before the end of the required life expectancy.
Writes are tracked and reported by the adapter's management utility and might be affected by application writes, data patterns, and maintenance designed to maximize data integrity.
Supported servers
Table 3 lists the compatibility information for the IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value and System x and IBM iDataPlex® servers.
Table 3. System x, iDataPlex, and NeXtScale compatibility (Part 1)
Table 3. System x, iDataPlex, and NeXtScale compatibility (Part 2)
See the IBM ServerProven website for the latest compatibility information for System x servers at http://ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/.
Table 3. System x, iDataPlex, and NeXtScale compatibility (Part 1)
| Part number | Description |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00AE861 | IBM Flash Adapter F825 Enterprise Value | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| 00AE864 | IBM Flash Adapter F1650 Enterprise Value | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| 00AE867 | IBM Flash Adapter F3200 Enterprise Value | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
Table 3. System x, iDataPlex, and NeXtScale compatibility (Part 2)
|
Part number |
Description |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00AE861 | IBM Flash Adapter F825 Enterprise Value | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
| 00AE864 | IBM Flash Adapter F1650 Enterprise Value | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
| 00AE867 | IBM Flash Adapter F3200 Enterprise Value | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
See the IBM ServerProven website for the latest compatibility information for System x servers at http://ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/.
Supported operating systems
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value support the following operating systems:
See the IBM ServerProven website for the latest information about the specific versions and service packs supported at http://ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/. Click System x servers, then Storage Controllers and SSD adapters to see the support matrix. Click the check mark that is associated with the System x server in question to see the details of the operating system support.
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard x64 Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server x64 Edition
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server with Xen x64 Edition
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server x64 Edition
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 for AMD64/EM64T
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 with Xen for AMD64/EM64T
- VMware vSphere 5.1 (ESXi)
- VMware vSphere 5.5 (ESXi)
See the IBM ServerProven website for the latest information about the specific versions and service packs supported at http://ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/. Click System x servers, then Storage Controllers and SSD adapters to see the support matrix. Click the check mark that is associated with the System x server in question to see the details of the operating system support.
Warranty
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value carry a 1-year, customer-replaceable unit (CRU) limited warranty. When installed in a supported IBM server, these adapters assume your system’s base warranty and any IBM ServicePac® upgrade.
Physical specifications
The IBM Flash Adapters F825 and F1650 Enterprise Value have the following physical specifications:
Dimensions and weight (approximate):
Shipping dimensions and weight (approximate):
The IBM Flash Adapter F3200 Enterprise Value has the following physical specifications:
Dimensions and weight (approximate):
Shipping dimensions and weight (approximate):
Dimensions and weight (approximate):
- Height: 16 mm (0.6 in.)
- Width: 68 mm (2.7 in.)
- Depth: 167 mm (6.6 in.)
- Weight: 180 g (0.4 lb)
Shipping dimensions and weight (approximate):
- Height: 65 mm (2.6 in.)
- Width: 225 mm (8.9 in.)
- Depth: 245 mm (9.6 in.)
- Weight: 413 g (0.9 lb)
The IBM Flash Adapter F3200 Enterprise Value has the following physical specifications:
Dimensions and weight (approximate):
- Height: 16 mm (0.6 in.)
- Width: 110 mm (4.3 in.)
- Depth: 167 mm (6.6 in.)
- Weight: 310 g (0.7 lb)
Shipping dimensions and weight (approximate):
- Height: 65 mm (2.6 in.)
- Width: 225 mm (8.9 in.)
- Depth: 245 mm (9.6 in.)
- Weight: 540 g (1.3 lb)
Operating environment
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value are supported in the following environment:
- Temperature (operational): 0 - 55 °C (32 - 131 °F) at 0 - 3,048 m (0 - 10,000 ft)
- Relative humidity: 5 - 95% (non-condensing)
- Maximum altitude (operational): 3,048 m (10,000 ft)
Agency approvals
The IBM Flash Adapters Enterprise Value conform to the following regulations:
- EN55022
- EN55024
- EN60950 / CE
- EN 61000-3-2
- EN 61000-3-3
- IEC 950 CB Scheme
- FCC Part 15 Class A, and Class B
- UL 1950
- CSA C22.2 950-95
- VCCI
- NZ AS3548 / C-tick
- RRL for MIC (KCC)
- BSMI
- UL 94-/V
Related product families
Product families related to this document are the following:
Trademarks
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The following terms are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both:
Lenovo®
ServerProven®
System x®
The following terms are trademarks of other companies:
Linux® is the trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
Microsoft®, Windows Server®, and Windows® are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
