Top
Abstract
There are four expansion blades currently available for IBM BladeCenter servers:
IBM BladeCenter Memory and I/O Expansion Unit, part number 42C1600
IBM BladeCenter Storage and I/O (SIO) Expansion Unit, part number 39R7563
IBM BladeCenter PCI Expansion Unit II (PEU2), part number 25K8373
IBM BladeCenter PCI Express I/O Expansion Unit (PEU3e), 43W4391
The expansion blades add function to the blade server by adding additional memory DIMMs, Ethernet controllers, and I/O expansion slots. In this technote, we list the blade server models that support these expansion blades.
Attaching one expansion blade
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. Table 1 lists the available expansion blades and the servers that support them.
Note: The QS22 and PN41 blade servers do not support any expansion blades or expansion cards as they do not have the necessary onboard connectors.
Table 1. Available expansion blades and the servers that support them
Note: The QS22 and PN41 blade servers do not support any expansion blades or expansion cards as they do not have the necessary onboard connectors.
Table 1. Available expansion blades and the servers that support them
 Expansion card |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
IBM BladeCenter Memory and I/O (MIO) Expansion Unit, 42C1600 |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
|
IBM BladeCenter Storage and I/O (SIO) Expansion Unit, 39R7563 |
N |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
|
IBM BladeCenter PCI Expansion Unit II (PEU2), 39R7563 |
N |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
|
IBM BladeCenter PCI Express I/O Expansion Unit (PEU3e), 43W4391 |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
Attaching two expansion blades
As you can see Table 1, the HS21, HS21 XM, LS21/41, and LS22/42 support more than one expansion blade. There are configuration requirements that are related to connecting multiple expansion blades, as described in this section. You can only attach one blade of each type (for example, only one SIO expansion blade).
BladeCenter HS21
For the HS21, you can only attach two expansion blades to the server blade. Attaching three expansion blades is not supported. The following configurations are supported (the sequence is important; the MIO must be directly attached to the HS21, for example):
- HS21 <- MIO <- PEU2
- HS21 <- MIO <- SIO
- HS21 <- SIO <- PEU2
The following configurations 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.
BladeCenter HS21 XM
For the HS21 XM, the SIO and PEU2/PEU3e can be attached at the same time, in the following connection sequence:
- HS21 XM <- SIO <- PEU2
- HS21 XM <- SIO <- PEU3e (only the first slot in the PEU3e will work in this configuration)
The following connection sequences are unsupported combinations:
- HS21 XM <- PEU2 <- SIO (not supported)
- HS21 XM <- PEU3e <- SIO (not supported)
BladeCenter LS21
For LS21, the SIO and PEU3e can be attached at the same time, in the following connection sequence:
- LS21 <- SIO <- PEU3e (only the first slot in the PEU3e will work in this configuration)
The following connection sequence is an unsupported combination:
- LS21 <- PEU3e <- SIO (not supported)
BladeCenter LS41
For LS41, the SIO and PEU3e can be attached at the same time, in the following connection sequence:
- LS41 <- MPE <- SIO <- PEU3e (only the first slot in the PEU3e will work in this configuration)
The following connection sequence is an unsupported combination:
- LS41 <- MPE <- PEU3e <- SIO (not supported)
BladeCenter LS22
For LS22, the SIO and PEU2 or SIO and PEU3e, can be attached at the same time, in the following connection sequence:
- LS22 <- SIO <- PEU2
- LS22 <- SIO <- PEU3e (only the first slot in the PEU3e will work in this configuration)
The following connection sequence is an unsupported combination:
- LS22 <- PEU2 <- SIO (not supported)
- LS22 <- PEU3e <- SIO (not supported)
For LS42 with the Multi Processor Expansion (MPE) Unit, the SIO and PEU2 or SIO and PEU3e, can be attached at the same time, in the following connection sequence:
- LS42 <- MPE <- SIO - PEU2
- LS42 <- MPE <- SIO - PEU3e (only the first slot in the PEU3e will work in this configuration)
The following connection sequence is an unsupported combination:
- LS42 <- MPE <- PEU2 <- SIO (not supported)
- LS42 <- MPE <- PEU3e <- SIO (not supported)
Related product families
Product families related to this document are the following:
Trademarks
Lenovo and the Lenovo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both. A current list of Lenovo trademarks is available on the Web at https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/legal/copytrade/.
The following terms are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both:
Lenovo®
BladeCenter®
Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
