Lenovo ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb and 16 Gb (Gen 5) Fibre Channel HBAs by Emulex

The Lenovo® ThinkServer® Advanced 8 Gb and 16 Gb (Generation 5) Fibre Channel (FC) host bus adapters (HBAs) by Emulex are an ideal solution for all ThinkServer systems servers requiring high-speed data transfer in storage connectivity for virtualized environments, data backup, and mission-critical applications.

The ThinkServer 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex seamlessly support Brocade ClearLink™ diagnostics through Emulex HBA Manager (formerly named OneCommand Manager), ensuring the reliability and management of storage network configurations when connected to Brocade Gen 5 FC SAN fabrics. These 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC adapters also support Emulex ExpressLane™ technology, which accelerates application performance between servers and across the fabric.

The ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC HBAs by Emulex feature a 16 Gb adapter coupled with 8 Gb optical transceivers. This combination allows to realizing a significant performance boost over a standard 8 Gb FC adapter without the cost of 16 Gb optics. When you are ready to upgrade to a full 16 Gb solution, you can replace the 8 Gb optics with 16 Gb optics.

Figure 1. ThinkServer Dual-port 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBA by Emulex without SFP+ modules

The highly integrated multiprocessor design of the ThinkServer 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex minimizes onboard components and improves host performance and efficiency.

The Advanced 8 Gb FC HBAs by Emulex are the only 8 Gb FC HBAs that feature a PCIe 3.0 bus.

The Emulex HBA Manager enterprise class management application features a multiprotocol and cross-platform architecture that provides centralized management of all Emulex HBAs.

The following table lists the ordering part numbers for the ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBA family by Emulex.

* Withdrawn, no longer available for ordering.

The part numbers for the HBAs include the following items:

• Advanced 8 Gb FC HBAs: An FC HBA adapter with one, two, or four 8 Gb (8/4 Gbps speeds) FC SW SFP+ installed
• 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs: An FC HBA adapter with one, two, or four 16 Gb (16/8/4 Gbps speeds) FC SW SFP+ installed
• 3U (standard) and 2U (low-profile) adapter brackets (PCIe HBAs only).

Note: The LPe16004B-M6-L adapter is a full-height adapter with the standard bracket only.

• Publications package

The following figure shows the ThinkServer LPe15004B-M8-L PCIe 8Gb 4 Port Fibre Channel Adapter by Emulex.

Figure 2. ThinkServer LPe15004B-M8-L PCIe 8Gb 4 Port Fibre Channel Adapter by Emulex

Figure 3. ThinkServer LPm15004-M8-L AnyFabric 8Gb 4 Port Fibre Channel Adapter by Emulex

The following figure shows the ThinkServer LPm16002-M6-L AnyFabric 16Gb 2 Port Fibre Channel Adapter by Emulex.

Figure 4. ThinkServer LPm16002-M6-L AnyFabric 16Gb 2 Port Fibre Channel Adapter by Emulex

The ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex have the following features:

• Maximum performance with up to 1.2 million input/output operations per second (IOPS) per port and up to 2.4 million IOPS per 4-port HBA to support larger server virtualization deployments and scalable cloud initiatives, and performance to match new multicore processors, SSDs, and faster server host bus architectures.
• Support Generation 5 technology (16 Gb Gen 5 FC HBAs only):
  • Seamlessly support Brocade ClearLink diagnostics through Emulex HBA Manager, ensuring the reliability and management of storage network configurations when connected to Brocade Gen 5 FC SAN fabrics. With ClearLink, you can now pinpoint faulty cables and optics in minutes versus hours.
  • Offer end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) application prioritization with ExpressLane technology, which allows you to prioritize faster storage traffic (such as SSDs) ahead of slower traffic (such as spinning hard drives), alleviating potential bottlenecks from slow storage.
• Frame-level multiplexing and out-of-order frame reassembly increases link efficiency and maximizes HBA performance.
• vScale performance and scalability: Multicore ASIC engine with eight cores supports 255 VFs, 1024 MSI-X, and 8192 logins/open exchanges for maximum VM density.
• 2x management functionality, which takes half the time to manage with HBA Manager.
• Unique HBA Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter for centralized management of adapters within a VMware environment.
• GreenState power efficiency reduces data center power consumption and associated operational expenses by delivering exceptional power to port ratios.
• End-to-end data protection with hardware parity, CRC, ECC, and other advanced error checking and correcting algorithms, which ensures that data is safe from corruption.
• BlockGuard data integrity offload ensures high performance and end-to-end data integrity.
• vEngine CPU offload lowers the processor burden on the host server, enabling support for more VMs.
• Rock-solid reliability and thermal characteristics, which are essential for mission-critical, cloud, and virtualized applications.
• Support for Message Signaled Interrupts eXtended (MSI-X) improves host utilization and enhances application performance.
• Support for 16 Gb, 8 Gb, and 4 Gb FC devices.
• Comprehensive virtualization capabilities with support for N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV).
• Host-to-fabric Fibre Channel Security Protocol (FC-SP) authentication.
• A common driver model allows a single driver to support all Emulex HBAs on a given OS.
• Reduces the number of cards, cables, and PCIe slots required.
• Exceptional performance per watt and price/performance ratios.
• Integrates seamlessly into existing SANs.
• Allows application of SAN best practices, tools, and processes with virtual server deployments.
• Ensures data availability and data integrity.
• Universal boot capability allows the appropriate boot environment to be automatically selected for any given hardware.
• Boot from SAN capability reduces the system management costs and increases uptime.
• Detailed and real-time event logging and tracing enables quick diagnosis of SAN problems.
• The beaconing feature flashes the HBA LEDs, simplifying their identification within server racks.
• The environmental monitoring feature helps optimize SAN availability.

The following table compares features of 16 Gb (Gen 5), Advanced 8 Gb, and traditional 8 Gb Fibre Channel HBAs by Emulex.

* Requires a 16 Gbps FC SFP+ transceiver.
** 2.4 M IOPS per adapter for ThinkServer LPe16004B-M6-L PCIe 16Gb 4 Port FC Adapter, 4XB0F28681

Important: ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC HBAs by Emulex offer almost twice higher host interface bandwidth and up to six times more IOPS, while fitting into the same price band, compared to traditional ThinkServer 8 Gb FC HBAs by Emulex.

The ThinkServer 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC and Advanced 8 Gb FC HBAs by Emulex have the following specifications:

• I/O controller: Emulex Engine 201 (XE201) I/O Controller (IOC)
• Host interface: PCIe 3.0 x8
• Ports: Single-port, dual-port, and quad-port SFP+ based adapters
• Link speed: Support for 16 Gb, 8 Gb and 4 Gb FC link speeds (16 Gb FC HBAs) or 8 Gb and 4 Gb FC link speeds (8 Gb FC HBAs), which are automatically negotiated
• Data rate: 14.025 Gbps (1600 MBps), 8.5 Gbps (800 MBps), and 4.25 Gbps (400 MBps) autosensing (per port), with full duplex
• Performance:
  • Up to 1,200,000 IOPS per port
  • Up to 2,400,000 IOPS per quad-port adapter
• Industry standards:
  • Current ANSI/IETF standards: FC-PI-4, FC-PI-5, FC-FS-2 with amendment 1, FC-AL-2 with amendments 1 and 2, FC-LS-2, FC-GS-6, FC-DA, FC-SP-2, FCP-4, FC-MJS, FC-SB-4, FC-SP, SPC-4, SBC-3, SSC-3, and RFC4338
  • Legacy ANSI/IETF standards: FC-PH, FC-PH-2, FC-PH-3, FC-PI, FC-PI-2, FC-FS, FC-AL, FC-GS-2/3/4/5, FCP, FCP-2, FC-SB-2, FC-FLA, FC-HBA, FC-PLDA, FC-TAPE, FC-MI, SPC-3, SBC-2, SSC-2, and RFC2625
• Topology: Point-to-point and switched fabric
• Supported media:
  • Hot-pluggable 8 Gbps Fibre Channel SFP+ short wave optical transceivers (850 nm) with LC connectors (included with Advanced 8 Gb FC adapters)
  • Hot-pluggable 16 Gbps Fibre Channel SFP+ short wave optical transceivers (850 nm) with LC connectors (included with 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC adapters)
• Distance support:
  • Operating at 16 Gbps:
    • Up to 15 m on 62.5/125 µm OM1 Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF)
    • Up to 35 m on 50/125 µm OM2 MMF
    • Up to 100 m on 50/125 µm OM3 MMF
    • Up to 125 m on 50/125 µm OM4 MMF
  • Operating at 8 Gbps:
    • Up to 21 m on 62.5/125 µm OM1 MMF
    • Up to 50 m on 50/125 µm OM2 MMF
    • Up to 150 m on 50/125 µm OM3 MMF
  • Operating at 4 Gbps:
    • Up to 70 m on 62.5/125 µm OM1 MMF
    • Up to 150 m on 50/125 µm OM2 MMF
• Management software:
  • Emulex AutoPilot Installer automates the HBA installation process and reduces time to deployment and administrative costs. Automated installation and configuration of driver and management tools simplifies deployment of multiple adapters within Windows environments. A single installation of driver and management application eliminates multiple reboots and ensures that each component is installed correctly and the HBA is ready to use.
  • The Emulex HBA Manager application enables centralized discovery, monitoring, reporting, and administration of Emulex HBAs and CNAs on local and remote hosts. Powerful automation capabilities facilitate remote driver parameter, firmware, and boot code upgrades. In addition to the GUI interface, management functions can also be performed through a scriptable command-line interface (CLI) and a web browser.
  • Emulex management instrumentation complies with Open Management Standards, such as SMI-S and common HBA API support, which enables seamless upward integration into enterprise storage and server management solutions.

The ThinkServer 8 Gb and 16 Gb FC AnyFabric HBAs by Emulex are supported on the following ThinkServer systems:

• ThinkServer RD550 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)
• ThinkServer RD650 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)

The ThinkServer 8 Gb FC (except 4XB0F28643 and 4XB0F28682) and 16 Gb FC (except 4XB0F28650 and 4XB0F28681) PCIe HBAs by Emulex are supported on the following ThinkServer systems:

• ThinkServer RD350 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)
• ThinkServer RD450 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)
• ThinkServer RD550 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)
• ThinkServer RD650 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)
• ThinkServer TD350 (E5-2600 v3 and E5-2600 v4)

The ThinkServer 8 Gb FC (4XB0F28652, 4XB0F28643, and 4XB0F28682) and 16 Gb FC (4XB0F28653, 4XB0F28650, and 4XB0F28681) PCIe HBAs by Emulex are supported on the following ThinkServer systems:

• ThinkServer TD340

For FC HBAs support details for a particular server, refer to a Lenovo Press product guide for the server, found at:
http://lenovopress.com

The ThinkServer 8 Gb and 16 Gb FC HBA family by Emulex supports the following operating systems:

• Microsoft:
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Hyper-V)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Hyper-V)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (Hyper-V)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008
• Red Hat:
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
• SUSE:
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
• VMware:

  • VMware vSphere 6.0
  • VMware vSphere 5.5
  • VMware vSphere 5.1
  • VMware vSphere 5.0

The following table lists the external storage systems that are offered by Lenovo that can be used with the ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex in Lenovo FC SAN solutions.

For more information, see the list of Product Guides in the following categories:

• Lenovo Storage
  https://lenovopress.com/storage/san/lenovo
• IBM Storage
  https://lenovopress.com/storage/san/ibm

The following table lists the external Fibre Channel tape backup units that are offered by Lenovo that can be used with the ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex in Lenovo FC SAN solutions. Other tape backup units might be supported, refer to the tape backup unit vendor's interoperability matrix for details.

For more information, see the list of Product Guides in the Backup Units category:
http://lenovopress.com/servers/options/backup

The following table lists the FC SAN switches that are offered by Lenovo that can be used with the ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex in Lenovo FC SAN solutions.

For more information, see the list of Product Guides in the Rack-mount SAN switches category:
http://lenovopress.com/storage/switches/rack

The ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex carry a one-year limited warranty. When installed in a supported ThinkServer system, the adapter assumes your system’s base warranty and any Lenovo Services warranty upgrade.

The ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex have the following dimensions (approximate):

• PCIe HBAs:
  • Short, low profile MD2 form factor card
  • 168 mm x 69 mm (6.60 in. x 2.7 in.)
  • Standard (3U) and low-profile (2U) brackets included
• AnyFabric HBAs: AnyFabric mezzanine card form factor (does not consume a standard PCIe slot)

The ThinkServer Advanced 8 Gb FC and 16 Gb (Gen 5) FC HBAs by Emulex are supported in the following environment:

• Temperature:
  • Operating: 0 - 55 °C (32 - 131 °F)
  • Storage: -40 - 70 °C (-40 - 158 °F)
• Relative humidity: 5 - 95% (relative, non-condensing)

The ThinkServer 8 Gb and 16 Gb FC HBAs by Emulex conform to the following regulations:

• FCC Class A
• UL/CSA Recognized
• CE Mark
• EU RoHS compliant
• TUV Bauart Certified
• VCCI Class A
• BSMI Class A
• MSIP (formally KCC/MIC) Class A
• China RoHS Compliant

For more information, see the following documents:

• Lenovo ThinkServer support:
  http://support.lenovo.com/products/servers
• Lenovo Options Compatibility Matrix
  http://www.lenovo.com/accessoriesguide