Architecture/Technology Overview

ManualsBrandsHP ManualsServerHP NetServer LC II

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Executive Summary

The data center, a mission-critical, enterprise facility, is a complex and

demanding technology environment, requiring computing equipment that is

extraordinarily reliable, scalable and manageable. Data center server

equipment must provide the level of high availability that data center

customers demand. The server manufacturer also must provide the level of

service and support that these customers expect.

HP now offers a new server in the HP NetServer product family, which

complements the HP PA-RISC products. The new, high level of computing

power provided by the HP NetServer LXr 8500 can address the major

computing challenges customers face today in enterprise resource planning

(ERP), database management systems (DBMS) including on-line transaction

processing (OLTP), data warehousing and data marts, thin client,

consolidated messaging, and many other applications.

This white paper will focus on the technical aspects of the HP NetServer

LXr 8500. This server is an 8-way capable product, supporting the latest and

most powerful Intel processor, the Intel

Pentium

III Xeon™. The product is

optimized for the data center; specifically, elements of the architecture,

configuration and industrial design were chosen to meet the requirements of

this market.

Introduction

Data Center Needs

The data center, as a repository of information assets, is an integral

component of the enterprise infrastructure. It generally consists of mission-

critical, application-specific data stored in large databases and on file servers.

Long-emerging trends and technologies such as network computing, the

Internet and massive data growth are dramatically increasing the demands on

this environment.

Selecting the appropriate server equipment that resides at the center of this

information web is critical. Each of the components in a server system must

be balanced and scalable for maximum throughput capability under a variety

of application loads, whether the workload is CPU, I/O or network intensive.

Summary of content (10 pages)

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+3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí ZKLWHýSDSHU $UFKLWHFWXUHî7HFKQRORJ\ý2YHUYLHZ Executive Summary The data center, a mission-critical, enterprise facility, is a complex and demanding technology environment, requiring computing equipment that is extraordinarily reliable, scalable and manageable. Data center server equipment must provide the level of high availability that data center customers demand. The server manufacturer also must provide the level of service and support that these customers expect.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí Scalability 4000 LXr 8500 3000 transactions per second +3ý 2000 LXr 8000 1000 LX Pro 0 July 97 One Pentium Pro Oct 97 Two Pentium Pro Dec 98 Four Pentium Pro June 99 Nov 98 Eight Four Pentium II Pentium III Xeon Xeon (KIWTG"30"6TCPUCEVKQP"RGTHQTOCPEG KORTQXGOGPV"HQT"*2"0GV5GTXGTU UKPEG"3;;9 The Profusion SMP chipset architecture delivers the highest levels of performance and scalability for Intelbased systems.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí 8-way Architecture Overview The HP NetServer LXr 8500, an 8-way capable server, is based on the Intel Profusion chipset: a tightly coupled, multi-ported symmetric multi-processing system architecture (see Figure 2). The multi-ported system controller enables simultaneous communications, via dual 64-bit wide buses, between any combination of eight CPUs, four I/O bridges and up to 32 GB of shared memory.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí bridge, combined with the Profusion chipset, permits the system to handle long bursts of data (streaming) due to the write-posting buffers, another feature that improves data flow and further balances the system. The paper continues by providing detailed information on the following points: • The Profusion design supports from two to eight Intel Pentium II or Pentium III Xeon processors.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí Input/Output (I/O) The Profusion chipset provides for a dedicated I/O bus to which up to four PCI bridges may be attached. Two of the four host-to-PCI bridges (or I/O controller) support 64-bit, 66 MHz PCI transactions, four times the maximum theoretical bandwidth of the current 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI bus. The other two bridges support 64-bit, 33 MHz PCI slots.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí Enhanced Software Intel has released new instructions associated with the Pentium III Xeon processors. These instructions are called Streaming Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD) Extensions. These extensions serve to boost the performance of TCP/IP-based applications for messaging, Internet- and intranet-related functions. Other business-critical applications such as database and ERP applications will also benefit, achieving notable performance increases.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí Server Clustering To further assure system availability, server clustering is often employed. HP supports four different programs from several vendors including Microsoft Cluster Server, Vinca Co-Standby Server, NSI Software Double-Take® and Novell SFT III, all for HP NetServers. Depending upon the cluster program, either 2-node or 4-node clustering is possible, increasing system uptime for the data center.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí Conclusion HP Philosophy and Strategy HP’s approach to meet the needs of the data center is based first on solid system design and manufacturing of all server components and subsystems. The most effective approach to improving performance, availability and scalability is to keep faults from occurring in the first place.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí LXr 8500 LXr 8000 LH 4r LH 3r Corporate L-Series Rackable LH 4 LH 3 LPr LC 3 Corporate L-Series Pedestal E 60 Small to Medium Business E-Series (KIWTG"50"*2"0GV5GTXGT"(COKN[ The HP NetServer LXr 8500 is the second 8-way Intel-based SMP server to have been offered by HP. The first eight-way SMP system was launched in November 1997 and was based upon the Pentium Pro processor. It was one of the first 8-way Pentium Pro servers to market.
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ZKLWHýSDSHU +3ý 1HW6HUYHUý /;Uýåèíí For More Information HP has several white papers and technology briefs that describe in more detail, memory, processor selection, clustering, IPMI and availability. Please see the technical papers section of the HP NetServer web site at: http://www.netserver.hp.com/papers For more information on Intel Pentium III Xeon processors and chipsets, see http://www.intel.com Microsoft Cluster Server is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.