Emulex Provides SAN Connectivity for IBM HS22 Blade Servers

Emulex Corporation announced that its LightPulse 8Gb/s Fibre Channel CIOv Expansion Card is optimized for use with IBM‘s new BladeCenter HS22 Blades. Using the Emulex LPe1205-CIOv (IBM part number 46M6140), IBM can offer blade server users dramatically increased dual-channel I/O throughput and CPU efficiency, translating into increased performance and reduced power consumption.
 
"Blade server popularity is a – if not the – key factor driving data center evolution, and Emulex is at the forefront, providing connectivity solutions that support these next-generation IT environments," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of business development, Emulex. "By leveraging our 8Gb/s Fibre Channel adapter technology for its new HS22 Blade, IBM can provide customers with higher bandwidth, throughput and scalability needed to effectively and efficiently manage their blade server environments."
 
Emulex 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBAs feature enterprise scalability and flexibility through support for Message-Signaled Interrupts eXtended (MSI-X), offering end users greater CPU efficiency, reduced system latency and improved I/O throughput – all of which contribute to increased blade server performance and reduced power consumption in the HS22 Blade.

Additional key features and benefits of leveraging Emulex technology for IBM’s new BladeCenter solutions include:

• The Emulex LPe1205-CIOv utilizes the CIOv slot on HS22 – the preferred slot for optimal scalability and performance in storage area network (SAN) infrastructures – and does not require the added cost and complexity of a Multi-Switch Interconnect Module (MSIM) for IBM BladeCenter.
• The expansion card is also optimized for use with the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, which is installed on all IBM HS22 Blades. To maximize I/O bandwidth, data center servers based on the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series can leverage the Emulex LPe12000 family of 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBAs to achieve the highest dual-channel I/O throughput and CPU efficiency, translating into increased performance and reduced power consumption.
• Emulex HBAs extend across the wide range of operating systems that IBM offers – including Windows, Linux, and VMware – thereby lowering administrative costs and speeding server deployment.

"Our IBM BladeCenter HS22 offer customers yet another innovation and a true alternative to today’s sprawling racks and overheated server rooms," said Alex Yost, vice president, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "Emulex’s 8Gb/s Fibre Channel CIOv Expansion Card provides the critical SAN connectivity and support needed in our new blade solution, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with Emulex on delivering best-in-class technology that enables customers to easily migrate to our blade server environments."
 
Emulex HBAs provide bandwidth that supports more virtual machines (VMs) per server than other solutions, as well as comprehensive virtualization capabilities with support for N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) and Virtual Fabric that enable users to leverage SAN management tools and best practices at the VM level. They are managed using HBAnyware, a secure, automated and centralized enterprise management platform that can be used to seamlessly deploy and manage Emulex HBAs in virtualized or non-virtualized server environments.
 
Emulex LightPulse HBAs and expansion cards are supported across a range of IBM solutions, including System x Servers and Power Servers.