Voltaire 40Gb IB Switch, Option for IBM BladeCenter

IBM announced that Voltaire 40 Gb InfiniBand switch module and 2-port 40 Gb InfiniBand Expansion Card (CFFh) options will be available for IBM BladeCenter

The combination of the 40 Gb switch, 40 Gb HCA, and 3m cable enables to create a powerful InfiniBand solution that can offer the bandwidth and latency required by demanding applications used by financial and high-performance clients. You can use these components to create a clustered high-performance solution with less than 200 ns switch latency and less than 1 us HCA latency.

IBM BladeCenter has always been about offering choice to our clients right from servers to chassis and type of interconnect fabric. Today clients are looking to increase utilization of their existing servers in order to reduce cost and IT footprint within the company. IBM BladeCenter has always been on the forefront of new technology and innovations whether it is on Ethernet, Fibre Channel, or SAS. This announcement offers an end-to-end 40 Gb (4X QDR) InfiniBand solution to our clients. Clients can leverage the resiliency of BladeCenter and the performance of 4X QDR InfiniBand in a single package.

The InfiniBand Switch Module is based on a Voltaire design and offers fourteen 40 Gb ports to each server and sixteen ports out of the chassis per switch. This solution offers a no-compromise, congestion-free solution to meet even the most performance-hungry applications.

Three products being announced
as part of this solution are:

4X QDR InfiniBand Switch Module
4X QDR 2-port InfiniBand adapter
3m Copper QDR InfiniBand QSFP Cable

Voltaire 40 Gb InfiniBand Switch Module
for IBM BladeCenter
The Voltaire 40 Gb InfiniBand Switch Module (4X QDR) offers clients the bandwidth and latency required to meet the requirements of even the most intensive applications. This double-high switch has 14 internal and 16 external QSFP-based ports.

2-port 40 Gb InfiniBand Expansion Card (CFFh) for IBM BladeCenter
To match the performance of the 40 Gb switch, BladeCenter will also offer a 2-port 40 Gb (4X QDR) InfiniBand adapter in a CFFh form factor so clients can combine it with other fabrics. This adapter is based on the latest PCIe gen2 architecture to offer the highest performance.

The new InfiniBand expansion card features include:

Offers an end-to-end solution at up to 40 Gb
Provides a PCI Express x8 host interface for high-speed connection
Offers connectivity to high-speed I/O module bays in the BCH chassis
Enables use of up to two 40 Gb ports from the blade server to the external network
2-port card allows use of two 40 Gb High-Speed Switch Modules (HSSM) in a chassis

3m Copper QDR InfiniBand QSFP Cable
To provide a complete end-to-end solution, IBM will also offer a 3m Copper QSFP cable that will enable clients to connect these switch modules within the rack. This cable has been tested to offer the highest throughput to match the efficiency and performance of the switch modules.

Warranty
One year, Customer Replaceable Unit (CRU), limited warranty

Key prerequisites
IBM BladeCenter H chassis

Planned availability date

July 14, 2009: Voltaire 40 Gb InfiniBand Switch Module, 2-port 40 Gb InfiniBand Expansion Card (CFFh)
August 19, 2009: 3m Copper QDR InfiniBand QSFP Cable