sun fire x4150, x4250, and x4450 server architecture

SUN FIRE™ X4150, X4250, AND X4450SERVER ARCHITECTUREBreakthrough Density Using Sun and Intel Technology

White PaperSeptember 2008

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Managing Datacenter Capacity and Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Introducing the Sun Fire™ X4150, X4250, and X4450 Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Comparing the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Intel Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Multi-Chip Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 Server Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Sun Fire X4150 System-Level Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Sun Fire X4150 Server Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14





System Processors and Chipsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Memory Subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

I/O Subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Enclosure Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Service Processor and System Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

RAS Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Enterprise-Class Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

The Solaris™ Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Linux Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Microsoft Windows Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

VMware Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

1 Executive Summary


Executive Summary

In recent years, emerging applications and expanding web services have fueled an

escalating demand for mission-critical IT resources, with increasing numbers of

collaborative business initiatives focused on information sharing and continuous data

availability. As a result, IT data centers experienced rapid growth as the number of

applications, the population of users, and the quantity of transactions multiplied.

Today IT managers face the task of administering a complex storage and computing

infrastructure — one that typically contains many small servers added over time to

meet ongoing resource demands. Since administrative, energy, and real estate costs

continue to skyrocket, data center sprawl can severely strain IT budgets. To curb

operational expenses, many companies are turning to consolidation and virtualization

to improve resource utilization and enhance business agility.

Sun’s expertise in delivering mission-critical computing solutions and its focus on eco-

responsibility are evident in designs of a new platform family — the Sun Fire™ X4150,

X4250, and X4450 servers. Using high performance Intel® Xeon® processor technology,

Sun has engineered powerful 1U and 2U systems that are ideal for HPC, grid

computing, database, web infrastructure, and consolidation and virtualization

initiatives. These systems offer breakthrough compute, memory, storage, and I/O

density. At the same time, they feature tremendous energy efficiency as well as flexible

support for multiple operating systems — the Solaris™ Operating System, Linux,

Windows, and VMware.

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers showcase Intel’s talent for creating high-

performance commodity chip sets along with Sun’s innovative engineering and quality

system design. In addition to remarkable expandability and density (such as over 2

terabytes of internal storage or up to four six-core Intel Xeon processors in a single 2U

chassis), these servers feature several redundant and hot-swappable components,

efficient front-to-back air flow, highly efficient power supplies, and built-in system

management tools. Engineered for mission-critical application availability, the Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers strive to conserve valuable energy resources and

lower operational expenses while delivering high performance and density in an

extremely small footprint.

2 Managing Capacity and Complexity


Chapter 1

Managing Capacity and Complexity

In today’s competitive global marketplace, companies place ever-increasing demands

on the IT infrastructure for compute and storage resources. As a result, most

datacenters have grown exponentially in recent years, with large numbers of servers

and storage racks continuously added to satisfy business requirements and meet

escalating resource demands.

Such rapid growth has produced its own set of challenges. The cost of maintaining

large numbers of servers can prove to be formidable, especially at a time when real

estate costs are rising, energy costs are skyrocketing, and department budgets are flat

or declining. Managing the complexity that results from sprawling server resources

puts tremendous strain on IT staff and budgets. To successfully meet business needs,

IT management must control both cost and complexity while simultaneously scaling

processing and storage capacity.

Today the responsibility of managing datacenter capacity and rapid growth commonly

fuels IT initiatives like consolidation and virtualization. Typically, these initiatives strive

to improve resource utilization, reduce administrative complexity, and drive down IT

costs. Consolidating many small servers into fewer powerful systems helps to minimize

administrative workloads while increasing capacity and conserving valuable floor

space. It can also help to reduce energy costs, vastly improving available performance

relative to the amount of energy consumed. In addition, when IT organizations

consolidate under-utilized resources, virtualization technologies can balance IT

resource demands, applying key resources as needed to business-critical applications to

enhance agility.

Introducing the Sun Fire™ X4150, X4250, and X4450 ServersTo help IT managers address the challenge of increasing capacity while managing

growth, Sun offers new Intel® Xeon® processor-based systems — the Sun Fire X4150,

X4250, and X4450 servers. These systems feature high performance and unprecedented

density in energy-efficient and compact 1U and 2U form-factors. With capabilities that

complement the rest of the Sun server product line, the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 servers raise the bar for 32- and 64-bit enterprise-class computing. These

systems offer:

• Best-in-class performance. The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers feature

dual-, quad-, and six-core Intel Xeon 5000 and 7000 Sequence processors. With large

integrated caches and high clock speeds, these processors offer high system

performance and throughput compared with systems based on earlier generation

Intel chipsets. In high-end configurations, Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers

can house multiple Intel Xeon processors — for example, the Sun Fire X4450 server



supports up to four six-core Intel Xeon X7450 processors clocked at 2.66 GHz, for a

maximum of 24 cores and impressive performance in a compact 2U chassis.

• Remarkable density. Density is the cornerstone of the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 server designs. When populated in a 40-rack unit (RU) enclosure, the 1U Sun

Fire X4150 server facilitates a single rack with up to 320 cores, 680 DIMM slots, and

120 PCI Express (PCIe) slots. The 2U Sun Fire X4450 server enables a single rack with

up to 480 cores maximum. In addition, the Sun Fire X4250 server can house over 2

terabytes internally using sixteen 2.5-inch SAS drives (via a PCIe Host Bus Adapter) in

a single 2U chassis. The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers provide the type of

density needed to achieve consolidation and virtualization efficiencies. Such density

facilitates the consolidation of many smaller servers, helping to conserve real estate,

lower energy expense, and reduce costly administrative talent. In addition, these

servers support multiple operating systems, which helps to simplify consolidation

efforts and diminish server sprawl.

• Extensive system expandability. The ability to expand a server over time reduces the

need for additional capital acquisitions and lowers application lifecycle costs. The

Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers feature two CPU sockets per system and 64GB of

memory (using 4-gigabyte FB-DIMMs), while the Sun Fire X4450 houses four sockets

and up to 128 gigabytes of memory. The Sun Fire X4150 and X4450 servers support a

maximum of 1 terabyte of internal storage, while the Sun Fire X4250 server allows

over 2 terabytes of internal storage. Four GigabitEthernet ports are standard on all

systems. Because of breakthrough system densities, these servers can scale to

support new users, more transactions, or new 32-bit or 64-bit applications, enhancing

longevity and increasing overall return on investment (ROI).

• Improved energy efficiency. Sun offers a portfolio of eco-responsible products and

computing solutions to address customer IT needs. In the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 servers, Intel Xeon processors incorporate new technologies that minimize

power use and enhance energy efficiency. The Intel® Core Microarchitecture

optimizes processor performance relative to the power consumed. Power

management capabilities limit power to unused execution units in each core, which

helps to reduce power and cooling requirements. High-efficiency power supplies in

the server chassis lessen overall power consumption. Variable speed fans, disk carrier

design, and front-to-back air flow in the chassis help to effectively cool the system

and maintain appropriate processor and system ambient temperatures.

• Enterprise-class high availability. The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are

designed with enterprise-class RAS (Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability)

features. To maximize uptime, systems include redundant hot-swappable fans and

can be configured with redundant hot-swappable power supplies. Using a Sun

StorageTek SAS RAID Host Bus Adapter (HBA), internal SAS disk drives can be

configured for RAID 0, 1, 1E, 10, 5, 5EE, 50, 6, and 60 —when mirroring is

implemented, drives are also hot-swappable. Four integrated GigabitEthernet ports



enhance network availability — without consuming a PCIe slot — and can be

implemented in failover configurations. On-board system management tools

encourage remote, proactive monitoring and intervention.

• Simplified system management. To support out-of-band management, the Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers incorporate a service processor that features robust

“lights-out” management capabilities. This built-in, hardware-based functionality

allows administrators to monitor and manage systems remotely, allowing them to

take corrective action as necessary and minimize unplanned downtime.

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers combine best-in-class performance with

noteworthy compute, memory, and I/O capacities. As a result, these systems are

designed to scale up, scale out, and scale within, enabling deployment in a wide range

of application architectures:

• Scale-up architectures: With multiple cores, these servers are well-suited to scale for

growing workloads that deliver web, database, and other key infrastructure services.

• Scale-out architectures: With large memory capacities, internal storage, four

GigabitEthernet ports, and high-bandwidth PCIe expansion for high-speed system

interconnects (such as fiber channel and InfiniBand), these servers can scale to solve

complex computing problems demanding intensive computing power and

data bandwidth.

• Scale-within: With the ability to support Solaris 10 Virtualization and VMware, Sun

Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are ideal systems to host virtualization

technologies and consolidate multiple applications within a single

extensible platform.



Figure 1 shows the 1U Sun Fire X4150 server and the 2U Sun Fire X4250 and X4450

server enclosures.

Figure 1. Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers

Comparing the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 serversTable 1 summarizes features of the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, X4450 server platforms.

These enterprise class systems are good solutions for applications where high density is

needed to satisfy fast-growing workloads such as OLTP, database, and web

service delivery.

Table 1. Feature Comparison for Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers

Sun Fire X4250 Server



Feature Sun Fire X4150 Server Sun Fire X4250 Server Sun Fire X4450 Server

Chassis 1U 2U 2U

Number of CPU sockets 2 2 4

Supported processor types

Dual-core Intel Xeon Processor 5200 Series, or quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5400 Series

Dual-core Intel Xeon Processor 5200 Series, or quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5400 Series

Dual-core Intel Xeon Processor 7200 Series, or quad- or six-core Intel Xeon Processor 7400 Series

Number of cores per 40 RU rack enclosure Up to 320 cores Up to 160 cores Up to 320 cores

Processor system bus Dual Front-Side Bus (FSB) Dual Front-Side Bus (FSB) Quad Front-Side Bus (FSB)



As Table 1 shows, the systems share a number of features, including:

• Intel Xeon-based architecture supporting multiple dual-, quad-, or six-core processors

• Large memory capacities using FB-DIMM memory modules

• Multiple high-bandwidth Front Side Bus (FSB) system interconnects

• Large-capacity internal storage

• Expandability using PCIe cards

• Built-in quad GigabitEthernet support

• An integrated service processor for lights-out system management

• Enterprise-class RAS features such as redundant, hot-swappable power supplies, fans,

and disk drives

• Support for multiple operating systems

Notable differences between the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers include:

• Chassis enclosure (1U versus 2U)

• Number of processor sockets (2 versus 4)

• Supported processor types (Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Sequence versus Intel Xeon

Processor 7000 Sequence)

• Memory capacity (up to 64GB versus 128GB, using 4GB FB-DIMMs)

• Internal storage capabilities (up to 8 or 16 SAS drives maximum, depending on

server model)

• PCI expansion capabilities (3 PCIe slots versus 6 PCIe slots)

Multiple off-the-shelf configurations of each platform are available, along with a wide

spectrum of options to tailor each system for specific workload requirements. The Sun

Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers offer the density and configurability necessary to

realize operational, administrative, and energy cost-savings — the goals of many IT

strategic plans.

Number of memory slots 16 16 32

Memory capacity Up to 64 GB (using 4 GB FB-DIMMs)

Up to 64 GB (using 4 GB FB-DIMMs)

Up to 128 GB (using 4 GB FB-DIMMs)

Memory type DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 FB-DIMM

Internal storage Up to 8 2.5-inch SAS (with HBA)

Up to 16 2.5-inch SAS (with HBA)

Up to 8 2.5-inch SAS (with HBA)

Removable media 1 EIDE DVD/RW 1 EIDE DVD/RW 1 EIDE DVD/RW

Number of PCIe slots Three total (x8) Six total (x8) Six total (two x8 and four x4)

Number of GigE ports 4 on-board 4 on-board 4 on-board

Number of USB ports 4 external plus 1 internal 4 external plus 1 internal 4 external plus 1 internal

System managementIntegrated service processor and built-in lights-out management

Integrated service processor and built-in lights-out management

Integrated service processor and built-in lights-out management

RAS componentsHot swappable and redundant power supplies, fans, disk drives

Hot swappable and redundant power supplies, fans, disk drives

Hot swappable and redundant power supplies, fans, disk drives

Feature Sun Fire X4150 Server Sun Fire X4250 Server Sun Fire X4450 Server



A Choice of Operating Systems To optimize flexibility and investment protection, Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450

servers support a choice of operating systems, including:

• Solaris Operating System (OS)

• Linux operating systems (64-bit Red Hat or SuSE Linux)

• Microsoft Windows

• VMware ESX Server

Chapter 4 describes the OS releases supported as of this writing. Please see sun.com/

x64 for the latest information on supported operating systems and environments.

Chassis Design Innovations Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers share common chassis design characteristics

with other Sun x64 and SPARC® server platforms. This approach not only provides a

consistent look and feel across the product line, but simplifies administration through

consistent placement and shared components. Beyond consistency, this approach

provides a design focus that places key technology where it can make a difference in

the datacenter.

• Enhanced System and Component Serviceability

Finding and identifying servers and components in a modern datacenter can be a

challenge. Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are optimized for lights-out

datacenter configurations with easy to identify servers and modules. Color-coded

operator panels provide easy-to-understand diagnostics and systems are designed for

deployment in hot-isle/cold-isle multi-racked deployments, with both front and rear

diagnostic LEDs to pinpoint faulty components. “Fault Remind” features help to identify

failed components.

Consistent connector layouts for power, networking, and management make moving

between Sun systems straightforward. All hot-plug components are tool-less and easily

available for serviceability. For instance, an integral hinged lid provides access to dual

fan modules so that fans can be serviced without exposing sensitive components or

causing unnecessary downtime.

• Robust Chassis, Component, and Subassembly Design

Sun’s volume servers share chassis designs that are carefully engineered to provide

reliability and cool operation. Even features such as the honeycomb-shaped chassis

ventilation holes help to provide the best compromise for strength, maximum airflow,

and maximum electronic attenuation. Next-generation hard disk drive carriers enhance

chassis ventilation, enabling greater storage density while increasing system airflow.

A removable disk cage in each system plugs directly in front of the fan tray assemblies,

allowing airflow to be directed both above and below disk drives, and above and below

memory FB-DIMMs and mezzanine boards to efficiently cool the system. Dual cooling



fan modules are isolated from the chassis to avoid transferring rotational vibration to

other system components. Also, the integration of the fan power board into the Fan

Tray assembly protects users from electrical shock during fan removal or insertion.

In spite of extreme computational, I/O, and storage density, Sun servers are able to

maintain adequate cooling using conventional technologies. Efficient modular fan

assemblies keep the chassis within an effective operating temperature range.

Minimized DC-to-DC power conversions also contribute to overall system efficiency. By

providing 12 volt power to the motherboard, power conversion stages are eliminated.

This approach reduces generated heat, and introduces further efficiencies to

the system.

• Minimized Cabling for Maximized Airflow

To minimize cabling and increase reliability, a variety of smaller boards and riser cards

are used:

– Power distribution boards (PDBs) distribute system power from the dual power

supplies to the motherboard and to the disk backplane (via a connector board).

– Connector boards eliminate the need for many discrete cables, providing a direct

card plug-in interconnect to distribute control and most data signals to the disk

backplane, fan boards, and the PDB.

– Fan boards provide connections for power and control for both the primary and

secondary fans in the front of the chassis. No cables are required since every

dual fan module plugs directly into one of these PCBs which, in turn, plug into

the Connector board.

– PCIe riser cards plug directly into the motherboard, allowing PCIe cards to be

easily installed.

– The disk backplane mounts to the disk cages in the enclosure, delivering disk

data through one or two 4-channel discrete mini-SAS cables from the installed

HBA card. An 8-disk backplane is offered for the Sun Fire X4150 and X4450 servers

while the Sun Fire X4250 server supports a 16-disk backplane. Also provided via

the disk backplane are two USB connections to the front of the system.

Chapter 3 gives more details on the chassis, system features, and internal components,

highlighting similarities and differences between the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 servers.

9 The Intel Advantage


Chapter 2

The Intel Advantage

Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Intel Corporation are collaborating in an alliance targeted

at building a comprehensive family of servers based on Intel® Xeon® processors and at

optimizing performance for the Solaris Operating System (OS). With the Intel processor-

based Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers, Sun extends its existing X64 system

portfolio and complements its powerhouse SPARC® processor-based platforms. Moving

forward, Sun and Intel continue to participate in joint engineering efforts aimed at

enhancing the Solaris OS, Java™ technologies, and systems built using Intel Xeon

processor designs.

In this new family of servers, Sun’s well-known engineering expertise combines with an

emphasis on performance, quality, reliability, and eco-responsibility. The Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers leverage dual-, quad-, or six- core Intel Xeon

processors that feature key Intel technologies for virtualization, I/O acceleration, and

energy efficiency. These 64-bit processors are compatible with the legacy of IA-32

software, instantly making available a large volume of existing 32-bit applications as

well as emerging 64-bit applications.

Figure 2. 50W Quad-core Intel Xeon L5420 Processor.

This chapter introduces the Intel Xeon processors and chipsets used in these new Sun

models. The Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers have two processor sockets that can be

populated with either dual- or quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Series for a

maximum of 8 cores. In contrast, the Sun Fire X4450 server contains four processor

sockets — supporting up to four dual-, quad-, or six-core Intel Xeon Processor 7000

Series, for a maximum of 24 cores in a single 2U chassis. The related system chipsets

include a Northbridge Memory Controller Hub (MCH) and a Southbridge Input/Output

Hub (IOH). For an overview of Intel chipsets used in these Sun servers, see Chapter 3.

For detailed information on the Intel chipsets, see the web sites:

• www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon7000/




Multi-Chip PackagingThe Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Sequence processors use a Multi-Chip Package (MCP) to

deliver dual- and quad-core configurations, while the design of the Intel Xeon Processor

7000 Sequence enables dual-, quad-, and six- core configurations. The processor

packaging approach increases yields and lowers manufacturing costs, helping Intel and

Sun to deliver higher performance and throughput at lower price points.

Intel Xeon Processor 5200 and 5400 SeriesBased on the Intel Core Microarchitecture, the Intel Xeon Processor 5200 and 5400

Series employ a second-generation 45nm manufacturing process that incorporates

smaller transistors, allowing the processors to consume less power, to achieve faster

switching times, and to provide greater density. (Earlier generation 5100 and 5300

processors used a 65nm manufacturing process.) The Intel Xeon 5200 and 5400 Series

processors feature microarchitecture enhancements, including larger Level-2 caches, in

comparison with earlier generation processors.

The Intel Xeon Processor 5200 and 5400 Series processors provide performance for

multiple application types and user environments in a substantially low power

envelope. The dual-core 5200 Series processors provide significant performance

headroom for multithreaded applications and can boost system utilization through

virtualization and application responsiveness. The quad-core 5400 Series processors

maximize performance-per-watt, providing increased density for datacenter

deployments where energy efficiency is a key goal.

Figure 3 shows logical diagrams for the 5000 Sequence. The 5200 Series processors

include dual execution cores, each with a 64K Level-1 cache (32K instruction/32K data).

The dual cores share a Level-2 cache (6 MB on the 5200 Series) to increase cache-to-

processor data transfers, maximize memory-to-processor bandwidth, and reduce

latency. The 5400 Series processors provide four execution cores. Each pair of cores

shares a 6 MB Level-2 cache, for a total of 12 MB. With two sockets in Sun Fire X4150 or

X4250 servers, 5400 Series processor designs enable a maximum of 8 processor cores in

a single 1U or 2U form factor.

Figure 3. Intel Series 5200 use a single die in one package while the quad-core

Series 5400 processors use two die



Intel Xeon Processor 7200 and 7400 SeriesIn Sun Fire X4450 servers, the dual-core Intel Xeon Processor 7200 Series processor

incorporates two die per processor package, with each die containing a single

processor core (Figure 4). The Intel Xeon Processor 7400 Series is a monolithic design

that supports up to six cores. In a Sun Fire X4450 server configuration with four Intel

Xeon 7400 Series processors, this enables a maximum density of 24 execution cores in a

compact 2U enclosure.

Figure 4. Intel Xeon 7200 Series uses two die per package while the Intel Xeon

7400 Series is a monolithic design supporting up to six cores

The 5000 and 7000 Sequence processor families share these additional features:

• An integrated Level-1 (L1) instruction and data cache (64KB per core)

• Large integrated Level-2 (L2) cache. The Intel Xeon 7400 Series processors also feature

up to 16 MB of shared Level 3 cache.

• Multiple, independent Front Side Buses (FSBs) that act as high-bandwidth system

interconnects. The Intel Xeon 5000 Sequence processors support both 1066 MT/sec

and 1333 MT/sec Front Side Buses enabling theoretical data transfer rates of 8.66

GB/sec (at 1066 MT/sec) or 10.5 GB/sec (at 1333 MT/sec). The 7000 Sequence

supports Front Side Bus interconnects at 1066 MT/sec.

Like the Intel Xeon Processor 5200 and 5400 Series, the 7400 Series processors use a

new, second-generation 45nm manufacturing process along with an enhanced

microarchitecture. (Earlier generation 7300 processors used a 65nm manufacturing

process.) The 45nm manufacturing process leverages the use of smaller transistors,

enabling higher densities, lower power consumption, and faster switching times.

Microarchitecture enhancements support up to six cores, large Level-2 caches, and a

shared Level-3 cache of up to 16 MB. As a result, 7400 Series processors offer fast

performance and innovative features that are ideal for addressing server consolidation

and virtualization initiatives.



Intel Core Microarchitecture WIth a goal of reducing the processor energy footprint, the Intel Core Microarchitecture

delivers high performance with low power consumption. The microarchitecture

includes several features designed specifically to enhance performance while

maintaining energy efficiency:

• Out-of-order execution conserves processor-to-memory bandwidth, improving

memory access and increasing overall processing performance

• Speculative prefetches move data to the L2 cache before an L1 cache request occurs

• Large L2 caches (6 MB on dual-core 5200 Series, 12 MB on quad-core 5400 Series,

8 MB on dual-core 7200 Series, 6 MB on quad-core 7400 Series, and 9 MB on six-core

7400 Series) help to increase system memory efficiency and enhance performance.

On the Intel Xeon 7400 Series, up to 16 MB of shared Level-3 cache can enable ready

access to the working set for performance-critical applications.

• Power management capabilities modulate power delivery to execution cores,

limiting power to unused components

These features help to enhance performance and conserve processor power, which can

translate into energy savings and lower operational costs. Table 2 and Table 3 list

typical power envelopes for Intel Xeon processors that are configurable in the Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers as of this writing. Additional processor characteristics

are also included.

Table 2. Power Envelope for Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Sequence used in Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers

Table 3. Power Envelope for Intel Xeon Processor 7000 Sequence used in Sun Fire X4450 servers

Processor Speed L2 Cache L3 Cache FSB Power

Dual-core X5260 3.33 GHz 6 MB None 1333 MT/sec 80 W

Quad-core E5410 2.33 GHz 12 MB None 1333 MT/sec 80 W



Quad-core X5460 3.16 GHz 12 MB None 1333 MT/sec 120 W

Quad-core L5420 2.50 GHz 12 MB None 1333 MT/sec 50 W

Processor Speed L2 Cache L3 Cache FSB Power

Dual-core E7220 2.93 GHz 8 MB None 1066 MT/sec 80 W

Quad-core E7420 2.13 GHz 6 MB 16 MB Shared 1066 MT/sec 90 W

Quad-core E7440 2.40 GHz 6 MB 16 MB Shared 1066 MT/sec 90 W

Six-core L7455 2.13 GHz 9 MB 16 MB Shared 1066 MT/sec 65 W

Six-core E7450 2.40 GHz 9 MB 16 MB Shared 1066 MT/sec 90 W

Six-core X7460 2.66 GHz 9 MB 16 MB Shared 1066 MT/sec 130 W

13 Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 Server Architectures


Chapter 3

Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 Server Architectures

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are designed to provide best-in-class

performance with high reliability and low power consumption. This chapter details

physical and architectural aspects of the systems, highlighting similarities and

differences between the server designs.

Sun Fire X4150 System-Level Architecture Figure 5 contains a system-level block diagram for Sun Fire X4150 servers. The

architecture of the Sun Fire X4150 server is similar to that of the Sun Fire X4250 and

X4450 servers — multiple host processors connect to a Northbridge Memory Controller

Hub (MCH) which in turn connects to a Southbridge I/O Hub (IOH). Details about key

subsystems (system chipsets, memory subsystems, I/O subsystems, etc.) are given later

in this chapter.

Figure 5. Block Diagram of Sun Fire X4150 Server with SAS drives

A2A3

A1A0

B2B3

B1B0

D1D0

D2D3

C1C0

C2C3

FSB1333 MT/s

FSB1333 MT/s

10.5 GB/s

10.5 GB/s

Dual FSBto MCH

XEONTM

XEONTM

Cha

nnel

A

5.3

GB

/s

Cha

nnel

B

5.3

GB

/s

Cha

nnel

C

5.3

GB

/s

Cha

nnel

D

5.3

GB

/s

PCI-E

x16

- 2

PCI-E

x16

- 1

PCI-E

x16

- 0

PC

I-E x

8

PC

I-E x

8

PC

I-E x

8

8x SASHDDs

MCH

Blackford5000P

2x USB

PC

I 32-

bit 3

3 M

Hz

PCI-E x4

AST2000Q62611.1 GP0608 TAN A2

2x RearUSB 2.0

1x InternalUSB 2.0

CD/DVD

2x FrontUSB 2.0

2x 1GBEthernet2 & 3

2x 1GBEthernet0 & 1

SerialRJ-45

Management10/100Ethernet

VGAVideo

USBto IDE

USB Hub

IOHESB-2

US

B

PCI-E

ESI (PCI-E)

PC

I-E S

AS

/RA

IDC

ontro

ller

DIMMs

DIMMs

DIMMs

DIMMs

Intel Xeon5200/5400

Intel Xeon5200/5400

IDE



Sun Fire X4150 Server OverviewThe Sun Fire X4150 server includes these major components:

• One or two dual- or quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Series

• Up to 64 GB of memory populated in 16 Fully-Buffered Dual Inline Memory Module

(FB-DIMM) slots (1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB FB-DIMMs are supported)

• Four on-board 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet ports

• Three low-profile PCIe slots, each 8-lane

• Up to eight internal 2.5-inch SAS drives (via a PCIe Host Bus Adapter)

• Five USB 2.0 ports

• An integrated service processor with embedded functionality for lights-out

management

• Up to two hot-swappable, high-efficiency power supply units (PSUs) for

N+N redundancy

• Seven hot-swappable, variable speed fan modules (for N+1 redundancy), each

containing two fans operating under environmental monitoring

Sun Fire X4150 System EnclosureThe Sun Fire X4150 server enclosure is designed to occupy one rack unit in a standard

19-inch rack (Table 4).

Table 4. Dimensions and weight of the Sun Fire X4150 server

Dimension U.S. International

Height 1.73 inches (1 RU) 44 millimeters

Width 16.75 inches17.47 inches (including “ears”)

425.5 millimeters443.9 millimeters (including “ears”))

Depth 28 inches28.99 inches (including PSU handles)

711.2 millimeters736.4 millimeters (including PSU handles)

Weight 30.93 pounds minimum40.60 pounds maximum

14.028 kilograms minimum18.418 kilograms maximum



Sun Fire X4150 System Front and Rear PerspectivesFigure 6 illustrates the front and rear panels of the Sun Fire X4150 server.

Figure 6. Sun Fire X4150 server, front and rear panels

External features and connections include:

• Front and rear status indicator lights, reporting “locator” (white), “service required”

(amber), and “activity status” (green) for the system and components

• Up to eight hot-plug SAS disk drives, which insert through the front panel

• One slimline, slot-accessible DVD-RW, accessible through the front panel

• Four USB ports, two on the front panel and two on the rear. (A fifth internal USB port

is used to attach internal boot devices.)

• Up to two power supply units (for N+1 redundancy) with integrated fans, with each

power supply having a single, independent AC plug on the rear panel

• Rear power-supply indicator lights, showing the status of each hot-swappable

power supply

• Four 10/100/1000BaseT autosensing Ethernet ports, accessible on the rear panel

• Three PCIe slots, in which low-profile cards can be installed from the rear panel

• Two management ports (one 10/100BaseT Ethernet port and one RJ-45 serial

management port on the rear panel) for default connections to the service processor

• VGA video port with an analog HD-15 VGA connector on the rear panel

System status indicators

Hard disk drives

DVD drive

Component status indicators

USB ports

Redundant (N+1) power supply units PCIe slots

System status indicators 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports VGA portSerial and network

management ports USB ports



Sun Fire X4250 System-Level Architecture

Figure 7 contains a system-level block diagram for Sun Fire X4250 servers. The

architecture of the Sun Fire X4250 server is similar to that of the Sun Fire X4150 server

— the motherboard contains dual host processors that connect to a Northbridge

Memory Controller Hub (MCH) which in turn connects to a Southbridge I/O Hub (IOH).

Details about key subsystems (system chipsets, memory subsystems, I/O subsystems,

etc.) are given later in this chapter.

Figure 7. Block Diagram of Sun Fire X4250 Server with SAS drives

Sun Fire X4250 Server OverviewThe Sun Fire X4250 server includes these major components:

• One or two dual- or quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Series

• Up to 64 GB of memory populated in 16 Fully-Buffered Dual Inline Memory Module

(FB-DIMM) slots (1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB FB-DIMMs are supported)

• Four on-board 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet ports

• Six low-profile PCIe slots, all 8-lane

• Up to sixteen internal 2.5-inch SAS drives (via a SAS Expander and a PCIe Host

Bus Adapter)


A2A3

A1A0

B2B3

B1B0

D1D0

D2D3

C1C0

C2C3

FSB 1333 MT/s

FSB 1333 MT/s

10.5 GB/s

10.5 GB/s

Dual FSBto MCH

XEONTM

XEONTM

Cha

nnel

A

5.3

GB

/s

Cha

nnel

B

5.3

GB

/s

Cha

nnel

C

5.3

GB

/s

Cha

nnel

D

5.3

GB

/s

PCIe

x8

- 3

PCIe

x8

- 0P

CIe

x8

PC

Ie x

8

PC

Ie x

8

16x SAS HDDs

MCH

Blackford5000P

2x U

SB

PC

I 32-

bit

33 M

Hz

PCIe x4

PCIe

x8

- 4

PCIe

x8

- 1

2x RearUSB 2.0

1x InternalUSB 2.0

CD/DVD

2x FrontUSB 2.0

2x 1GBEthernet2 & 3

2x 1GBEthernet0 & 1

SerialRJ-45


VGAVideo

USBto IDE

USB Hub

US

B

IDE

PCIe

ESI (PCIe)

DIMMs

DIMMs

DIMMs

DIMMs

Intel Xeon5200/5400

Intel Xeon5200/5400

PC

Ie S

AS

/RA

IDC

ontr

olle

r

+ +

+ +

PCIeSwitch

+ +

+ +

PCIeSwitch

+ +

+ +

PCIeSwitch AST2000

Q62611.1 GP0608 TAN A2

IOHESB-2

PCIe

x8

- 5

PCIe

x8

- 2

+ +

+ +

SAS Expander



• A built-in service processor with integrated functionality for lights-out management


N+1 redundancy

• Six hot-swappable, variable speed fan modules (for N+1 redundancy), each with two

fans operating under environmental monitoring and control

Sun Fire X4250 System Enclosure

The Sun Fire X4250 server enclosure is designed to occupy two rack units in a standard

19-inch rack (Table 5).


Sun Fire X4250 System Front and Rear PerspectivesFigure 8 illustrates the front and rear panels of the Sun Fire X4250 server.



Height 3.46 inches (2 RU) 87.85 millimeters





Weight 43.00 pounds minimum 58.45 pounds maximum

19.506 kilograms minimum 26.415 kilograms maximum


Hard disk drives DVD drive


USB ports



management ports USB ports



External features and connections include:



• Up to sixteen hot-plug SAS disk drives, which insert through the front panel







power supply


• Six PCIe slots, in which low-profile cards can be installed from the rear panel

• Two management ports (one 10/100c Ethernet port and one RJ-45 serial



Sun Fire X4450 System-Level Architecture

Figure 9 contains a system-level block diagram for Sun Fire X4450 servers. The

architecture is similar to the Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers’ system-level

architecture except that four processor sockets interface to the Northbridge MCH and

Southbridge IOH, and the system contains 32 memory slots. Key subsystems (the

chipset, the memory subsystem, the I/O subsystem, etc.) are discussed later in

this chapter.



Figure 9. Block Diagram of Sun Fire X4450 Server with SAS Drives

Sun Fire X4450 Server OverviewThe Sun Fire X4450 server includes the following major components:

• Up to four dual-core, quad- or six-core Intel Xeon Processor 7000 Series

• Up to 128 GB of memory in 32 Fully-Buffered Dual Inline Memory Module (FB-DIMM)

slots (1GB, 2GB, or 4GB FB-DIMMs supported)

• Four on-board 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet ports

• Six low-profile PCIe slots, two 8-lane and four 4-lane

• Up to eight internal 2.5-inch SAS drives (via a PCIe Host Bus Adapter)


• A service processor that features embedded functionality to support integrated

lights-out management


N+1 redundancy

• Six hot-swappable, variable speed fan modules (for N+1 redundancy), each with two

fans operating under environmental monitoring and control

D1D0

D2D3D4D5D6D7

C1C0

C2C3C4C5C6C7

A6A7

A5A4A3A2A1A0

B6B7

B5B4B3B2B1B0

Intel Xeon7200/7400

Intel Xeon7200/7400

FSB1066 MT/s

FSB1066 MT/s

FSB1066 MT/s

FSB1066 MT/s

XEONTM

XEONTM

XEONTM

XEONTM

Cha

nnel

A

Cha

nnel

BC

hann

el C

Cha

nnel

D

PCI-E

x8

- 3

PCI-E

x8

- 4

PCI-E

x8

- 5

PCI-E

x16

- 0

PCI-E

x16

- 1

PCI-E

x16

- 2

PC

I-E x

4

PC

I-E x

8

PC

I-E x

4

PC

I-E x

4

2x USB

PC

I 32-

bit 3

3 M

Hz

PCI-E x4

AST2000Q62611.1 GP0608 TAN A2

PC

I-E x

8

PC

I-E x

4

2x RearUSB 2.0

1x InternalUSB 2.0

CD/DVD

2x FrontUSB 2.0

2x 1GBEthernet2 & 3

2x 1GBEthernet0 & 1

SerialRJ-45


VGAVideo

USBto IDE

USB Hub

IOHESB-2

US

B

IDE

PCI-E

ESI (PCI-E)MCH

Clarksboro7000P

8x SASHDDs

DIMMs

DIMMs

DIMMs

DIMMs

PC

I-E S

AS/R

AID

Con

trolle

r

8.5 GB/s

8.5 GB/s



Sun Fire X4450 System EnclosureThe Sun Fire X4450 server enclosure occupies two rack units in a standard 19-inch rack

(Table 6).


Sun Fire X4450 System Front and Rear PerspectivesFigure 10 illustrates the front and rear panels of the Sun Fire X4450 server


External features include:



• Up to eight hot-plug SAS, which insert through the front panel


Height 3.46 inches (2 RU) 87.85 millimeters





Weight 42.13 pounds minimum56.28 pounds maximum

19.109 kilograms minimum25.528 kilograms maximum


Hard disk drives

DVD drive


USB ports



Management ports USB ports









power supply


• Six PCIe slots, in which low-profile cards can be installed from the rear panel

• Two management ports (one 10/100BaseT Ethernet port and one RJ-45 serial



System Processors and ChipsetsAlthough the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are based on different Intel

Xeon processors and associated chipsets, they share a similar system-level architecture.

In these systems, multiple host processors interface to the Northbridge MCH over

multiple Front-Side Buses (FSBs) — two FSBs in the Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers

and four in the Sun Fire X4450 server. The Southbridge IOH interfaces to the I/O

devices, enabling expandability along with high I/O throughput. Each chipset is

designed to match processor performance with memory capacity, I/O expandability,

and interconnect bandwidth.

Intel Xeon 5000 Sequence ChipsetRefer back to the Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 server block diagrams earlier in this

chapter. The Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers incorporate the Intel Xeon Processor

5000 Sequence chipsets, which consist of:

• One or two dual-core Intel Xeon 5200 Series processors or quad-core Intel Xeon 5400

Series processors

• The Northbridge Intel 5000P Memory Controller Hub (MCH)

• The Southbridge Intel 6321ESB Input/Output Handler IOH (ESB-2). The ESB-2 is

interconnected to the MCH using one ESI (Enterprise South Bridge Interface) link and

one PCIe link. ESI is based on x4 PCIe interconnect with proprietary extensions and

offers a 2 GB/sec transfer rate.

Dual independent Front Side Buses (FSBs) act as a system interconnect between each

processor socket and the MCH. Operating at either 1066 MT/sec or 1333 MT/sec, the

64-bit wide FSBs are capable of peak bandwidths up to 8.5 GB/sec or 10.5 GB/sec

respectively. For more information on the Intel Xeon Processor 5000 Sequence chipset,

see www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon5000/.



Intel Xeon 7000 Sequence ChipsetRefer back to the Sun Fire X4450 server block diagrams (earlier in this chapter). The Sun

Fire X4450 server uses an Intel Xeon Processor 7000 Sequence chipset, which includes:

• Up to four dual-core Intel Xeon 7200 Series processors, or up to four quad- or six-core

Intel Xeon 7400 Series processors

• The Northbridge Intel 7000P Memory Controller Hub (MCH)

• The Southbridge Intel 6321ESB Input/Output Handler IOH (ESB-2)

With the 7000 Sequence chipset, four FSB buses connect between the four processor

sockets and the MCH. Running at 1066 MT/sec, the 64-bit wide FSBs are capable of

peak bandwidths of 8.5 GB/sec each. For more information on the Intel Xeon Processor

7000 Sequence chipset, see www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon7000/.

Memory SubsystemTo address memory-intensive applications, multiple FB-DIMM memory channels help to

support large memory densities and high bandwidth in the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 servers. The memory subsystems are based on similar Intel MCH controller

designs that feature four independent memory channels.

In the Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers, each memory channel supports up to four FB-

DIMMs, enabling up to 16 FB-DIMMs per system for a maximum capacity of 64GB using

4GB modules. In the Sun Fire X4450 server, each channel supports up to eight memory

modules for up to 32 FB-DIMMs per system, allowing a memory capacity of up to 128GB

in the 2U chassis using 4GB FB-DIMMs. In all systems, the four memory channels are

organized into two branches. Modules of identical size must be populated in pairs,

starting with memory slot 0 on each channel (slot 0 on each channel is marked with

white handles).

The same 667 MHz, PC2-5300 DDR2 FB-DIMM modules — in either 1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB

capacities — are supported in the three server models. Peak read bandwidth to the FB-

DIMMs is 5.3 GB/sec per channel (21 GB/sec total with the 1333 MT/sec system bus),

and peak write bandwidth is 2.7 GB/sec per channel (10.7 GB/sec total with the 1333

MT/sec system bus). Memory modules feature Error Checking and Correcting (ECC)

with Chipkill technology for high reliability.



I/O SubsystemDesigned for the headroom needed to expand systems and scale applications, the Sun

Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers feature a PCIe expansion bus, integrated storage,

four on-board Intel Gigabit Network Interface Controllers (NICs), and five USB ports.

The same Southbridge ESB-2 chip is used on the three server models. In each case, it is

interconnected to each system’s Northbridge MCH using one ESI link and one PCIe link.

The ESB-2 provides two built-in GigabitEthernet NICs going to external NIC ports 0

and 1. Two additional GigabitEthernet NICs (port 2 and 3) are connected to a Dual

Gigabit Intel Ophir 82571 chip that interfaces to the ESB-2 using a 4-lane PCIe link. The

ESB-2 also supports all USB functionality — two USB ports go from the ESB-2 to the rear

of the system, one is routed to an internal USB hub for the two front USB connections,

and one USB port is inside the chassis for internal boot devices.

The ESB-2 also supports a USB-to-IDE interface that enables the connection of an

optional internal EIDE DVD/RW drive, and connects to the service processor via a

32-bit, 33MHz PCI channel.

System Network InterfacesMultiple on-board GigabitEthernet connections promote flexible connectivity, as well

as configurations that support network interface failover. Each server features four

10/100/1000 Mbit/sec Ethernet ports on the rear panel, numbered in sequence from

left to right. Each port auto-negotiates its link connection, and LEDs above the port

indicate the speed of the established link (green signifies that the established link is

1000 Mbit/sec). All four Ethernet interfaces support PXE boot for network

interface booting.

PCIe Expansion BusThe Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers include a PCIe expansion bus that

accommodates 64-bit low-profile cards. On each server model, three right-angle risers

plug directly into the motherboard to enable PCI expansion (Figure 11). On the Sun Fire

X4150 server, the risers support one slot per riser, for a total of three internal 8-lane

PCIe slots (all with x16 mechanical connectors). In contrast, on the Sun Fire X4250 and

X4450 server, each riser supports two PCIe card slots. On the Sun Fire X4250 server,

each riser provides two 8-lane (electrical and mechanical) slots, for a total of six x8 slots

in the 2U chassis. On the Sun Fire X4450 server, each riser supports two card slots with

one x8 and one x16 mechanical connector, also for a total of six slots in a

2U chassis.



Figure 11. Right-angle PCIe risers for Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers

Of note, the three PCIe risers for the Sun Fire X4250 server are “active” riser cards —

that is, a IDT PES24N3A PCIe switch resides on the riser card (Figure 12). The PES24N3A

switch provides high-performance I/O connectivity and switching functions between a

x8 PCIe upstream port and two x8 downstream ports. It can operate either as a store-

and-forward switch or as a cut-through switch (depending on packet size) and supports

switching of memory and I/O transactions. It supports eight Traffic Classes (TCs) and

one Virtual Channel (VC) with sophisticated resource management algorithms

(including round robin, weighted round-robin, and strict priority schemes). These

algorithms support sufficient bandwidth allocation and latency for critical traffic classes

in applications such as high throughput 10 Gigabit I/Os, SATA controllers, and Fibre

Channel HBAs.

x8 mechanical

x16 mechanical

PCI Riser for Sun Fire X4450 Server(2 slots per riser)

PCI Riser for Sun Fire X4150 Server

x8 electrical

(1 slot per riser)

x16 mechanical

Active PCI Riser for Sun Fire X4250 Server(2 slots per riser)

x8 mechanicalx8 electrical

PCI switch



Figure 12. “Active” PCI riser card for the Sun Fire X4250 server

Table 7, Table 8, and Table 9 summarize PCI slot electrical and mechanical

characteristics for each system. Cards should be compliant with Revision 1.0a of the

PCIe Card Electromechanical Specification, and are installed with a horizontal

orientation. Slots are protected by a honeycombed grill that helps to increase air flow

through the chassis and decrease EMI emissions.

Table 7. Characteristics of Sun Fire X4150 PCI Slots


Riser/Slot Numbers Electrical Mechanical Connects to

Riser 0/Slot 0 x8 x16 ESB-2

Riser 1/Slot 1 x8 x16 MCH

Riser 2/Slot 2 x8 x16 MCH


Riser 0Slot 0 Slot 3

x8x8

x8x8

MCHMCH


x8x8

x8x8

MCHMCH


x8x8

x8x8

ESB-2ESB-2

Slot 2 PCIe x8

Slot 1 PCIe x8PCIe x8PCIe x8

PCIe x8

IDTPES24N3A

Switch

Motherboard Connector

PCIe x8




On the Sun Fire X4150 server, Slot 0 interfaces to the ESB-2 IOH while Slots 1 and 2

connect directly to the MCH. On the Sun Fire X4250 and X4450 servers, Slots 2 and

5 are routed to the ESB-2 while Slots 0, 1, 3, and 4 connect to the MCH.

Slot 1 on the Sun Fire X4150 and X4250 servers is used for an optional host bus

adapter to support internal SAS disk drives. On the Sun Fire X4450 server, the

optional adapter is installed in Slot 0.

Integrated StorageIn addition to breakthrough compute, memory, and I/O densities, these servers offer

large internal storage capacities — up to 1TB in the Sun Fire X4150 and X4450 servers,

and up to 2TB in the Sun Fire X4250 server. The Sun Fire X4150 and X4450 servers can

support up to eight internal 2.5-inch SAS drives (via a PCIe Host Bus Adapter), while the

Sun Fire X4250 server can house a remarkable sixteen SAS drives internally. Either 73GB

10,000RPM or 15,000RPM, or 146GB 10,000RPM SAS drives are available.

The ample storage density of these servers is partly due to an innovative new drive

carrier design that incorporates honeycombed grillwork to facilitate effective air flow

above and below each drive. Drives insert into a modular disk tray and cable-free disk

backplane that increases reliability and serviceability. The carrier includes an ejection

handle that simplifies drive removal — drives are hot-swappable when disk mirroring is

configured. Drive status lights indicate “Ready to remove”, “Fault”, and “Status”.

In all three systems, the disks plug into a backplane board. In the Sun Fire X4250 server,

a 28-port LSI SAS expander (the LSISASX28) resides on the 16-disk backplane board to

enable this server’s large internal storage capacity. Eight ports on the SAS expander

connect to the SAS Host Bus Adapter, supporting switched connections to up to 16

SAS devices.

Disk Controller and I/O RAID Options

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers support these basic options for SAS disk

controllers:

• The Sun StorageTek SAS adapter, which supports hardware RAID 0, 1, or 1E. Based on

LSI 3081E technology, this controller is a low-profile card with two external 4-port

SAS connectors.



x8x4

x16x8

MCHMCH


x8x4

x16x8

MCHMCH


x4x4

x16x8

ESB-2ESB-2



• The Sun StorageTek SAS RAID adapter, which supports 3 GB/sec SAS and hardware

RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6, 10, 50, and 60. Based on Adaptec technology, this

adapter is an 8-channel, low-profile card with two 4-port SAS connectors. This adapter

includes 256 MB of DDR2 memory on-board and a battery-backed write cache for 72-

hour backup, which helps to deliver protected, high availability storage.

To support SAS configurations, two cables with four lanes (each at 3 Gb/sec) each are

wired from the SAS adapter to the disk backplane to control the disk drives and provide

high bandwidth. In the case of the Sun Fire X4250 server, the four SAS links connect to

the LSISASX28 SAS expander on the 16-disk backplane. The SAS expander then provides

16 SAS links to the individual disks in the drive tray.

DVD/USB Assembly

A slim form-factor IDE optical drive assembly is also available as an option to the Sun

Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. The assembly provides an internal DVD-RW device

as well as two USB ports accessible from the front panel. A locking handle allows the

assembly to be safely secured and more easily extracted from the system chassis.

Systems can be ordered with an assembly that features two USB ports only (and no DVD

device), or with no DVD/USB option at all.

Enclosure FeaturesThe Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers feature innovative chassis designs

engineered to conserve system power and reduce cooling. The power and cooling

efficiency of these systems exceeds that of many competitive systems configured with

similar processing, memory, and storage capacities. The effective front-to-back airflow

design helps to lower component temperatures, reducing the number of fans needed

to cool the system. Processors also consume less energy under cooler temperatures. In

addition, lower component temperatures help to increase reliability.

Key enclosure features include:

• Hex-shaped, honeycombed air inlet holes that enhance airflow and provide

EMI shielding

• Front-mounted fans (located directly behind the disk drive cage) that pull air through

the chassis, over system components, and exhaust it out the rear panel

• Innovative disk drive bracket design that enables efficient air flow above and below

drive units

• Cable and component placement that helps to optimize cooling efficiency by

channeling airflow effectively, as well as the reduction of internal cables to

enhance airflow

• Fewer DC-to-DC conversions to improve power efficiency and generate less heat



Power DistributionEngineered for high availability as well as low energy consumption, the Sun Fire X4150,

X4250, and X4450 servers can be configured with two highly-efficient, redundant, hot-

swappable AC/DC power supply units (PSUs), each with separate power cords. The

PSUs differ between systems — the Sun Fire X4150 server uses 650W PSUs, the Sun Fire

X4250 server requires 1050W PSUs, and the Sun Fire X4450 server uses 1100W PSUs.

Configuring a system with a second power supply enables N+1 redundancy, supplying

continuous power to the system if a single power supply fails.

The power supplies are high-efficiency units, having a typical efficiency rating that

exceeds at least 80%. Each PSU features a non-removable internal fan that supplies

independent PSU cooling. Three light indicators display power supply status

information (“AC”, “Fault”, and “OK”).

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers use a Power Distribution Board (PDB) that

provides connections between the power supplies and major system components. The

PDB contains a single 10Amp 12V-to-5V DC-to-DC supply used to power the disk

subsystem and the optional IDE DVD-RW device.

Fan AssembliesThe server enclosures are designed for efficient front-to-back air flow. Variable speed

fans run under the control of the on-board Service Processor, which monitors processor

temperatures and system ambient air temperature. Based on these readings, the fans

operate at the lowest speeds possible to provide sufficient cooling — conserving power

usage, prolonging fan life, and reducing acoustical noise.

Fan assemblies differ between the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. The Sun

Fire X4150 server houses seven fan modules, with each module containing two 40mm,

10,000RPM fans. In the Sun Fire X4250 and X4450 servers, there are six fan modules,

with each module accommodating two hot-swappable 60mm fans.

A green status light on a fan module indicates proper operation while an amber light

indicates a fan fault. Fan modules on these systems are designed for redundancy — a

backup fan enables system continuity in the event of a fan failure. The fans are also hot-

swappable such that a module with a failed fan can be removed and a new fan module

inserted without shutting down the system.

Rack MountingTo shorten time-to-deployment, the Sun Customer Ready Systems program can pre-

install Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers in a rack configuration. Alternatively,

the 1U and 2U servers can be field-installed into Sun or other third-party racks.

The following options are available from Sun to facilitate rack mounting:

• Rack-Mounting Slide Rail Kit. This is a 4-point mounted slide rail kit (i.e., mounting

points are located at the rack front and rear).



• Tool-less Rack Kit. As the name implies, this rack-mounting kit snaps into most third-

party racks without requiring any tools.

• Cable Management Arm. The Cable Management Arm supports and protects cables

as the server slides into and out of the rack.

The Slide Rail Kit and optional Cable Management Arm enable the servers to be

installed in these racks:

• Sun Rack 900 (-38 and -36N)

• Sun Rack 1000 (-38 and -42)

• Third Party ANSI/EIA-310-D-1992 or IEC 60927-compliant racks in 19-inch/482.6mm

panel-width series

The Slide Rail Kit includes hardware to mount to rack rails with either 6mm threaded

holes, #10-32 threaded holes, #10 clearance holes, or square unthreaded holes per

ANSI/EIA 310-D-1992 or IEC 60927 standards. Note that not all third-party racks are

compatible with the slide rail kit. Rack density will vary widely based on systems

installed, power distribution (in-cabinet or external), power source (single-phase or

three-phase), and whether redundant power is required.

Service Processor and System ManagementSimilar to other Sun servers, the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers feature a

built-in, hardware-based service processor. Integrating the service processor on the

motherboard enables remote power control and system monitoring — capabilities that

help to simplify system management.

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers embed an Aspeed AST2000 chip as the on-

board service processor. The Aspeed AST2000 combines a graphics controller and a

service processor into a single chip, saving space and power. It uses two USB ports for

virtual devices and one 32-bit, 33Mhz PCI bus for data to connect to the Southbridge

ESB-2 (refer back to system block diagrams earlier in this chapter).

For system management operations, the AST2000 supports three external interfaces on

the rear panel:

• one RJ45 RS-232 serial interface

• one 10/100 Mbit/sec Ethernet network interface (also an RJ-45 connector)

• one HD-15 SVGA video port

The serial interface is intended for console use only (it does not support modem

connection). Default serial port configuration parameters are 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no

parity, 1 stop bit, and no flow control. By default, the BIOS directs system output to the

Service Processor, or it can be redirected to the serial port by changing a BIOS option.

The BIOS can also be used to check or modify the Service Processor’s IP address.



Integrated System Management CapabilitiesThe need for high availability in business-critical systems calls for robust and proactive

system management. The AST2000 service processor supports firmware-resident system

management capabilities that enable remote monitoring and system control using

industry-standard protocols. Since system management tools reside in firmware, they

can be easily upgraded and enhanced at a future time.

The AST2000 service processor and system management tools are IPMI 2.0 compliant.

The service processor enables management functionality that includes: system

configuration information retrieval; key hardware component monitoring; remote

power control; full local and remote keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) access; remote

media attachment; SNMP V1, V2c, and V3 support, and event notification and logging.

Digital thermal sensors on the processor and the motherboard are used to monitor

temperatures, which helps to increase reliability. The service processor continuously

monitors and detects errors on these and other system sensors:

• Memory Voltage

• CPU Core Voltage

• System 3.3V

• System 5V

• System 12V

• CPU Fan

• System Fans

• CPU Temperature

• Chassis Temperature

Administrators can track status information from these sensors and take action before

a minor system issue escalates into a serious problem.

Secure access to the service processor and its management capabilities is available in

several ways:

• Via a Secure Shell (SSH) command line interface. To access management capabilities

through a remote Secure Shell (SSH), a Secure Shell communications application

must be available on the remote administrative system.

• Using a Command Line Interface (CLI) with industry-standard keyboard commands

and scripting protocols. The Desktop Management Task Force’s (DMTF) Systems

Management Architecture for Server Hardware (SMASH) command line protocol is

supported over both the serial interface and the secure shell network interface.

• Via Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) v3 interfaces for external

datacenter management tools (such as Sun N1™ System Manager, IBM Tivoli®, and

Hewlett-Packard OpenView®).

• Using an easy-to-use, web-based graphical user interface. The web-based interface

offers a wide spectrum of management capabilities, from retrieving current system

configuration data to monitoring the status of key hardware components.



• Redirecting the managed server’s console to a Remote Console application. The

Remote Console application is a piece of layered software that allows remote clients

to view the graphical console as though clients were directly attached to the

managed server’s video connector. Remote Console allows the remote keyboard,

mouse, CD-ROM drive, or floppy drive to be configured to appear as standard USB

devices. The Remote Console application is embedded in the service processor,

minimizing the need for software installation on remote administrative workstations.

For enhanced security, the service processor includes multi-level role-based access, and

supports native and Active Directory Service lookup of authentication data. All functions

can be provided out-of-band through a designated serial or network interface, virtually

eliminating any performance impact to workload processing.

Keyboard/Video/Mouse Over IP

To simplify remote access to management functions, the service processor supports

Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM) over IP to redirect the server’s video screen, keyboard,

and mouse data to a remote administrative workstation via the network.

Administrators can access the KVM-over-IP function in the Java technology-based

Remote Console application by using a standard web browser and SSL authentication.

The service processor captures keyboard and mouse input and output at the remote

workstation and emulates USB-connected keyboard and mouse devices. The Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers then detect these emulated devices and treat them as

directly connected interfaces. The service processor captures, compresses, encrypts,

and sends the video output to the remote workstation. The workstation subsequently

receives and displays the managed server’s video screen. Advanced Encryption

Standard (AES) governs encryption and decryption of KVM control commands to protect

the managed server from intervention by a remote hacker.

Virtual Storage

The virtual storage feature of the service processor emulates devices to enable remote

storage operations — just as if the units were physically attached to the Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, or X4450 server. The service processor incorporates a USB 2.0 device

controller that connects to the server’s internal USB host controller. By using the

Remote Console application to launch the virtual storage function at a remote

workstation, the server detects USB storage device attachment.



This feature applies to a variety of remote storage devices such as DVD, CD-ROM, and

floppy drives, as well as USB flash disk drives and ISO image files. For example, when

CD-ROM emulation is enabled, the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers detect a

USB-attached CD-ROM. A target disk placed in the CD-ROM drive of the remote PC

becomes accessible by the managed server. To maintain security, the Advanced

Encryption Standard governs remote storage transmissions. In addition, administrators

can use KVM over IP and virtual storage together to enable remote booting, or to

remotely install operating systems, device drivers, or application software.

In-band System Management

Some organizations prefer in-band system management in order to standardize

administrative tasks across multi-vendor, heterogeneous environments. Using in-band

system management, administrators perform monitoring and maintenance tasks

through the host operating system. The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers

provide in-band system management using two methods: IPMI v2.0 with a Keyboard

Controller Style interface and IPMI kernel driver, or by using SNMP operating system

resident agents. IPMI 2.0 and SNMP V1, V2c, and V3 are industry-supported standards

for performing autonomous platform management functions.

RAS FeaturesCorporate data and business information comprise critical business assets. Enterprise

computing technologies strive to furnish a high degree of data protection (reliability),

to provide virtually continuous application access (availability), and to incorporate

procedures and components that help to resolve problems with minimal business

impact (serviceability). Commonly referred to as RAS, these capabilities are a standard

part of Sun’s mission-critical computing solutions.

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are engineered for hardware failure

prevention, near continuous operation, fast recovery, and easy serviceability. RAS

features for these systems include:

• High CPU density. Multiple Intel Xeon processors in 1U and 2U form factors enable

density that increases overall availability.

• Hot-swappable redundant components. Mirrored disks, redundant fan modules, and

redundant power supply units can be quickly and easily changed out, increasing

system uptime.

• Accessible components for improved serviceability. Front-accessible, hot-swappable

disk drives can be replaced quickly. The optional DVD/RW drive can also be removed

without opening the top cover of the chassis. Fan modules and power supply units

can be replaced without completely removing a system from the rack.



• A variety of RAID options, allowing customers to balance storage capacity,

availability, and cost. The LSI-based SAS controller supports RAID 0, 1, and 0+1, while

the Sun StorageTek SAS RAID host bus adapter supports RAID 0, 1, 10, 1E, 5, 50, 5EE,

6, 60 and also features battery backup of disk writes.

• Indicator LEDs on the front and back of the chassis. Easily visible LEDs allow problems

to be identified and isolated easily. Diagnostic LEDs are also included on

the motherboard.

• Integrated lights-out management capabilities. Standard on the Sun Fire X4150,

X4250, and X4450 servers at no additional charge, the integrated service processor

provides powerful tools for local or remote system management, simplifying

administrative tasks, reducing on-site personnel needed, and lowering overall

operational costs.

34 Enterprise-Class Software Support


Chapter 4

Enterprise-Class Software Support

To give organizations unparalleled flexibility and investment protection, the Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers support multiple 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems,

including the Solaris Operating System (OS), Linux, Windows, and VMware

environments. Sun’s support for multiple operating systems enables organizations to

deploy a choice of application environments without having to shift hardware

platforms when software requirements change. This added flexibility enables

enterprises to reduce cost and complexity when supporting and managing solutions

from multiple vendors, helping organizations to reduce risk and increase return

on investment.

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers are certified to run the following

operating system versions (subsequent releases of these operating systems are also

expected to be supported and Sun-qualified):

• Solaris 10 8/07 Operating System

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 Update 5 (32-bit or 64-bit) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

(32-bit or 64-bit)

• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1 (64-bit)

• VMware ESX 3.0.2

• Windows Server 2003, Standard and Enterprise Editions (32-bit or 64-bit)

Additional patches and drivers required to complete the installation of these operating

systems are available from the web site sun.com/download/ or on the Tools and

Drivers CD-ROM provided with every Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 server. The

drivers and installation scripts on the Tools and Drivers CD-ROM help to reduce the

complexity of installing supported operating system distributions (since additional

device drivers are included on the CD-ROM). Note that the Solaris 10 OS, Red Hat

Enterprise Linux 5, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, Windows Server 2003, and VMware

ESX are available directly from Sun along with support contracts. In addition, the Sun

Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers come with the Solaris 10 OS pre-installed, or can

be ordered with Windows 2003 Server pre-installed.

The Solaris™ Operating SystemIn a class by itself, the Solaris 10 OS offers many innovative technologies that change

the equation for organizations needing to reduce costs, minimize complexity, and

eliminate risk. Optimized for Sun Fire systems with 64-bit Intel Xeon processors and

supported on hundreds of third-party x86 and x64 systems, the Solaris 10 OS brings

flexibility and power to the enterprise. Running on diverse hardware, ranging from

laptops and single-board computers to data center and grid installations, the Solaris OS



supports demanding applications that include military command and control systems,

telecommunication switch gear, and stock trading applications, among others.

Provided on all Sun systems at no charge, the Solaris OS delivers performance, security,

scalability, and reliability advantages for scale-out computing environments.

Underlying technologies (such as a high performance networking stack, advanced file

system, and modern memory model) combine to optimize performance of hosted

applications. A suite of security features previously only found in Sun’s military-grade

Trusted Solaris™ operating system are now included to fortify the commercial

enterprise. The Solaris OS supports near linear scalability from 1 to 72 CPUs and

addressability of up to 264 bytes of memory, well beyond the physical memory limits of

even Sun’s largest server. In addition, by providing the ability to automatically recover

from hardware faults, the Solaris OS enables maximum data and

application availability.

One of the most advanced operating systems on the planet, the Solaris OS includes

features not found in any other operating system, including:

• Solaris Dynamic Tracing (DTrace) is a powerful tool that provides a true, system-level

view of application and kernel activities, even those running in a Java Virtual

Machine. System administrators, integrators, and developers can use this dynamic

instrumentation tool to reduce the time to diagnose problems from days and weeks

to minutes and hours, accelerating problem resolution.

• Solaris Containers technology provides a break-through approach to virtualization

and software partitioning, supporting the creation of many private execution

environments within a single instance of the Solaris OS. Using this technology,

organizations can improve resource utilization, reduce downtime, and lower

solution costs.

• Predictive Self Healing technology automatically diagnoses, isolates, and recovers

from many hardware and application faults. As a result, business-critical applications

and essential system services can often continue uninterrupted in the event of

software failures, major hardware component breakdowns, and software

misconfiguration problems.

• Resource management facilities built into the Solaris 10 OS enable computing

resources to be allocated among individual tasks and users in a structured, policy-

driven fashion. By using these facilities to proactively allocate, control, and monitor

system resources (such as CPU time, processes, virtual memory, connect time, or

logins) on a fine-grained basis, organizations can often reach and maintain more

predictable service levels.



Linux EnvironmentsOrganizations that seek broad x86 platform support and open source community

resources commonly rely on Linux operating environments. Sun offers and supports

leading Linux environments on all Sun Fire x64 servers, including Red Hat Enterprise

Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Sun support contracts for Linux provide front-

line support and transparent access to back-line support from Red Hat and SUSE.

As the leader in enterprise services for UNIX®, Sun brings decades of expertise to Linux

environments. Indeed, Sun provides key hardware and software offerings for Linux

including Java technology, AMD and Intel x64-based servers and workstations, the Sun

Java™ Enterprise System software stack, N1™ software, the StarOffice™ productivity suite,

and Sun™ Studio developer tools. Furthermore, Sun is one of the largest contributors to

the GNU/Linux operating system. Areas of contribution include OpenOffice.org,

Mozilla, and X.org.

Microsoft Windows EnvironmentsOrganizations strive to reduce variety of platforms in the data center, even when a

wide range of workloads are present. To help this effort, the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 servers can run the Microsoft Windows operating environment. Indeed, these

servers have passed stringent Microsoft compatibility test suites, achieving

“Designed for Windows” certification. This certification demonstrates Sun’s

commitment to providing the best platforms to run not only the Solaris OS and Linux,

but Windows as well.

VMware Support

Adopted by thousands of enterprises, VMware technology helps to improve data center

efficiency and IT service levels. VMware transforms physical resources (such as Sun Fire

X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers) into multiple virtual operating system environments.

VMware technology encapsulates operating system and applications into multiple

virtual machines (VMs), providing standard hardware-independent environments that

can be provisioned easily. The right OS environment (such as the Solaris OS or versions

of Linux or Windows operating systems) can then be deployed as needed for various

applications. The flexibility that VMware offers, in conjunction with the density,

performance, and high availability of the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers, can

help customers create effective virtualization and consolidation solutions to boost

utilization rates and increase ROI.

37 Conclusion


Chapter 5

Conclusion

IT departments face increasing pressure to deliver new services and satisfy escalating

resource demands for new applications and users. The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and

X4450 servers offer incredible system density, with robust compute, memory,

networking, storage, and I/O expansion in small, compact 1U and 2U form factors.

Leveraging new generations of Intel Xeon processor technologies and Sun’s

engineering expertise in chassis and systems design, these platforms deliver new levels

of performance — and new levels of performance-per-watt — in a rack-mountable

chassis. Deploying these servers can create a more agile infrastructure that can scale to

meet new business challenges while maintaining a small footprint.

The Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers provide expandable, high-capacity

resources needed for demanding HPC grid computing, web infrastructure, database,

and server consolidation and virtualization initiatives. These systems are ideal for a

variety of industries, especially those installations where performance, density, and

energy conservation are paramount. Given the speed and efficiency of these servers, IT

departments can easily consolidate workloads and improve utilization — at the same

time preserving investments in x86 and x64 applications.

Sun offers professional services, training, and integrated support to optimize server

implementations and speed time-to-deployment. Experienced Sun specialists can assist

with datacenter capacity planning, and consolidation and virtualization strategies. To

experience the density and power of the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers first-

hand, contact your Sun account representative or visit www.sun.com/servers.

For More Information

For more information on Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers and associated Intel

chipsets, visit the web sites:

• www.sun.com/x4150/



• www.sun.com/servicessolutions/



Sun Fire X4150 , X4250, and X4450 Server Architecture On the Web sun.com

Sun Microsystems, Inc. 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA Phone 1-650-960-1300 or 1-800-555-9SUN (9786) Web sun.com

© 2007, 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Fire, Solaris, Java, N1, StarOffice, and Sun Studio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Products bearing SPARCtrademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. Intel andXeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Information subject to change without notice. SunWIN #508684 Printed in USA 09/08

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