Lenovo ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller User Guide

ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller
User Guide

ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller

Today’s business-critical servers require more protection, performance, and manageability than ever. An enterprise-grade RAID solution needs to provide the greatest level of data protection, the highest performance, and easy-to- use management tools. The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller combines the PM8013 maxSAS RAID-on-Chip (RoC) controller and the RAID stack from PMC-Sierra to accommodate the most rigorous server environments and support high-performing SSDs.
Figure 1 shows the ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller.Figure 1. ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller

Did you know?

As well as using less power than rotating magnetic media, the SSDs are more reliable, and can service many more I/O requests per second (IOPS). These attributes make them well suited to I/O intensive applications, such as those that make complex queries of databases.
6 Gbps SAS 2.0 technology has been introduced to address data off-load bottlenecks in the direct-access storage environment. This new throughput doubles the transfer rate of the previous generation while still maintain backward compatibility with 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps SAS speeds.

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Part number information

Table 1 lists the ordering part number and feature code.
Table 1. Ordering part number and feature code

The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller options kit contains the following items:

• ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller with 3U bracket attached
• 2U bracket
• Quick install guide
• CD-ROM with product publications

Features and specifications

The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller has the following specifications:

• RAID 1 and 5 support
• Hot-spare support with automatic rebuild capability
• Background data scrubbing
• Stripe size of up to 1 MB
• 6 Gbps per SAS port
• PCI Express 2.0 x8 host interface
• PCI MD2 low profile form factor
• Two x4 internal (SFF-8087) connectors
• SAS controller: PMC-Sierra PM8013 maxSAS 6 Gb/s SAS RoC controller
• Up to 8 drives per RAID adapter
• Performance optimized for SSDs
• Three multi-threading MIPS processing cores
• High performance contention-free architecture
• Up to four ServeRAID B5015 adapters supported in a system
• Support for up to 4 arrays/logical volumes

Management utilities: pre-boot and OS user interfaces

Management is provided by the maxRAID Storage Manager, a browser-based configuation utility. Features include:

• True Web-based management utility—no application installation
• Supports Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox
• Intuitive, easy-to-use GUI for configuration, monitoring, and maintenance
• Allows user to configure, perform maintenance, and monitor physical SSDs directly attached to the ServeRAID controller
• Supports remote configuration from the local system, displays event logs and provides e-mail notifications
• Standards-based—SNIA SMI-S, CTP and SNMP

Figure 2 shows the home page of the maxRAID Storage Manager.

The Home tab displays the snapshot of the entire system, showing the number of controllers, physical and virtual disks, assigned spares, and any actively running tasks. Other tabs enable you to configure the controller and display the properties of all physical devices, volumes, hot-spares and other components.
Tip: A command-line interface is also available.
The maxRAID Storage Manager is available from the ServeRAID software matrix at: http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=SERV-RAID
Also available is the pre-boot BIOS-based maxRAID Configuration Manager. As shown in Figure 3, the user interface is very similar to the browser interface, and allows you to configure, perform maintenance, and monitor physical drives directly attached to the ServeRAID controller.

Physical specifications

The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller has the following physical specifications (without mounting bracket):
Height: 65 mm (2.5 in.)
Width: 168 mm (6.6 in.)
Depth: 13 mm (0.5 in.)
Weight: 9.1 grams (0.1 lb)

Operating environment

The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller is supported in the following environment:

• Temperature: 5 to 53 °C (41 to 127 °F)
• Altitude: 0-3000 m (0-10,000 ft)
• Relative humidity: 8% to 90% (non-condensing)

Warranty

One-year limited warranty. When installed in a System x server, this card assumes your system’s base warranty and any warranty upgrade.

Supported servers

The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller is supported on the System x servers listed in Table 2.
Table 2. Supported servers (Part 1)

Table 2. Supported servers (Part 2)

See the ServerProven Web site for the latest information about the adapters supported by each System x server type: http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/

Supported solid state drives

The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller supports the solid state drives identified in Table 3.
Table 3. Supported solid state drives

Figure 4 shows eight solid-state drives installed in an eXFlash SSD unit in the System x3850 X5.

Note : The ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller does not support internal tape drives nor internal hard disk drives.

Supported operating systems

The adapter supports the following operating systems:

•  Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 Server x64 Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 Server x64 Edition
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 and SP3 for AMD64/EM64T
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 for AMD64/EM64T

Note : Windows Server 2003 is not supported.

For the latest information about the specific versions and service packs supported go to the ServerProven Web site at: http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/
Click System x servers, then Disk controllers to see the support matrix. Click the check mark that is associated with the System x server in question to see the details of the operating system support.

Related publications

For more information refer to the following documents:

• ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller Hardware Installation Guide
  http://www.ibm.com/support

• maxRAID Software Installation Guide
  http://www.ibm.com/support

• System x Configuration and Options Guide:
  http://ibm.com/systems/xbc/cog/

• ServerProven latest compatibility information home page
  http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/

• System x RAID products home page
  http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/systems/servers/options/systemx/storage/raid- adapters/

• ServeRAID software matrix
  http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=SERV-RAID

Related product families

Product families related to this document are the following:

•  RAID Adapters

Notices

Lenovo may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in all countries. Consult your local Lenovo representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to a Lenovo product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that Lenovo product,  rogram, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any Lenovo intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user’s responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any other product, program, or service. Lenovo may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to:
Lenovo (United States), Inc.
8001 Development Drive
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U.S.A.
Attention: Lenovo Director of Licensing
LENOVO PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION ”AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you.
This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. Lenovo may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without
notice.
The products described in this document are not intended for use in implantation or other life support applications where malfunction may result in injury or death to persons. The information contained in this document does not affect or change Lenovo product specifications or warranties. Nothing in this document shall operate as an express or implied license or indemnity under the intellectual property rights of Lenovo or third parties. All information contained in this document was obtained in specific environments and is presented as an illustration. The result obtained in other operating environments may vary. Lenovo may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.
Any references in this publication to non-Lenovo Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this Lenovo product, and use of those Web sites is at your own risk. Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlled environment. Therefore, the result obtained in other operating environments may vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-level systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been estimated through extrapolation. Actual results may vary. Users of this document should verify the applicable data for their specific environment.
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This document, TIPS0763, was created or updated on September 17, 2015.
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Lenovo and the Lenovo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both. A current list of Lenovo trademarks is available on the Web at https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/legal/copytrade/.
The following terms are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both:

•  Lenovo®
• ServeRAID
• ServerProven®
• System x®
• X5
• eXFlash

The following terms are trademarks of other companies:
Linux® is the trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
Internet Explorer®, Microsoft®, Windows Server®, and Windows® are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller (Withdrawn) (withdrawn product)

References

• IBM Support
• IT Infrastructure | IBM
• Lenovo server options, accessories and upgrades | Lenovo US
• IBM Support
• Welcome | ServerProven
• RAID Adapters > Lenovo Press
• ServeRAID B5015 SSD Controller (Withdrawn) Product Guide (withdrawn product) > Lenovo Press
• Copyright and Trademark Information | Lenovo US | Lenovo US

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