Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability Features of the IBM eX5 Portfolio

This IBM® Redpaper™ publication describes advanced reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) features that are available in IBM eX5 server systems. It describes how those features differ from standard RAS features found in other dual-socket systems, and what advantages they provide for building a resilient and 24x7 operational environment.

This paper explains what RAS is, why it is important, and how IBM approaches RAS in system design. It then provides an architectural overview and describes the RAS features of IBM eX5 servers, and describes the differences between advanced and standard RAS features and their impact on overall system availability. It provides an example that illustrates IBM eX5 availability advantages by comparing the scale up approach to the scale out approach.

RAS: Reliability, availability, and serviceability
IBM eX5 architecture and portfolio overview
RAS features: Advanced versus standard
Availability evaluation
Conclusions

Related product families

Product families related to this document are the following:

• 4-Socket Rack Servers
• Mission Critical Servers