Introduction

The IBM® System x3650 M4 server provides outstanding performance for your business-critical applications. Its energy-efficient design supports more cores, memory, and data capacity in a scalable 2U package that is easy to service and manage. With more computing power per watt and the latest Intel Xeon processors, you can reduce costs while maintaining speed and availability.

Suggested use: database, virtualization, enterprise applications, collaboration/email, streaming media, web, HPC, Microsoft RemoteFX, and cloud applications.

Figure 1 shows the IBM System x3650 M4.


Figure 1. The IBM System x3650 M4

Did you know?

The x3650 M4 offers a flexible, scalable design and simple upgrade path to 16 hard-disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs) plus optical and tape drives at the same time, with up to six PCIe Gen 3 slots and up to 768 GB of memory. This flexible onboard Ethernet solution provides four standard embedded Gigabit Ethernet ports and two optional embedded 10 Gb Ethernet ports without occupying PCIe slots. Comprehensive systems management tools with the next-generation Integrated Management Module II (IMM2) make it easy to deploy, integrate, service, and manage.

Key features

The x3650 M4 is an outstanding 2U two-socket business-critical server, offering improved performance and pay-as-you grow flexibility along with new features that improve server management capability. This powerful system is designed for your most important business applications and cloud deployments.

Combining balanced performance and flexibility, the x3650 M4 is a great choice for small and medium businesses up to the large enterprise. It can provide outstanding uptime to keep business-critical applications and cloud deployments running safely. Ease of use and comprehensive systems management tools make it easy to deploy. Outstanding RAS and high-efficiency design improve your business environment and help save operational costs.

Scalability and performance

The x3650 M4 offers numerous features to boost performance, improve scalability, and reduce costs:

• Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family
  • Improves productivity by offering superior system performance with up to 12-core processors, up to 30 MB of L3 cache, and up to two 8 GT/s QPI interconnect links.
  • Supports up to two processors, 24 cores, and 48 threads maximize the concurrent execution of multi-threaded applications.
  • Supports up to 1866 MHz memory speeds.
  • Supports up to 768 GB memory with 32 GB LRDIMMs or HCDIMMs.
• Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family
  • Improves productivity by offering superior system performance with up to 8-core processors, up to 20 MB of L3 cache, and up to two 8 GT/s QPI interconnect links.
  • Supports up to two processors, 16 cores, and 32 threads maximize the concurrent execution of multi-threaded applications.
  • Supports up to 1600 MHz memory speeds.
  • Supports up to 768 GB memory with 32 GB LRDIMMs or HCDIMMs.
• Intelligent and adaptive system performance with Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 allows CPU cores to run at maximum speeds during peak workloads by temporarily going beyond processor TDP.
• Intel Hyper-Threading Technology boosts performance for multi-threaded applications by enabling simultaneous multi-threading within each processor core, up to two threads per core.
• Intel Virtualization Technology integrates hardware-level virtualization hooks that allow operating system vendors to better utilize the hardware for virtualization workloads.
• Intel Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) significantly improve floating-point performance for compute-intensive technical and scientific applications.
• 12 Gbps SAS internal storage connectivity doubles the data transfer rate compared to 6 Gb SAS solutions to maximize performance of storage I/O-intensive applications.
• The use of solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of, or along with, traditional spinning drives (HDDs) can significantly improve I/O performance. An SSD can support up to 100 times more I/O operations per second (IOPS) than a typical HDD.
• Up to 32 1.8-inch SSD bays, or up to 16 2.5-inch bays, or up to 6 3.5-inch bays, together with internal backup and an optical drive at the same time, provide a flexible and scalable all-in-one platform to meet your increasing demands.
• The server has four integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports and two optional 10 Gb Ethernet ports with mezzanine cards that do not consume PICe slots.
• The server offers PCI Express 3.0 I/O expansion capabilities that improve the theoretical maximum bandwidth by almost 100% (8 GTps per link using 128b/130b encoding) compared to the previous generation of PCI Express 2.0 (5 GTps per link using 8b/10b encoding).
• With Intel Integrated I/O Technology, the PCI Express 3.0 controller is integrated into the Intel Xeon processor E5 family. This integration helps to dramatically reduce I/O latency and increase overall system performance.
• Support for NVIDIA Quadro graphics processing units (GPUs) to maximize computing power

Availability and serviceability

The x3650 M4 provides many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime:

• The server offers memory mirroring and memory rank sparing for redundancy in the event of a non-correctable memory failure.
• Tool-less cover removal provides easy access to upgrades and serviceable parts, such as CPU, memory, and adapter cards.
• The server offers hot-swap drives, supporting RAID redundancy for data protection and greater system uptime.
• The server has up to two redundant hot-swap power supplies and four hot-swap dual-motor redundant fans (two fan zones with an N+1 fan design) to provide availability for business-critical applications.
• The light path diagnostics panel and individual light path LEDs quickly lead the technician to failed (or failing) components, which simplifies servicing, speeds up problem resolution, and helps improve system availability.
• Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) detects when system components (processors, VRMs, memory, HDDs, fans, and power supplies) operate outside of standard thresholds and generates proactive alerts in advance of a possible failure, therefore increasing uptime.
• Solid-state drives (SSDs) offer significantly better reliability than traditional mechanical HDDs for greater uptime.
• Built-in Integrated Management Module Version II (IMM2) continuously monitors system parameters, triggers alerts, and performs recovering actions in case of failures to minimize downtime.
• Built-in diagnostics, using Dynamic Systems Analysis (DSA) Preboot, speed up troubleshooting tasks to reduce service time.
• Three-year customer-replaceable unit and on-site limited warranty, 9x5 next business day. Optional service upgrades are available.

Manageability and security

Powerful systems management features simplify local and remote management of the x3650 M4:

• The server includes an Integrated Management Module II (IMM2) to monitor server availability and perform remote management.
• Integrated industry-standard Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) enables improved setup, configuration, and updates, and simplifies error handling.
• Integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 support enables advanced cryptographic functionality, such as digital signatures and remote attestation.
• Industry-standard Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) NI support for faster, stronger encryption.
• IBM Systems Director offers comprehensive systems management tools that help to increase uptime, reduce costs, and improve productivity through advanced server management capabilities.
• Intel Execute Disable Bit functionality can help prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks when combined with a supported operating system.
• Intel Trusted Execution Technology provides enhanced security through hardware-based resistance to malicious software attacks, allowing an application to run in its own isolated space, protected from all other software running on a system.

Energy efficiency

The x3650 M4 offers the following energy-efficiency features to save energy, reduce operational costs, increase energy availability, and contribute to the green environment:

• Energy-efficient planar components help lower operational costs.
• The x3650 M4 is Energy Star 2.0 compliant. Energy Star is the trusted, US government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, with the goal of helping customers save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. For the Power and Performance Data Sheet, see http://ibm.com/systems/x/hardware/energy-star
• Highly efficient 550 W, 750 W, and 900 W AC power supplies with 80 PLUS Platinum certification. Available 750W DC power option.
• Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 and E5-2600 v2 product families offer significantly better performance over the previous generation while fitting into the same thermal design power (TDP) limits.
• Intel Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed, to reduce power draw.
• Low-voltage Intel Xeon processors draw less energy to satisfy the demands of power and thermally constrained data centers and telecommunication environments.
• Low-voltage 1.35 V DDR3 memory RDIMMs consume 15% less energy compared to 1.5 V DDR3 RDIMMs.
• Solid state drives (SSDs) consume as much as 80% less power than traditional spinning 2.5-inch HDDs.
• The server uses hexagonal ventilation holes, which is a part of IBM Calibrated Vectored Cooling™ technology. Hexagonal holes can be grouped more densely than round holes, providing more efficient airflow through the system.
• IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager™ provides advanced data center power notification and management to help achieve lower heat output and reduced cooling needs.

Locations of key components and connectors

Figure 2 shows the front of the server.


Figure 2. Front view of the IBM System x3650 M4

Figure 3 shows the rear of the server.


Figure 3. Rear view of the IBM System x3650 M4

Figure 4 shows the locations of key components inside the server.


Figure 4. Inside view of the IBM System x3650 M4

Standard specifications

The following table lists the standard specifications.

Table 1. Standard specifications

The x3650 M4 servers are shipped with the following items:

• Statement of Limited Warranty
• Important Notices
• Rack Installation Instructions
• Documentation CD that contains the Installation and User's Guide
• IBM Systems Director Flyer
• IBM System x® Gen-III Slides Kit
• IBM System x Gen-III Cable Management Arm (CMA)
• 2.8 m (9.18 in) C13-C14 power cord (one for models with one power supply, and two for models with two power supplies)

Standard models

The following table lists the standard models.

Table 2. Standard models (Part 1: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family)

* x in the Machine Type Model (MTM) represents a country-specific letter (for example, the EMEA MTM is 7915-A3G, and the US MTM is 7915-A3U). Ask an IBM representative for specifics.
† Processor detail: Processor quantity and model, cores, core speed, L3 cache, memory speed, TDP.
§ For models A3x and B3x, the standard DIMM is rated at 1600 MHz, but operates at up to 1333 MHz to match the processor memory speed. Actual memory speed maximums depend on several factors, as described in "Memory options".

Table 2. Standard models (Part 2: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family)

† Processor detail: Processor quantity and model, cores, core speed, L3 cache, memory speed, power consumption
* Model GSx includes preinstalled SAP Discovery System V5 -- see below. Also includes IBM Blank USB Memory Key for VMWare ESXi Downloads, part number 41Y8298

Refer to the Specifications section for information about standard features of the server.


Workload optimized model - SAP Discovery system

Model GSx comes preinstalled with SAP Discovery system V5. The SAP Discovery system is a fully configured and preintegrated service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform enabler for SAP development environments. The IBM Systems solution with SAP Discovery system provides a robust IBM System x hardware platform for evaluating SAP software. The x3650 M4 model is pre-installed with a wide range of SAP software and development tools, the solution offers a fast, easy and cost-effective way to explore, evaluate and train on SAP products including SAP HANA, before deploying new software in your infrastructure.

Learn more at http://ibm.com/systems/x/solutions/sap/discoverysystem

Note: The model that includes the preinstalled copy of SAP software does not include a license to use such SAP software. Please contact your SAP representative to obtain the appropriate license rights to use the SAP software.

Express models

The following table lists the express models.

Table 3. Express models (Part 1: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family)

Table 3. Express models (Part 1: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family) (continued)

* MTM = Machine Type Model
† Processor detail: Processor quantity and model, number of cores, core speed, L3 cache, memory speed, TDP.
(f) The ServeRAID M5110e RAID controller in this model includes flash-backed cache.
§ For model EFU, the standard DIMM is rated at 1600 MHz, but operates at up to 1333 MHz to match the processor memory speed. For models ELC, EOC, ERC, and ESC, the standard DIMM is rated at 1866 MHz, but operates at up to 1333 MHz to match the processor memory speed. For models ETC and EUC, the standard DIMM is rated at 1866 MHz, but operates at up to 1600 MHz to match the processor memory speed. Conversely, for model EWC, the processor memory speed is rated at 1866 MHz, but operates at up to 1600 MHz to match the rated speed of the installed DIMM. Actual memory speed maximums depend on several factors, as described in "Memory options".

Table 3. Express models (Part 2: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family)

Processor options

The x3650 M4 supports the processor options listed in the following table. The server supports up to two processors. This table shows which server models have each processor standard. If there is no corresponding where-used model for a particular processor, this processor is only available through CTO. Second processor options include an additional cooling fan.

Table 4. Processor options (Part 1: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family)

* The first feature code is for the first processor; the second feature code is for the second processor

Table 4. Processor options (Part 2: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family)

* The first feature code is for the first processor; the second feature code is for the second processor

Memory options

IBM DDR3 memory is compatibility tested and tuned for optimal System x performance and throughput. IBM memory specifications are integrated into the light path diagnostics for immediate system performance feedback and optimum system uptime. From a service and support standpoint, IBM memory automatically assumes the IBM system warranty, and IBM provides service and support worldwide.

The IBM System x3650 M4 supports DDR3 memory. The server supports up to 12 DIMMs when one processor is installed and up to 24 DIMMs when two processors are installed. Each processor has four memory channels, and there are three DIMMs per channel.

The following rules apply when selecting the memory configuration:

• Server supports UDIMMs, RDIMMs, HyperCloud DIMMs (also known as HCDIMMs), and LRDIMMs.
• Mixing different types of memory (UDIMMs, RDIMMs, HyperCloud DIMMs, and LRDIMMs) is not supported.
• 16 GB HyperCloud DIMMs and 32 GB HyperCloud DIMMs cannot be mixed.
• Mixing 1.5 V and 1.35 V DIMMs is supported; in such a case, all DIMMs operate at 1.5 V.
• Maximum number of ranks per one channel is eight (with the exception of Load Reduced DIMMs and HyperCloud DIMMs where more than eight ranks are supported, because one quad-rank LRDIMM or HCDIMM provides the reduced electrical load on a memory bus).
• The maximum quantity of DIMMs that can be installed in the server depends on the number of CPUs, DIMM type, rank, and operating voltage, as shown in the "Max. qty supported" row in Table 5.
• All DIMMs in the server operate at the same speed, which is determined as the lowest value of:
  • Memory speed that is supported by the specific CPU.
  • Lowest of maximum operating speeds for selected memory configuration that depends on rated speed, operating voltage, and quantity of DIMMs per channel, as shown under "Maximum operating speed" section in the table.

The following table (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4) shows the characteristics of the supported DIMMs. Tables cells highlighted with a gray background indicate when the combination of DIMM voltage and the number of DIMMs per channel still allows the DIMMs to operate at a rated speed.

Table 5. Maximum memory speeds (Part 1: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family - RDIMMs)

DIMM specification	RDIMM
Rank	Single rank			Dual rank
Part numbers	00D5024 (4 GB) 00D5036 (8 GB)		00D5020 (4 GB) 00D5032 (8 GB)	00D5044 (8 GB) 46W0672 (16 GB)		00D5048 (16 GB)
Rated speed	1600 MHz		1866 MHz	1600 MHz		1866 MHz
Rated voltage	1.35 V		1.5 V	1.35 V		1.5 V
Operating voltage	1.35 V	1.5 V	1.5 V	1.35 V	1.5 V	1.5 V
Max qty supported*	24	24	24	24	24	24
Max DIMM capacity	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB
Max memory capacity	192 GB	192 GB	192 GB	384 GB	384 GB	384 GB
Max. memory at rated speed	None	128 GB	64 GB	None	256 GB	256 GB
Maximum operating speed
1 DIMM per channel	1333 MHz	1600 MHz	1866 MHz	1333 MHz	1600 MHz	1866 MHz
2 DIMMs per channel	1333 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1333 MHz	1600 MHz	1866 MHz
3 DIMMs per channel	800 MHz	1066 MHz	1066 MHz	800 MHz	1066 MHz	1066 MHz

* The maximum quantity that is supported is shown for two processors installed.

Table 5. Maximum memory speeds (Part 2: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family - UDIMMs, LRDIMMs, and HyperCloud DIMMs)

DIMM specification	UDIMM		LRDIMM	HyperCloud DIMM
Rank	Dual rank		Quad rank	Dual rank
Part number	00D5016 (8 GB)		46W0761 (32 GB)	46W0767 (32 GB)
Rated speed	1600 MHz		1866 MHz	1333 MHz
Rated voltage	1.35 V		1.5 V	1.35 V
Operating voltage	1.35 V	1.5 V	1.5 V	1.35 V	1.5 V
Max. qty supported*	16	16	24	24	24
Max. DIMM capacity	8 GB	8 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB
Max. memory capacity	128 GB	128 GB	768 GB	768 GB	768 GB
Max. memory at rated speed	None	128 GB	512 GB	512 GB	768 GB
Maximum operating speed
1 DIMM per channel	1333 MHz	1600 MHz	1866 MHz	1333 MHz	1333 MHz
2 DIMMs per channel	1333 MHz	1600 MHz	1866 MHz	1333 MHz	1333 MHz
3 DIMMs per channel	No support	No support	1066 MHz	1066 MHz	1333 MHz

* Maximum quantity supported is shown for two processors installed.

Table 5. Maximum memory speeds (Part 3: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family - RDIMMs)

* Maximum quantity supported is shown for two processors installed.

Table 5. Maximum memory speeds (Part 4: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family - UDIMMs, HyperCloud DIMMs, and LRDIMMs)

* Maximum quantity supported is shown for two processors installed. When one processor is installed, the maximum quantity supported is a half of the quantity that is shown.

The following memory protection technologies are supported:

• ECC
• Chipkill (for x4-based memory DIMMs)
• Memory mirroring
• Memory rank sparing

If memory mirroring is used, DIMMs must be installed in pairs (minimum of one pair per each CPU), and both DIMMs in a pair must be identical in type and size.

If memory rank sparing is used, then a minimum of one quad-rank DIMM or two single-rank or dual-rank DIMMs must be installed per populated channel (the DIMMs do not need being identical). In rank sparing mode, one rank of a DIMM in each populated channel is reserved as spare memory. The size of a rank varies depending on the DIMMs installed.

The following table lists the memory options that are available for x3650 M4 server.

Table 6. Memory options (Part 1: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family)

Table 6. Memory options (Part 2: Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family)

Internal storage

IBM System x3650 M4 server supports 1.8-inch solid-state drives (SSDs), 2.5-inch SSDs and HDDs, and 3.5-inch HDDs. The server supports the following configurations:

1. 16x 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays, either with or without a SAS expander
2. 8x 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays
3. 6x 3.5-inch hot-swap hard drive bays
4. 8x 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays + 16x 1.8-inch SSD drive bays
5. 8x 2.5-inch simple swap drive bays (only available in CTO)
6. 32x 1.8-inch SSD drive bays (only available in CTO)
7. 6x 3.5-inch simple-swap SATA hard drive bays (only available in CTO)

The following figure shows the first three of these configurations.


Figure 5. Internal drive configurations (3 of 6 configurations shown)

Backplanes and enablement kits

All standard models, except models C4x and C5x, ship with eight 2.5-inch Slim-SFF SAS/SATA hot-swap hard drive bays. Models C4x and C5x ship with six 3.5-inch SAS/SATA hot-swap hard drive bays.

The following table shows the internal storage expansion options that are available for x3650 M4 server.

Table 7. Internal storage expansion options

* These configurations are only available via CTO and special bid.

Use the following table to determine what backplane kits you need.

Table 8. Drive combinations

Controllers for internal storage

The following table lists the RAID controllers and additional options used for internal disk storage of x3650 M4 server.

Table 9. RAID controllers and HBAs for internal storage (Part 1: 6 Gbps SAS)

* The ServeRAID M5100 Series Battery Kit (81Y4508) is only supported with ServeRAID M5100 Series 512MB Cache/RAID 5 Upgrade (81Y4484).
† The ServeRAID M5100 Series RAID 6 Upgrade (81Y4546) requires 512 MB or 1 GB cache upgrades.
** Cannot be installed if an internal tape drive is installed

Table 9. RAID controllers and HBAs for internal storage (Part 2: 12 Gbps SAS)

* Requires cache memory upgrade (47C8656, 47C8660, or 47C8664).

The integrated ServeRAID M5110e SAS/SATA Controller has the following specifications:

• Eight internal 6 Gbps SAS/SATA ports
• Two x4 mini-SAS internal connectors
• Supports RAID levels 0, 1, and 10
• Supports RAID levels 5 and 50 with optional M5100 Series RAID 5 upgrades
• Supports RAID 6 and 60 with the optional M5100 Series RAID 6 Upgrade
• Supports 512 MB battery-backed cache or 512 MB or 1 GB flash-backed cache
• Up to 6 Gbps throughput per port
• PCIe x8 Gen 3 host interface
• Based on the LSI SAS2208 6 Gbps ROC controller

The ServeRAID M5110 SAS/SATA Controller has the following specifications:

• Eight internal 6 Gbps SAS/SATA ports
• Two x4 mini-SAS internal connectors (SFF-8087)
• Supports connections to SAS/SATA drives and SAS Expanders
• Supports RAID levels 0, 1, and 10
• Supports RAID levels 5 and 50 with optional M5100 Series RAID 5 upgrades
• Supports RAID 6 and 60 with the optional M5100 Series RAID 6 Upgrade
• Supports 512 MB battery-backed cache or 512 MB or 1 GB flash-backed cache
• Up to 6 Gbps throughput per port
• PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface
• Based on the LSI SAS2208 6 Gbps ROC controller

The ServeRAID M5210 SAS/SATA Controller has the following specifications:

• Eight internal 12 Gbps SAS/SATA ports
• Two x4 HD mini-SAS internal connectors (SFF-8643)
• Supports connections to SAS/SATA drives and SAS Expanders
• Supports RAID levels 0, 1, and 10
• Supports RAID levels 5 and 50 with optional M5200 Series RAID 5 upgrades
• Supports RAID 6 and 60 with the optional M5200 Series RAID 6 Upgrade
• Supports 1 GB non-backed cache or 1 GB or 2 GB flash-backed cache
• Up to 12 Gbps throughput per port
• PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface
• Based on the LSI SAS3108 12 Gbps ROC controller

The IBM 6Gb Performance Optimized HBA has the following specifications:

• Eight internal 6 Gbps SAS/SATA ports
• Two x4 mini-SAS internal connectors (SFF-8087)
• Supports connections to SAS/SATA HDDs and SATA SSDs
• Optimized for SSD performance
• No RAID support
• Up to 6 Gbps throughput per port
• PCIe 2.0 x8 host interface
• Based on the LSI SAS2008 6 Gbps controller

The IBM N2115 SAS/SATA HBA has the following specifications:

• Eight internal 6 Gbps SAS/SATA ports
• Two x4 mini-SAS internal connectors (SFF-8087)
• Supports connections to SAS/SATA HDDs and SATA SSDs
• Optimized for SSD performance
• No RAID support
• Up to 6 Gbps throughput per port
• PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface
• Based on the LSI SAS2308 6 Gbps controller

The IBM N2215 SAS/SATA HBA has the following specifications:

• Eight internal 12 Gbps SAS/SATA ports
• Two x4 HD mini-SAS internal connectors (SFF-8643)
• Supports connections to SAS/SATA HDDs and SATA SSDs
• Optimized for SSD performance
• No RAID support
• Up to 12 Gbps throughput per port
• PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface
• Based on the LSI SAS3008 12 Gbps controller

For more information, see the list of IBM Redbooks Product Guides in the RAID adapters category:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/portals/systemx?Open&page=pg&cat=raid

Internal drive options

The following table lists hard drive options for the internal disk storage of the x3650 M4 server.

Table 10. Disk drive options for internal disk storage

Table 10. Disk drive options for internal disk storage (Part 4)