| Sun Netra CT900 Server Administration and Reference Manual |     |
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Glossary |
Knowledge of the following terms and acronyms is useful in the administration of Oracle’s Sun Netra CT900 server.
(Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture) Also referred to as AdvancedTCA. A series of industry standard specifications for the next generation of carrier grade communications equipment. AdvancedTCA incorporates the latest trends in high speed interconnect technologies, next generation processors, and improved reliability, manageability and serviceability, resulting in a new blade (board) and chassis (shelf) form factor optimized for communications at the lowest cost due to standardization.
Any Shelf Management card capable of assuming support for the shelf manager function.
A physical connection within the Base interface composed of up to four differential signal pairs. Each Base channel is the endpoint of a slot-to-slot connection within the base interface.
A switch that supports the Base interface. A Base switch provides 10/100/1000BASE-T packet switching services to all node boards installed in the shelf. In the Sun Netra CT900 server, the Base switches reside in physical slots 7 and 8 (logical slots 1 and 2) in the shelf and support connections to all node slots and boards. Boards that support the Fabric interface and Base interface are also referred to as “switches.”
An interface that is used to support 10/100 or 1000BASE-T connections between node boards and switches in a shelf. Midplanes are required to support the Base interface by routing four different signal pairs between all node board slots and each switch slot (in the Sun Netra CT900 server, the Base switch slots are physical slots 7 and 8, logical slots 1 and 2).
A collection of point-to-point interfaces and bused signals intended to provide interconnect among the payloads on switches and node boards.
An interconnect fabric topology in which two switch resources provide redundant connections to all end points within the network. A pair of switches provide redundant interconnects between node boards.
A protocol used to describe the compatibility between the Base interface, Fabric interface, update channel interface, and synchronization clocks connections of front boards.
European Telecommunications Standards Institute.
A Fabric channel is comprised of two rows of signal pairs for a total of eight signal pairs per channel. Thus, each connector supports up to five channels available for board to board connectivity. A channel may also be viewed as being comprised of four 2-pair ports.
A Zone 2 interface that provides 15 connections per board or slot, each comprising up to 8 differential signal pairs (channels) supporting connections with up to 15 other slots or boards. Midplanes can support the Fabric interface in a variety of configurations including Full Mesh and Dual Star topologies. Boards that support the Fabric interface can be configured as fabric node boards, fabric switches, or mesh-enabled boards. Board implementations of the Fabric interface are defined by the PICMG 3.x subsidiary specifications.
From a service point of view, the smallest irreducible elements of a server. Examples of FRUs are disk drives, I/O cards, and power entry modules. Note that a server, with all of its cards and other components, is not a FRU. However, an empty server is a FRU.
A physical or logical entity that can contain one or more shelves. Also called a rack, or, if enclosed, a cabinet.
A board that conforms to PICMG 3.0 mechanicals (8U x280mm), including a PCB and a panel. A front board connects with the Zone 1 and Zone 2 midplane connectors. It can optionally connect with a Zone 3 midplane connector or directly to a rear transition module connector and is installed into the front position in the shelf.
A Fabric channel connection that uses all eight differential signal pairs between end-points.
A Full Mesh configuration that can be supported within the Fabric interface to provide one dedicated channel of connectivity between each pair of slots within a shelf. Full Mesh-configured midplanes are capable of supporting mesh-enabled boards or switches and node boards installed in a Dual Star arrangement.
The connection and disconnection of peripherals or other components without interrupting system operation. This facility may have design implications for both hardware and software.
Inter-integrated circuit bus. A multi-master, 2-wire serial bus used as the basis for current IPMBs.
(Intelligent Platform Management Bus) The lowest level hardware management bus as described in the Intelligent Platform Management Bus Communications Protocol specification.
A hub device that provides multiple radial IPMB-0 links to various FRUs in the system. For example, an IPMB-0 hub is present in an ShMM that has radial IPMB-0 links.
With radial topology, the physical IPMB-0 segment between an IPMB-0 segment between an IPMB-0 hub and a single FRU. Each IPMB-0 link on an IPMB-0 hub is usually associated with a separate IPMB-0 sensor. An IPMB-0 link can also connect in a bused topology to multiple FRUs.
The portion of a FRU that interfaces to the ATCA IPMB-0 and represents that FRU and any device subsidiary to it.
(Intelligent Platform Management Interface) A specification and mechanism for providing inventory management, monitoring, logging, and control for elements of a computer system. As defined in Intelligent Platform Management Interface specification.
A shelf-wide electrical net used on boards and midplanes as a reference and return path for logic-level signals that are carried between boards.
A board that provides connectivity to all other boards within the midplane. Mesh Enabled boards support the Fabric interface and can also support the Base interface. Mesh Enabled boards can use 2 to 15 Fabric interface channels (typically all 15 channels) to support direct connections to all other boards in the shelf. The number of channels supported dictate the maximum number of boards that can be connected to within a shelf. Mesh Enabled boards that do not use the Base interface can be installed in the lowest available logical slot. Mesh Enabled boards supporting the Base interface can be Base switches, in which case they can support Base channels 1 and 2 and can be installed into logical slots 3 to 16. Boards supporting the Base interface use Base channels 1 and 2 only to support 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet.
The functional equivalent of a backplane. The midplane is secured to the back of the server. The CPU card, I/O cards, and storage devices connect to the midplane from the front, and the rear transition modules connect to the midplane from the rear.
(Network Equipment/Building System) A set of requirements for equipment installed in telecommunications control offices in the United States. These requirements cover personnel safety, protection of property, and operational continuity. NEBS testing involves subjecting equipment to various vibration stresses, fire, and other environmental and quality metrics. There are three levels of NEBS compliance, each a superset of the preceding. NEBS level 3, the highest level, certifies that a piece of equipment can be safely deployed in an “extreme environment.” A telecommunications central office is considered an extreme environment.
The NEBS standards are maintained by Telcordia Technologies, Inc., formerly Bellcore.
A board intended for use in a star topology midplane that has connectivity to a switch within the midplane. Node boards can support either or both the Base interface and Fabric interface. Boards supporting the Fabric interface use Fabric channels 1 and 2. Boards supporting the Base interface use Base channels 1 and 2 only to support 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet.
A slot in the midplane that supports only node boards. A node slot is not capable of supporting a switch, thus a node board can never occupy logical slots 1 and 2. Node slots apply only to midplanes designed to support star topologies. Node slots support both the Base interface and Fabric interface. Typically, a node slot supports two or four Fabric channels and Base channels 1 and 2. Each two channel node slots establish connections to logical slots 1 and 2, respectively. Four channel node slots establish connections to logical slots 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
(Peripheral Component Interconnect) A standard for connecting peripherals to a computer. It runs at 20 - 33 MHz and carries 32 bits at a time over a 124-pin connector or 64 bits over a 188-pin connector. An address is sent in one cycle followed by one word of data (or several in burst mode).
Technically, PCI is not a bus but a bridge or mezzanine. It includes buffers to decouple the CPU from relatively slow peripherals and allow them to operate asynchronously.
An address that defines the physical slot location of a FRU. A physical address consists of a site type and site number.
(PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) A consortium of companies who develop open specifications for telecommunications and industrial computing applications, including the CompactPCI standard.
A configuration option for the Sun Netra CT900 server in which all of the cables come out from the back of the shelf.
A card used only on the rear-access models of the Sun Netra CT900 server to extend the connectors to the back of the shelf.
Reliability, Availability, Serviceability (RAS)
A hardware and software feature that implements or improves the reliability, availability and serviceability of a server.
A collection of components that consists of the midplane, front boards, cooling devices, rear transition modules, and power entry modules. The shelf was historically known as a chassis.
A variable length, variable format descriptor of up to 20 bytes in length that provides a unique identifier for each shelf within a management domain.
A safety ground and earth return that is connected to the frame and is available to all boards.
The entity in the system that is responsible for managing the power, cooling, and interconnects (with Electronic Keying) in an AdvancedTCA shelf. The shelf manager (ShMM) also routes messages between the System Manager Interface and IPMB-0, provides interfaces to system repositories, and responds to event messages. Note that while Oracle refers to ShMM for the entire management system, other ATCA vendors might refer to as the ShMC.
(Shelf Management Controller) An IPMC that is also capable of supporting the functions required of the shelf manager.
Simple Network Management Protocol.
A midplane topology having one or more hub slots providing connectivity among the supported node slots.
A board intended for use in a star topology midplane that provides connectivity to a number of node boards within the midplane. Switches can support either or both the Base interface and Fabric interface. Boards utilizing the Fabric interface typically provide switching resources to all 15 available Fabric channels. Switches supporting the Base interface are installed into logical slots 1 and 2 and use all 16 Base channels to provide 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet switching resources to up to 14 node boards and the other switch. One Base channel is assigned to support a connection to the Shelf Management card.
In a star topology midplane, switch slots must reside in logical slots 1 and 2. Switch slots support both the Base interface and Fabric interface. Switch slots located in logical sots 1 and 2 are capable of supporting both Base interface and Fabric interface switches. Logical slots 1 and 2 are always switch slots regardless of the fabric topology. These slots support up to 16 Base channels and up to 15 Fabric channels each.
A managed entity that can include one or more of the following components: node and switches, shelves, and frames.
A unit of measure equal to 1.75 in. (44.45 mm).
Also referred to as the update channel. A Zone 2 interface that provides connections comprising of ten differential signal pairs between two boards. This direct connection between two boards can be used to synchronize state information. The transport implemented for the update channel on a board is not defined. Update channels can be used only by two like-function boards created by a single vendor. Electronic Keying is used to ensure that update channel end points have matching transport protocols mapped prior to enabling the drivers. Midplanes must support the update channel. Boards can support the update channel.
The linear space along the height dimension of an ATCA slot that is allocated for power, management, and other ancillary functions.
The linear space along the height dimension of an ATCA slot that is allocated to the data transport interface.
The linear space along the height dimension of an ATCA slot that is reserved for user-defined connections and/or interconnections to the rear transition modules for rear access systems.
| Sun Netra CT900 Server Administration and Reference Manual | 819-1177-18 | |
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