Understanding the HPE Superdome X Data Center Footprint

Upgrading your IT infrastructure is always a big deal. When you’re planning to implement a new server in your data center, you need to be aware of the system’s physical size and implementation characteristics, as well as the system’s overall capacities. This is especially true if, like most businesses, you don’t initially buy the system in its maximum configuration.

Most businesses buy the capacity they think they will require for the immediate future, and maybe just a bit more. They typically try to leave some available headroom to upgrade in case workloads increase in the future. When you implement a new server platform, it’s therefore essential to know its physical attributes and the extent to which it can be expanded to accommodate increasing workloads.

HPE Superdome X Capacities

First, in term of capacity, the HPE Superdome X is highly scalable at an enterprise level. You can order the HPE Superdome X with a single server blade, and it can scale up to eight blades. The total CPU and memory capacity of the HPE Superdome X are:

These capacities provide ample scalability for most businesses--suitable for implementing enterprise virtualization hosts as well as mission-critical database and application services.

Physical Specifications

Next, you need to plan for the physical implementation. One thing that you need to be aware of with the HPE Superdome X is that it is a blade server. This means that it does not have any internal storage. Instead, the boot OS comes from a shared storage array like an HPE 3PAR SAN. You can see the HPE Superdome X platform in Figure 1.

Figure 1 – The HPE Superdome X Server Platform

As Figure 1 illustrates, the HPE Superdome X is an 18U enclosure that fits into 42U HPE 600 mm-wide rack. The HPE Superdome X supports up to eight server blades, where each blade can have up to 48 CPU cores and 3 TB of memory per server blade. You can get the HPE Superdome X with configurations of one, two, three, four, six or eight blades, as well as multiple nPars (hardware paritions). There is a built-in DVD drive, and the server provides fault-tolerant Crossbar Fabric connections, as well as redundant power supplies and the Onboard Administrator for multiple blade management.

Supported Operating System

Of course, one of the overriding concerns with any new server implementation is the operating environment that it supports. The HPE Superdome X supports:

Services and Support

For many organizations, ongoing support is also an important concern when they are evaluating new server platforms. HPE Proactive Care Advanced Service with 24x7 Coverage provides personalized support and a locally assigned Account Support Manager. The HPE Proactive Care provides enhanced call handling with start-to-finish call management and critical event management to help reduce the time for critical incident resolution. The service includes three years’ worth of proactive reporting, as well as a four-hour hardware response time.

HPE and Microsoft are the underwriters of this article.