AS6400E Specifications

Amdahl SPARCsummit 6400E Enterprise Server

Harnessing the power of SPARC technology
Unbridled horsepower and workhorse reliability

The Amdahl SPARCsummit(TM) 6400E Enterprise Server (AS6400E) is the logical extension of the SPARC(R)-based server product line. Extending existing Sun(TM) SPARC-based servers (such as the SPARCserver(TM) 1000 and the SPARCcenter(TM) 2000) to large, commercial open systems environments (AS6400E, A+ products, and Amdahl customer service) brings data center values and disciplines to mission-critical computing. The addition of the AS6400E provides Amdahl customers with the broadest range of open systems servers in the industry.

The AS6400E is at the high end of Amdahl's open SPARC-based server platforms. It extends the product line to meet the high performance and configuration requirements of large commercial customers for scalable, cost-effective computing and mainframe-like Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS) in an open environment. The AS6400E combines throughput, capacity, performance, commercial extensions, and Amdahl support to make it an outstanding choice for large-scale, mission-critical applications.

The AS6400E runs in the standard Solaris(TM) environment and supports the thousands of applications that have been written and ported to that environment, thereby protecting the customer's information systems investment and providing capabilities for use as a highly available and powerful database server, compute server, file server, or a base for on-line transaction processing and mixed workload applications.

Customers with large, complex open systems OLTP requirements or who are consolidating their commercial open systems servers for ease of management and cost reductions can benefit from the AS6400E's performance and RAS characteristics which enable it to fit in well in the demanding environment of the traditional data center. Coupled with Amdahl's long-standing experience in enterprise computing environments and our ability to address customers' needs through support and services, the AS6400E strengthens the customers'confidence in the distributed and client-server computing models which today are used to increase flexibility and productivity for the enterprise.

Hardware configurations

The AS6400E is a high performance, super-scalar and super-pipelined processor implementation of the SPARC architecture. The AS6400E is a shared memory symmetric multi-processor (SMP) system based on the 60 MHz SuperSPARC processor. From 16 to 64 processors in increments of 4 CPUs are available in a single SPARCsummit 6400E Enterprise Server.

The AS6400E is configured from four or more system modules installed in a system cabinet. Each system module includes four SPARC microprocessors, up to one gigabyte of memory, an SBus interface for up to four I/O or network controllers, and four packet-switched system busses for internal interconnections. Memory on each system module can be configured for either 512 MB or 1024 MB per system module.

Operating environments

Operating System                   Solaris 2.4 with extensions

CPU
CPUs per system                    16-64
Clock rate                         60 MHz
Word length                        32 bits
On-chip cache size                 20 KB instruction cache
                                   16 KB data cache
External cache size                2 MB

Memory
Memory                             16 Mbit DRAM
Memory per system                  2GB to 16GB
Bandwidth - sustained              1.28 GB/s

Interconnect
System bus                         4 XDBus busses per system
Clock rate                         55 MHz
Peak bandwidth                     1.76 GB/sec

I/O
SBus I/O channels                  4 -16, IEEE conformant (1496-1993 Rev B.0)
SBus controllers                   1-64 per system
Throughput                         50 MB/s per SBus

Peripheral Connectivity
Interfaces                         SBus
                                   Ethernet
                                   FDDI
                                   HiPPI
                                   Fibre Channel
                                   SCSI-2 (16 bits)
                                   BMux (FIPS-60)

Disks
Discrete disks                     SCSI-2 (16 bits wide)
Capacity per disk                  2.9 GB or 9 GB
System disk capacity               greater than 1.7 TB (discrete disks)
CD-ROM                             SCSI
Optional Storage Array             Amdahl Series 3000 Disk Array
System disk array capacity         9.8 TB
Optional SPARCstorage Array        SPARCstorage Array 100 and 200

Tapes
Interfaces                         1/2 inch
                                   1/4 inch QIC-150/525
                                   IBM 3480, 3490
                                   8 mm EXABYTE
                                   4 mm DAT

System Service Processor
Workstation
Monitor
Keyboard, Mouse and Pad
CD-ROM package
Desktop Storage Pack

Several disk storage options are available, including Amdahl Series 3000 Disk Arrays, AS6400E storage peripherals, Standard SCSI-2 peripherals, and Sun(TM)SPARCstorage Array 100 and 200. Additionally, Sun markets a number of other peripherals and SBus controllers for the SC2000 that are compatible with the AS6400E. These options can provide the customer with over nine terabytes of data storage.

The AS6400E supports the connectivity demanded by customers, including Ethernet, FDDI, HiPPI, Fibre Channel, SCSI-2, OEMI (for IBM 3480 tape support) and associated protocols.

Software configurations

The furnished software package includes an enhanced Solaris 2.4-based operating environment which runs without modification the thousands of Solaris-based applications now available. It also includes a complete set of languages and tools for developing custom applications. The software environment includes the following additional features:

* Support for 64 processors and 16 GB memory * Use of up to 256 KB pages in addition to the standard 4 KB pages with automatic optimization by the OS * Upward compatible extensions to the networking software for higher performance * "Soft domain" capability which provides logical partitioning (fencing) of workloads * System Service Processor (SSP) support and enhanced diagnostics

RAS Enhancements

The AS6400E has been designed for very high on-line availability, with redundant power supplies and fans, dual data pathing, and sophisticated System Service Processor (SSP) functions. The SSP scans the hardware to detect problems, monitor processor power and environmentals, and log any failures. For those customers with Amdahl support contracts, the AS6400E "call home" to Amdahl's Worldwide Customer Support Center, where remote diagnostic support is available.

The AS6400E features hot-swap capability that eliminates the downtime associated with replacing or upgrading existing system boards or installing additional system boards. Power supplies are also hot-swap capable.

In case of a serious failure the AS6400E automatically reboots, locates the fault and reconfigures itself taking the failed component off-line.

Customer Service support

Amdahl Customer Service provides maintenance support and service for the AS6400E using Amdahl system and field engineers. The Amdahl Customer Service presense, diagnostic expertise, and escalation procedures that are available for the mainframes are also available for the AS6400E.

There are two service level offerings available for the AS6400E. These include hardware installation, plus hardware and bundled software support:

 * Premium, which provides 24 hour support, seven days a week with 
   2 hour on-site response time

 * Basic, which provides 8.00 to 20.00 local time, Monday through 
   Friday support with 4 hour on-site response time

Environmental specifications

                      System cabinet               I/O cabinet

Height                 68.5 inches (174 cm)        68.5 inches (174 cm)
Width                  32 inches (81.3 cm)         32 inches (81.3 cm)
Depth                  56 inches (142 cm)          47 inches (119 cm)
Weight                 1200 pounds (546 kg)        1270 pounds (578 kg)
                       (fully configured with      (fully configured with 
                       64 processors)              60 disks)
Voltage input @        200/240 volts,              200/240 volts, single-phase,
current                three-phase, @ 60 Amps      @ 32 Amps
                       (North America, Japan)
                       346/415 volts, three-phase,  
                       @ 40 Amps (Europe)
Frequency              47 to 63 Hz                 47 to 63 Hz
Power                  14,062 W                    3,750 W
Heat generated         48,000 BTU (42,167 kJ)/hr   13,000 BTU (13,709kJ)/hr
                       (fully configured with      fully configured with 
                       64 processors)              60 disks)
Operating humidity     30-70% non-condensing       30-70% non-condensing
Operating temperature  50-95í F (10-35í C)         50-95í F (10-35í C)

Specifications are subject to change without notice. Amdahl is a registered trademark and the A+ logo is a trademark of Amdahl Corporation.Solaris and Sun are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARCcenter and SPARCserver are trademarks of SPARC and licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARCsummit is a trademark of SPARC International, Inc. and licensed exclusively to Amdahl Corporation. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The information in this document may be superseded by subsequent documents.