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5.2 Requirements
Prior to installation, we must first consider the system requirements. Especially,
the impact of the attached networks and storage on overall performance has to
be considered. Some recommendations to follow are:
򐂰 Design the storage subsystem carefully (RAID-level, stripe size, number of
hard drives versus capacity). See Tuning IBM eServer xSeries Servers for
Performance, SG24-5287.
򐂰 Check for appropriate cache policy usage on FAStT (see IBM TotalStorage
FAStT700 and Copy Services, SG24-6808).
Prior to installation, all firmware and BIOS levels must be verified and updated if
necessary. To get the latest information and downloads, visit the following site:
http://www.pc.ibm.com/support/
On the xSeries pages, you will find the latest drivers and firmware releases, as
well as documentation about installation for specific models.
Remember to also check compatibility of you disk systems by visiting:
http://www.storage.ibm.com/proven/index.html
5.2.1 Hardware requirements
The xSeries servers currently range from single processor to 16-way processor
systems. Memory ranges from 128 MB to 64 GB. Requirements will be
dependant on workload: for example, a large database would be well suited to a
system with plenty of memory and CPU power, whereas a Web server would be
better with more networking resources. Many options are available and
supported in IBM xSeries servers. You can view the latest list at the following site:
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/compat/index.html
Red Hat and Suse also have a list of tested and supported hardware with their
distribution of Linux, respectively at:
http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl or
http://www.suse.com/us/business/certifications/certified_hardware
For attaching to external storage, you will need a Host Bus Adapter. You can find
the list of supported adapters by going to:
http://www.storage.ibm.com
After selecting your storage type, look for interoperabilty matrix.
Chapter 5. Linux on xSeries and BladeCenter
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