IBM BladeCenter system electrical packaging design challenges

Abstract

This work describes the electrical and thermal design challenges encountered during the definition, design and verification of a BladeCenter/spl trade/ system configuration utilizing high speed serial signal interfaces. This system uses gigabit Ethernet (GbE), fiber channel (FC) and Infiniband (IB) interfaces for interconnecting processor blades through high speed cross-bar switches with built-in redundancy capability. A comprehensive electrical design methodology including accurate and detailed modeling and simulation of the complete design space is required to achieve the speeds provided by these standard interfaces using low-cost printed circuit board material. The focus of the analysis is on the link attenuation for the system described. The cooling solution needed to accommodate the overall system thermal requirement for maximum configuration is also discussed.