First look at the server

With the packing material removed, we get our first look at the IBM System x3400 M3 tower.

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Power cables and documentation

The IBM System x3400 M3 is shipped with a pair of power cables and the product documentation.

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Out of the box

Unpacking the IBM System x3400 M3 server is best done with two people.

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One rather large tower

The IBM System x3400 M3 comes as either a tower or 5U rack by CTO or optional conversion kit. This tower version is 17.3 inches tall, 8.6 inches wide, 30.2 inches deep, and weighs between 59.7 and 83.4 pounds (depending on the configuration). This machine is significantly larger and heavier than your average desktop tower.

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Top drive cover open

Behind the IBM System x3400 M3’s top drive cover is the optical drive and two additional 5.25″ drive bays. A small white power button is also located in the top-left corner.

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Top drive bays

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Media bays access instructions

Instructions for accessing various areas of the IBM System x3400 M3 (such as the media bays) are conveniently located on multiple case stickers.

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External USB 2.0 ports

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Side panel catch and media bays access button

The lock on the side panel prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing the hardware inside the case and the media bays.

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Drive covers open

Opening the drive covers reveals the hard drives.

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Optical drive with drive cover open

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Hard drives

Standard IBM System x3400 M3 machines support either eight 2.5″ SAS drives, four 3.5″ SAS/SATA drives, or four solid-state 3.5″ SATA drives. Optional configurations are available with 16 2.5″ SAS or eight 3.5 SAS/SATA bays.

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hard drive latch

Drives are hot-swappable and removing them is as simple as lifting up this level and pulling the drive out. I’ll leave them in place for now.

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Hard drive slots

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5.25" Drive bays

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Side panel latch

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Opening the side panel

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Inside the IBM System x3400 M3

With the side panel open, we get our first look inside the IBM System x3400 M3. The M3’s case design allows for easy access to the system’s interior hardware.

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System service information

A large sticker with system service information is located on the inside of the IBM System x3400 M3’s removable side panel.

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Removable side case panel

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System board diagram and common part numbers

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Media bays

Our test system came with a single optical drive, but the IBM System x3400 M3 has two additional 5.25″ bays.

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Hard drive bays

The back of the IBM System x3400 M3’s hard drive bays. Our test system was configured for eight, hot-swappable 2.5″ SAS drives.

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Power supplies

The IBM System x3400 M3 comes with either a fixed or hot-swappable power supply. Our test system had a pair of hot-swappable supplies.

The supplies were mounted in a large metal housing that swung out of the case allowing access to the first CPU, a second set of DIMM sockets, and various motherboard connections.

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CPUs

The IBM System x3400 M3 has space for a pair of CPUs and supports a variety of Intel units, including the 6-Core Intel Xeon (X56xx), 4-Core Intel Xeon (E56xx), 4-Core Intel Xeon (E55xx), and 2-Core Xeon (E55xx).

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Adapter guide

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Cooling fan

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Removing the cooling fan

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Cooling fan removed

The IBM System x3400 M3 tower contains three of these large cooling fans.

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Hot-swappable power supplies

Our IBM System x3400 M3 test machine had a pair of hot-swappable power supplies.

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Releasing the power supply

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Self-contained power supply

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Power supplies removed

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Power supplies removed

The IBM System x3400 M3 supports either 920W or 670W universal, autoswitching power supplies.

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Power supply connectors

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Power supply housing

With the supplies removed, the supplies’ metal housing should swing out from the case.

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Lift up on the power supply latch and pull

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Power supply housing in open position

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Behind the power supply housing

With the supply housing in the open position, we can see the clear plastic cover behind it.

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Clear plastic cover

We can now remove the clear plastic cover that sits behind the power supply housing.

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Clear plastic cover latch

This latch holds the clear plastic cover in place.

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Clear plastic cover starts to come free

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Lifting the clear plastic cover away

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Clear plastic cover

This clear plastic cover helps direct air flow to critical areas inside the IBM System x3400 M3.

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System board without the clear plastic cover

With the clear plastic cover removed, we get a much better view of the main system board, DIMM sockets, CPU heatsinks, and other internal components. Next, I’ll remove the large metal housing for the IBM System x3400 M3’s three cooling fans.

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Cooling fan housing bottom latch

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Cooling fan housing top latch

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Cooling fan housing

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Cooling fan housing removed

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CPUs and DIMM sockets

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CPUs and DIMM sockets

The IBM System x3400 M3 can support up to 128GB of RDIMM memory in 16 DIMM slots, or up to 24GB of UDIMM memory in 12 slots. Our test system had 16 slots.

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Miscellaneous cables

Cables for the optical drive, hard drives, and various other components.

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CPU Heatsinks

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Samsung 4GB 2Rx4 PC3-10600R DIMM

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Hypervisor USB port

The IBM System x3400 M3 contains an embedded hypervisor–“a USB port on the motherboard, activated with an optional USB key for supporting VMware ESXi for virtualization.”

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Adapter slots and IMM

The IBM System x3400 M3 has six adapter slots standard–five PCIe Gen 2 slots and one legacy PCI slot.

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IBM ServeRAID SAS/SATA Controller

One slot is used for the IBM ServeRAID SAS/SATA Controller.

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Gb Ethernet

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IBM ServeRAID SAS/SATA Controller - Front

The optional IBM ServeRAID SAS/SATA Controller

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IBM ServeRAID SAS/SATA Controller - Back

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SAS hard drive bay circuit board

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Three 2.5" SAS hard drives

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Removing the hard drives

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IBM System X 300GB hard drive

Our IBM System x3400 M3 came with three IBM System X 300GB 10,000 RPM SAS hard drives.

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Removing the optical drive

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DVD-ROM optical drive TS-H353

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Removing the hard drive bay circuit board and connectors

This circuit board contains the eight connectors for the 2.5″ SAS hard drives and connects to the IBM ServeRAID SAS/SATA Controller.

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Main System board release latch

The IBM System x3400 M3’s main system board is mounted on a removable plate. Releasing this latch allows you to remove the plate.

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Hard drive bay circuit board removed

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Near-empty case

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Nothing left but a few wires and various metal housings

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Main system board - Top

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Main system board - Side

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CPU heatsink removed

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