HPE Integrity Servers

HPE Integrity Servers
Company type	Product line
Industry	Computer servers
Founded	2003
Founder	Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Products	Server computers
Parent	Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HPE Integrity Servers represent a line of server computers developed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (previously known as Hewlett-Packard) beginning in 2003, utilizing the Itanium processor architecture. The Integrity product name was acquired through the Tandem Computers acquisition by Compaq.

In 2015, HP launched the Superdome X series of Integrity Servers, which transitioned to an x86 platform. This compact system accommodates up to eight dual-socket blades, delivering a total of 16 processors and 240 cores when outfitted with Intel Xeon E7-2890 or E7-2880 CPUs.

General

Integrity servers have been compatible with multiple operating systems including Windows Server, HP-UX 11i, OpenVMS, NonStop, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. As of 2020, supported platforms comprise HP-UX 11i, OpenVMS, and NonStop.

The earliest Integrity models incorporated two related chipset designs: the zx1, which supported up to four CPUs and eight PCI-X buses, and the sx1000, capable of handling up to 64 CPUs and 192 PCI-X buses. The zx1 chipset consisted of three specialized integrated circuits: a memory and I/O controller, a scalable memory adapter, and an I/O adapter. It was compatible with PA-8800 and PA-8900 processors and shared a bus architecture with Itanium 2 chips, allowing deployment in HP 9000 servers and C8000 workstation systems.

The memory and I/O controller directly managed up to twelve DDR SDRAM slots; when combined with scalable memory adapters, this expanded to forty-eight slots. Supporting DIMMs with capacities up to 4 GB resulted in theoretical maximum memory sizes of 192 GB, although typical system configurations generally topped out at 128 GB.

Later chipset iterations included the zx2 and sx2000 series.

rx1600 series

The rx1600 is a 1U server utilizing the zx1 chipset that supports either one or two Deerfield Itanium 2 processors running at 1 GHz. The rx1620 variant supports one or two Fanwood Itanium 2 CPUs clocked at either 1.3 GHz or 1.6 GHz.

Standard specifications include:

Memory: Maximum of eight DIMMs
Storage: Dual-channel Ultra-320 SCSI controller with two hot-swappable Ultra320 hard drives; includes one external Ultra320 SCSI port
Network: One LAN port supporting 10/100/1000BaseTX plus an additional LAN port supporting 10/100BaseTX
RS-232 serial interface
Optional redundant power supply units
Two USB interfaces
Two PCI-X expansion slots

Available optional features:

SCSI RAID controller
Management processor card (necessary for Windows Server 2003 compatibility)
CD/DVD drive (required for installing Windows Server 2003 and OpenVMS)

Supported operating environments:

HP-UX 11i version 2 or newer
OpenVMS tailored for Itanium
Windows Server 2003 for Itanium processors
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium
Linux distributions with kernel support for Itanium

rx2600 series

The rx2600 family consists of 2U servers based on zx1 and zx2 chipsets, accommodating one or two CPUs ranging from the Deerfield/Madison series at 1.0 GHz up to Montvale processors at 1.66 GHz.

Key features include:

Memory: Up to twelve DIMMs (eight DIMMs in rx2660 models)
Storage: Dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI controller supporting two internal drives plus three hot-swappable Ultra320 drives and one external Ultra320 SCSI connector
Network: Single LAN port with 10/100/1000BaseTX capability
Two RS-232 serial ports
Optional redundant power supplies
Two USB ports
Four PCI-X slots

Optional equipment:

SCSI RAID controller
Management processor card (mandatory for Windows Server 2003 support)
CD/DVD-ROM drive (required for installation of Windows Server 2003 and OpenVMS)

Supported operating systems:

HP-UX 11i version 2 or higher
OpenVMS designed for Itanium architecture
Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based systems
Linux distributions compatible with Itanium kernels

rx2800 series

The 2U rx2800 i2 server is built on the Intel Itanium 9300 series chipset and can be configured with up to eight processor cores.

Highlighted specifications:

Memory: Supports as many as 24 DIMMs
Storage: Equipped with the HP p410i 3 Gb SAS Controller, accommodating eight hot-swappable Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) small form factor (SFF) 2.5-inch drives
Network: Features a quad-port 10/100/1000BaseTX LAN interface
Contains six expansion slots

Compatible operating systems include HP-UX 11i v3, OpenVMS v8.4 for Itanium, and Windows Server for Itanium.

rx3600

The 4U rx3600 server incorporates the zx2 chipset and supports dual Montecito or Montvale processors, alongside a maximum of 96 GB main memory through 24 DDR2 DIMMs of four gigabytes each.

Standard specifications:

Memory: Up to 24 ECC PC2-4200 DDR2 DIMMs, with expandability via optional memory carrier boards
Storage: Eight slots for 2.5" SAS drives managed by an 8-port SAS host bus adapter, supporting two RAID 1 volumes plus a dedicated hot spare
Network: Dual-port 10/100/1000BaseTX LAN connectivity
Includes HP Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO) management processor
I/O backplane configurations: PCI-X with eight slots or PCI Express featuring four x8 PCIe slots and four PCI-X slots; plus two reserved PCI-X slots (one assigned for dual-port LAN card, the other for optional Smart Array RAID controller)
N+1 redundant hot-swappable fans and power supply units
Supports hot-swappable PCI-X I/O cards

Available upgrades:

Expansion to eight SAS disk drives ranging from 72 GB at 15K RPM to 146 GB at 10K RPM
Redundant hot-swappable power supplies
HP Smart Array P400/P600 (8-port) or P800 (16-port) SAS RAID controllers offering RAID levels 1/5/6 with hot spare capabilities

rx4600 series

The 7U rx4610 model utilizes Itanium 1 processors, supporting up to four single-core CPUs, with a maximum of 64GB RAM and ten PCI 64-bit expansion slots. In contrast, the 4U rx4640 employs Itanium 2 processors, capable of accommodating up to four dual-core CPUs, supporting up to 128GB RAM and six PCI-X slots.

Both servers come standard with integrated USB and video interfaces, enabling compatibility with Microsoft Windows operating systems. The rx4640 shares its design framework with the rp4440 and allows seamless switching between PA-RISC and Itanium 2 architectures via a simple toggle.

rx5670

The now discontinued 7U rx5670 features four CPU sockets compatible with McKinley and Madison processors. Utilizing the zx1 chipset, it provides up to 48 DIMM slots arranged in matched sets of four (quads), supporting DIMMs ranging from 256MB to 2GB. The system includes nine PCI-X slots along with one PCI slot.

rx6600

The 7U rx6600 server is based on the zx2 chipset and supports four CPU sockets compatible with Montecito and Montvale processors. It can handle up to 384GB of memory through forty-eight eight-gigabyte DIMMs.

Key specifications:

Memory: Maximum of 48 ECC PC2-4200 DDR2 DIMMs
Storage: Sixteen bays for 2.5" SAS drives managed by an 8-port SAS host bus adapter supporting two RAID 1 volumes plus a hot spare
Network: Dual-port 10/100/1000Base TX LAN interfaces
Integrated iLO2 management processor included
I/O backplane options include PCI-X (eight slots) or PCI Express (four x8 PCIe plus four PCI-X slots), along with two reserved PCI-X slots designated for networking and optional Smart Array RAID cards
N+1 redundant hot-swappable fans and power supplies
Supports hot-swappable PCI-X I/O cards

Optional features encompass support for up to sixteen SAS drives ranging from 72GB to 300GB, redundant power supplies, and HP Smart Array P400, P600, or P800 SAS RAID controllers offering RAID levels 1/5/6 with hot spare functionality.

Mid-range servers

HP’s mid-tier and premium servers, such as the Superdome series, utilize cell boards—modular components that integrate chipset, processors, memory modules, and I/O buses. This design supports hardware partitioning, enabling each partition to function as a standalone server.

rx7600 series

The 10U rx7620 is built around the SX1000 chipset and supports both PA-RISC and Itanium 2 processors. Similarly, the 10U rx7640 incorporates the SX2000 chipset with equivalent CPU compatibility.

Key features include:

A maximum of two cell boards per system
Each cell board contains four CPU sockets and sixteen DIMM memory slots
Internal storage capacity up to four SCSI drives plus two tape/CD/DVD drives distributed between cells
Seven hot-swappable I/O slots and one core I/O slot per cell board (SX1000)

As HP’s smallest cell-based servers, the rx7600 series offers flexible partitioning options, allowing configurations as either a single large partition or two separate cells—functionality comparable to that of larger rx8600 and Superdome systems.

rx8600 series

The 17U rx8620 and rx8640 models are built on SX1000 and SX2000 chipsets respectively, supporting PA-RISC and Itanium 2 CPUs.

The rx8620 debuted in 2003 alongside the rx4640 and rx7620 models.
Supports up to four cell boards, each equipped with four CPU sockets and sixteen DIMM slots.
Internal storage includes up to four SCSI disks plus two tape/CD/DVD drives.
Each cell board offers eight hot-pluggable I/O slots along with one core I/O slot when using the SX1000 chipset.

Similar to the rx7600 and Superdome servers, the rx8600 can be partitioned across its four cell boards into anywhere from one to four partitions. Without an I/O-expander unit (IOX), partitioning is restricted to two due to fixed I/O slot assignments. Cells are interchangeable between rx7600 and rx8600 systems provided chipset and firmware compatibility.

Superdome

The HP Superdome server family includes models such as SD-16, SD-32, and SD-64. In April 2010, HP launched Superdome 2, which introduced improved fault tolerance, a modular blade architecture, standardized components, and a crossbar interconnect fabric that enhances data transfer efficiency between blades and I/O. This platform is engineered to deliver scalable performance and high availability for mission-critical applications.

In November 2011, HP revealed Project Odyssey—a strategic plan to consolidate server architectures onto a unified platform. This effort encompasses integrating Intel Xeon blades into Superdome 2 (code-named DragonHawk) as well as c-Class blade enclosures (HydraLynx), supporting Windows and Linux environments while incorporating HP-UX capabilities within a two-year timeframe.

External links

HPE Integrity Servers official site