Resources for Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240 Servers

last updated on 2008-06-25

Sys admin resources are now available for the Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240 Servers. These 1U and 2U dual-socket servers use Sun's UltraSPARC T2 Plus processor with CoolThreads technology.

Here's an overview of CoolThreads technology, including a 360-degree tour of the Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240 Servers, plus links to videos, white papers, and more.

And here's dedicated info for each server:

• Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 Server
• Sun SPARC Enterprise T5240 Server

Management Facilities

You can administer these servers using the following management facilities:

• System console, to display system test results and manage the host
• Service processor (SP), which is accessible through these firmware UIs:
  • The ILOM 2.0 system management firmware on the SP
  • An ALOM CMT compatibility interface, which lets you use commands similar to those for previous CMT-based servers

Documentation

The documentation set is available on docs.sun.com and describes how to install, configure, and maintain the servers.

The following documents from the set are especially relevant to sys admins:

• The Sun SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240 Servers Administration Guide provides detailed instructions for configuring the servers, including how to configure the system console to display firmware test results. It also covers different methods of accessing the ILOM service processor and describes how to switch between the system console and service processor.

• The Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 Supplement is useful if you use the ILOM UI or the ALOM CMT UI to manage servers that have CoolThreads technology. It provides information about the ILOM SP UI that is specific to these servers, and it includes information on how to manage the host, service processor, and devices. It also includes appendices that cover IPMI sensor information and reference information for the alternative ALOM CMT UI.

  Also, if you're used to the ALOM commands, the ILOM and ALOM CMT Command Comparison table in Appendix B of the supplement is a handy reference.

Cool Tools

If you monitor, analyze, and tune applications, check out the Cool Tools on this CMT Tuning and Resources web page. These tools are free, and they can take you through each stage of the implementation cycle, from profiling your application, to tuning and downloading optimized open source software, to self help or assisted support.

For example, CoolTuner is a software tool that can improve performance by automatically applying patches and setting system parameters to bring the system up to best-practice recommendations.