Preface
The Sun Fire Server Design and Configuration Guide is published under the auspices of the Sun BluePrints program.
This book is written for customers who design servers using Sun Fire systems. It describes the products in the Sun Fire family of systems and discusses solutions and tradeoffs to consider when designing a server using these products. It focuses on the fundamental concepts in the design of these servers.
This book provides detailed examples of three different types of mid-range (Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 systems) and high-end (Sun Fire 15K/12K systems) servers.
Sun BluePrints Program
The mission of the Sun BluePrints program is to empower Sun's customers with the technical knowledge required to implement reliable, extensible, and secure information systems within the data center using Sun products. This program provides a framework to identify, develop, and distribute preferred practices information that applies across the Sun product lines. Experts in technical subjects in various areas contribute to the program and focus on the scope and advantages of the information.
The Sun BluePrints program includes books, guides, and online articles. Through these vehicles, Sun can provide guidance, installation and implementation experiences, real-life scenarios, and late-breaking technical information.
The monthly electronic magazine, Sun BluePrints OnLine, is located on the Web at http://www.sun.com/blueprints. To be notified about updates to the Sun BluePrints program, please register on this site.
Who Should Use This Book
This book is intended for readers with varying degrees of experience or knowledge of computer system and server technology who are purchasing Sun Fire machines. Detailed examples of using this technology effectively are provided in combination with the features and capabilities of the Sun Fire systems.
Before You Read This Book
You should be familiar with the basic computer system, client/server and reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) concepts and design principles, as well as the basic system administration tasks and requirements of the Solaris Operating Environment (Solaris OE) or similar operating systems.
You should also understand standard network protocols and topologies and have a working knowledge of system configuration/environment setup concepts and requirements.
How This Book Is Organized
This book has six chapters.
- Chapter 1 summarizes the RAS and performance features of the Sun Fire system hardware. It also describes the various implementations of the centerplanes in the Sun Fire systems.
- Chapter 2 considers the different types of questions you must ask when designing a server. It also points out concerns that are often overlooked, but which have a major influence on the design of a server.
- Chapter 3 explains a running system and provides some useful design rules of thumb. It discusses how to analyze an existing system, design for RAS and to develop a logical design specification.
- Chapter 4 discusses how to use domains and select a Sun Fire model. It contains a complete summary of the design process and examples of three different types of system designs.
- Chapters 5 contains a detailed description of the system controller (SC).
- Chapter 6 describes how to configure the servers you design. Much of the emphasis is on I/O layout and how to best set up the domains. The descriptions in this chapter go through the configuration of each of the example designs in Chapter 4, so you can see how to get them up and running.
Ordering Sun Documents
The SunDocs program provides more than 250 manuals from Sun Microsystems, Inc. If you live in the United States, Canada, Europe, or Japan, you can purchase documentation sets or individual manuals through this program.
Accessing Sun Documentation Online
The docs.sun.com web site enables you to access Sun technical documentation online. You can browse the docs.sun.com archive or search for a specific book title or subject. The URL is http://docs.sun.com/
