GIGABYTE S251-3O0 (rev. IBC1)

Servers Designed for Single-Phase Immersion Cooling

Unlike air cooling, servers used in single-phase immersion cooling have some special considerations:

• Server installation mechanism
• Chemical phase changes
• Steady flow of coolant in the system

By partnering with the major single-phase immersion cooling suppliers in the market, GIGABYTE's single-phase immersion cooling servers can be installed directly in their off-the-shelf tanks from these partners, eliminating the need for product compatibility testing and customization. These systematic modifications greatly reduce the time for verification and adoption of single-phase immersion cooling technology.

Structural Integrity and Simplified Management

Servers must be installed vertically in the tank, and this lowering or raising of servers is due to an optimized tank design for single-phase immersion cooling. Therefore, the server installed upright needs to have rigid and firm structural integrity to ensure the chassis will not deform. Also, due to the vertical design, the cable routing and maintenance are also different than traditional data centers. Therefore, we re-examine the design and strengthen the server chassis for immersion cooling and reroute the cables. For instance, I/O ports are all arranged on the rear side facing up, and the network cables need to be rerouted to the sides so that maintenance can be quick and easy. Also, to make it more convenient for IT to install or remove a server, a bracket was added to allow hooks to move the server.

Design to Ensure Steady Fluid Flow in the Tank

When a server is submerged in a coolant, an important condition is that the fluid is circulated well, and the warm fluid is pumped out as cooler fluid is pumped in. Only by maintaining a stable coolant flow can the heat absorbed by the fluid be managed, and the system can automatically adjust the coolant flow rate according to the operation needs. To ensure efficient heat removal, the server design for single-phase immersion cooling not only must remove any components that negatively affect the fluid flow in the system, but they also must reduce the dead space in the chassis to avoid heat accumulation. Based on the viscosity of the coolant and the specific heat capacity of the coolant, the heat dissipation rate of the server must be constantly monitored and adjusted to avoid issues . Servers developed for single-phase immersion cooling can significantly reduce unnecessary barriers that users may encounter when adopting new technologies, allowing them to focus on productivity.

Made with Materials Suitable for Various Coolants

Single-phase immersion cooling submerges the server in a cooling fluid that removes heat by directly coming into contact with the heating elements. GIGABYTE had to evaluate how the chemical composition of the coolant may affect the components as well as the effect of the temperature and process on the coolant. Through theory and experimental experience, we perfected the design and will continue to explore materials that are suitable for immersion cooling.

S251-3O0 Product Overview

S251-3O0 System Block Diagram

2nd Generation Intel^® Xeon^® Scalable Family Ready

GIGABYTE’s servers are fully ready to support the second generation of Intel^® Xeon^® Scalable Family processors, codenamed “Cascade Lake”, which bring the following major enhancements:

• Intel^® Optane™ Persistent Memory: Built-in support for this revolutionary new product based on Intel’s 3D Xpoint technology
• Overall Performance: Higher CPU frequencies, improved turbo profiles vs. prior-gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors
• Increased DDR4 Memory Speed & Capacity: Up to 2933MHz (1 DIMM per channel on some SKUs), 16Gb based DIMM supported
• Intel Deep Learning Boost: Significantly accelerates inference performance for deep learning workloads optimized to use VNNI (Vector Neural Network Instructions)
• Security: Hardware mitigations for Meltdown / Spectre security vulnerabilities

Intel^® Xeon^® Scalable Family Processors

GIGABYTE’s Intel^® Xeon^® Scalable Processor family servers are available in dual socket configurations, and are compatible with the full family* of different SKUs (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum) that are workload optimized to support different applications, from enterprise IT database, cloud and storage to the most high-demand HPC workloads.
* SKU compatibility will depend on the maximum CPU TDP supported for each system, please refer to each product’s specification page for further information

Advanced features built into the silicon include:

• Intel^® QAT: Speed up data compression and cryptography with integrated Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT).
• Intel^® AVX-512: Intel Advanced Vector Extension 512 instruction set architecture enables workload-optimized performance and throughput increases for advanced analytics, high performance computing (HPC) applications, and data compression.
• Intel^® VROC: Intel Xeon Scalable Processors come with built-in support for Intel VROC (Virtual RAID on CPU). And GIGABYTE Intel Xeon Scalable NVMe SKU servers all ship with an Intel VROC module as standard.
• Intel^® Omni-Path: Selected GIGABYTE servers support CPU SKUs with integrated Intel Omni-Path Fabric connection

Compute

Up to 28 cores / 56 threads per socket

Up to 38.5 MB L3 cache (non-inclusive)

Up to 3x UPI socket interconnects @ 10.4 GT/s

CPU TDP 70W – 205W

Memory

6 channels, 2 DIMMs per channel

Up to 12 DIMMS per socket

Up to 2933MHz max memory speed

Intel Optane Persistent Memory ready

I/O

48 PCIe 3.0 lanes per socket

Intel^® Optane™ Persistent Memory Ready

GIGABYTE’s second generation Intel^® Xeon^® Scalable family servers come ready to support Intel^® Optane™ Persistent Memory, a revolutionary new product that re-defines traditional memory & storage architectures by enabling a large persistent memory tier between DRAM and SSDs, that’s higher capacity than DRAM and faster than SSDs, enabling the user to bring more data closer to the CPU for faster time for insight.

Optane Persistent Memory Modules (“PMem”) integrate seamlessly into existing DDR4 DIMM slots, and use Intel’s 3D Xpoint memory technology, which unlike DRAM retains data after power is removed. The modules will be available in capacities up to 512GB – a massive increase compared to the current maximum 128GB of industry-leading DDR4 memory sticks – and can be addressed by the OS or application either as memory (Memory Mode) or storage (Application Direct Mode).

Note: the maximum number of Intel^® Optane™ PMem that can be installed per system and the DIMM slot positions that can be used for PMem will vary according to each server model due to thermal considerations. Please refer to each product’s specification page for further instructions.

Easy, Flexible & Powerful Storage Deployment

The S251-3O0 offers the following advantages to your storage deployment:

• Single Intel Xeon Scalable processor for high performance and heavy workloads
• x86 architecture means compatibility with a large variety of SDS (Software Defined Storage) platforms & applications
• 24 x 3.5” SATA / SAS drive bays for large scale out capacity, over 400TB raw capacity per server
• Rear 2 x 2.5” SATA drive bays for caching to improve I/O performance

GIGABYTE has also validated and created reference architectures for our products with various open source software defined storage systems to help make your deployment even faster and easier.

Max Memory Speed Even at 2 DPC

With GIGABYTE unique solution, maximum memory speed is now supported, even when using 2 DIMMS per channel*. GIGABYTE’s server platforms give you the performance edge, with more memory capacity at faster speeds than competing solutions!

Note: Enabled via BIOS setting (“UMC Common Options”  ”DDR4 Common Options”  configure “Enforce POR” setting). Please follow product QVL. Please consult your GIGABYTE sales or technical representative for more information.

Optimized for High TDP

GIGABYTE systems are thermally designed with the highest rated CPU SKUs in mind so that top performance is enabled which ever Xeon Scalable CPU you choose.

Carefully Selected Components

GIGABYTE’s passive components are carefully selected to guarantee a stable operating environment and allow the processors and the memory to deliver their maximum performance. GIGABYTE’s server motherboards are built with long lasting components for a high degree of reliability and durability.

Intelligent Power Management Features

Cold Redundancy

To take advantage of the fact that a PSU will run at greater power efficiency with a higher loading, GIGABYTE has introduced a power management feature called Cold Redundancy for servers with dual PSU. When the total system loading falls lower than 40%, the system will automatically place one PSU into standby mode, enabling the other PSU to take over the greater load. This can enable total system power efficiency savings of up to 10%.

System Power Efficiency

SCMP (Smart Crises Management / Protection)

SCMP is a GIGABYTE patented feature that will automatically force the system’s CPU to enter ULFM (ultra-low frequency mode for minimum power consumption) when the BMC is alerted to a PSU fault or error (such as power loss, power surge, overheating or a fan problem). This feature will prevent shutdown in systems with less than 1 + 1 PSU redundancy when one PSU is lost. In a 2U 4 Node server, only two nodes will be switched to low power mode, while two remaining nodes can continue normal operation. When the fault is resolved or the PSU is replaced, the system will automatically return to normal power mode.

System Loading Curve

GIGABYTE Management Console

GIGABYTE server utilizes the AMI MegaRAC SP-X solution for BMC server management, has a browser-based graphical user interface, and is feature-rich and easy to use.

• RESTful API support includes the latest DMTF standard of Redfish. Allows integration with 3rd party applications for server management
• Including HTML5 based iKVM remote management client, no need to purchase other additional licenses
• Detailed FRU information from SMBIOS
• 10 to 30 seconds pre-event automatic recording function
• SAS / RAID controller monitoring function

GIGABYTE Server Management (GSM)

GIGABYTE Server Management (GSM) is GIGABYTE’s proprietary multiple server remote management software platform, available as a free download from each GIGABYTE server product page. GSM is compatible with either IPMI or Redfish connection interfaces, and comprises the following sub-programs:

• GSM Server
  A software program with an easy to use browser-based GUI to enable global remote monitoring and management of multiple GIGABYTE servers via each server node’s BMC.
• GSM CLI (GBT Utility)
  A command-line interface program to enable global remote monitoring and management of multiple GIGABYTE servers via each server node’s BMC.
• GSM Agent
  A software program installed locally on each GIGABYTE server node that retrieves additional node information (CPU/Mem/HDD/PCI/…) from the OS and passes it to the BMC. This information can then be utilized by GSM Server or GSM CLI.
• GSM Mobile
  A remote server management mobile APP, available for both Android and iOS.
• GSM Plugin
  A plugin that allows the user to manage and monitor GIGABYTE server nodes within VMware’s vCenter.

Certified Ready with Software Partners

Being a member of key software alliance partner programs enables GIGABYTE to rapidly develop and validate joint solutions, enabling our customers to modernize their data centers and implement IT infrastructure and application services with speed, agility, and cost optimization.