Your system, equipped with one or two Intel® Xeon™ microprocessors, is a full-featured server that can be mounted either in a rack or in a tower form factor case. The system provides the latest in high-performance technology, an enhanced set of available features, and a high level of scalability.
This section describes the major hardware and software features of the system, provides information about the indicators on the system's front panel, and discusses connecting external devices to the system. It also provides information on obtaining technical assistance.
Figure 1-1 shows the rack and tower versions of your system. The illustrations in this document are based on the tower version with the system laying on its side.
When the bezel is in place on the system, it has two indicators (see Figure 1-2). The top status indicator is blue when the system is operating correctly. The caution indicator is amber when the system needs attention. The amber caution light indicates a problem with power, system fan or power supply fan, temperature, or hard drive or that the PCI expansion cards need attention. An LED on the back of the system provides the same functionality as the bezel indicators.
Indicators on the front of the system are located on the power supplies, hard drives, and LCD error display (see Figure 1-3). The CD-ROM and diskette drives have green activity indicators.
Figure 1-4 shows the back-panel features of the system.
Figure 1-4. Back-Panel Features
When connecting external devices to your system, follow these guidelines:
Check the documentation that accompanied the device for specific installation and configuration instructions. For example, most devices must be connected to a particular connector to operate properly. Also, external devices usually require you to install device drivers before they will work. Device drivers are normally included with your operating system software or with the device itself.
Always attach external devices while your system is turned off. Then turn on any external devices before turning on the system unless the documentation for the device specifies otherwise. If the system does not seem to recognize the device, try turning on the system before turning on the device.
For information about enabling, disabling, or configuring I/O ports and connectors, see "Using the System Setup Program."
One or two Intel Xeon microprocessors with a front-side (external) bus speed of 400 MHz and an internal operating speed of at least 1.8 GHz
Level 2 cache of 512 KB
Support for SMP, which is available by installing an additional microprocessor. SMP greatly improves overall system performance by dividing microprocessor operations among the independent microprocessors. To take advantage of this feature, you must use an operating system that supports multiprocessing.
NOTE: If you decide to upgrade your system by installing a second microprocessor, you
must order the microprocessor upgrade kits from Dell. Not all versions of the
microprocessor will work properly as additional microprocessors. The upgrade kit from Dell
contains the correct version of the microprocessor as well as the instructions for performing
the upgrade. Both microprocessors must have the same internal operating frequency and
cache size.
A minimum of 512 MB of system memory, upgradable to a maximum of 12 GB by installing combinations of 128-MB, 256-MB, 512-MB, or 1-GB registered PC-1600 dual data rate (DDR) memory modules, grouped in sets of four, into the twelve sockets on the two memory cards.
Support for up to ten 1-inch, internal, hot-pluggable Ultra3 SCSI hard drives (eight 1-inch hard drives via a 1 x 8 SCSI backplane board, and support for two 1-inch hard drives via an optional 1 x 2 SCSI backplane board). An optional daughter card provides support for a 2 x 4 split backplane.
Up to four hot-pluggable, 300-W power supplies in a 3 + 1 redundant configuration.
Six redundant, hot-pluggable system cooling fans.
The system board includes the following built-in features:
Seven PCI slots located on the system board. PCI slots 2 through 7 are hot-pluggable 64-bit, 100- or 66-MHz slots. Slots 2 through 7 also support PCI-X functionality. Slot 1 is a 32-bit, 33-MHz slot that can be used for the optional DRAC III or other PCI-compatible options.
An integrated VGA-compatible video subsystem with an ATI RAGE XL video controller. This video subsystem contains 8 MB of SDRAM video memory (nonupgradable). Maximum resolutions are 1,600 x 1,200 x 65,000 colors (noninterlaced). In 1,280 x 1,024-pixel, 1,024 x 768-pixel, 800 x 600-pixel, and 640 x 480-pixel resolutions, 16.7 million colors are available for true-color graphics.
One embedded dual-channel Ultra3 SCSI controller and one embedded Ultra2 SCSI controller.
An on-board ROMB is activated by using a 128-MB cache memory module, a RAID key, and RAID battery.
An optional integrated dual-channel RAID controller card supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10.
Two integrated NICs (one 10/100 and one 10/100/1000), which provide an Ethernet interface.
Server management circuitry that monitors operation of the system fans as well as critical system voltages and temperatures. The server management circuitry works in conjunction with the server agent.
Systems include an IDE CD-ROM drive and a diskette drive installed in the externally accessible bays.
The following software is included with your system:
A System Setup program for quickly viewing and changing the system configuration information for your system. For more information on this program, see "Using the System Setup Program."
Enhanced security features, including a system password and a setup password, available through the System Setup program.
System diagnostics for evaluating your system's components and devices. For information on using the system diagnostics, see "Running the System Diagnostics" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
A number of devices are available to protect your system from the effects of power problems such as power surges, transients, and power failures. The following subsections describe some of these devices.
Surge protectors are available in a variety of types and usually provide a level of protection commensurate with the cost of the device. Surge protectors prevent overvoltage spikes, such as those that may occur during an electrical storm, from entering the system through the electrical outlet. Surge protectors do not offer protection against brownouts, which occur when the voltage drops more than 20 percent below the normal AC line voltage level.
Line conditioners go beyond the overvoltage protection of surge protectors. Line conditioners keep a system's AC power source voltage at a fairly constant level and provide protection from brownouts of short duration. Because of this added protection, line conditioners cost more than surge protectors—up to several hundred dollars. However, these devices cannot protect against a complete loss of power.
UPS systems offer the most complete protection against variations in power because they use battery power to keep the system running when AC power is unavailable or unusable. The battery is charged by the AC power while it is available so that once AC power is lost, the battery can provide power to the system for a limited amount of time—from 15 minutes to an hour or so—depending on the UPS system.
UPS systems range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, with the more expensive units allowing you to run larger systems for a longer period of time when AC power is lost. UPS systems that provide only 5 minutes of battery power let you conduct an orderly shutdown of the system but are not intended to provide continued operation. Surge protectors should be used with all UPS systems, and the UPS system should be UL safety approved.
The integrated AC transfer switch provides redundant power. Two AC inputs are available to the switch. One of the inputs is designated as primary and is used for powering the system. The system can operate from either input and will automatically switch from an AC input that fails to the other AC input. This feature allows a system administrator to assign a system to a selected power circuit in multi-circuit data centers.
In addition to this User's Guide, the following documentation is included with your system:
The Setting Up Your System document provides general instructions for setting up your system.
The Installation and Troubleshooting Guide describes how to upgrade and troubleshoot your system.
The Rack Installation Guide describes how to unpack and install systems in the rack.
The System Information document provides important safety, regulatory, and warranty information.
The server management documentation describes the server management software, including alert messages issued by the software.
You may also have one or more of the following documents.
NOTE: Documentation updates are sometimes included with your system to describe changes to
your system or software. Always read these updates before consulting any other documentation
because the updates often contain the latest information.
Operating system documentation is included with the system. This documentation describes how to install (if necessary), configure, and use your operating system software.
Documentation is included with any options you purchase separately from your system. This documentation includes information that you need to configure and install these options in your system. Installation instructions for some options are included in this User's Guide.
Technical information files—sometimes called "readme" files—may be installed on your hard drive to provide last-minute updates about technical changes to your system or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.
If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide or if your system does not perform as expected, a number of tools are provided to help you. For more information on these help tools, see "Getting Help" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
