Dell PowerEdge 350 User Manual

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

SystemFeatures...................................................1-1

Supported Operating Systems . . ......................................1-2

SystemOrientation.................................................1-2

RemovingtheOptionalFrontBezel.................................1-2

Front-PanelFeatures ............................................1-3

SystemIndicators...........................................1-4

SystemSwitches ...........................................1-5

ConnectingExternalDevices..........................................1-6

PowerProtectionDevices............................................1-7

SurgeProtectors ...............................................1-7

LineConditioners...............................................1-7

UninterruptiblePowerSupplies....................................1-7

GettingHelp ......................................................1-8

Safety,Regulatory,andWarrantyInformation ............................1-8

Chapter 2 Using the Dell OpenManage

Server Assistant CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Starting the

SetupMode...................................................2-1

ServiceMode..................................................2-1

NavigatingtheCD..................................................2-2

SettingUpYourSystem .............................................2-2

ServerSetupMode .............................................2-2

RunningSystemDiagnostics..........................................2-2

CreatingDiagnosticDiskettes.....................................2-3

CreatinganAssetTag...............................................2-3

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

CD........................2-1

ix

Chapter 3 Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

EnteringtheSystemSetupProgram ................................... 3-1

RespondingtoErrorMessages.................................... 3-2

UsingtheSystemSetupNavigationKeys............................ 3-2

System Setup Menus and Options. .................................... 3-4

MainMenu.................................................... 3-4

AdvancedMenu................................................ 3-6

SecurityMenu.................................................3-7

BootMenu.................................................... 3-8

SystemManagementMenu ......................................3-9

ExitMenu.....................................................3-9

UsingtheSystemPasswordFeatures.................................. 3-9

Assigning a Supervisor Password (System Setup Only) . . . ............. 3-10

UsingYourSupervisorPasswordtoSecureYourSystemSetup ......... 3-11

DeletingorChanginganExistingSupervisorPassword ................ 3-12

UsingtheUserPasswordFeature .................................... 3-12

AssigningaUserPassword...................................... 3-13

OperatingWithaUserPasswordInstalled .......................... 3-14

DeletingorChanginganExistingUserPassword..................... 3-14

DeletingaForgottenPassword....................................... 3-14

Appendix A Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Appendix B I/O Ports and Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

I/O Ports and Connectors . . ..........................................B-1

SerialPorts .......................................................B-2

Serial Port Connectors . ..........................................B-2

Keyboard and Mouse Connectors. . ....................................B-3

KeyboardConnector ............................................B-3

Mouse Connector ..............................................B-3

Video Connector ...................................................B-4

USB Connectors ...................................................B-5

Integrated Network Interface Controller Connector ........................B-6

Network Cable Requirements . ....................................B-6

Glossary

Index

x

Figures Figure1-1. RemovingtheOptionalFrontBezel..........................1-3

Figure1-2. Front-PanelFeatures ..................................... 1-3

Figure1-3. Front-PanelIndicators .................................... 1-4

Figure1-4. Front-PanelIndicators(BezelRemoved).......................1-4

Figure1-5. Front-PanelSwitches..................................... 1-5

Figure 1-6. Back-Panel Connections . . ................................1-6

Figure3-1. BIOSSetupUtilityScreen.................................3-4

FigureB-1. I/OPortsandConnectors..................................B-1

Figure B-2. Pin Numbers for the Serial Port Connectors . . . ................B-2

FigureB-3. PinNumbersfortheKeyboardConnector.....................B-3

Figure B-4. Pin Numbers for the Mouse Connector. . .....................B-4

Figure B-5. Pin Numbers for the Video Connector. . . .....................B-4

Figure B-6. Pin Numbers for the USB Connector.........................B-5

Tables Table1-1. Front-PanelIndicators ....................................1-5

Table1-2. Front-PanelSwitches.....................................1-6

Table3-1. SystemSetupNavigationKeys .............................3-2

TableA-1. TechnicalSpecifications...................................A-1

TableB-1. SerialPortPinAssignments................................B-2

Table B-2. Keyboard Connector Pin Assignments . . .....................B-3

TableB-3. MouseConnectorPinAssignments .........................B-4

TableB-4. VideoConnectorPinAssignments ..........................B-5

Table B-5. USB Connector Pin Assignments ...........................B-6

xi

xii

Preface

This guide is intended for anyone who uses a Dell PowerEdge 350 system. The guide
can be used by both first-time and experienced users who want to learn about the
features and operation of their systems or who want to upgrade their systems. The
sections are summarized as follows:

• Chapter 1, “Introduction” — Overview of system features, description of indica-

tors on the front panel, and general discussion of connecting external devices to
the system back panel

• Chapter 2, “Using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD” — Overview on

using the utilities and diagnostics

• Chapter 3, “Using the System Setup Program” — Overview of configuration

changes to the system and password features

• Appendix A, “Technical Specifications”— Overview of technical specifications of

PowerEdge 350 systems

• Appendix B, “I/O Ports and Connectors” — Overview of ports and connectors on

the back panel of your system

• “Glossary” — Definitions of terms, acronyms, and abbreviations used in this

guide

Warranty and Return Policy Information

Dell Computer Corporation(“Dell”) manufacturesits hardware products fromparts and
components that are new or equivalent to new in accordance with industry-standard
practices. See your
ranty information for your system.

Dell PowerEdge System Information

document for complete war-

v

Other Documents You May Need

In addition to this
system:

• The

• The

You may also have one or more of the following documents:

Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

tem hardware and includes troubleshooting and diagnostic procedures for testing

your computer system.

Dell PowerEdge System Information

about your system.

User’s Guide

, the following documentation is included with your

provides instructions for installing sys-

document, which provides information

• Operating system documentation is included with the system if you ordered the

operating system software from Dell. This documentation describes how to

install (if necessary), configure, and use the operating system software.

• The rack installation documentation provides detailed instructions for installing

the system in a rack.

• Documentation is included with any options you purchase separately from the

system. This documentation includes information that you need to configure and

install these options in your Dell system.

• Technical information files—sometimes called “readme” files—may be installed

on the hard-disk drive to provide last-minute updates about technical changes to

the system or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced

users or technicians.

• Documentation updates are sometimes included with the system to describe

changes to the system or software. Always read these updates before consulting

any other documentation because the updates often contain information that

supersedes the information in the other documents.

Typographical Conventions

The following list defines (where appropriate) and illustrates typographical conven­tions used as visual cues for specific elements of text throughout this document:

•

Interface components

and selections, and other options that appear on the monitor screen or display.

They are presented in bold.

Example: Click OK.

•

Keycaps

angle brackets.

Example: <Enter>

•

Key combinations

wise indicated) to perform a single function.

Example: <Ctrl><Alt><Enter>

vi

are labels that appear on the keys on a keyboard. They are enclosed in

are window titles, button and icon names, menu names

are series of keys to be pressed simultaneously (unless other-

•

Commands

not intended to be typed when referenced.

Example: “Use the format command to. . . .”

In contrast, commands presented in the Courier New font are part of an instruc­tion and intended to be typed.

Example: “Typ e format a: to format the diskette in drive A.”

•

Filenames

Examples: autoexec.bat and c:\windows

•

Syntax lines

are presented in lowercase bold; variable parameters (those for which you substi­tute a value) are presented in lowercase italics; constant parameters are
presented in lowercase bold. The brackets indicate items that are optional.

Example: del [

•

Command lines

mand’s possible parameters. Command lines are presented in the Courier New
font.

Example: del c:\myfile.doc

•

Screen text

mand (referred to as a
New font.

Example: The following message appears on your screen:

presented in lowercase bold are for reference purposes only and are

and

directory names

consist of a command and all its possible parameters. Commands

drive

:][

path]filename

consist of a command and may include one or more of the com-

is a message or text that you are instructed to type as part of a com-

command line

are presented in lowercase bold.

[/p]

). Screen text is presented in the Courier

No boot device available

Example: “Typ e md c:\programs and press <Enter>.”

•

Variables

italics.
Example: DIMM

are placeholders for which you substitute a value. They are presented in

_x

(wherexrepresents the DIMM socket designation).

vii

viii

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The Dell™ PowerEdge™ 350 system is an ultra-slim, rack-mounted server. This sys­tem is a full-featured system which provides a robust, reliable, rack-optimized platform
on which both large and small customers can deploy Internet infrastructure
applications.

This chapter describes the system’s major hardware and software features, provides
information about the indicators and controls on the system's front panel, and dis­cusses connecting external devices.

NOTE: The PowerEdge 350 system is a “headless” system that operates without
keyboard, monitor or mouse. While it is possible to connect these peripherals to the
system, it is generally not necessary unless troubleshooting the system.

System Features

PowerEdge 350 systems contain the following major features:

• An Intel

memory and a minimum operating speed of 600 megahertz (MHz).
or

An Intel Pentium
operating speed of 750 MHz.

®

Celeron™microprocessor with 128 kilobytes (KB) of level 2 (L2) cache

®

III microprocessor with 256 KB of L2 cache memory and an

support.dell.com

• Upto1gigabyte(GB)ofsystemmemory.

• Two 1-inch integrated drive electronics (IDE) hard-disk drives.

• A single, 1.44-megabyte (MB) 3.5-inch diskette drive.

• An IDE CD-ROM drive.

• A video graphics array (VGA)-compatible video controller card.

• Two integrated Intel PRO/100+ network interface controllers (NICs), which pro-

vide two Ethernet interfaces.

• A Personal System/2 (PS/2)-style keyboard port and mouse port, two serial ports,

and two Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors.

Introduction 1-1

• The System Setup program, which can be accessed at system boot for quickly

viewing and changing the system configuration information for your system. For

more information about the System Setup program, see Chapter 3, “Using the

System Setup Program.”

• The Dell OpenManage™ software. For information on this software, see the soft-

ware documentation provided with your system.

• Diagnostics for evaluating your system’s components and devices. For informa-

tion on using the system diagnostics, see “Running the Dell Diagnostics” in your

Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

.

Supported Operating Systems

Dell supports the following network operating systems for use on PowerEdge 350
systems:

• Microsoft

• Microsoft Windows NT

• Red Hat Linux 7.

NOTE: Installation service and support for other operating systems are available
through DellPlus
Troubleshooting Guide.

®

Windows®2000 Server

®

Server 4.0

x

™

. For more information, see “Getting Help” in your Installation and

System Orientation

The front panel of your system contains switches, indicator lights, and diskette and
CD-ROM drives. To view the front panel, you must remove the optional front bezel
from the system.

Removing the Optional Front Bezel

To remove the optional front bezel, press the tab on each end of the bezel and lift the
bezel from the chassis (see Figure 1-1).

1-2 User’sGuide

tabs (2)

Figure 1-1. Removing the Optional Front Bezel

Front-Panel Features

Figure 1-2 shows the main features on the system front panel.

diskette
drive

CD-ROM
drive

system indicators (5)

serial port 2

Figure 1-2. Front-Panel Features

system switches (3)

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Introduction 1-3

System Indicators

While troubleshooting your system, you may need to check the status of the indica­tors on the system’s front panel, shown in Figure 1-3 and Figure 1-4.

hard-disk drive activity indicator
system fault indicator

power indicator

Figure 1-3. Front-Panel Indicators

hard-disk drive activity indicator

system fault indicator

power indicator

LAN 1 activity/link indicator

LAN 2 activity/link
indicator

LAN 1 activity/link indicator

LAN 2 activity/link
indicator

1-4 User’sGuide

Figure 1-4. Front-Panel Indicators (Bezel Removed)

Table 1-1 describes the appearance and function of the front-panel indicators.

Table 1-1. Front-Panel Indicators

Indicator Color Function

Power Green Lights up when the system is connected to

an AC power source; blinks when the sys­tem is in sleep mode

System fault Amber Blinks during system startup, or when a

system fault is detected

Hard-disk drive activity Green Blinks when hard-disk drive activity occurs

LAN 1 activity/link Amber Lights up when the LAN 1 connector is

linked to an Ethernet port; blinks when
activity occurs on this channel

LAN 2 activity/link Amber Lights up when the LAN 2 connector is

linked to an Ethernet port; blinks when
activity occurs on this channel

System Switches

Figure 1-5 shows the location of the three switches on the system front panel. To acti­vate a switch, press the corresponding icon on the front panel as shown in Figure 1-5.

NOTICE: To prevent accidental system lockup, system reset, or false error
messages, do not press areas of the front panel other than the three switch
locations shown in Figure 1-5. Reserved test switches are located in other
areas of the front panel.

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power switch

sleep switch

reset switch

Figure 1-5. Front-Panel Switches

Introduction 1-5

Table 1-2 describes the function of the three front-panel switches.

Table 1-2. Front-Panel Switches

Switch Function

Power switch Turns power to the system board on or off.

NOTE: To turn system power off, press and
hold this switch for at least 4 seconds.

Sleep switch Places the system in sleep mode.

Reset switch Reboots the system. If the system locks up

and you cannot shut down the system
using the operating system,press the reset
switch.

Connecting External Devices

You can connect various external devices, such as a mouse or network connection, to
the input/output (I/O) ports and connectors on the system’s back panel. Figure 1-6
shows the back-panel connections on your system.

AC power receptacle

1-6 User’sGuide

keyboard and mouse
connectors (2)

USB connectors 0 (top) and 1

LAN connectors 2 (top) and 1

serial port 1

video connector

Figure 1-6. Back-Panel Connections

The system basic input/output system (BIOS) detects the presence of external
devices when you boot or rebootyour system. When you connect external devices to
your system, follow these guidelines:

• Check the documentation that accompanied the device for specific installation

and configuration instructions.

• Always attach external devices while your system is turned off. Turn on any exter-

nal 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.)

Power Protection Devices

A number of devices are available that protect your system against power problems
such as power surges, transients, and power failures. The following subsections
describe some of these devices.

Surge Protectors

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 voltage
spikes, such as those caused during an electrical storm, from entering a system
through the electrical outlet. Surge protectors, however, do not offer protection
against brownouts, which occur when the voltage drops more than 20 percent below
the normal AC line voltage level.

support.dell.com

Line Conditioners

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,
therefore, can handle brownouts. 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.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems offer the most complete protection
againstvariations in powerbecause they usebattery power tokeep thesystem running
when AC power is lost. The battery is charged by the AC power while it is available, so
once AC power islost, thebattery canprovide powerto thesystemfor 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 Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety-approved.

Introduction 1-7

Getting Help

If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide, or if your
system does not perform as expected, Dell provides a number of tools to help you.
Formoreinformationonthesehelptools,see“Getting Help” in your

Troubleshooting Guide.

Installation and

Safety, Regulatory, and Warranty
Information

For safety, regulatory, and warranty information for your system, see the

Information

document included with your system.

System

1-8 User’sGuide

CHAPTER 2

Using the Dell OpenManage
Server Assistant CD

The

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

other items that can help you configure your system to best meet your needs. This
chapter describes how to use the

Starting the Dell OpenManage Server
Assistant CD

The Dell OpenManage Server Assistant application program has two modes of opera­tion: a

setup mode

and viewing information, and a
mation. Documentation is available on the

In both setup mode and service mode, the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant main
screen gives youthe option to choose one ofthe supported languages as thelanguage
for the screen text. You can choose a language at any time from the main screen.

for setting up and configuring your system, creating diskettes,

service mode

CD contains utilities, diagnostics, drivers, and

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

for creating diskettes and viewing infor-

Dell Online Documentation

CD.

CD.

support.dell.com

Setup Mode

To set up your system, as well as to access the utilities, drivers, and other items avail­able on the

Server Assistant

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant main page appears.

If the CD does not boot, verify that the Boot Sequence is set to CD-ROM device in
the System Setup program.

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

CD into your CD-ROM drive, and turn on or reboot the system. The

CD, insert the

Dell OpenManage

Service Mode

You can create system diskettes and view information on any system that has
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 (or later). When you insert the CD in a system that
uses the Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 2000 Server operating system, the sys­tem automatically starts the browser software and displays the
Dell OpenManage Server Assistant main page.

Using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD 2-1

Navigating the CD

The

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

Navigating the CD is accomplished by clicking the mouse on the various icons and
text hyperlinks.

Click the Back icon to return to the previous screen. Click the Exit icon to exit the
program. Exiting the program causes the system to reboot to the standard operating
system boot partition.

CD utilizes a standard Web browser interface.

Setting Up Your System

If you purchase a system that does not have an operating system preinstalled by Dell,
or if you reinstall an operating system at a later date, you should use the Server
Setup option to configure your system or install your operating system.

Server Setup Mode

Dell recommends using the Server Setup program for most situations including install­ing and reinstalling an operating system. The
guidesyou throughtheoperating system setupand configurationprocess. The program
prompts you to select the operating system used on the drive and leads you through
a step-by-step process to install the operating system.

To start the Server Setup program, perform the following steps:

1. C l i ck t h e SETUP icon at the top of the screen.

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

CD

2-2 User’s Guide

2. Click Server Setup.

After you start the Server Setup program, follow the directions on the screen to com­plete the installation and configuration process. The Server Setup program takes you
through the following tasks:

• Configuring your redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller (if

applicable)

• Entering operating system and hard-disk drive information

• Entering operating system configuration

• Installing an operating system

Running System Diagnostics

To run the system diagnostics you must create diagnostics diskettes from the

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant

nostic Diskettes.”

The system hardware diagnostics are described in “Running the Dell Diagnostics” in
your

Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

CD. See the following subsection, “Creating Diag-

.