Hp COMPAQ PROLIANT 2500 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF

November 4, 1996

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Compaq Computer Corporation

ONTENTS

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Introduction Te chnology

Overview

Form Factor/Chassis Security Processors Memory I/O Storage Power

Syste m Archite cture Price :P e rforma nce Syste m

Ma na ge a bility Conclusion

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ECHNOL OGY

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Compaq ProLiant 2500 Server Technology

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XECUTIVE SUMMARY

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With the decentralization of corporations and corporate computing, departmental and remote

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office servers must provide a range of features that have been unavailable in traditional

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departmental and remote office servers. Recognizing the changing business dynamics, Compaq

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has developed a new business-critical departmental and remote office server that combines the

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latest processor, network, and storage technology in a flexible new chassis. The Compaq

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ProLiant 2500 Server delivers a robust set of performance, management, and availability features

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at a very affordable price.

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This brief describes the performance, management, and availability technologies as well as the

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system architecture that make the ProLiant 2500 an ideal departmental and remote office server.

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Please direct comments regarding this communication via internal bmail to this address: Tech Com@HW Tech@Sys Hou.

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Compaq field personnel may also send comments via the internet to this address: tech_com@bangate.compaq.com

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ECHNOLOGY BRIEF

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OTICE

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The information in this publication is subject to change without notice.

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OMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR TECHNICAL

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OR EDITORIAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS CONTAINED HEREIN

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INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE

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FURNISHING

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INFORMATION IS P ROVIDED

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OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND

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STATUTORY

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MERCHANTABILITY

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NONINFRINGEMENT

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This publication does not constitute an endorsement of the product or products that were tested.

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The configuration or configurations tested or described may or may not be the only available

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solution. This test is not a determination of product quality or correctness, nor does it ensure

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compliance with any federal, state or local requirements. Compaq does not warrant products

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other than its own strictly as stated in Compaq product warranties.

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Compaq, Contura, Deskpro, Fastart, Compaq Insight Manager, LTE, PageMarq, Systempro,

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Systempro/LT, ProLiant, TwinTray, ROMPaq, LicensePaq, QVision, SLT, ProLinea, SmartStart,

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NetFlex, DirectPlus, QuickFind, RemotePaq, BackPaq, TechPaq, SpeedPaq, QuickBack, PaqFax,

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Presario, SilentCool, CompaqCare (design), Aero, SmartStation, MiniStation, and PaqRap,

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registered United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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Netelligent, Smart Uplink, Extended Repeater Architecture, Scalable Clock Architecture, Armada,

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Cruiser, Concerto, QuickChoice, ProSignia, Systempro/XL, Net1, LTE Elite, Vocalyst, PageMate,

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SoftPaq, FirstPaq, SolutionPaq, EasyPoint, EZ Help, MaxLight, MultiLock, QuickBlank,

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QuickLock, UltraView, Innovate logo, Wonder Tools logo in black/white and color, and Compaq

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PC Card Solution logo are trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer Corporation.

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Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their

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respective companies.

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Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows NT Advanced Server, SQL Server for Windows

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NT are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

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Compaq ProLiant 2500 Server Technology

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First Edition (November 1996)

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Document Number 201A/1196

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(cont.)

NOR FOR

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PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS MATERIAL

AS IS

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WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR

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AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF

FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, GOOD TITLE AND

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OMPAQ MAKES NO REPRESENTATION

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HIS

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ECHNOLOGY BRIEF

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NTRODUCTION

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Many current departmental servers and remote office servers do not provide the range of features

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required to meet today’s changing business dynamics:

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Network operating systems are becoming more robust, with more and more network services now integrated into the core operating system.

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Business-critical systems such as email and decision support systems are being pushed out into the departments and remote offices.

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Departmental servers are hosting local data linked to the enterprise. As a result, the range of capabilities required in a departmental or remote office platform have become more complex and require a more robust platform.

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MIS wants to gain control over departmental systems; however, their systems have not been robust enough to support effective management capabilities.

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Departments have become interdependent. Because so many more users will be affected if a sever goes down, availability requirements are increasing.

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Departmental and remote office locations frequently do not have qualified service and technical engineers on site to maintain and upgrade systems. With availability requirements growing, it becomes increasingly important that departmental and remote office servers be designed for easy service and upgrading.

Compaq recognizes these changes and realizes that customers need a server platform that answers the varying computing needs of specific departments and remote offices—a platform that delivers a range of performance, management, availability, and serviceability features at an affordable price.

In answer to that need, Compaq has developed a new departmental and remote office server, the Compaq ProLiant 2500 Server, which supports the following network operating systems:

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Microsoft Windows NT 3.5x and 4.x

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Netware 3.12 and 4.x

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IBM OS/2 2.x and 3.x

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SCO UNIX 5.0

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Banyan Vines 6.x

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UnixWare 2.1x

This brief explains the technology integrated with the ProLiant 2500 that makes it an ideal departmental or remote office server.

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ECHNOLOGY BRIEF

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ECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

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Compaq designed the new ProLiant 2500 specifically to meet customers’ needs for a departmental

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or remote office server: a robust server offering high performance, availability, serviceability,

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manageability, and investment protection—all at an affordable price. To meet all those needs,

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Compaq developed a new server with a highly flexible chassis that is optimized for both tower

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and rack configurations (Figure 1) and a new architecture for combining the latest processor,

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network, and storage technology.

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This section describes individual hardware features and technologies of the ProLiant 2500 server.

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Figure 1. The Compaq ProLiant 2500 Server converts readily from a tower configuration (left) to a rack

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configuration (right) and back again.

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Form Factor/Chassis

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The ProLiant 2500 was designed using a compact, yet flexible form factor for both tower and rack

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configurations. This highly serviceable form factor reduces the down time associated with field

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upgrades and component replacement. The intent of this design is to save customers money in

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multiple ways:

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By standardizing on the ProLiant 2500 for departmental and remote office servers, customers can deploy and redeploy individual servers as their needs change. The ability to reconfigure a ProLiant 2500 server quickly and easily from a tower to a rack and back to a tower enclosure provides for end-of-life redeployment and protection of the hardware investment.

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The 5U chassis allows customers to stack up to eight ProLiant 2500 servers in a single 42U Compaq rack cabinet. The increased server density saves customers both space and money.

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By providing easy access to server components, the ProLiant 2500 design reduces the down time associated with upgrades and field replacement, reduces the required skill level for performing routine maintenance, and therefore reduces the cost of maintenance.

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I/O Module

System Fan

Outlet

Processor Module

System Fan Module

Quick release knob for

System Fan Module

Quick release for I/O

Module

Quick Release for

Processor Module

Power Supply

ECHNOLOGY BRIEF

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Standardizing on the ProLiant 2500 can reduce the overhead of maintaining an inventory of spare parts.

The flexible new ProLiant 2500 chassis was designed for maximum serviceability and provides front, rear, top, and side access for service or upgrade tasks (Figure 2). Most major chassis elements can be removed without the use of tools. Both the processor board and the I/O board are rail-mounted in lever-actuated quick release modules designed to be drawn into the chassis by a cam action lever system (Figure 3).

Figure 2. The ProLiant 2500 Server provides front, top, side, and rear access for service or upgrade tasks. Most major chassis elements can be removed without the use of tools.

Figure 3. Rear view of the ProLiant 2500 Server chassis showing lever-actuated quick release modules.

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ECHNOLOGY BRIEF

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Adding or replacing a processor in the ProLiant 2500 simply requires opening the quick release

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lever, sliding out the processor board, sliding in a new processor board, and closing the quick

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release lever. Since main memory in the ProLiant 2500 is mounted on the processor board,

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adding or changing out main memory is equally simple. The slide-out processor module provides

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ready access to memory slots. A used DIMM (dual in-line memory module) pulls readily from its

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slot; and with a slight push, a new pluggable DIMM seats securely in its place.

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Access to the I/O board for servicing PCI and EISA cards is also quick and tool-less. In the

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ProLiant 2500 tower model, access to the cards is from the top. In the rack model, access is from

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the side to provide equal visibility. The I/O cards slide smoothly into the expansion slots on the

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I/O board. A Compaq-designed rotating latch locks each card securely into place in the option

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card bay and also serves as a quick release for easy removal and replacement of cards (Figure 4).

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Figure 4. In a ProLiant 2500 tower model, PCI and EISA cards slide into the I/O slots from the top (left). A

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unique rotating latch secures each card (right).

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A single quick-release knob provides easy access to the system fan, which is mounted

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perpendicular to the back panel and exhausts through an outlet below the fan assembly itself (see

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Figure 3). The power supply is mounted with four screws that can be easily removed.

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With its compact 5U chassis, the ProLiant 2500 provides for improved server density in rack

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environments. Customers can stack up to eight ProLiant 2500 servers in a single 42U Compaq

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rack cabinet. By comparison, the 7U chassis of the ProLiant 1500 Server permits stacking six

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servers in a 42U rack cabinet. With the improved density, installation of the ProLiant 2500

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becomes a one- or two-man task as opposed to a two- or three-man task; thus, the increased

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density saves customers both space and maintenance costs.

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Security

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While high serviceability requires easy access to server components, security of data and

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equipment is paramount. The ProLiant 2500 housing and chassis design achieves both.

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In a rack configuration, access to the system is controlled by two key locks: one on the front door

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and a second on the rear door of the rack cabinet. In the tower model, a single key lock on the

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front bezel controls access to the system. The top, side, and back panels of the housing slide onto

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the chassis and interlock. The hinged front bezel closes over the edges of the top and side panel,

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securing them. A simple half turn of the key lock opens or locks the front bezel for the first line

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of defense against unauthorized access to the hard drives and other components (Figure 5).

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The ProLiant 2500 also provides an optional, second level of security for rear-mounted

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components. The ProLiant 2500 comes equipped with three set screws (Figure 6) that can be used

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to lock the processor module, the I/O module, and the fan in place. By simply moving these

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screws from their initial position and placing them in the three holes shown in Figure 6, the

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customer can secure the rear-access modules against quick release and removal.

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(cont.)

CZR-037a.eps

CZR-052.eps

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