Adapters

Adapters

You can add adapters to extend the capabilities and power of the server. Many adapters provide bus-master capabilities, which enable the adapters to perform operations without interrupting the server's microprocessor.

You can install up to seven adapters in the expansion connectors, called slots, on the system board of the server. Six of the slots are peripheral component interconnect (PCI) expansion slots and one is an industry standard architecture (ISA) expansion slot.

Four of the PCI slots allow you to install a new PCI adapter or replace an existing PCI adapter with the same type of adapter without turning the server power off and restarting the system, if these features are supported by the operating system. These slots are called hot-pluggable PCI slots. They are also referred to as hot-plug PCI slots.

The expansion slots have Plug and Play capabilities. See 'Plug and Play Technology' for additional information.

The server comes with a video controller. This video controller is an integrated component on the system board. It is not in an expansion slot. The integrated video controller has super video graphics array (SVGA) technology.

The integrated video controller is not removable. If you want to disable this controller and use a video adapter instead, you can install a video adapter in an expansion slot. When you install a PCI video adapter, the server BIOS automatically disables the integrated video controller. When you install an ISA video adapter, you must move a jumper to disable the integrated video controller. See 'System Board Jumpers' for more information.

The following illustration shows the location of the PCI and ISA expansion slots on the system board.

32 16-bit ISA slot
34 Power LEDs for hot-swap slots
34 Attention LEDs for hot-swap slots
35 Hot-plug 32-bit PCI slots 1-4
36 Non-hot-plug 32-bit PCI slots 5 and 6

LEDs for Hot-Plug PCI Slots: Each hot-plug PCI slot has three LEDs associated with it - two Attention LEDs and one Power LED.

Power LED: This LED is on when the hot-plug PCI slot is active and has power. An adapter must not be added to or removed from the PCI slot when the Power LED is on. When this LED is off, the PCI slot is inactive and has no power applied. An adapter can be installed when the Power LED for the PCI slot is off. Refer to the operating system documentation to determine if it supports hot-plug PCI adapters, and, if so, how to disable the hot-plug PCI slot.
Attention LEDs: Each hot-plug PCI slot has an Attention LED that is visible from the rear of the server and one that can be seen from inside the server. (The LEDs have the same meaning, they are duplicated to be visible from outside or inside the server.) An Attention LED flashes approximately once per second when it is on. The meaning of the Attention LEDs is defined by the operating system. Refer to the operating system documentation to determine if it supports hot-plug PCI adapters and, if so, what the Attention LEDs indicate.

The following table describes the LEDs:

Power LED Attention LED Description On Flashing The adapter required attention. Slot has still power applied. Do not remove or install an adapter in the slot. Refer to the operating system documentation for instructions. On Off Normal operation, no intervention is required. Off Flashing The adapter requires intervention. Power is removed from the slot. An adapter can be removed or installed in the slot Off Off Power is removed from the slot. An adapter can be removed or installed in the slot

Power LED	Attention LED	Description
On	Flashing	The adapter required attention. Slot has still power applied. Do not remove or install an adapter in the slot. Refer to the operating system documentation for instructions.
On	Off	Normal operation, no intervention is required.
Off	Flashing	The adapter requires intervention. Power is removed from the slot. An adapter can be removed or installed in the slot
Off	Off	Power is removed from the slot. An adapter can be removed or installed in the slot

Adapter Considerations

Before you continue with the adapter-installation procedure:

Review the documentation that comes with the adapter and follow those instructions in addition to the instructions given in this chapter. If you need to change the switch or jumper settings on the adapter, follow the instructions that come with the adapter documentation.
You can install a full-length ISA adapter in the ISA expansion slot.
You can install full-length adapters in all PCI expansion slots.
You can install hot-plug PCI adapters in PCI slots 1-4, if the operating system supports this feature. Non-hot-plug PCI adapters can also be installed in these slots.
The server supports 5.0 V and universal PCI adapters, it does not support 3.3 V adapters.
Note: A universal PCI adapter supports both 3.3 V and 5.0 V operation.
The server uses a rotational interrupt technique to configure PCI adapters. This technique enables you to install a variety of PCI adapters that currently do not support sharing of PCI interrupts.
PCI slots 5 and 6 are on the primary PCI bus and PCI slots 1-4 are on the secondary PCI bus. The performance of the PCI adapters depends on the configuration of adapters in the system.

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