PCIe Adapters

When you receive your system from the manufacturer, PCIe adapters that were ordered at the same time the system was ordered arrive pre-installed. To install additional PCIe adapters, be sure to read the following before you read Removing and Installing a PCIe Adapter

See System Specifications for information about the supported PCIe adapters.

Understanding PCIe-Slot Numbering

I/O module A and I/O module B each contain five PCIe adapter slots, for a total of ten per system. The slots are labeled 1 through 5 on each I/O module, as shown in Figure 8. Each I/O module also contains an embedded dual-port 10G adapter.

Figure 8: PCIe-Adapter Physical Slot Numbering

1 PCIe slot 1 4 PCIe slot 4
2 PCIe slot 2 5 PCIe slot 5
3 PCIe slot 3    

You can view information about the PCIe adapters from Hardware Page of the ztC Endurance console​ and from your operating-system software.

  • For PCIe slots 1 through 5, the physical PCIe slot numbering corresponds to the software numbering. For example, PCIe slot 1 corresponds to slots A/1 and B/1 in the software, PCIe slot 2 corresponds to slots A/2 and B/2, and so on.

  • The embedded dual-port 10G adapters appear in the software as slots A/6 and B/6.

Installing Additional PCIe Adapters

Install additional PCIe adapters in your system in the order shown in Table 6. For example, if you are adding two PCIe adapters to a system that already contains PCIe adapters in slots A/1 and B/1, install the two additional PCIe adapters in slots A/2 and B/2, for a total of four PCIe adapters in the system.

Table 6: PCIe-Adapter Installation Order
Number of Adapters I/O Module A I/O Module B
2 Slot 1 Slot 1
4 Slots 1, 2 Slots 1, 2
6 Slots 1, 2, 3 Slots 1, 2, 3
8 Slots 1, 2, 3, 4 Slots 1, 2, 3, 4
10 Slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Important Considerations When Installing PCIe Adapters

Before you install PCIe adapters, consider the following:

  • Use only PCIe adapters approved by Stratus. Before approving a PCIe adapter, Stratus thoroughly tests it to make sure that it interacts properly with Stratus systems, including I/O redundancy with a duplexed partner if an active PCIe adapter or I/O module fails or is removed from service. Customers who have attempted to use inadequately tested PCIe adapters in their systems have frequently experienced problems that proved difficult to isolate and diagnose and resulted in delayed projects.

  • Thoroughly test any new PCIe adapter, including adapters sold or approved by Stratus, with your applications in a test environment before using it in a production environment.

  • An I/O module can contain different PCIe adapter models. However, you must install identical PCIe adapter models in matching I/O module A and B slots. For instance, if you install an Intel X550-T2 PCIe adapter in slot 1 of I/O module A, you must install an Intel X550-T2 PCIe adapter in slot 1 of I/O module B.

Valid PCIe Configurations for ztC Endurance Systems

Table 7 describes valid PCIe configurations for ztC Endurance systems. To interpret the table, read it from left to right. The total number of adapters, starting from the left, cannot exceed the maximum number listed in the right-most column.

Note: Low-voltage ztC Endurance systems can contain a maximum of three PCIe adapters in each I/O module due to power constraints.
Table 7: Valid PCIe Adapter Configurations for 3100, 5100, and 7100 Systems
  ztC Endurance Model Max number of each adapter type allowed per side   Max number of total adapters allowed per side
XXV710 Dual 25 Gbps QLE2770 Single 32 Gbps X550 or X710 Dual 10 Gbps
Low-voltage 3100 See Note 1. 0 3 3
1 1 2
3100 See Note 1. 1 3 3
5100 2 2 4 4
7100 2 2 4 4
Notes/Rules

  1. This adapter is not supported with this ztC Endurance system.

For example, two valid configurations for a ztC Endurance 5100 system are:

  • Two XXV710 adapters and two X550 adapters

    OR

  • Four X550 adapters

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