The Onyx 350 memory and PCI expansion module (hereinafter referred to as the MPX module) offers additional NUMAlink connected memory and four slots of PCI/PCI-X expansion for all Onyx 350 systems. As with the standard Onyx 350 compute module, the MPX module supports both PCI and PCI-X protocols.
The following sections describe the optional Onyx 350 MPX module:
The 2U-high MPX module has four available PCI card slots to support optional PCI or PCI–X cards. Memory DIMMs and capacity are exactly as those of the Onyx 350 compute module.
Figure 6-1 shows a front panel and side view of the MPX module.
This section describes the external features and connectors on the MPX module as follows:
An L1 controller to manage and monitor the functions of the MPX module, such as system temperature. The system includes an L1 controller display system that processes error messages.
Supports 1 or (optionally) 2 power supplies. The second power supply is redundant.
Supports 1 L1 port (USB type B) connector that can connect the module to an L2 controller.
Has 1 NUMAlink port to connect to a compute module (see Figure 6-2).
Supports 1 Crosstown2 XIO port.
1 console port. This RS-232 DB-9 serial connector can connect a system console to a monitor and manage your system.
Contains 4 PCI and PCI–X card slots on 2 buses. These 64-bit slots can house 33-MHz and 66-MHz PCI cards, or 66-MHZ and 100-MHz PCI–X cards.
The product options you might use in your Onyx 350 system will either be memory or PCI based when installed in an MPX module. PCI and PCI–X cards and memory (DIMMs) are the configurable internal components of the MPX module that end-users may upgrade or replace.
DIMMs or PCI/PCI-X cards are upgraded or replaced in exactly the same way as the Onyx 350 compute or compute/graphics modules. See Chapter 7, “Installing and Removing Customer-replaceable Units” for detailed information on these topics.
If you run PCI and PCI–X cards on the same bus at the same time, the PCI–X card will run in PCI mode. And if you run cards of different speeds on the same bus, the highest-speed card will run at the speed of the slower card. For example, if a card is running at 100 MHz in one slot of a bus, and a card is running at 33 MHz in the second slot of the same bus, both cards will run at 33 MHz.