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System Overview
Dell PowerEdge SC1425 Systems User's Guide
Front-Panel Features and Indicators
Back-Panel Features and Indicators
System Features
Supported Operating Systems
Power Protection Devices
Other Documents You May Need
Obtaining Technical Assistance
This section describes the major hardware and software features of your system and provides information about the indicators on the system's front and back panels. It also provides information about other documents you may need when setting up your system and how to obtain technical assistance.
Front-Panel Features and Indicators
Figure 1-1 shows the front-panel features and indicators of the system. To access the switches and indicators on the front panel, remove the optional bezel. See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for instructions. Table 1-1 lists the front-panel LED indicators, buttons, and connectors.
Figure 1-1. Front-Panel Features and Indicators
Table 1-1. Front-Panel LED Indicators, Buttons, and Connectors
Indicator, Button, or Connector
|
Icon
|
Description
|
Blue/amber system status indicator
|
| The blue system status indicator lights up during normal system operation. You can also use either the systems management software or
the identification buttons located on the front and back of the system to cause this indicator to flash to identify a particular system.
The amber system status indicator flashes when the system needs attention due to a system problem.
|
Hard-drive indicator
|
| The green hard-drive activity indicator flashes when the SATA hard drives are in use.
NOTE: It does not flash when SCSI hard drives are in use.
|
NMI button
|
| The NMI button is used to troubleshoot software and device driver errors when using certain operating systems. This button can be pressed using the end of a paper clip. Use this button only if directed to do so by qualified support personnel or by the operating system's documentation.
|
System identification button
|
| The identification buttons on the front and back panels can be used to locate a particular system within a rack. When one of these buttons is pushed, the blue system status indicator on the front and back blinks until one of the buttons is pushed again.
|
USB connectors
|
| These connect USB 2.0-compliant devices to the system.
|
Power-on indicator,
Power button
|
| The power-on indicator blinks when power is available to the system, but the system is not powered on.
The power button controls the DC power supply output to the system.
NOTICE: If you turn off the system using the power button and the system is running an ACPI-compliant operating system, the system performs a graceful shutdown before the power is turned off. If the system is not running an ACPI-compliant operating system, the power is turned off immediately after the power button is pressed.
|
Diagnostic indicators (4)
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| The diagnostic indicators aid in diagnosing and troubleshooting the system. For more information, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
|
Back-Panel Features and Indicators
Figure 1-2 shows the controls, indicators, and connectors located on the system's back panel.
Figure 1-2. Back-Panel Features and Indicators
Connecting External Devices
When connecting external devices to your system, follow these guidelines:
- Install device drivers. (Device drivers are normally included with your operating system software or with the device itself.) See the documentation that accompanied the device for specific installation and configuration instructions.
- Ensure that you attach devices to the correct connectors.
- With the exception of USB devices, always attach external devices while your system is turned off. Then, turn on any external devices before turning on the system (unless the documentation for the device specifies otherwise).
For information about individual connectors, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide. For information about enabling, disabling, and configuring I/O ports and connectors, see "Using the System Setup Program."
System Features
- Up to two Intel® Xeon microprocessors with a front-side bus speed of 800 MHz, an internal operating speed of at least 2.8 GHz, and at least 1 MB of internal cache.
- Support for symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), which is available on systems with two Intel Xeon microprocessors. SMP greatly improves overall system performance by dividing microprocessor operations between independent microprocessors. To take advantage of this feature, you must use an operating system that supports multiprocessing.
|
NOTE: If you decide to upgrade your system by installing a second microprocessor, you must order the microprocessor upgrade kits from Dell. Not all versions of the Intel Xeon microprocessor will work properly as additional microprocessors. The upgrade kit from Dell contains the correct version of the microprocessor as well as the instructions for performing the upgrade. Both microprocessors must have the same internal operating frequency and cache size. |
- A minimum of 256 MB of registered PC-3200 DDR 2 400 SDRAM memory modules, upgradable to a maximum of 12 GB by installing combinations of 256-MB, 512-MB, 1-GB, and 2-GB (when available), 2-way interleaving memory modules in the six memory module sockets on the system board.
- Support for software RAID levels 0 and 1.
- An optional IDE CD, DVD, or CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive.
|
NOTE: DVD devices are data only. |
- A 450-W non-hot-pluggable power supply.
The system board includes the following features:
- A single 3.3-V, 64-bit, 133MHz PCI-X expansion slot.
- Support for the following internal hard-drive (non-hot-plug) configurations:
- Up to two internal 1-inch SATA hard drives with an integrated SATA controller
or
- Up to two internal 1-inch SCSI hard drives with an optional SCSI controller card.
- Two integrated Gigabit Ethernet NICs, capable of supporting 10-Mbps, 100-Mbps, and 1000-Mbps data rates.
- Four USB 2.0-compliant connectors (two on the front and two on the back) capable of supporting a diskette drive, a CD-ROM drive, a keyboard, a mouse, or a USB flash drive.
- An integrated VGA-compatible video subsystem with an ATI Radeon 7000-M, 66 MHz PCI video controller. This video subsystem contains 16 MB of SDRAM video memory (nonupgradable). Maximum resolution is 1600 x 1200 with 64,000 colors; true-color graphics are supported in the following resolutions: 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1152 x 864, and 1280 x 1024.
- Systems management circuitry that monitors operation of the system fans as well as critical system voltages and temperatures. The systems management circuitry works in conjunction with the systems management software.
- Back-panel connectors include mouse, keyboard, serial, video, two USB connectors, and two NIC connectors.
- Front-panel connectors include two USB connectors.
For more information about specific features, see "Technical Specifications."
The following software is included with your system:
- A System Setup program for quickly viewing and changing system configuration information. For more information about this program, see "Using the System Setup Program."
- Enhanced security features, including a system password and a setup password, available through the System Setup program.
- System diagnostics for evaluating system components and devices. For information about using the system diagnostics, see "Running the System Diagnostics" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
- Video drivers for displaying many popular application programs in high-resolution modes.
Supported Operating Systems
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition and Web Edition
- Red Hat® Linux Enterprise Server ES and WS (version 3) for Intel x86
- Red Hat Linux Enterprise Server ES and WS (version 3) for Intel EM64T
Power Protection Devices
Certain devices protect your system from the effects of problems such as power surges and power failures.
- PDU Uses circuit breakers to ensure that the AC current load does not exceed the PDU's rating.
- Surge protector Prevents voltage spikes, such as those that may occur during an electrical storm, from entering the system through the electrical outlet. They do not protect against brownouts, which occur when the voltage drops more than 20 percent below the normal AC line voltage level.
- Line conditioner Maintains a system's AC power source voltage at a moderately constant level and provides protection from brownouts, but does not protect against a complete power loss.
- UPS Uses battery power to keep the system running when AC power is unavailable. The battery is charged by AC power while it is available so that after AC power is lost, the battery can provide power to the system for a limited amount of timefrom 5 minutes to approximately an hour. A UPS that provides only 5 minutes of battery power allows you to save your files and to shutdown the system. Use surge protectors and PDUs with all universal power supplies, and ensure that the UPS is UL-safety approved.
Other Documents You May Need
|
The Product Information Guide provides important safety and regulatory information. Warranty information may be included within this document or as a separate document. |
- The Rack Installation Guide or Rack Installation Instructions included with your rack solution describes how to install your system into a rack.
- The Getting Started Guide provides an overview of initially setting up your system.
- The Installation and Troubleshooting Guide describes how to troubleshoot the system and install or replace system components.
- Operating system documentation describes how to install (if necessary), configure, and use the operating system software.
- Documentation for any components you purchased separately provides information to configure and install these options.
- Updates are sometimes included with the system to describe changes to the system, software, and/or documentation.
|
NOTE: Always read the updates first because they often supersede information in other documents. |
Release notes or readme files may be included to provide last-minute updates to the system or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.
Obtaining Technical Assistance
If you do not understand a procedure in this guide or if the system does not perform as expected, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
Dell Enterprise Training and Certification is available; see www.dell.com/training for more information. This service may not be offered in all locations.
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