Acer M9L Reference manual

& K DSWHU

System Board
System Board 1-1
1.1 Features
The system board consists of the I/O subsystem for the M9L system.
It contains an exclusive connector for the CPU board that comprise the
host subsystem.
This high-performance 64-bit system board utilizes both the ISA and
the PCI local bus architecture. Two ISA and five PCI bus slots reside
on the board to allow installation of either master or slave devices.
A 50-pin Fast SCSI-II interface and two 68-pin Wide SCSI interfaces
come with the system board to connect SCSI devices. External I/O
interfaces include a parallel port and a video port, RJ-45 and two USB
connectors, and keyboard and mouse ports.
The system board supports two optional features, the ASM Pro and
the remote diagnostic management (RDM), that allow better server
management. The ASM Pro detects problems in CPU thermal
condition, CPU working voltage detection (±12V/±5V/3.3V/1.5V), and
PCI bus utilization calculation. It also detects if the CPU fan or the
chassis fan malfunctions. The RDM allows execution of the RDM
diagnostic program from a remote RDM station to fix detected
problems or to reboot the system.

1-2 User’s Guide
1.2 Major Components
The system board has the following major components:
•CPU board slot
•Three primary and two secondary PCI bus slots
•Two ISA bus slots
•256-KB Flash ROM for system BIOS
•System clock/calendar with battery backup
•One 50-pin Fast SCSI-II and two 68-pin Wide SCSI interfaces
•Two 24-pin RDM interfaces
•IDE hard disk and diskette drive interfaces
•Onboard VRAM and VRAM sockets for video memory upgrade
•Power connector for both standard 420-watt SPS and redundant
420-watt SPS
•Super I/O, SCSI, VGA, memory, Ethernet, and Advanced Server
Management (ASM) controller chipsets
•External ports:
•PS/2-compatible keyboard port
•PS/2-compatible mouse port
•Parallel port
•Video port
•RJ-45 connector
•Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors

System Board 1-3
1.3 Layout
Figure 1-1 shows the system board components.
1 Mouse port
2 Keyboard port
3 Parallel port
4 Video port
5 RJ-45 connector
6 USB connectors
7 CPU board slot
8 Primary PCI slots
9 Secondary PCI slots
10 ISA slots
11 Flash ROM BIOS
12 Wide SCSI connector 2
13 Wide SCSI connector 1
14 Narrow SCSI connector
15 Diskette drive connector
16 EIDE connector
17 Battery
18 RDM connectors
19 Power connectors
20 Video RAM
21 Power connector
22 Video RAM upgrade sockets
Figure 1-1 System Board Layout
3
5
1
2
7
8
10
1
9
1
8
17
21
2
2
15 14
12
13
11
16
4
6
2
0
9

1-4 User’s Guide
1.4 Jumpers and Connectors
1.4.1 Jumper and Connector Locations
Figure 1-2 shows the jumper and connector locations on the system
board.
Figure 1-2 System Board Jumper and Connector Locations
Jumpers are prefixed “JP”. Connectors are
prefixed “CN”. The blackened pin of a jumper
represents pin 1.

System Board 1-5
1.4.2 Jumper Settings
Table 1-1 lists the system board jumpers with their corresponding
settings and functions.
Table 1-1 System Board Jumper Settings
Jumper Setting Function
Power Supply
JP1 1-2*
2-3 420 W 200 W
BIOS Type
JP2 1-2
2-3* With Acer logo Generic
Password Security
JP3 1-2*
2-3 Check password Bypass password
5V Standby Source
JP4 1-2*
3-4 Power supply 5V standby VCC
SCSI Channel 1
High-Byte Termination
JP6 1-2*
2-3 Terminator always set to ON SCSI terminator set to ON or OFF
by software
VGA Feature
JP7 1-2*
2-3 Enabled/disabled through BIOS Onboard VGA always disabled
*Default setting

1-6 User’s Guide
1.4.3 Connector Functions
Table 1-2 lists the different connectors on the system board respective
functions.
Table 1-2 Connector Functions and their
Connector Function
CN1 COM 1
CN3, U3, U8 Power connectors
CN2 COM 2
CN5 Standby power connector for 420-watt SPS
CN4 PS/2 mouse (above) / keyboard (below) connectors
CN8 Power connector (connects to the system power
button on the front panel)
CN9 Standby power connector for 200-watt SPS
CN10 Monitor signal connector for redundant power supply
CN12 Software shutdown connector for redundant power
supply
CN13 Backplane board LED connector
CN14 Printer port (above) / video port (below)
CN15 IDE connector
CN16 LAN connector
CN18 Diskette drive connector
CN17 Channel 1 narrow SCSI connector
CN19 Universal serial bus (USB) ports
CN22 Channel 1 wide SCSI connector
CN23 Hard disk LED connector
CN24 SMM connector
CN25 Channel 2 wide SCSI connector
CN6, CN7 RDM connectors
CNN1 Connector for chassis intrusion prevention
FA1, FA2, FA3 Fan connectors

System Board 1-7
1.5 ESD Precautions
Always observe the following electrostatic discharge (ESD)
precautions before installing a system component:
1. Do not remove a component from its antistatic packaging until
you are ready to install it.
2. Wear a wrist grounding strap before handling electronic
components. Wrist grounding straps are available at most
electronic component stores.
Do not attempt the procedures described in
the following sections unless you are a
qualified technician.

1-8 User’s Guide
1.6 Video Memory Upgrade
Larger video memory allows you to display higher resolutions and
more colors. The system board comes with a 1-MB video memory
onboard upgradable to 2 MB.
Follow these steps to upgrade the video memory:
1. Locate the video DRAM upgrade sockets labeled U36 and U37
on the system board. See Figure 1-1.
2. Gently insert a video chip into each of the upgrade sockets.
Make sure that the pin 1 indicator on the chip
matches the notched corner of the socket.
Figure 1-3 Installing a Video Memory Chip
Pin 1 Indicator
Notched Corner

System Board 1-9
1.7 ASM Pro
The ASM Pro is a server management tool based on the Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP). It detects server problems
related to the CPU thermal condition, 5V/3.3V/1.5V detection, or PCI
bus utilization calculation.
This feature is designed primarily for server supervisors and
management information system (MIS) personnel to help them detect
errors or potential trouble spots in their network servers through a
single management station.
The ASM Pro consists of two major parts:
•ASM-Station - a Windows-based monitoring station that
communicates with the ASM-Agents.
•ASM-Agent(s) - the individual servers managed by the
ASM-Station.
Refer to the ASM Pro user’s manual for more information.

1-10 User’s Guide
1.8 Remote Diagnostic Management
The Remote Diagnostic Management (RDM) is a network
management tool that utilizes modems and telephone lines to control a
host of servers from a remote station. It monitors and analyzes the
server condition, updates the BIOS settings if necessary, or reboots
the server in the event of failure and quickly return it to normal
operation. This capability to execute the RDM program from a remote
site bridges the distance barrier in fixing server problems and reduces
wasted time due to system failure.
1.8.1 Installing the RDM Module
The system board comes with connectors CN6 and CN7 to
accommodate the RDM module.
Follow these steps to install the RDM module and connect the cable:
1. See Figure 1-1 for the location of the RDM connectors.
2. Gently insert the RDM module into CN6 and CN7. The module
fits only in one direction. Do not force it into to the connectors.
Figure 1-4 Installing the RDM Module
Refer to the RDM User’s Guide for detailed instructions on RDM
installation.
CN7
CN6
RDM Module