ClearCube A1010 User manual

A–Series Blade and Chassis
User’s Guide

Technical Support
See the support Web site for technical updates, additional warranty information and
documentation, and software revisions:
Web: http://support.clearcube.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: [phone] or call toll free [phone] (United States)
ClearCube Technology Corporate Headquarters
Mailing and Shipping Address:
The ClearCube Building
8834 Capital of Texas Hwy North
Austin, Texas 78759
Email: [email protected]
Main Phone: [phone] or call toll free [phone] (United States)
Main Fax: [phone]
Or your local ClearCube Reseller or Authorized Service Provider
Copyrights
© 2006 by ClearCube Technology Inc. All rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this
publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in
whole or in part, without the prior written consent of ClearCube Technology, Inc.
This information is subject to change without notice and ClearCube shall not be liable for any
direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this
material.
Trademarks
ClearCube™, Sentral™, Blade Switching BackPack™, PC Blade™, C/Port™, and I/Port™
are trademarks of ClearCube Technology Inc. Product and company names mentioned herein
are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
Patents
The ClearCube Architecture and its components described in this user manual are protected by
numerous granted and pending U.S. and international patents.
Granted patents include: US05926172, US05966056, US05994952, US06012101,
US06020839, US06037884, US06038616, US06119146, US06148182, US06167241,
US06385666, US06421393, US06426970, US06633934, US06708247, US06735658, and
US06886055.
Patents pending include: US S/N 09/755378, US S/N 10/279475, US S/N 10/198719, US S/N
10/198650, US S/N 10/409219, US S/N 09/728667, US S/N 09/728669, US S/N 10/411804,
US S/N 10/411908, US S/N 10/458853, US S/N 10/364584, US S/N 10/301536, US S/N
60/411066, US S/N 10/662933, US S/N 10/662889, US S/N 10/662932, US S/N 10/662968,
US S/N 10/301563, US S/N 10/662936, US S/N 10/301518, US S/N 10/662955 and US S/N
10/662954.
Inquiries regarding patented technology should be directed to ClearCube Corporate
Headquarters.

iii
Contents
How to Use this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
FCC Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
California Proposition 65 Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
WEEE Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Medical and Clinical Use of ClearCube Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Safety Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Chapter 1. A–Series Architecture and Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A–Series PC Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A1410 Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A1010 Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A–Series Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A3100 Chassis and Expansion Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A3000 Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
User Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 2. Site Preparation and Network Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
About Your Shipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Inspecting Your Shipment and Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Unpacking Your Shipment in the Correct Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Rack and Cabinet Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Space and Floor Support Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
A3100 Chassis and A1410 Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
A3000 Chassis and A1010 Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Cooling and Airflow Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

iv
Chassis and Blade Power Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Power Input Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Power Circuit Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Power and Thermal Specifications for A–Series Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Specifications for A3100 and A1410 Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Cable Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 3. Chassis and Blade Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Tools for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Installing an A–Series Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chassis Container Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chassis AC Power Cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Mounting an A–Series Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Cabinet-Mounting Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using the Included Chassis Mounting Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Mounting a Chassis Rapid–Mount Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Removing a Rapid–Mount Kit Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Attaching and Removing the Expansion Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Attaching the Expansion Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Removing the Expansion Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Powering a Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Configuring A–Series Blades before Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Enabling A1410 Blades for Out-of-band Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Specifying an AMT Administrator and Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Setting up Operating System Images on A1410 Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Installing Your Custom Image from an Image File Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Using the Default Operating System Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Configuring A1010 Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Installing a Blade in Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Removing a Blade from a Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chapter 4. Upgrading and Maintaining Blades and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Upgrading Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
A1410 Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
A1010 Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Installing DIMMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Working with Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Replacing or Upgrading Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Installing an Additional Hard Drive in an A1010 Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Working with the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Resetting BIOS Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Resetting A1410 BIOS Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

v
Resetting A1010 BIOS Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Updating the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Recovering the BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Recovering the A1410 BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Recovering the A1010 BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Upgrading an A3000 Chassis to an A3100 Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Appendix A. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Appendix B. Regulatory Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Emissions (Radio Frequency Interference) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Other Test Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Safety Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
CE Marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Declaration of Conformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Appendix C. Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Product Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Fuse and Power Cord Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Appendix D. Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

vi

How to Use this Guide • vii
How to Use this Guide
This guide provides information about installing and setting up ClearCube Technology, Inc.
A–Series blades and components necessary for managed desktop environments. We
recommend that you familiarize yourself with the ClearCube architecture and product
descriptions and read through the entire installation and setup procedures before beginning
installation.
If you encounter any issues, contact ClearCube technical support using the contact information
provided on the inside front cover of this manual and in Appendix C.Technical Support on
page 43.
FCC Warning
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
strict accordance with the instructions in this manual, may cause interference to radio and
television reception. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by ClearCube
Technology, Inc. could void the user's authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.
California Proposition 65 Statement
ClearCube products should be disposed of in accordance with local laws governing computer
equipment disposal.
WEEE Information
The products described in this document are subject to regulation under the European Union
Directive 2002/96/EC, that mandates separate waste collection, treatment, and recycling of
electronic products. This directive is commonly known as WEEE, for Waste from Electrical
and Electronic Equipment, and its intent is to promote the safe and sensible disposal of
products that have outlived their usefulness.
WARNING: ClearCube products contain chemicals, including
lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth
defects, or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after
handling.

viii • Medical and Clinical Use of ClearCube Products
The “crossed-out” trash bin symbol, shown to the left, identifies products that should be
recycled, not simply discarded. ClearCube Technology, Inc. supports the reuse, recycling,
recovery, and responsible disposal of all products.
ClearCube Technology, Inc. is committed to meeting the requirements of the European Union
WEEE Directive. The goal of the directive is to reduce the environmental impact due to the
disposal of electrical and electronic equipment that has reached the end of its useful service
life. This directive goes into enforcement on August 13, 2005.
ClearCube products are sold exclusively to commercial and industrial customers and not to
private households. Under the WEEE legislation terms, commercial and industrial customers
have the responsibility to ensure that all electrical and electronic equipment is disposed of
properly and in accordance with all applicable laws and local regulations. For more
information, visit the ClearCube Technology, Inc. Web site at www.clearcube.com, email at
[email protected], or call at [phone] or [phone].
Materials used in this product, if not disposed of properly, could have adverse effects on the
environment and human health. Do not dispose of these products in unsorted municipal waste
containers. Deliver electronic waste only to an approved recycling facility, a treatment facility,
or both. If one is not available, contact ClearCube for assistance.
Medical and Clinical Use of ClearCube Products
ClearCube products are not designed with components and testing for a level of reliability
suitable for use in or in connection with surgical implants or as critical components in any life
support systems whose failure to perform can reasonably be expected to cause significant
injury to a human. Applications of ClearCube products involving medical or clinical treatment
can create a potential for death or bodily injury caused by product failure, or by errors on the
part of the user. Because each end-user system environment is customized and differs from
ClearCube testing platforms and because a user may use ClearCube products in combination
with other products in a manner not evaluated or contemplated by ClearCube, the user is
ultimately responsible for verifying and validating the suitability of ClearCube products
whenever ClearCube products are incorporated in a system, including, without limitation, the
appropriate design, process and safety level of such system or application.
Symbols
Symbols are displayed on the hardware described in this document to convey specific
information to the operator and service person (see Figure 14.on page 28 for an example). It is
important to understand the intended meaning of these symbols. The following list shows each

Symbols • ix
symbol displayed on ClearCube Technology, Inc. products and explains the meaning of each
symbol.
The following caution and warning symbols are used in this document to indicate situations
that merit checking this or another manual, or situations that could result in damage to
equipment or physical injury.
Refer to Manual
Used on the equipment’s rating label to direct the operator or service person to
this manual for additional information.
Shock Hazard
This symbol indicates the presence of electric shock hazards. Enclosures marked
with these symbols should only be opened by qualified service personnel. Refer
to the manual for additional information.
Power
Identifies the soft-start switch located on rear of the blade, used to power a blade
on and off.
Fuse
Located on equipment rating label. Symbol is accompanied with the
specifications needed for replacement. Only qualified technicians should
perform this operation.
Protective Earth Terminal
This symbol identifies the terminal that is used to connect all metal parts of an
enclosure through an external conductor to ground for protection against
electrical shock in a fault condition.
Ground Bond Terminal
This symbol identifies the ground bond terminal. This terminal is used to
connect the ground bonding conductor, or the combination of conductive parts,
to earth ground for safety purposes.
Equipment Protection Class II
May be located on the power adapter’s rating label. Indicates that equipment is
double–insulated from hazardous voltages. Not to be confused with Class 2, a
US National Electrical Code (NEC) circuit classification.
CAUTION—A Caution notice in this manual indicates that
equipment damage or minor injury may result if proper
procedures are not followed.

x • Safety Guidelines
Safety Guidelines
Before undertaking any troubleshooting or maintenance procedure, carefully read all
WARNING and CAUTION notices. Equipment displaying warning or caution notices
contains voltage hazardous to human life and is capable of inflicting personal injury.
•Installations—You must install ClearCube equipment in accordance with local electrical
codes. Equipment might be subject to inspection.
•Chassis grounding—ClearCube’s chassis is designed with a three-conductor IEC 60320
appliance inlet that—with the proper power cord—connects the building’s external
protective earthing conductor to all accessible metal parts of the enclosure. To minimize
shock hazard, make sure your electrical power outlet has an appropriate earth safety
ground that is connected each time you power on the equipment.
Swedish safety regulations require the following statement:
—Apparaten skall anslutas till jordat uttag när den anslutas till ett nätuerk.—
Finnish safety regulations require the following statement:
— Laite on liitettävä suojamaadoituskoskettimilla varustettuun pistorasiaan.—
•Power cord selection—ClearCube or ClearCube distributors provide power cords that are
specifically designed for use with particular pieces of equipment and are approved for use
by the local authority having jurisdiction in the country where the equipment is put into
service. Refer to the installation sections of this manual for specific power cord
requirements. For information about obtaining replacement power cords, see Appendix C.
"Technical Support" on page 61.
•Power adapters—ClearCube or ClearCube distributors provide power adapters that are
specifically designed for use with particular pieces of equipment and are approved for use
by the local authority having jurisdiction in the country where the equipment is put into
service. Refer to the installation sections of this guide for specific power cord
requirements. For information about obtaining replacement power adapters, see
Appendix C. "Technical Support" on page 61.
•IT power systems—ClearCube equipment has been evaluated and found to be compatible
with IT power distribution systems with a phase-to-phase voltage not to exceed 240 V.
•Live circuits—Operating personnel and service personnel must not remove protective
covers when operating the ClearCube chassis. Adjustments and service to internal
components must be undertaken by qualified service technicians. During any service of
this product, other than replacing a PC blade or externally accessible modules on the
WARNING—A Warning notice in this manual indicates that
catastrophic equipment damage, or serious injury including death
may result if proper procedures are not followed.

Safety Guidelines • xi
BackPack, the main connector to the premise wiring must be disconnected. Dangerous
voltages may be present under certain conditions. Use extreme caution.
•Explosive atmosphere—Do not operate the chassis in conditions where flammable gases
are present. Under such conditions this equipment is unsafe and may ignite the gases or
gas fumes.
• Part replacement— Only service equipment with parts that are exact electrical and
mechanical replacements. Contact your authorized ClearCube Technology, Inc. reseller for
information about replacement parts. Installation of parts that are not direct replacements will
void the warranty and may cause harm to personnel operating the chassis. Furthermore,
damage or fire may occur if replacement parts are unsuitable.
•Modification—Do not modify any part of the chassis or PC blade from its original
condition. Modifications may result in hazards.

xii • Safety Guidelines

A–Series User’s Guide 1
Chapter 1. A–Series Architecture and
Product Overview
ClearCube A–Series architecture delivers PC functionality to users from a secure, centralized
location. This architecture increases IT manageability and security, and provides
mission-critical reliability, performance, and uptime improvements with lowered costs.
Replacing a traditional PC with a ClearCube user port saves space, reduces fan noise, and
simplifies cabling. The key components of the ClearCube architecture include:
•PC blades—Computers in a dense form factor that use Intel® CPUs. Blades are typically
remotely located. See "A–Series PC Blades" on page 2 for more information about blades.
•Chassis—Holds multiple PC blades and enables you to manage all external cables
connect to blades from a single location. See "A–Series Chassis" on page 6 for more
information about chassis.
•User port—Physical devices, typically placed on a desk, to which you can connect
peripherals such as a monitor, keyboard, and pointing device. See "User Ports" on page 9
for more information about user ports.
•System management software and hardware—ClearCube Sentral™ is a software suite
that provides system management capabilities for your ClearCube environment. Sentral
takes advantage of monitoring hardware that is built into blades, chassis, and user ports.
For more information about Sentral, see ClearCube Sentral Administrator’s Guide.

2 • A–Series Architecture and Product Overview
A–Series PC Blades
ClearCube A–Series PC blades are computers with Intel® processors that deliver full PC
functionality to users, including USB functionality, from a centralized location. Each A–Series
PC blade contains all the industry-standard components of a desktop PC:
• Processor
•Memory
• Hard disk
• Video support
• Ethernet® network interface card (NIC)
You can connect USB peripherals (such as floppy drives, CD-ROM drives, flash drives,
printers, and so on) to a PC blade through USB ports on a user port. You can load application
software onto your PC blade through the Ethernet connection or via peripherals connected to
the USB ports.
The following sections detail each A–Series blade.
• A1410
• A1010
Figure 1. A–Series architecture
User Ports and
Peripherals
A–Series Chassis
and Blades
Ethernet

A–Series PC Blades • 3
A1410 Blade
The following list specifies features of the A1410 blade.
• Intel® Q965 Intel Express Chipset.
• Two Ethernet ports.
• One 15-pin D-subminiature female video port (DA15F).
• Two USB ports.
• Chassis and standalone operation.
• Four DIMM sockets supporting:
– 8 GB maximum total system memory using DDR2 667 or DDR2 533 DIMMs.
– 4 GB maximum total system memory using DDR2 800 DIMMs.
– Minimum total system memory: 512 MB.
– Non-ECC DIMMs.
– DDR2 800, DDR2 667, or DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM DIMMs.
– DDR2 800 DIMMs with SPD timings of only 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 (tCL-tRCD-tRP).
• Supports user ports compatible with PC–over–IP® (PCoIP®) technology.
• Front-mounted LCD:
– Displays last three number of serial number by default.
– Capable of displaying user-specified text through ClearCube Sentral.
– Backlight blinking to enable blade identification.
Figure 4.on page 5 shows the side view of an A1410 blade.
Figure 2. A1410 blade
Handle
PS/2, VGA and USB
Connectors for Configuration
outside of Chassis
LCD Bezel

4 • A–Series Architecture and Product Overview
Each A1410 blade has a serial number. By default, the last three digits of the serial number are
displayed on the blade LCD. The serial number is also printed on a label adjacent to the fans
on the front of the blade, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 3. A–Series serial number and configuration labels
The serial number can be useful if you need to identify a blade or a blade model. A1410 blade
serial numbers use the following syntax:
AMAnnnnn
where AMA is the serial number prefix, and nnnnn is a five-digit number.
The A1410 is enabled with Intel Active Management Technology (AMT). See "Enabling
A1410 Blades for Out-of-band Management" on page 35 for information about setting up
AMT–enabled blades.
A1010 Blade
The following list summarizes features of the A1010 blade.
• Intel 865G chipset with 800 MHz front-side bus
• Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading
• Memory upgrade to 4 GB
• Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2
• AC97-compliant via USB
• Realtek 8100C 10/100 LAN Controller
•SATA1.0
• Windows XP
Serial Number and MAC Label
Video Configuration Label
Blade Configuration Label

A–Series PC Blades • 5
Figure 4 on this page shows the front and rear views of an A1010 blade.
A large blue LED on the front panel indicates power status. Two LEDs on the back panel
display blade power status and hard drive activity. Two switches below these LEDs provide
power and reset functions.
The top switch is the power switch. When pressed, it issues a signal to the operating system to
shut the computer down normally. Holding the power switch down for longer than 4 seconds
causes the blade to shut down immediately. The reset switch issues an immediate hardware
reset signal to the blade. Figure 5 on page 6shows the back-panel features of the A1010 blade.
Figure 4. A1010 PC blade front and rear view
A1010 Front View A1010 Rear View
Handle

6 • A–Series Architecture and Product Overview
Figure 5 on this page shows the A1010 rear panel
Figure 5. A1010 back panel
Each A1010 blade has a serial number. The serial number is also printed on a label adjacent to
the fans on the front of the blade, as shown in Figure 3 on page 4.
The serial number can be useful if you need to identify a blade or a blade model. A1010 blade
serial numbers use the syntax:
ABNnnnnn
where ABNis the serial number prefix, and nnnnn is a five-digit number.
A–Series Chassis
The following sections describe the A3100 chassis with the expansion backplane and the
A3000 chassis.
A3100 Chassis and Expansion Backplane
The following list describes dimensions and features of the A3100 chassis.
•6Uhigh
Power Indicator
Ethernet Port
Hard Disk
USB Ports
Reset Button
Power Button
Activity Indicator

A–Series Chassis • 7
• Compatible with industry-standard, 19-inch racks and cabinets
• Holds 10 A1410 blades (70-blade maximum density in a 42U rack)
• Mounts to rack or cabinet with:
– Rack ears
– Optional chassis rapid–mount kit (see "Mounting a Chassis Rapid–Mount Kit" on
page 28 for more information)
• Removable front bezel—Compatible with A1410 blades only.
Note: A3100 chassis front bezels are not compatible with A3000 chassis or A1010 blades.
• Expansion Backplane—A modular component that provides signal connectors and a
chassis ID, or an electronic asset tag, for A1410 blades.
• Compatible with A1410 blades only
The following figure shows the front of an A3100 chassis with a front bezel attached.
Figure 6. A3100 chassis with front bezel
The A3100 chassis holds A–Series PC blades. The A3100 chassis contains an expansion
backplane, which is a modular component that contains all signal connectors and a chassis ID
for the A1410 blade. Figure 7 on page 8shows an A3100 chassis and with an expansion
backplane.
An A1410 blade connects to the expansion backplane when you insert and seat the blade in an
A3100 chassis. To connect power and Ethernet to A1410 blades in an A3100 chassis, you
must plug power and Ethernet cables into the expansion backplane. The expansion backplane
enables you to remove the A1410 blade from the chassis without disconnecting any cables.
Rack Ears
Front Bezel

8 • A–Series Architecture and Product Overview
The following figure shows the rear of an A3100 chassis with an expansion backplane attached.
Figure 7.Rear view of A3100 chassis with expansion backplane
A3000 Chassis
The A3000 chassis is compatible with A1010 blades only. For information about upgrading an
A3000 chassis to a A3100 chassis by adding an expansion backplane, see "Upgrading an
A3000 Chassis to an A3100 Chassis" on page 51.
The A3000 chassis is a centralized 6U-form factor chassis that holds as many as 10 A1010
blades. A standard 42U, 19-inch rack can hold up to seven A3000 chassis, for a total of 70
A1010 blades. Each A3000 chassis provides all Ethernet and power connections that A1010
blades require. Figure 8 on this page shows an A3000 chassis with A1010 blades installed.
Figure 8. A3000 chassis front view
Expansion
Backplane
A3100 ChassisAC Tray