ClearCube A6108 User manual

ClearCube Technology, Inc. 3700 W Parmer Lane Austin, TX 78727 [phone] www.clearcube.com
A6108 Blade PC Quick Start Guide
A6108
components
The table and picture below show each major A6108 Blade PC component.
NumberPart Function
1 Power button
and indicator Button:
Press to power on and power off blade. Press and hold for 3 seconds to force power off.
Indicator:
Button is illuminated (solid) when power is on.
Button blinks slowly to indicate blade is in Sleep power state.
2 Reset button and HDD indicator Button:
Press to reset blade power.
Indicator:
Button flashes to indicate hard drive activity.
3 USB Dual USB 2.0 port
4 Video Access and Pull TabProvides access to select video and pull tab for removal from
chassis
5 Storage drive carrier Holds up to two storage drives, connecting directly to SATA
connectors inside the blade. Does not support hot-swap operation.
1. The A6108 Blade PC components
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Introduction
About this guide
This quick start guide shows the components and features of A6108 Blade PCs; how to install
and remove blades from an A-series chassis; how to view pre-OS video; how to implement
Intel®AMT; and provides references to additional information about Aseries blades, A-series
chassis, and to information about using PCoIP®technology.
A6108 overview
A6108 blades are 6U high, single-slot blades that mount in an A3100 chassis. The A3100
chassis provides power, network interfaces, and a USB port for each blade.
The picture below shows zero clients connected to A6108-series blades in an A3100 chassis.
2. An example deployment of A6108-series blades and zero clients
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Power management
Storage drives and carrier
Power on and
power off
The power button is located on the top portion of the front panel, shown as 1 in Figure 1 on page 1.
•Power on: After inserting a blade in a chassis or connecting power for configuration outside of a
chassis, press the power button to power on the blade.
Result: The blade powers on and the power indicator (1) is illuminated.
•Power off: Press and hold the power button for about 3 seconds to power off a blade.
Result: The blade powers off and the power indicator (1) turns off.
Reset power
The reset button is located on the bottom portion of the front panel, shown as 2 in Figure 1 on page 1.
When a blade is powered on, press the reset button to reset power.
Result: The blade powers down, the power indicator (1) turns off, and the blade powers on again.
About blade
storage drives
A6108 blades use carrier free hot swappable bays for drives—such as hard disk drives (HDD), solid
state drives (SSD), self-encrypting drives (SED), and hybrid drives (SSHD).
NOTE: A6018 blades does support hot-swap replacement of drives. When hot swapping hard drives,
make certain that the OS drive is not removed..
Storage drives do not require power cables or data cables when inserting in bays. Power and data
connectors are housed inside the blade—insert and fully seat the carrier and fasten with screws.
The picture below shows the storage drive carrier.
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Continued on next page
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Storage drives and carrier, Continued
Drive order
The picture below shows how storage drives are ordered in the storage drive carrier.
3. Drive order in the storage drive carrier
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Installation in A3100 chassis
Continued on next page
Inserting and
removing
The A3100 chassis (shown in Figure 2, above) provides redundant power, network ports (Ethernet
and dedicated PCoIP), and a USB port for all blades in a chassis.
The table below shows how to install and remove an A6108 blade from an A3100 chassis.
Step Action
1 Open the chassis front bezel by pressing in on the latch on the upper-right side of the
chassis.
NOTE: When pressing the latch to open the front bezel, hold the bezel with one hand to ensure that
the bezel does not fall.
2 From the top, pull the bezel toward you and lift up to remove it.
3 Hold the blade so the D-shaped handle in the front of the blade is upright and is facing you.
Align the blade with the top and bottom guides in the chassis and slowly insert the blade.
Result: When fully seated, the blade is flush with the front edge of the bottom guide bracket.
NOTE: There is slight resistance when blade connectors are inserted into backplane connectors.
4 Replace the bezel after inserting your blades.
5 Optionally, press the power button on the front panel to power on the blade.
6 To remove a blade after powering down, pull gently on the finger pull handle until the
blade slides out of the chassis.
NOTE: Support both ends of the blade when you remove it completely from the chassis. Remember
to replace the chassis front bezel.
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Installation in A3100 chassis, Continued
A3100 Chassis Ports and Protocol Support
Additional steps
The list below shows some additional deployment and setup steps you can take.
•Insert Ethernet cables in the network ports located on the rear of the chassis.
NOTE: All network ports on the rear of the A3100 chassis (shown in the figure below) are active,
though not all indicator LEDs are illuminated.
•Install an operating system image appropriate for your environment.
NOTE: Custom images for ClearCube blades have specific requirements. Be sure to see the
technical bulletin specified below for more information.
•Set mass storage lockout on PCoIP host cards, which enables you to prohibit or restrict the use of
USB-based mass storage devices (such as flash drives) on ClearCube blades.
Expansion
Backplane
As noted above, the A3100 chassis provides power, network, and USB connections for A6108 blades.
The picture below shows the network connections on A3100 Chassis Expansion Backplane.
Network ports
and protocol
assignment
Network ports on the rear of the A3100 chassis support different features. The picture below shows
the rear of the chassis and shows protocol support for each network port.
4. The A3100 chassis and Expansion Backplane
Intel AMT Support
and Standard Ethernet!
"Primary Ethernet Port#
Dedicated PCoIP Port
Standard Ethernet
"$%&'()*+,!-./%+(%.!0'+.#
12344!5/*6676!*()!
-89*(67'(!:*&;9<*(%
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BIOS and pre-OS video for configuration and imaging
Continued on next page
About pre-OS
video
In the A6108 architecture, host cards with PCoIP technology support local video and USB access at
the front of the blade.
To access A6108 pre-OS video (such as BIOS setup utility screens), the easiest method is to attach a
monitor directly to the front of the blade and use the two USB ports for keyboard and mouse. If
additional ports are needed, a USB hub is supported.
NOTE: If you are updating the BIOS, be sure to see “Flashing the motherboard BIOS” below.
Alternatively, you can use Intel®Active Management Technology (Intel®AMT) to view BIOS
screens after configuring Intel AMT on the blade (see “Using Intel® Active Management Technology
(Intel® AMT)” below).
As a second alternative, you can access the BIOS via PCoIP provided a connection can be established
before the boot sequence starts.
Before you
begin
These sections assume that you are configuring an A6108 blade outside of a chassis. From inside a
chassis, make sure all network and power cables are attached to the chassis.
Before you begin, be sure to have
•Ethernet cables
•a standard 120 V computer power cable (IEC 60320 C13 connector with NEMA 5-15 inlet)
•a DisplayPort®monitor, video cables, and power cables
•a USB keyboard and a mouse, and
NOTE: These instructions assume devices are connected to an imaging network or other network with a
DHCP server to provide IP addresses for the blade’s PCoIP host card and for the zero client. MAC
addresses are specified on labels on the side of the blade and on the zero client. To identify the host card to
connect to from the zero client, you might need to consult DHCP tables. DHCP tables should show each
device’s MAC address and the corresponding IP address assigned to the host card and the client.
Connecting
devices
The table below shows how to connect devices to view pre-OS video.
Step Action
1 Remove the blade from the chassis as described in “Inserting and removing” on page 4.
Place the blade on a stable surface, such as a bench or on the top of a desk.
2 Connect a USB keyboard and mouse to USB ports on the front of the blade.
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BIOS and pre-OS video for configuration and imaging, Continued
Continued on next page
Connecting
devices
(continued)
Step Action
3 Connect a monitor to the video connector on the front of the blade.
4 Optionally, connect the blade a network or imaging network.
If you are imaging from an imaging network, connect an Ethernet cable to the standard Ethernet
port on the rear of the blade (this is the bottom-most port when the blade is resting on a table as
shown below). Connect the other end of the cable to a switch connected to an imaging network.
5. Network ports on the rear of the blade
5 Connect a power cable to the power connector at the rear of the blade and then plug the
cable into a power outlet.
Next steps: power on devices and view pre-OS video.
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