HP Z820 Series User manual

Page 1 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
Avid Configuration Guidelines
HP Z820 Dual Six-Core / Dual Eight-Core CPU Workstation
Media Composer 6.x Symphony 6.x NewsCutter 10.x and later

Page 2 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
1.) HP Z820 AVID Qualified System Specification:
Z820 / AVID Qualified Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition with Service Pack 1
Z820 Hardware Configuration
Supported CPU Choices
1.) Dual Intel® 6-Core Xeon® E5-2640 Processors @ 2.5GHz 15MB cache / 1600MHz memory
(The 6-Core Xeon® E5-2640 Processors will run the 1600MHz memory at 1333MHz speed due to the
speed limitation of the memory controller in the E5-2640 Processor).
2.) Dual Intel® 8-Core Xeon® E5-2665 Processors @ 2.4GHz 20MB cache / 1600MHz memory
Supported Video Card
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB PCI-e video board
System Disk Drive - 1TB (minimum recommended) SATA-II 3Gb/s 7200RPM
Standard AVID memory configuration: 16GB (8 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 ECC memory –
(Requires eight 2GB DIMMs, DIMM sizes cannot be mixed sizes)
2GB memory modules must be installed in the following memory slots:
CPU0-DIMM1, CPU0-DIMM3, CPU0-DIMM6, CPU0-DIMM8
CPU1-DIMM1, CPU1-DIMM3, CPU1-DIMM6, CPU1-DIMM8
Memory configuration constraints
- No other memory configurations are formally supported in AVID environments. Only the 16GB (8 x 2GB),
configuration is supported. Un-balanced memory configurations which mix and match memory module
sizes and locations will result in a poor performing, non-optimal operating environment.
2.) Qualified Operating Systems, Avid Client Editing Applications, Hardware and Shared-Storage
support for the HP Z820:
- Media Composer / Symphony 6.x , NewsCutter 10.x or later
- Supported: Only Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition with SP1 (SP1 required)
- Not Supported – Any version of Microsoft® Windows XP or Vista
- Not Supported - Microsoft® Windows 7 – any 32-bit version, or any version of Home, Ultimate or
Enterprise editions.
Note regarding Service packs:
As of this writing Service Pack 1 is the current Service Pack release for Win7. SP1 is required for Media
Composer 6.x, Symphony 6.x and NewsCutter 10.x. As future Service Packs are released Avid will evaluate
and announce formal support when testing is completed.

Page 3 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
3.) Qualified O.S., Hardware and shared storage supported:
Qualified / Supported
Nitris DX / Mojo DX
Yes
3rd Party Qualified Hardware
See release notes and Avid website for
information regarding supported 3rd party
hardware (vendor qualified)
Unity ISIS 1Gb Ethernet Client
ISIS 5000 / 7000 V4.0
Unity ISIS Hi-res (10 Gbit) client
ISIS 5000 / 7000 V4.0
Qualified Operating System
Win 7 Pro 64-bit
Service Pack SP1 – Required
1394 Adrenaline DNA
N/A Not Supported
1394 Mojo-SDI DNA
N/A Not Supported
1394 Mojo-Analog DNA
N/A Not Supported

Page 4 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
AVID qualified HBA info
AVID qualified HBA AVID Part Number Slot Location Function
Vendor qualified 3rd party
hardware interface requiring:
x4 PCI-E or lesser interface
¾ Length PCI form factor or
smaller
Not stocked by AVID #1
Vendor qualified 3rd party hardware interface. See
release notes and Avid website for information
regarding supported 3rd party hardware
Vendor qualified 3rd party
hardware interface requiring:
x8 PCI-E or greater interface
Full Length PCI form factor
Not stocked by AVID #6
Vendor qualified 3rd party hardware interface. See
release notes and Avid website for information
regarding supported 3rd party hardware
Intel PRO 1000 PT 7030-20139-01 #3 Shared Storage: Unity ISIS Copper Gb-Ethernet
Dual Gb ISIS Connectivity
Intel i350-T2 – Dual Gb NIC Not stocked by AVID #3 Shared Storage: Unity ISIS Copper Gb-Ethernet
Dual Gb ISIS Connectivity
Intel PRO 1000 PF - ISIS Not stocked by AVID #3 Shared Storage: Unity ISIS Optical Gb-Ethernet
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-S
7030-30041-01 #3 Shared Storage: Unity ISIS 10Gb-Ethernet for
Hi-Res client (ISIS 5000 / 7000)
Avid HIB, DX Interface HBA**
Active: 7030-30048-01
Active: 7030-20084-01
Passive: 7030-30021-01
#5 Avid DX Hardware Interface HBA
Atto R680 Not stocked by AVID #1 or #4 Local SAS Storage Support – Avid VideoRAID ST (5-bay)
Xtore StudioRAID 5Ti (5-bay)
LSI 9200-8e SAS controller 7030-30036-01 #1 or #4 SAS Local Storage:
Xtore StudioRAID 16Re (16-bay) chassis
Xtore StudioRAID 5Te (5-bay) chassis
Pro Tools HD h/w
#3 and / or #4
Pro-Tools h/w for Pro-Tools co-install
Red Rocket Accelerator
Not stocked by AVID #3, #4 or #6
Accelerator for RED files
** Avid DX Interface HBA Support Note: (See reference pictures on page 7 of this guide).
All 3 versions of the DX interface HBA are supported on the Z820 with Media Composer / Symphony 6.x and
NewsCutter 10.x
1) Active DX interface HBA 7030-30048-01
2) Active DX interface HBA 7030-20084-01
3) Passive DX interface HBA 7030-30021-01

Page 5 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
4.) Slot Configuration:
Slot Configuration Information
Slot # Electrical Mechanical
1 x4 PCI-E Gen 3 x8
Open-
ended
Connector
Vendor Qualified 3rd Party Hardware PCI-e Interface requiring:
x4 PCI-E or lesser interface
¾ Length PCI form factor or smaller
OR
(Secondary slot location) Local SAS Storagec ontrollers:
Atto R680
LSI 9200-8e
2 x16 PCI-E Gen 3
(225Watts)
x16 Graphics Card:
Nvidia Quadro 4000
3 x8 PCI-E Gen 3 x16 Shared Storage Controllers ISIS 5000 / 7000:
Intel PRO 1000 PT
Intel PRO 1000 PF
Intel i350-T2
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-S
or Pro Tools HD h/w or Red Rocket Accelerator
4 x16 PCI-E Gen 3 x16 Local SAS Storage Controllers:
Atto R680
LSI 9200-8e
or Pro Tools HD h/w or Red Rocket Accelerator
5 x4 PCI-E Gen 2 x16 Avid HIB, DX Interface HBA
Active: 7030-30048-01 & 7030-20084-01
Passive: 7030-30021-01
6 x16 PCI-E Gen 3 x16 Vendor Qualified 3rd Party Hardware PCI-e Interface requiring:
x8 PCI-E or greater interface
Full - Length PCI form factor
or Red Rocket Accelerator
7 PCI-E 32bit /33MHz PCI 32/33 Secondary SAS Port Break-out connector (Embedded)
Embedded Intel
82574L Gb NIC
PCI-E x1
Gen 1
Qualified for Avid ISIS 5000 / 7000 connectivity.
This is the NIC port adjacent to the Firewire port
Embedded Intel
82579LM Gb NIC
PCI-E x1
Gen 1
Do not use for ISIS. Not qualified and is not functional with ISIS 5000 / 7000.
This is the NIC port adjacent to the blue and green audio jacks

Page 6 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
5.) Use of embedded NIC ports for ISIS connectivity Important Information
The Z820 has two embedded NIC ports. One port is the 82574L. The 82574L port is qualified for ISIS and should be used
for single Gb connectivity to ISIS 5000 / 7000. The 82574L port is the port directly above the Firewire port. The other
embedded NIC port is an 82579LM. The 82579LM will not work with ISIS and should never be connected to either ISIS 5000
or 7000. The 82759LM port is marked with the letters AMT and is adjacent to the blue and green audio jacks.
Embedded Intel network interface for ISIS connectivity:
For proper operation and connectivity of the Intel 82574L network interface with ISIS the following settings are required:
1. For the Intel 82574L driver, under the performance settings, change the following parameters:
- Receive Buffers to 1024
- Transmit Buffers to 1024
2. Disable the windows firewall.
6.) Utilization of the Z820 embedded (on-board) 1394 ports for Camera / Deck / Disk Drive support
Media Composer / Symphony 6.0 and NewsCutter 10 do not support Avid 1394 hardware such as Adrenaline and
1394 Mojo-SDI. This simplifies utilization of the Z820 embedded 1394 ports. The embedded 1394 ports can and should be used
for all 1394 Camera / Deck / Disk Drive connectivity for all configurations running Media Composer / Symphony 6.0 and
NewsCutter 10.
Use the embedded Intel 82574L
network interface for single Gb ISIS
5000 / 70000 connectivity.
Do not use the embedded Intel
82579LM network interface for any
ISIS connectivity.

Page 7 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
7.) Various Configuration Details:
A.) D/X hardware configs –
All 3 versions of the DX interface HBA are supported with the Media Composer / Symphony 6.x and NewsCutter 10.x
1) Active DX interface HBA 7030-30048-01
2) Active DX interface HBA 7030-20084-01
3) Passive DX interface HBA 7030-30021-01
Active DX interface HBA 7030-30048-01 Active DX interface HBA 7030-20084-01
Passive DX interface HBA (7030-30021-01)

Page 8 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
B.) Qualified Avid system BIOS version(s): (As of this writing):
Failure to update the Z820 to an “Avid qualified BIOS” and set the BIOS settings per the instructions below may
result in non-optimal operation of the AVID software and hardware.
- Minimum BIOS ver 1.12
Current Avid qualified Z820 BIOS information is maintained at the following Avid KB link:
http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=267609&Hilite=hp+bios
C.) Required system BIOS settings for AVID environments:
Hyper-Threading Setting:
Please Note: CPU Hyper-threading should be enabled in all configurations per the chart below. It is
currently enabled by default by HP for shipping Z820’s with BIOS ver 1.12 or earlier
Z820 Required system BIOS changes:
1. Verify CPU Processors are set to Hyper-Threading – Set per chart above. Current version
BIOS v1.12 has Hyper-Threading enabled by default
2. Set Memory NUMA – Disable
3. Set Runtime Power Management - Disable
4. Set Idle Power Savings - Normal
Z820 Optional system BIOS change:
1. Set Intel Turbo Mode**– Disable
** Only required if connecting USB audio I/O devices. This setting will eliminate any audio
“motor-boating” or audio “popping” which may be experienced with USB audio I/O devices.
Hyper-Threading Setting
Software Version Dual 6-core CPU Dual 8-core CPU
Media Composer v6.x
Symphony v6.x
NewsCutter v10.x
Enabled (Mandatory) Enabled (Mandatory)

Page 9 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
Set Z820 Required system BIOS changes:
- During boot up press F10 at the HP splash screen to invoke Set Up.
- Select the Advanced tab
- Select Device Options <Enter>
- Select Hyper-Threading
- Verify setting is Enable
If Hyper-Threading is set for Disable then it must be changed to Enable
- Hi F10 to save the Hyper-Threading setting
- Select the Power tab
- Select OS Power Management <return>
- Select Runtime Power Management
- Default setting is Enable
Change this setting from Enable to Disable
- Select Idle Power Savings
- Default setting is Extended
Change this setting from Extended to Normal
- Hi F10 to save the Runtime Power Management and Idle Power Savings settings
- Select Advanced Tab
- Select BUS options
- Select NUMA
- Default setting is Enable
Change this setting from Enable to Disable
- Hi F10 to save the NUMA setting
- Press F10 twice to Save
- Save Changes and Exit
- System will Reboot
Set Z820 Optional system BIOS setting: ** Only required if connecting USB audio I/O devices.
- Select the Power tab
- Select Hardware Power Management <Enter>
- Select Intel Turbo Mode
- Default setting is Enable
Change this setting from Enable to Disable
- Press F10 twice to Save
- Save Changes and Exit

Page 10 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
D.) Nvidia Qualified Driver:
Nvidia qualified drivers
AVID Software Version(s) Nvidia GPU Nvidia Driver Required
Media Composer / Symphony
NewsCutter
6.0 and later
10.0 and later
Quadro 4000
275.89
After installation of the AVID software the supported Nvidia driver can be found in the following directory:
Program Files / Avid / Utilities / Nvidia
Set optimized Nvidia driver settings for Avid editing environments:
1. See picture below
2. Right-Click on the desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel
3. Select the “Desktop” menu selection in the control panel menu bar.
4. Enable “Desktop -> Video Editing Mode

Page 11 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
5. Select Manage 3D Settings
6. Select “Global Settings” Tab
7. Under the “Global Settings” tab select “Base Profile” as shown in the picture below:

Page 12 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
8. Scroll down and locate the “Power Management Mode” feature. The default setting is “Adaptive” as
shown in the picture below.

Page 13 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
9. For the “Power management mode” feature, select “Prefer maximum performance” as shown in the
picture below.
10. Depress the “Apply” button.

Page 14 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
Make the following setting for “Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration”
11. Stay in the “Manage 3D Settings” and “Base Profile” area
12. Select “Global Settings” Tab
13. Scroll down and locate the “Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration” feature. See picture below. The
setting should be set to “Multiple display performance mode”. If not set properly, select Multiple display
performance mode and depress the “Apply” button. (The other settings are “Single display
performance mode” and “Compatibility performance mode”. These settings are not recommended for
Avid editing environments).

Page 15 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
Make the following additional setting for “3D App-Video Editing”
14. Stay in the “Manage 3D Settings” area
15. Select “Global Settings” Tab
16. Under “Global Settings” tab select “3D App-Video Editing” setting as shown in picture below:
17. Depress the “Apply” button
18. Nvidia driver optimization settings for Avid environments are complete.

Page 16 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
E.) Nvidia Quadro GPU monitor connectivity:
The Nvidia Quadro 4000 graphics card has a single DVI port and two Display-Port ports
(Important: Display-ports are not HDMI ports; at first glance they do look very similar to HDMI ports)
( Please Note: Only two of the three video ports can simultaneously be used. Connecting to all three
video ports at the same time will result in non-functioning video output from the Nvidia GPU video
card.)
The HP Z820 includes one Display-Port-to-DVI adapter. HP P/N 481409-002
For dual monitor connectivity:
1. Use the DVI port and one Display-Port (Display-Port connection can be native display-port to monitor via
display-port connection, or use the display-port-to-DVI-adapter supplied with the system to connect to a native
DVI monitor).
2. Or use two Display-Ports (Requires monitors with native display-port connections, two display-port to DVI
adapters are not recommended when using dual display-port connections).
DVI Port Display Ports

Page 17 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
F.) Serial Port Deck Control:
Serial Port Deck Control:
The HP Z820 workstation does have an embedded serial port. The embedded serial-port has been qualified by Avid
and will maintain frame accuracy in Avid environments. Primary or secondary / additional serial port deck control can
be established via two methods (both of which have been qualified by Avid and will maintain frame accuracy in Avid
environments)
1. Addenda model
RS-USB / 4 direct USB-to-RS422 serial adapter. This is a simple device which connects directly from a
USB port of the Z820 directly to the RS422 port of a deck.
http://www.addenda.com/addenda-elect/products/rsUSB4.php
2. Combination of a Keyspan (Tripp-Lite) Model USA-19HS USB-to-serial-port adapter with Addenda Rosetta
Stone model RS – 2/8 RS232-to-RS422 converter
- Keyspan (Tripp-Lite) Model USA-19HS (AVID P/N 7080-20013-01)
http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=518&EID=13384&txtModelID=3914
- Addenda Rosetta Stone (or equivalent) model RS – 2/8 RS232-to-RS422 converter (AVID P/N
7070-00507-01)
http://www.addenda.com/addenda-elect/products/rs28.php
To connect the Keyspan 19HS / Addenda RS -2/8 combination:
- Install the Keyspan 19HS driver before plugging the device into a Z820 USB port.
- Once the Keyspan 19HS driver is installed then plug the Keyspan 19HS into a Z820 USB port.
- The Keyspan 19HS will now show up in device driver.
- Using a serial cable, connect the 9-pin serial port of the Keyspan 19HS USB adapter to the port of the
Addenda marked RS232 from PC
- Using a 2nd serial port cable connect the port of the Addenda marked “RS422 to VTR” to the deck control
serial port of the deck.
G.) O.S. setting recommendations for optimum performance with Avid Editing applications:
The following links provide O.S. setting suggestions for ensuring optimum performance when working with
your Avid editing application with a Windows operating system.
- Optimizations for Video Editors - Windows 7
http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=390339

Page 18 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
H.) Supported external local SAS storage connectivity via embedded SAS controller ports:
Supported
- AVID VideoRAID SR (16-bay)
- Xtore StudioRAID 16Re (16-bay) / 5Te (5-bay) chassis
The Z820 can support:
a. Up to two external AVID VideoRAID SR (16-bay) SAS local storage chassis
b. Mix and match of up to two external Xtore StudioRAID 16Re (16-bay) / 5Te (5-bay) chassis
Simultaneous connectivity of AVID VideoRAID and Xtore chassis is not formally qualified or recommended.
External SAS Port 2 External SAS Port 1

Page 19 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
I.) Set Windows “Visual Effects” for “best performance”:
1. Right-Click on My Computer / Computer
2. Select Properties
3. The screen below will be displayed:
4. On the left side of the screen above, locate and select “Advanced system settings”

Page 20 of 24 Joe Conforti – Avid Technology – September 14th, 2012
Rev A - Initial Public Release
5. The System properties window will be displayed. (Picture below).
6. Under the “Advanced” tab depress the “Settings...” button for performance.
7. The “performance Options” window will be displayed. (Picture below).