Silicon Graphics POWER CHALLENGE User manual

Deskside POWER CHALLENGE™and
CHALLENGE™L Owner’s Guide
Document Number 007-1732-050

Deskside POWER CHALLENGE™ and CHALLENGE™ L Owner’s Guide
Document Number 007-1732-050
CONTRIBUTORS
Written by M. Schwenden
Illustrated by Dan Young
Edited by Christina Cary
Production by Lorrie Williams
Engineering contributions by Keith Curts, Jim Bergman, Ron Naminski, David
Bertrand, Steve Whitney, John Kraft, Judy Bergwerk, Rich Altmaier, David North,
Ed Reidenbach and Marty Deneroff
Cover design and illustration by Rob Aguilar, Rikk Carey, Dean Hodgkinson,
Erik Lindholm, and Kay Maitz
© Copyright 1994, 1995 Silicon Graphics, Inc.— All Rights Reserved
This document contains proprietary and confidential information of Silicon
Graphics, Inc. The contents of this document may not be disclosed to third parties,
copied, or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the prior written
permission of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND
Use, duplication, or disclosure of the technical data contained in this document by
the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision (c) (1) (ii) of the
Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 52.227-7013
and/or in similar or successor clauses in the FAR, or in the DOD or NASA FAR
Supplement. Unpublished rights reserved under the Copyright Laws of the United
States. Contractor/manufacturer is Silicon Graphics, Inc., 2011 N. Shoreline Blvd.,
Mountain View, CA 94039-7311.
Silicon Graphics and IRIS are registered trademarks and CHALLENGE, IRIX,
Extreme, POWER CHALLENGE, and Onyx are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
MIPS is a registered trademark and R4400 and R8000 are trademarks of MIPS
Technologies, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other
countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. PostScript is a
registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Sun is a registered trademark of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. VME is a trademark of Motorola. Exabyte is a registered
trademark of Exabyte Corporation. Centronics is a registered trademark of
Centronics Data Computer Corporation.

iii
Contents
List of Figures ixix
List of Tables xixi
About This Guide xiii
Conventions xiv
Compliance Information xv
1. Introducing the Challenge Deskside Servers 1
Features and Options 1
The Challenge Board Set 2
I/O Interfaces 5
Ibus Interface 5
Flat Cable Interface 6
VMEbus Interface 6
SCSI-2 Interface 7
Ethernet Interface 7
Parallel Port 7
Serial Ports 7
System and SCSI Backplanes 8
SCSI I/O Devices 8
System Controller 8
Operating Considerations 9
2. Touring the Chassis 11
Challenge Deskside System I/O Panels and Connectors 13
The I/O Panel 13
Serial and DIN Connectors 17
Enabling Additional Serial Ports 18
Parallel Printer Ports 21

iv
Contents
System Controller 22
SCSI Drive Rack 24
Cooling System 24
Power Supplies 27
3. Getting Started 29
Chassis Components 29
Opening the Front Door 31
Internal Front-Loading Drives 33
SCSI Limitations 33
Powering On the Challenge Deskside System 37
Powering Off the Challenge Deskside System 39
Rebooting Your System 39
4. Installing Optional Peripherals 41
SCSI Configuration 41
Installing and Configuring Additional FLDs 43
Installing a Half-Height FLD 47
Removing an FLD 49
Installing a Full-Height FLD 51
Installing and Using an Optional CD-ROM 55
Installing External SCSI Devices 58
Connecting a Serial Printer 64
Connecting an ASCII Terminal 68
Helpful Serial Port Commands 70
Connecting a Modem 71
Connecting a Parallel Printer 72
5. Having Trouble? 77
Maintaining Your Hardware and Software 77
Hardware Do’s and Don’ts 77
Software Do’s and Don’ts 78
System Behavior 78
Physical Inspection Checklist 79

Contents
v
Using the System Controller 80
The Power-On Process 81
If the System Hangs 82
System Controller On Functions 82
The Master CPU Selection Menu 85
The Event History Log Menu 85
Boot Status Menu 86
The CPU Activity Display 87
Recovering From a System Crash 88
6. Safety and Comfort 91
Human Factors Guidelines for Setting Up Your Workstation 91
ANSI Standard for VDT Workstations 92
CAD Operator Preferences 93
Tips for Setting Up and Using Your Workstation 94
Facilities Selection 94
Adjusting Your Chair, Work Surface, and Monitor 95
System Usage 95
Electrostatic Discharge 96
A. Hardware Specifications 97
B. Maintaining Drives 99
Cleaning the 4 mm DAT and 8 mm Tape Drives 99
Archive Python 4320 NT (4 mm DAT Drive) 100
Loading and Unloading Cassettes 100
Removing a Jammed 4 mm Cassette 100
Cleaning the 4 mm DAT Drive 101
Front Panel Lights 101
Care and Cleaning of the Exabyte 8 mm Tape Drive 102
Front Panel Lights 102
Removing a Jammed 8 mm Tape Cartridge 103
CD-ROM Care and Maintenance 104
CD-ROM Environmental Considerations 105
CD-ROM Front Panel Operational Features 106

vi
Contents
150 MB Tape Drive Preventive Maintenance 107
Digital Linear Tape Maintenance 109
Loading a Cleaning Cartridge 110
DLT Tape Cartridge Care and Handling 111
Removing a Jammed Tape Cartridge 112
C. System Controller Messages 113
D. Challenge IO4 PROM, Mezzanine, and Troubleshooting 121
Hardware Configuration Commands 121
Checking and Updating the Hardware Inventory 121
Displaying Information About the Current Hardware Configuration
122
POD (Power On Diagnostics) Mode 123
Environment Variables 123
Booting From an Alternate Device 123
Starting the System Automatically 124
Allowing the System to Boot in Spite of Nonterminal Hardware Failures
125
Restoring Defaults 125
Known Bugs 125
A Spurious CD-ROM Medium Is Displayed During Startup 125
Disk Formatting Fails Using Standalone fx 126
Mezzanine Board Configurations 126
Mezzanine Options Available With One IO4 127
Mezzanine Options Available With Two IO4s 128
Mezzanine Options Available With Three IO4s 129
IO4 Troubleshooting 131
E. Challenge VMEbus Implementation 133
General Information 133
VME Board Dimensions 134
Deskside VME Power and Cooling 134
Exceeding the Normal VME Power Rating Per Slot 134
Special VME Considerations 135

Contents
vii
VME Pins 136
Index 143

ix
List of Figures
Figure In-1 VCCI Information xvi
Figure In-2 CE insignia xvi
Figure 1-1 Challenge Deskside System Functional Block Diagram 4
Figure 2-1 Chassis Front and Rear Views 12
Figure 2-2 Basic I/O Panel Configuration 14
Figure 2-3 Optional Visualization Console I/O Panel Graphics
Connectors 16
Figure 2-4 RS-232 and RS-422 Serial Connectors 18
Figure 2-5 RS-232 Powered 8-Pin DIN Connector 20
Figure 2-6 Challenge Deskside System Controller and Drives Location
23
Figure 2-7 Chassis Cooling 26
Figure 2-8 Power Receptacle and Circuit Breaker on Rear Panel 28
Figure 3-1 Challenge Deskside Components 30
Figure 3-2 Opening the Chassis Front Door 32
Figure 3-3 Connecting an Ethernet Cable 36
Figure 3-4 Key Switch Positions on the System Controller Front Panel
40
Figure 4-1 Configuring a Drive Sled Adapter Board (Different
Channels) 45
Figure 4-2 Configuring a Drive Sled Adapter Board (Identical
Channels) 46
Figure 4-3 Installing a Half-Height SCSI Drive on a Sled and Loading
It 48
Figure 4-4 Drive Removal Example 50
Figure 4-5 Pulling Off the Side Panel and Removing the Retaining
Screw 52
Figure 4-6 Installing a Full-Height Front Loading Device 53
Figure 4-7 Deskside Installation Positions for Optional DLT Drives 54

x
Figure 4-8 Loading a Disc Into the CD-ROM Caddy 56
Figure 4-9 Disc Loaded in Caddy 57
Figure 4-10 CD-ROM Drive Front Panel Controls 58
Figure 4-11 Connecting an External SCSI Device 59
Figure 4-12 Single-Ended 68-Pin Connector 60
Figure 4-13 68-Pin Differential SCSI Connector 62
Figure 4-14 Connecting a Serial Printer or Modem 66
Figure 4-15 Connecting a Parallel Printer Cable 75
Figure 5-1 System Controller Front Panel Components 84
Figure 5-2 Challenge CPU Board Microprocessor Activity Graph
(Histogram) 88
Figure 6-1 Basic Parameters of VDT Workstation Adjustment
(Adapted from ANSI/HFS 100–1988) 92
Figure B-1 Handling a Compact Disc 105
Figure B-2 CD-ROM Drive LED Status Indicators 107
Figure B-3 Cleaning the Tape Head 109
Figure B-4 DLT Cleaning Cartridge 110
Figure D-1 IO4 With VCAM and GCAM 128
Figure D-2 Mezzanine Types Available With Optional Second IO4 129
Figure D-3 Optional Second and Third IO4 Configuration 130

xi
List of Tables
Table 1-1 Required Air Clearances for the Deskside Chassis 9
Table 2-1 Standard I/O Connectors 15
Table 2-2 Optional Visualization Console Video Connector
Description 17
Table 2-3 Server System IO4 Board Connector Labelling 19
Table 2-4 Centronics Compatible Parallel Port Pin Assignments 21
Table 3-1 System Controller Boot Status Messages 38
Table 4-1 Overview of Drive Installation Guidelines 43
Table 4-2 68-Pin Single-Ended, High-Density SCSI Pinouts 60
Table 4-3 68-Pin Differential, High-Density SCSI Pinouts 62
Table 4-4 Typical DTE to DTE Serial Printer Connection 64
Table 4-5 Typical ASCII Terminal Connection 68
Table 4-6 RS-232 Modem Connector Pin Assignments 71
Table 4-7 Centronics Compatible Parallel Port Pin Assignments 74
Table 5-1 System Controller Master CPU Status Messages 86
Table 6-1 ANSI/HFS 100–1988 Guidelines for VDT Workplace
Adjustment 93
Table 6-2 Workstation Adjustments Preferred by CAD Users 93
Table A-1 Challenge Deskside Server Specifications 97
Table B-1 4 mm DAT Front Panel LED Status Indicators 101
Table B-2 8 mm Tape Drive Front Panel Status Indicators 103
Table C-1 System Events - Immediate Power-off 113
Table C-2 System Events - Delayed Power-off 115
Table C-3 System Events - Informative 116
Table C-4 Internal System Controller Error Messages 117
Table D-1 Optional Mezzanine Board Descriptions 127
Table E-1 P1 VME Pin Assignments 136
Table E-2 P2 VME Pin Assignments 138

xii
Table E-3 P3 VME Pin Assignments 139
Table E-4 Signal Definitions 140

xiii
About This Guide
This guide is designed to help you learn to use, manage, and troubleshoot
your POWER CHALLENGE™or CHALLENGE™L deskside server. For
purposes of brevity, the term Challenge is used generically to describe both
models unless there is a specific reason to differentiate them.
This document is organized as follows:
Chapter 1 “Introducing the Challenge Deskside Servers”describes
the system and its capabilities.
Chapter 2 “Touring the Chassis”describes all of the system
components and reviews all of the controls, indicators, and
connectors.
Chapter 3 “Getting Started”reviews hardware-specific operating
procedures.
Chapter 4 “Installing Optional Peripherals”covers the installation or
removal of front-loading devices (FLDs), printers, and
modems.
Chapter 5 “Having Trouble?”describes some common problems and
possible solutions, along with hardware diagnostics.
Chapter 6 “Safety and Comfort”describes basic human factors
guidelines for system operation.
Appendix A “Hardware Specifications”lists system specifications.
Appendix B “Maintaining Drives”lists care and maintenance
procedures for removable media drives.
Appendix C “System Controller Messages”lists messages that can
appear in the System Controller’s event history log.

xiv
About This Guide
Appendix D “Challenge IO4 PROM, Mezzanine and Troubleshooting”
supplies information about the Challenge IO4 PROM
monitor functions, mezzanine boards, and basic
troubleshooting.
Appendix E “Challenge L VMEbus Implementation”provides
information to help users select third-party VME boards for
the POWER Challenge and Challenge L systems. The
chapter supplies information about the board size, power
available, and pin functions.
Start at the beginning to familiarize yourself with the features of your new
system, or proceed directly to the information you need using the table of
contents as your guide.
Additional software-specific information is found in the following software
guides:
•Personal System Administration Guide
•IRIS®Essentials
•IRIX™Advanced Site and Server Administration Guide
Conventions
The Deskside POWER Challenge and Challenge L Owner’s Guide uses these
conventions:
•References to documents are in italics.
•References to other chapters and sections within this guide are in
quotation marks.
•Names of IRIX reference (manual) pages or commands that you type at
the shell prompt are in italics as are IRIX file names.
•Steps to perform tasks are in numbered sentences. When a numbered
step needs more explanation, the explanation follows the step.

Compliance Information
xv
Compliance Information
FCC WARNING
This equipment has been tested and found compliant with the limits for a
Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference
when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if
not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment
in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case
users will be required to correct the interference at their own expense.
This product requires the use of external shielded cables in order to maintain
compliance with Part 15 of the FCC rules.
International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR)
This equipment has been tested to and is in compliance with the Class A
limits per CISPR publication 22, Limits and Methods of Measurement of
Radio Interference Characteristics of Information Technology Equipment;
and Japan’s VCCI Class 1 limits.
Canadian Department of Communications Statement
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise
emissions from digital apparatus as set out in the Radio Interference
Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.

xvi
About This Guide
Attention
Le present appareil numerique n’emet pas de bruits radioelectriques
depassant les limites applicables aux appareils numeriques de Classe A
prescrites dans le Reglement sur le Brouillage Radioelectrique etabli par le
Ministere des Communications du Canada.
Figure In-1 VCCI Information
Figure In-2 CE insignia
Manufacturer’s Regulatory Declarations
This workstation conforms to several national and international
specifications and European directives as listed on the “Manufacturer’s
Declaration of Conformity,”which is included with each computer system
and peripheral. The CE insignia displayed on each device is an indication of
conformity to the European requirements.
Caution: Your workstation has several governmental and third-party
approvals, licenses, and permits. Do not modify this product in any way that
is not expressly approved by Silicon Graphics, Inc. If you do, you may lose
these approvals and your governmental agency authority to operate this
device.

1
Chapter 1
1. Introducing the Challenge Deskside Servers
The Challenge deskside systems, model CMN A011, are high-performance
servers in a compact deskside enclosure. This guide contains information for
end users about the POWER Challenge and Challenge deskside systems
hardware.
Features and Options
Your Challenge deskside server comes with the following features:
•POWER Challenge models come with an IP21 CPU board using one or
two R8000™microprocessors on each board
•Challenge models come with an IP19 CPU board with up to four MIPS®
R4400™microprocessors on each board
•Up to 2 GB of RAM on Challenge system memory boards and up to
6 GB of RAM in POWER Challenge systems
•An IO4 board with multiple control functionality and expandability
(also known as the POWERchannel-2)
•Space for up to seven half-height SCSI peripherals in the chassis
•The Silicon Graphics®Ebus, which supports protocols for consistent
data sharing and high-speed block data transfers between main
memory and the I/O subsystem; the 256-bit Ebus (also known as the
POWERpath-2 system bus) supports multiple processor operations
•A 40-bit address bus, which provides addressing to parity-checked
high-speed data transfers between the CPU(s) and memory board(s)
•64-bit operating system support (on POWER Challenge)
•Five VME™expansion slots (only two slots are available when a
system is ordered with the visualization console option)
•One RS-422 and three RS-232 serial ports

2
Chapter 1: Introducing the Challenge Deskside Servers
•A 25-pin parallel port
•An independent system status monitor (System Controller) that records
error information during any unplanned shutdown
Available options include:
•VMEbus I/O and controller boards
•Additional half-height and full-height SCSI devices
•External 1/2-inch and 8 mm SCSI-controlled tape backup systems
•A system console ASCII terminal
•CPU and memory upgrades
•Additional IO4 controller boards
•A visualization console option providing a basic color graphics
interface to the POWER Challenge system
•Optional IO4 mezzanine daughter boards (also known as HIO
modules) for expanded and varied functionality of the IO4
Although the Challenge deskside servers are similar in size and external
appearance to previous Silicon Graphics deskside systems, most internal
features are different in design.
The internal drive rack supports up to seven half-height (or one half-height
and three full-height) devices that are controlled by either one or two SCSI-2
buses.
The Challenge Board Set
The basic Challenge board set consists of
•an IP19 or IP21 CPU board
•an MC3 memory board (also known as a POWERpath-2 interleaved
memory board)
•an IO4 controller board

The Challenge Board Set
3
The backplane supports the addition of two more boards selected from the
three standard types listed. The Onyx deskside graphics workstation system
supports a RealityEngine2™(RE2) or VTX™graphics board set that is not
available with the Challenge deskside backplane. The POWER Challenge
does support an optional visualization console, providing a basic color
graphics interface to the system.
Figure 1-1 shows a functional block diagram of the Challenge deskside
subsystems.
Either an IP19 or IP21 CPU board is the heart of the Challenge deskside
system.
The IP21 CPU board in your POWER Challenge deskside can house either
one or two R8000 microprocessors. Your system can house up to three IP21s
with a potential system total of six R8000 microprocessors. Each R8000
microprocessor assembly uses a customized cache controller, a separate
floating point unit, and two tag RAM and two SRAM cache units in addition
to the main integer unit. Board logic on the CPU is “sliced”to give each
microprocessor its own dedicated support logic. This allows each
microprocessor to run independently.
Note that all optional upgrade R8000 CPU boards ordered for the POWER
Challenge come with two microprocessors on each board.
Each IP19 CPU board in your Challenge deskside can house up to four MIPS
R4400 64 bit RISC microprocessors. Your system can house up to three IP19s
with a potential system total of 12 microprocessors. Board logic on the IP19
is “sliced”to give each R4400 its own dedicated support logic. This allows
each R4400 to run independently.
The MC3 system memory board can be populated with 16 MB or 64 MB
SIMM modules. The MC3 has 32 SIMM sockets. Up to 2 GB of on-board
memory is available for Challenge and up to 6 GB on POWER Challenge.

4
Chapter 1: Introducing the Challenge Deskside Servers
Figure 1-1 Challenge Deskside System Functional Block Diagram
CPU
Board
System
Controller
Memory
Board
Ethernet Internal
SCSI Serial Ports
Address Bus (40 bits)
Interface
Modules
Data Bus (256 bits)
POWERchannel-2
Boards
Remote
SCSI VMEbus
Boards