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PCIe adapter installation rules and order

PCIe adapters must be installed in a specific order in the server.

Note

  • Performance may degrade when a x16 PCIe adapter is installed in a x8 lane PCIe slot.

  • For a list of the supported PCIe adapters, see Lenovo ServerProven website.

Table 1. PCIe riser assemblies and corresponding slots
PCIe riser assemblyPCIe slots
PCIe riser 1

  • Slot 3: x16 (Gen5 x16 lanes)

  • Slot 4: x16 (Gen4 x8 lanes)

  • Slot 5: x16 (Gen4 x8 lanes)

Note
  • When the serial port module is installed, Slot 5 is not supported.
  • When a double-wide GPU is installed in Slot 3, Slot 4 is not supported.
PCIe riser 2
Note
PCIe riser 2 is optional.

  • Slot 6: x16 (Gen4 x8 lanes)

  • Slot 7: x16 (Gen5 x16 lanes)

  • Slot 8: x16 (Gen4 x8 lanes)

Note
  • Slot 6 and Slot 8 are not supported in the following configurations:
    • Front SATA drive backplane and internal NVMe drive backplane connect to the system board
    • Front NVMe drive backplane and internal NVMe drive backplane connect to the system board
  • When a double-wide GPU is installed in Slot 7, Slot 6 is not supported.
Depending on the selected acoustic mode, the slot priorities for different PCIe adapters might be different. See the following section corresponding to the selected configuration:

PCIe adapter installation rules and order: Acoustic mode disabled​

Installation priorityComponentPCIe slot priorities

1

Serial port module

5

2

RAID adapter:

  1. ThinkSystem RAID 940-8i 4GB Flash PCIe Gen4 12Gb Adapter
  2. ThinkSystem 4350-8i SAS/SATA 12Gb HBA
  3. ThinkSystem RAID 5350-8i PCIe 12Gb Adapter
  4. ThinkSystem 440-8i SAS/SATA PCIe Gen4 12Gb HBA
  5. ThinkSystem RAID 540-8i PCIe Gen4 12Gb Adapter

8, 5, 4, 7

3

Double-wide GPU

7, 3

4

ThinkSystem NVIDIA L4 24GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU

7, 3, 8, 5, 4, 6

5

ThinkSystem Qualcomm Cloud AI 100

Note

  • SE455 V3 supports up to three ThinkSystem Qualcomm Cloud AI 100 installed on PCIe riser 2. Make sure to install the adapter in the supported PCIe slot.

7, 8, 6

6

  1. ThinkSystem AMD Alveo V70 Datacenter Accelerator Adapter

  2. ThinkSystem NVIDIA A2 16GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU

  3. ThinkSystem NVIDIA A2 16GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU w/o CEC

7, 4, 8, 5, 6, 3

7

PCIe x16 Ethernet adapter

7, 3, 8, 5, 4, 6

8

PCIe x8 or x4 Ethernet adapter

8, 5, 4, 7, 6, 3

PCIe adapter installation rules and order: Acoustic mode 1​

Installation priorityComponentPCIe slot priorities

1

Serial port module

5

2

RAID adapter:

  1. ThinkSystem RAID 940-8i 4GB Flash PCIe Gen4 12Gb Adapter
  2. ThinkSystem 4350-8i SAS/SATA 12Gb HBA
  3. ThinkSystem RAID 5350-8i PCIe 12Gb Adapter
  4. ThinkSystem 440-8i SAS/SATA PCIe Gen4 12Gb HBA
  5. ThinkSystem RAID 540-8i PCIe Gen4 12Gb Adapter

8, 5, 4, 7

3

Double-wide GPU

7, 3

4

  1. ThinkSystem NVIDIA L4 24GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU
  2. ThinkSystem NVIDIA A2 16GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU
  3. ThinkSystem NVIDIA A2 16GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU w/o CEC

7, 4, 8, 5, 6, 3

5

PCIe x16 Ethernet adapter

7, 3, 8, 5, 4, 6

6

PCIe x8 or x4 Ethernet adapter

8, 5, 4, 7, 6, 3

PCIe adapter installation rules and order: Acoustic mode 2​

Installation priorityComponentPCIe slot priorities

1

Serial port module

5

2

RAID adapter:

  1. ThinkSystem RAID 940-8i 4GB Flash PCIe Gen4 12Gb Adapter
  2. ThinkSystem 4350-8i SAS/SATA 12Gb HBA
  3. ThinkSystem RAID 5350-8i PCIe 12Gb Adapter
  4. ThinkSystem 440-8i SAS/SATA PCIe Gen4 12Gb HBA
  5. ThinkSystem RAID 540-8i PCIe Gen4 12Gb Adapter

8, 5, 4, 7

3

PCIe x16 Ethernet adapter

7, 3, 8, 5, 4, 6

4

PCIe x8 or x4 Ethernet adapter

8, 5, 4, 7, 6, 3