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Technical rules for PCIe adapters

Understanding the technical rules for PCIe adapters helps you correctly install and configure PCIe adapters in the system.

PCIe adapters supported for different models​

Table 1. PCIe adapters supported and their locations
Server rear viewSupported types and slot location


Riser 1 assembly

  • Slot 1: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile

  • Slot 2: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile

Riser 2 assembly

  • Slot 3: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile



Riser 1 assembly

  • Slot 1: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile

  • Slot 2: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), full-height

Note
One rear wall bracket must be installed next to the two PCIe slots.


Riser 1 assembly

  • Slot 1: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile

  • Slot 2: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile



Riser 1 assembly

  • Slot 1: PCIe x16 (x8, x4, x1), low-profile

To locate the PCIe slots, see Rear view.

PCIe adapter installation rules and order​

When installing different types of PCIe adapters, refer to the following suggested installation priority:

Table 2. Recommended installation priority for different types of PCIe adapters
Installation priority
1. OCP Ethernet adapter7. InfiniBand adapter
2. Custom form factor (CFF) internal HBA/RAID adapter8. Fiber channel adapter
3. Standard form factor (SFF) RAID adapter/Re-timer adapter9. Network adapter
4. SFF internal HBA adapter10. NVMe PCIe flash adapter
5. Re-timer adapter11. External storage controller
6. GPU adapter12. COM port bracket

When installing a specific PCIe adapter, refer to the following suggested slot installation priority:

Table 3. Recommended slot installation priority for PCIe adapters
Recommended slot installation priorityPCIe adapters
Must be installed in slot 1

  • SFF HBA/RAID adapter

  • ThinkSystem x16 Gen 4.0 Re-timer adapter (for 4 x NVMe)

Must be installed in slot 2 (configured as a full-height slot)

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA Quadro P2200 5GB PCIe Active GPU

  • ThinkSystem Broadcom 57454 10/25GbE SFP28 4-port PCIe Ethernet Adapter

  • ThinkSystem Intel E810-DA4 10/25GbE SFP28 4-port PCIe Ethernet Adapter

  • ThinkSystem Broadcom 57504 10/25GbE SFP28 4-port PCIe Ethernet Adapter

Must be installed in slot 3

ThinkSystem Mellanox HDR/200GbE 2x PCIe Aux Kit

Note
ThinkSystem Mellanox HDR/200GbE 2x PCIe Aux Kit must be used together with Mellanox ConnectX-6 HDR IB/200GbE Single Port x16 PCIe Adapter and functions as the auxiliary adapter. Two CPUs are required if both adapters are used, with the primary adapter installed in slot 1 or slot 2 while the auxiliary adapter installed in slot 3.
Slot 1 > Slot 3 > Slot 2

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA Tesla T4 16GB PCIe Passive GPU

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA A2 16GB PCIe Gen4 Passive GPU

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA Tesla T4 16GB Base Card (for China only)

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA Quadro P620 GPU

  • Mellanox ConnectX-5 EDR IB/100GbE VPI 2-port x16 PCIe 3.0 HCA

  • Mellanox ConnectX-6 HDR100 IB/100GbE VPI 1-port x16 PCIe 3.0 HCA

  • Mellanox ConnectX-6 HDR100 IB/100GbE VPI 2-port x16 PCIe 3.0 HCA

  • Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx 10/25GbE SFP28 2-port PCIe Ethernet Adapter

  • Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx 100GbE QSFP56 2-port PCIe Ethernet Adapter

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA ConnectX-7 NDR400 OSFP 1-Port PCIe Gen5 Adapter

  • ThinkSystem NVIDIA ConnectX-7 NDR200/HDR QSFP112 2-Port PCIe Gen5 x16 InfiniBand Adapter

Slot 2 > Slot 3

A COM port upgrade kit needs to be installed in slot 2 or 3 as a normal PCIe adapter. In this case, a riser and bracket are needed.

Slot 1 > Slot 2 > Slot 3

Other PCIe adapters not mentioned above.

Note
  • For Mellanox ConnectX-6 HDR IB/200GbE Single Port x16 PCIe Adapter, refer to the following slot priority depending on the quantity of adapters to be installed:

    • Two adapters: slot 1, slot 3 or slot 2, slot 3

    • Three adapters: slot 1, slot 2, slot 3

  • For Xilinx Alveo U50 100GbE 1-Port PCIe Gen4 Adapter, refer to following rules:

    • The ambient temperature must be limited to 30°C or lower.

    • Use performance fans and no fan fails.

    • Only one operating system, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, is supported.

    • Do not support Vmware and Windows preload.

  • The RAID 940-8i or RAID 940-16i adapter supports Tri-mode. When Tri-mode is enabled, the server supports SAS, SATA and U.3 NVMe drives at the same time. NVMe drives are connected via a PCIe x1 link to the controller.

    Note
    To support Tri-mode with U.3 NVMe drives, U.3 x1 mode must be enabled for the selected drive slots on the backplane through the XCC Web GUI. Otherwise, the U.3 NVMe drives cannot be detected. For more information, see U.3 NVMe drive can be detected in NVMe connection, but cannot be detected in Tri-mode.