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Dell PowerEdge 1650
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Dell PowerEdge 1650

Integrated SCSI/RAID

SCSI

The PowerEdge 1650 system has one dual-channel 7899W U160 SCSI controller embedded onto the system board. It provides two internal independent Low-Differential-Voltage (U160)/Wide SCSI channels. One of the channels provides SCSI control to the internal 1x3 hot swap backplane; the second channel provides SCSI control for an external connection.

The AIC-7899 operates at up to 66MHz and functions as a 64-bit bus master capable of supporting zero-wait state 64-bit memory transfers at maximum 533 MBytes/sec data burst rate. The AIC-7899 provides the most advanced host adapter features in a single-chip 388-pin Ball Grid Array (BGA).The Low-Voltage Differential (LVD) interface utilizes pairs of control and data signals, to permit greater distances between the SCSI controller and the target devices.

Additionally, the Ultra3/LVD interface is fully backward compatible with the previous generation of single-ended Ultra/Wide peripherals. The 7899W allows for future forward compatibility with the Adaptec 7902 U320 SCSI controller IC.

External SCSI is supported either through the external AIC 7899 connection which connects to the second channel or through the purchase of a 39160 card.

This is a picture of the external SCSI connector

Optional IDE disk support
A standard 40-pin IDE connector and a 1x4 power header are available on system board, to support up to 2 IDE disks. Two IDE disks are on the secondary channel of the IDE controller integrated in the CSB5 chip. A SCSI backplane will not be factory-installed in this case. CD and floppy drives will be cabled to their connectors on the system planar respectively. IDE disk is mounted in a drive carrier that slides in the same drive bays for SCSI drive carrier. Only two bays to the left are used for IDE drive carriers, the bay to the right is filled with a face plate. There's a metal bar that goes across drive bays to keep IDE drive carriers in place. See below for a picture of the IDE kit.

This is a picture of the IDE kit.

RAID

The PowerEdge 1650 supports two RAID options: PERC 3/Di for the internal SCSI drives, and PERC 3/DC for connection to external SCSI storage. The primary differences between PERC 3/Di and PERC 3/DC are that PERC 3/Di is a daughter board for internal drives only, whereas the standard PERC 3/DC can be attached to external SCSI storage and supports clustering. Both options have 128MB of cache and battery backup. The table below lists the features of each.

 Feature  PERC 3/Di  PERC 3/DC

  PCI 64-bit/66MHz 64-bit/66MHz  
  SCSI 2 channel Ultra3 SCSI 2 channel Ultra3 SCSI  
  Connectors 2 total: 1 int./1 ext. 2 total: both external  
  Cluster Capable No Yes  
  Cache 128 MB 128MB  
  ECC Cache Yes Yes  
  Battery Backup Yes Yes  
  Backup Time 48-72 hours 48-72 hours  
  S.M.A.R.T. Yes Yes  
  Online Capacity Expansion & RAID Level Migration Yes Yes  
  RAID Levels 0, 1, 5 0, 1, 5, 10  
  OS Driver Support Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, MS NT 4.0, Red Hat Linux 7.1/7.2 Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, MS NT 4.0, Red Hat Linux 7.1/7.2  
  Compatibility Data compatible with PERC 2/QC Data compatible with PERC 2/SC, PERC 2/DC, PERC 3/DC, and PERC 3/QC  

PERC3/Di

The PowerEdge 1650 features a high-performance dual channel, Ultra3/LVD RAID solution implemented via an add-in mezzanine board tha plugs into the system board. The PERC 3/DI mezzanine board includes an Intel Zion processor, a battery pack for cache memory, and 128MB of RAM. The Intel Zion processor is "I20 ready", meaning that it supports the I20 protocol when implemented with an Operating System, BIOS, and hardware drivers that also support the I20 protocol.

Unlike previous systems which had integrated RAID solutions, RAID will be offered on the PowerEdge 1650 via an add-in mezzanine board (rather than a key). Although this hardware is embedded on every system shipped, the mezzanine board must be purchased in order to make the RAID functional. The mezzanine board attaches to the system board via a new pin connector (see below).

Click on the picture of the mezzanine board (below) to toggle between the top and bottom views.
This is a picture of the mezzanine board viewed from the top. Click on this picture to flip the image
Once enabled, the embedded hardware uses/converts the onboard Ultra3/LVD SCSI controllers to provide RAID levels 0, 1, 5, & 10. PERC 3/Di is the only option for the internal SCSI drives due to the cable-less design, which improves serviceability and airflow. Because the ROMB card includes the RAID chip, the RAM, and the battery backup, it is more expensive than the RAID keys offered on other ROMB solutions.

As mentioned above, PERC 3/Di is the only RAID solution for the internal SCSI hard drives. This provides a "cable-less" internal design. In other words, the SCSI backplane blind-mates to the system board and all of the SCSI routing (including RAID routing) is done on the system board rather than by running a cable through the chassis. This improves serviceability and reduces the potential for failures due to cables crimping or bending, and it also enables a superior cooling solution because there are no internal cables to block airflow. The second internal SCSI channel is automatically routed out the rear of the system, again eliminating the need for cable. If the ROMB card is installed, the external SCSI port can be used for RAID functionality for an external SCSI enclosure.

The PERC 3/Di mezzanine board attaches to the system board via a high density connection. It is secured to the standoffs via three retaining clips. See the pictures below for the location of the board.

This is a picture of the RAID mezzanine board.
 Removing the Mezzanine Board

Step 1: Press outward on the three retaining clips that secure the ROMB mezzanine board to the standoffs.
This image illustrates how to press outward on the three retaining clips of the RAID mezzanine board.
Step 2: Rotate the thumbscrew that secures the ROMB mezzanine board to the system board counterclockwise until the ROMB mezzanine board is released from the system board.
This image illustrates how to rotate the thumbscrew that secures the ROMB mezzanine board to the system board counterclockwise
Step 3: Remove the ROMB mezzanine board.
This image illustrates how to remove the RAID mezzanine board.

PERC 3/DC
The PowerEdge 1650 supports the PERC 3/DC for external storage and clustering. Its features include:
  • Wide Ultra3 LVD SCSI performance of up to 160MB/s
  • 64MB or 128MB of SDRAM
  • 64-bit PCI host interface
  • On-board i960RN processor to improve controller performance and offload host CPU
  • RAID levels 0 (striping), 1 (mirroring), 5 (distributed parity), 10 (combination of striping and mirroring), and 50 (combination of striping and distributed parity)
  • Advanced array configuration and management utilities
  • Battery backup for up to 72 hours
  • Up to 12 SCSI drives per channel (using the Dell PowerVault 21xS storage system)

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