Before You Begin; System Reliability Considerations - IBM xSeries 150 User Reference Manual

Before you begin

System reliability considerations

Note: PCI bus A is often referred to as PCI bus 0.
PCI B Error on PCI channel B or system board.
Note: PCI bus B is often referred to as PCI bus 1.
VRM Error on voltage regulator module or on integrated voltage regulator.
DASD1 A hot-swap disk drive, backplane, or other part of SCSI channel A has failed.
DASD2 A SCSI device on SCSI channel B has failed.
Before you begin to install options in your server, read the following information:
• Become familiar with the safety and handling guidelines specified under
"Handling static sensitive devices" on page 20, and read the safety statements in
"Safety information" on page 20. These guidelines will help you work safely
while working with your server or options.
• You do not need to turn off the server to install or replace hot-swap power
supplies, or hot-swap drives.
• The orange color on components and labels in your server indicates hot-swap
components. This means that you can install or remove the component while the
system is running, provided that your system is configured to support this
function. For complete details about installing or removing a hot-swap
component, see the information provided in this chapter.
• The blue color on components and labels identifies touch points where a
component can be gripped, a latch moved, and so on.
• Make sure that you have an adequate number of properly grounded electrical
outlets for your server, monitor, and any other options that you intend to install.
• Back up all important data before you make changes to disk drives.
• Have a small, flat-blade screwdriver available.
• For a list of supported options for your server, refer to
http://www.ibm.com/pc/us/compat on the World Wide Web.
To help ensure proper cooling and system reliability, make sure:
• Each of the drive bays has either a drive or a filler panel installed.
• Each of the power supply bays has either a power supply or a filler panel
installed.
• The cover is in place during normal operations, or is removed for no longer than
30 minutes while the server is operating.
Note: The front door (tower model) can be removed permanently without
affecting system reliability.
• There is space around the server to allow the server cooling system to work
properly.
— On a tower model, leave about 127 mm (5 in.) of space around the front and
rear of the server.
— On a rack model, refer to the documentation that comes with the rack.
• A removed hot-swap drive is replaced within two minutes of removal.
Chapter 3. Installing Options
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