Configuring Enclosure Components; Fabric A; Fabrics B And C; I/O Module And Pcie Mezzanine Card Configuration Guidelines - Dell PowerEdge VRTX Owner's Manual

Configuring Enclosure Components

Fabric A

Fabric A refers to the Ethernet connectivity provided to the server modules by the I/O module installed at the back of the
VRTX enclosure.
Fabric A provides internal connection to four lanes per server module for a maximum of 16 lanes. The maximum external
connections possible is eight RJ-45.
The following conditions apply:
• Dell PowerEdge M520 server module disables ports 3 and 4 when a pass-through module is installed. However,
if you install a switch module, all four network ports on Fabric A are utilized.
• Fabric A in PowerEdge M620 is a 10GbE capable interface, and operates at 1GbE to support a pass-through
module or a switch module.
For information on the supported I/O modules, see

Fabrics B And C

Fabrics B and C refer to the PCIe connections between the server modules and the VRTX enclosure. These fabrics
support PCIe mezzanine cards installed in the server modules. The enclosure has two PCIe switches (Fabric B and
Fabric C switches) integrated on the system board to connect the server modules to the Shared PoweEdge RAID
Controller (PERC) card slots and eight PCIe expansion-card slots on the enclosure.
NOTE: To locate the Shared PERC card slots and the PCIe slots on the enclosure system board, see
Connectors.
The PCIe switch mapping to the PCIe card slots is dependent on the firmware and the software license installed on the
system. For more information on mapping PCIe slots, see
NOTE: PCIe NICs systems management is not supported on Fabrics B and C.

I/O Module And PCIe Mezzanine Card Configuration Guidelines

• Fabric A supports an Ethernet switch or a pass-through module.
• To enable switch configuration before imaging the server modules, the I/O module must be allowed to power-up
before the server modules are turned on.
• Each server module installed in the VRTX enclosure supports two PCIe mezzanine cards in Fabric B and Fabric C
slots. To locate the Fabric B and Fabric C slots, see the server module's Owner's Manual at dell.com/
poweredgemanuals. The PCIe mezzanine cards are mapped to the PCIe expansion slots on the enclosure. For
more information, see
NOTE: Only PCIe mezzanine cards can be installed in Fabrics B and C of the server modules. Non-PCIe
mezzanine cards such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel, or InfiniBand mezzanine cards are not supported. If you
install non-PCIe mezzanine cards on the server modules, an error message is displayed on the LCD screen
of the enclosure.
Supported I/O
Mapping PCIe Expansion Slots.
Modules.
Mapping PCIe Expansion Slots.
3
System Board
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