Note the correct orientation of the IPU-M2000, server and switch units in the rack to ensure correct airflow.
The front interface of the IPU-M2000 units (connectivity ports) should be matched with the front door of the rack (cold aisle). The rear interface of the server and switches (power and fans) should be matched with the rear door of the rack (hot aisle).
Note
You can click on any of the images below to view them full size
Note that this photo shows a four-server version of the IPU‑POD64.
The default reference design has one server which would be the server in the lowest position, closest to the switches.
Fig. 3.2 Completed rack: hot aisle (four-server version)
Note that this photo shows three blue RJ45 cables in each R6525 server. In the default build, servers 2 to 4 only have two blue RJ45 cables. See later sections for more information about server cabling.
Note also that this photo shows a four-server version of the IPU‑POD64.
The default reference design has one server which would be the server in the lowest position, closest to the switches.
The IPU-M2000 mounting system requires a rail-to-rail distance of 720mm. This document describes the adjustments required for an AR3300SP rack. If using a different rack this rail distance must be observed.
Follow the instructions to remove the outer packaging of the APC AR3300SP rack, ensuring that you safely store these materials for later repackaging. Do not remove the rack from the shock pallet.
Remove the white bag from the rack. This contains screws and cage nuts to be used in the assembly of the components into the rack.
Remove the top and bottom side panels. The vertical accessory channels should be positioned at the very front and very rear of the rack. If necessary, move these from their shipping positions.
Using a Torx TX30 screwdriver, make both rear vertical rack rails loose and freely movable.
Position the rear vertical rack rails such that there is 20mm of distance between the rear face of the vertical rack rail and the racks rear frame. This should result in a square symbol being visible through the alignment window at the top and bottom of the rail.
Secure the rail into position by moving the TX30 screws back upwards such that the teeth engage with both the supporting rails. This must be done at the top and bottom of the bracket.
Using a Torx TX30 screwdriver, make both front vertical rack rails loose and freely movable.
Install the accessory channels in the front of the rack (one on the left hand side, one on the right hand side) at the frontmost position possible, moving the TX30 screws back upwards such that the teeth engage with both the supporting rails. This must be done at the top and bottom of the bracket.
Note
To ensure the clips on the accessory channels align with the channel in the rack, lift the accessory channels through the cut-out in the top of the rack and then drop them down onto the channels.
Move the vertical rack rails tight against the vertical cable organisers such that only a single diamond symbol is visible through the alignment window at the top and bottom of the rail:
Secure the rail into position by moving the TX30 screws back upwards such that the teeth engage with both the supporting rails. This must be done at the top and bottom of the bracket.
The IPU-M2000 rail kit comprises two mated inner and outer rack rails and an accessory bag containing screws. The inner rail affixes to the body of the IPU-M2000 and the outer rail affixes to the vertical rack rails in the server cabinet.
Firstly, separate the mated inner and outer rails:
Fully extend the rails by pulling on the end which has the captive thumb screw attached:
Mate the inner rails (the thinner of the two separated rails which has a captive thumb screw at one end) to the body of the IPU-M2000. Note that the inner rails are mirrored and are not handed. As such, the procedure for inner rail fixing is the same for the left and right hand inner rails.
The inner rail should be oriented such that the captive thumb screw end is at the end of the IPU-M2000 containing the network receptacles.
To affix the inner rail to the body of the IPU-M2000:
Offer up the inner rail to the side of the IPU-M2000 and ensure that all fixing pins are sitting within the enlarged opening of the retention channel:
Push the inner rail towards the end of the IPU-M2000 containing the network receptacles, you should hear a click as the latching mechanism locks behind the head of a fixing pin:
Screw the PDU support brackets to the inside of the cabinet.
The PDU brackets should be installed at the rear of the rack: one bracket on top with 9cm distance from the top of rack and one bracket on the bottom with 12cm distance from the bottom of rack. The figure below illustrates this. Follow the PDU bracket installation instructions .
Earlier in the guide we affixed the inner rack rails to the IPU-M2000 body. We now need to install the outer rack rails into the rack.
It is possible to identify the front and rear of the outer rail by finding the large metal latching mechanism. This is to be located at the rear of the rack. The outer rail is also embossed with the text “FRONT” at the front end of the rail.
The outer rail large metal latch end is to be installed at the rear of the rack:
Fig. 3.22 Attachment point for IPU-M2000 outer rail
For each rack U in U1 through U16 (inclusive), perform the steps below with both the left hand and right hand outer rack rails:
Pull on each end of the outer rail to adjust the rail length to suite your rack
Locate the front end of the outer rail and hold it behind the square holes in the vertical rack rail for your installation U. Pull the outer rail towards the vertical rack rail and the latching mechanism will click and hold the outer rail in place:
Locate the rear end of the outer rail and slightly open the large metal latch, then press the upper and lower locating pins into the square holes. Release the large metal latch and the outer rail will now be secured to the vertical rack rail:
Fig. 3.24 IPU-M2000 outer rail secured to vertical rack rail
4) Included in the rack rail accessory bag are two screws and two washers. One screw with one washer should be screwed through the vertical rack rail and into the outer rack rail threaded hole. The washer should be used in such a way that the washer sits flush with the head of the screw –like a cup.
This should be repeated for both outer rack rails.
Place the IPU-M2000 onto an appropriate server lift and adjust the height such that it is suitable for the sliders. If a lift is not available, this is a two person operation.
Slide the protruding inner rails into the receiving channel of the extended outer rails:
Fig. 3.29 Slide IPU-M2000 inner rails into outer rails
Whilst the server lift is supporting the full weight of the IPU-M2000, slide the IPU-M2000 into the extended outer rails until you feel both sides engage a stopping mechanism
Simultaneously pull on the blue tabs for the release mechanism at each side of the IPU-M2000 and then push the IPU-M2000 unit fully into the rack:
Fit the sliders for the ToR switch into position 18 on the rack ensuring both ends of the slider are pushed firmly into the mounting slots on the rack rail.
Install the two PDUs vertically at the rear of the rack, one on the left side and one on the right side. Push the mains cable through the roof of the rack and then clip the PDUs onto the PDU bracket as shown below:
Install the tool-less sliding rail kit(s). The reference design has a single server installed in rack slot #19; in four server configurations they are installed in rack slots #19-#22.
Pull out the rail and fit the server to the rail ensuring the T pins on the side of the server locate in the slots on the rail. Ensure that the power supplies on the server face the rear of the rack.
Fig. 3.37 Sliding rail kit for server installation
Note
Use an appropriate server lift or have two people installing the servers to ensure correct fitting
Push the server gently from the front to lock it into the slides then press the tab on the side of the slides and push the server fully home in the rack. Repeat the above process for each server if installing multiple servers.
Remove the Velcro tape from the light pipes on the rear of the servers.
Remove the small plastic tab on the left front side of the server bezel and clip the bezel in place on the front of the server ensuring the connection pins on the right hand side of the bezel line up with the connector on the server, as shown below:
The following sections detail the cabling of the rack and the dressing of the cables within the rack. For reference, the IPU-M2000s and server(s) are numbered, as shown below:
3.4.1. IPU-M2000 to IPU-M2000 IPU-Link connectivity (OSFP)
There are eight OSFP IPU-Link ports on the right side of each IPU-M2000. Using the supplied 60x 0.3M OSFP cables, and starting at IPU-M2000 #1 (bottom-most IPU-M2000 in the rack), link the top row of four ports (5-8) to the bottom row of four ports (1-4) in the IPU-M2000 that is installed directly above (see figure and table below). This applies to all IPU-M2000s except for the top row (5-8) of the top-most IPU-M2000 (#16) and the bottom row (1-4) of the bottom-most IPU-M2000 (#1), which are connected together using the 1m OSFP cables.
Fig. 3.40 IPU-M2000 IPU-Link port numbering and IPU-Link cables
Before attempting to install the OSFP cables, it is beneficial to manipulate the cable to form a tight loop. During manufacture and shipping, the cables can form quite a stiff shape, so manipulating the cables before installing them reduces stresses on the socket during install.
Using the 0.15m red Ethernet RJ45 cable, wire the 16 IPU-M2000s as follows:
Starting from IPU-M2000 #1 at the bottom of the rack, insert one side of a cable into port 6 and one side of another cable into port 7.
Insert the other side of the cable from port 6 of IPU-M2000 #1 into port 2 of IPU-M2000 #2, and the other side of the cable from port 7 of IPU-M2000 #1 into port 3 of IPU-M2000 #2.
Continue the cabling for all IPU-M2000s. When completed the top row (6,7) of the top-most IPU-M2000 (#16) connectors should be connected to the bottom row (2,3) of the bottom-most IPU-M2000 (#1) connectors with 1m red Ethernet RJ45 cables.
The figure below shows the final IPU-M2000 in-rack Sync-Link cabling.
Fig. 3.45 Final IPU-M2000 in-rack Sync-Link cabling
The table below gives the IPU-M2000 Sync-Link port mapping.
3.4.3. IPU-M2000 to management switch cabling (RJ45)
There are two Ethernet ports in the middle of each IPU-M2000 (see figure below). One of them is a BMC + GW SoC port (upper port) and the other is a BMC port (lower port). These are connected from each IPU-M2000 to the management switch with RJ45 cables. The cables required are:
12x RJ45/Yellow 1.0m and 4x RJ45/Yellow 1.5m (BMC)
Repeat the process for ports 47 to 37 using 1.0m yellow cables and ports 33 to 36 using 1.5m cables.
When all cables have been connected, dress the loom down the side of the cabinet and secure the bundle with a Velcro strip as shown in the picture above.
The port mapping between the management switch and the IPU-M2000 BMC sockets is shown in the following table.
Start cabling using a 1.0m blue RJ45 cable and insert one end into port 32 of the management switch.
Run the cable through the loop in the OSFP connector as show below and connect it to the BMC+GW port on IPU-M2000 #16.
Repeat the process for ports 31 to 25 using 1.0m blue cables, and ports 24 to 17 using 1.5m blue cables. When all cables have been connected, dress the loom down the side of the cabinet and secure the bundle with a Velcro strip.
Using a 1.0m blue cable, connect port 7 of the management switch to the top RJ45 connector on the ToR Switch.
The next step is to connect the IPU-M2000s to the ToR switch. There are two RNIC ports on the left side of each IPU-M2000 (see figure below). Only one of them should be connected from each IPU-M2000 to the ToR switch with either the 1m or 1.5m QSFP cables supplied.
In order to manage the cables, the QSFP cables are divided into two different lengths:
8x QSFP 1.0m from IPU-M2000 #9-16 to ToR switch ports 16 to 9
8x QSFP1.5m from IPU-M2000 #1-8 to ToR switch ports 17 to 24
Start from port 9 on the ToR switch and connect the cable to port 2 of IPU-M2000 #16.
Continue cabling from ports 10 to 24 on the ToR switch to port 2 on IPU-M2000 #15 to IPU-M2000 #1 respectively.
Dress the cables down the side of the cabinet. A set of four cables can be looped into cut-outs on the side of the cabinet. Tie the bundle together at the top with a Velcro strip.
All cables should be routed from the rear of the server to the right-hand side (when viewed from the rear), then along the side of the rack using the cable management holes in the vertical rack rails.
Note that the photo above shows the four-server version. The default build has one server (the one in the lowest position).
Note
Picture to be updated: this picture shows three blue RJ45 cables in each R6525 server. In the default build, servers 2 to 4 only have two blue RJ45 cables. The cables removed in the default build are marked with a red cross. The additional cable in server 1 moves to the port on the right, as indicated by the red arrow.
ToR switch ports 8 and 7 connects to the bottom server (server 1). Therefore, if you are only using 1 server then only ports 8 and 7 of the ToR switch are used.
Fig. 3.56 ToR switch to server cabling: cable connections (4 server version)
3.4.9. Management switch to Dell server(s): iDRAC
Using four of the 1.5m blue RJ45 cables connect the management switch to the Dell server(s) as follows:
Ports 9 to 12 on the management switch connect to the iDRAC connector on the server(s).
Port 9 is connected to the bottom server (server 1). If you only have one server then only port 9 on the management switch is used.
Fig. 3.57 Management switch to server cabling: iDRAC
3.4.10. Management switch to Dell server(s): network connector
Using four of the 1.5m blue RJ45 cables connect the management switch to the Dell server(s) as follows:
Ports 13 to 16 on the management switch connect to the network connector on the server(s).
Port 13 is connected to the bottom server (server 1). If you only have one server then only port 13 on the management switch is used.
Fig. 3.58 Management switch to server cabling: network connector(s)
3.4.11. Management switch to Dell server(s): switch management
Using one of the 1.5m blue RJ45 cables connect the management switch to the Dell server(s) as follows:
Port 8 from the management server is connected to the lowest server (server 1). This is used for control of the PDUs in the case where server 1 is used as the management server.
Fig. 3.59 Management switch to server cabling: switch management
Allow all the cables going to the server to hang down in the rack as shown below. This allows the cables to be pulled slightly if it is necessary to remove them from a server.
Start by cabling IPU-M2000 #1 using 0.5m power cables. Ensure that only three IPU-M2000s are connected to the same bank on the PDU. Red cables to the left PDU and blue cables to the right PDU (as seen looking at the rear of the rack).
The following table defines the length of the power cable for each IPU-M2000:
Using 1m C13 to C14 power cables (selecting the correct coloured cable to match the PDU colour), follow the cabling table below to connect the server(s) to the PDUs.