COMPUTING

APPLICATION NOTE

This document covers aspects of tting the SharpStreamer

™

PCIE-7207 media

processing accelerator card into a Dell PowerEdge R730 server.

THE DELL POWEREDGE R730 SERVER

The Dell PowerEdge R730 server is a new generation 2U rack mount server

based on the E5-26xx v3 Intel

Xeon

technology (Codename Haswell). The

server is available in several congurations. However, this application note only

covers integration within R730 conguration.

For more details, visit the DELL website.

THE SHARPSTREAMER PCIE-7207 HARDWARE INSTALLATION

In a dual Intel Xeon conguration, the Dell R730 server can support up to four

SharpStreamer PCIE-7207 cards. Cards should be installed in PCI Express slots

#4, 5, 6 and 7 found on PCIe riser #2 (PN: 330-BBCO) and PCIe riser #3 (PN:

330-BBCQ). Dual CPU conguration can also accommodate for an additional

three low prole slots located on PCIe riser #1.

In a single CPU conguration, the server can support up to three full length full

height PCI Express cards. The SharpStreamer PCIE-7207 card could potentially

be installed in PCIe slots #5, 6 and 7.

When installing SharpStreamer cards, mid-card guides and auxiliary power

cabling must be used. Auxiliary power cabling and low prole CPU heatsinks can

be purchased as part of the R730 GPU Installation Kit (PN: 331-8803). See

photos for reference. Low prole CPU heatsink installation is not required but can

be used for improve internal chassis thermal environment

INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE

Software Installation Dependencies:

 Server running CentOS 7.x

 Tftp-server, syslinux and dhcp

 Firewall (ie. rewalld, iptables, etc) congured to allow system to run above

services

 Unzip and install SharpStreamer Host-side utilities

 Unzip and install SharpStreamer Centos 7 reference image

Proceed with software installation as documented in each software package as

“readme” le. Artesyn SharpStreamer PCIE-7207 documentation, and software

packages can be obtained SWORDS portal or through your Artesyn Field

Application Engineer.

So You Want to...

Install Artesyn SharpStreamer

™

PCIE-7207 cards

into a Dell PowerEdge R730 Server?

PCI Express Card Guides

Dell R730 Server

COMPUTING

APPLICATION NOTE

SYSTEM OPERATION AND THERMAL OPTIMIZATION

The Dell R730 system fans produce direct air within the system to cool the PCI

Express cards. There is a black plastic bafe that channels the air from six hot

swappable fans. This also ensures air ows across the rest of the motherboard

components and through the PCIe section once it has gone through the CPU

heatsinks. We highly recommend monitoring both the SharpStreamer PCIE-7207

microprocessor subsystem temperatures. This can be done using the

temperature tool provided in the PCIE-7207 host side server utilities package (ex:

pci7207 –s1 –n1 –ct). If any of temperature sensors reports a temperature of

higher than 80°C, you may want to check whether anything mechanically is

disrupting the system air ow or your system environment conditions have

changed. If neither situation has occurred, then you should consider adjusting the

system fan prole.

The Dell R730 has three thermal proles (default, maximum performance and

minimum power) and four fan speed offsets (low, medium, high and maximum)

which control the system fans’ behavior. These proles can be found under

iDRAC Settings under the “thermal” section.

In room temperature (22°C ambient) with the thermal prole set to default and fan

speed offset set to off, Artesyn testing indicates the PCIE-7207 should operate

properly under these conditions. During normal operation, you can expect the

microprocessor subsystem temperature readings to be anywhere between 30°C

and 65°C. If any temperature reading should go above 80°C, you should set the

fan speed offset to High (+71%) and/or install low prole CPU heatsinks. Please

ensure air ow is such that microprocessor subsystem temperature sensors

reading do not go above 95°C as these high temperatures may cause damage to

the board and will result in lower lifespan. In extreme cases, the board will shut

itself off to prevent damage.

If you should run into any questions or issues using the SharpStreamer PCIE-

7207 card with the Dell R730 system, please contact your local Artesyn Field

Application Engineer (FAE).

Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Artesyn, SharpMedia and the

Artesyn Embedded Technologies logo are trademarks and service marks

of Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Inc. Intel and Xeon are trademarks

of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. PCI Express (PCIe)

is a registered trademark of PCI-SIG. HP is a registered trademark of

PCIE-7207-DELL-R730-AN1 22Jul2015

Four SharpStreamer Card Installation

Auxiliary Power Cables