COMPUTING

APPLICATION NOTE

This document covers aspects of ﬁtting the Artesyn SharpStreamer PCIE-7207

video processing accelerator card into a HP ProLiant DL380 Gen 9 server.

THE HP DL380 GEN 9 SERVER

The HP ProLiant DL380 server is the newest generation 2U, two-socket HP rack

mount server based on the Intel

E5-26xx v3 Xeon

technology. The server is

available in pre-conﬁgured models with a single CPU and options for additional

features such as:

 Dual CPU conﬁguration

 Redundant power supplies

 Scalable memory conﬁguration

 Hard drive storage conﬁgurations

 PCI Express I/O and riser cards

For more details, visit the HP website.

SHARPSTREAMER PCIE-7207 HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Hardware installation dependencies:

 Dual CPU conﬁguration mandatory for 2x SharpStreamer PCIE-7207

 HP DL380 Gen 9 Secondary three-slot riser card (PN: 719073-B21)

Before installing the SharpStreamer PCIE-7207 card(s) into the HP DL380, please

ensure compliance with the above hardware dependencies. There is an alternate

riser card which as three (3) PCI Express slots (PN: 719073-B21). The PCIE-7207

can only be installed on the top slot. Please note: if installing two (2) PCIE-7207

cards, you will need to the dual CPU conﬁguration of the server as each PCI

Express riser card is routed to a single CPU chipset.

To install the PCIE-7207 card(s), ﬁrst remove the top cover of the server. You must

then remove each riser card from the system and insert the PCIE-7207 card into the

top slot. When re-installing the riser card back into the system, you will need to raise

the blue latch/latches on the system fan bafﬂe and remove the thin metal cover from

rear I/O panel. Once re-installed, re-screw in the riser cards and lower the latch to

properly secure the board(s).

NEBS-GRADE SERVER RECONFIGURATION

If NEBS compliance is required, please install HP DL380 NEBS Conversion Cage

Kit (HP PN: 707865-B21) and ensure a full set of fans are present. A full set of fans

are preinstalled if a two-processor conﬁguration is in use. Additional installation

details can be found in the HP ProLiant DL380 Gen 8 Carrier-Grade Server Read

Before Install Carrier-Grade Instructions document. The PCIE-7207 is designed

for NEB usage out of box and will not need any reconﬁguration.

So You Want to...

Install the Artesyn SharpStreamer

™

PCIE-7207

into a HP DL380 Gen 9 Server ?

HP DL380 Gen 9 Server

PCI Express Riser Cards

COMPUTING

APPLICATION NOTE

INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE

Hardware installation dependencies

 Server running CentOS 7.x

 Tftp-server, syslinux and dhcp

 Firewall (i.e., ﬁrewalld, iptables, etc.) conﬁgured to allow system to run above

services

 Unzip and install SharpStreamer Host-side utilities

 Unzip and install SharpStreamer Centos 7 reference image

 Auxiliary power cabling (PN: 504660-003)

Proceed with software installation as documented in each software package

“readme” ﬁle. The Artesyn SharpStreamer PCIE-7207 documentation and software

packages can be obtained through the SWORDS portal or through your Artesyn

Field Application Engineer.

SYSTEM OPERATION AND THERMAL OPTIMIZATION

The HP DL380 system fans produce turbulent air within the system to cool the PCI

Express cards. Because of these conditions we highly recommend monitoring the

PCIE-7207 microprocessor subsystem temperatures. This can be done using the

CPU temperature tool provided with the PCIE-7207 host side server utilities

package. If either temperature sensor reports a temperature of 80°C, you may want

to check whether anything mechanically is disrupting the system air ﬂow or your

system environment conditions have changed. If neither situation has occurred, the

HP DL380 has three thermal conﬁguration proﬁles which control the system fans’

behavior. In the BIOS setup screen under Advanced Options, you can set up the

system into three different thermal conﬁguration proﬁles: Increased Cooling,

Optimum Cooling, and Maximum Cooling.

In data center environments (25°C ambient), we recommend using Increased

Cooling proﬁles. During normal operation, you can expect the microprocessor

subsystem temperature readings to be anywhere between 55°C and 67°C. If the

temperature reading should go above 75°C, we recommend selecting the Maximum

Cooling proﬁle. For extended (NEBS abnormal 55°C) operation conditions, we

recommend Maximum Cooling proﬁle. Please ensure air ﬂow is such that micro

temperature sensors reading do not go above 95°C as these high temperatures

may cause damage to the board.

Please note: the position of the riser card could also help lower turbulent air

surrounding the card. Installing the card on the middle riser card instead of the

system right side riser card drops the board air inlet temperature a few degrees and

the board air outlet temperature over 5°C. For extreme environments where

maximizing the fan speed via BIOS setting does not cool the SharpStreamer card to

temperatures under 75°C during operation, HP offers a high performance fan kit

(PN: 719079-B21) which can be used in place of the standard server fans.

Accelerator cards may require the use of additional custom mounting brackets to

properly secure the cards inside the chassis.

If you should run into any questions or issues with the PCIE-7207 installation into

the HP DL380, 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-HP-DL380-Gen9-AN1 22Jul2015

PCI Express Riser Cards Re-installation

Dual PCIE-7207 Installation

Auxiliary Power Cabling