Introduction

Dell™ PowerEdge™ 2550 Systems User's Guide

Preventing Unauthorized Access to the System

Safety, Regulatory, and Warranty Information

The Dell™ PowerEdge™ 2550 system, which has single or double Intel^® Pentium^® III microprocessors, is an ultra-slimline, full-featured, rack-mounted server. The PowerEdge 2550 provides a robust, reliable, rack-optimized platform on which both large and small customers can deploy their mission-critical applications.

This chapter describes the system's major hardware and software features, provides information about the indicators and controls on the system's front panel, and discusses connecting external devices.

System Features

PowerEdge 2550 systems offer the following major features:

One or two Pentium III microprocessors.

The Processor Speed option on Page 1 of the System Setup program lists your system's processor speed. For more information, see "Using the System Setup Program."

The Pentium III microprocessor includes MMX™ technology designed to handle complex multimedia and communications software. This microprocessor incorporates new instructions and data types as well as a technique called single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) that allows the microprocessor to process multiple data elements in parallel, thereby improving overall system performance.

A secondary level 2 (L2) cache of static random-access memory (SRAM) is included within the microprocessor. Math coprocessor functions are provided by the microprocessor. A separate and external math coprocessor chip is not used or required.

The size of the L2 cache is dependent on the processor installed in the system. The first screen of the System Setup program lists the system's cache size. For more information, see "Using the System Setup Program."

Front side bus (FSB) with a bus speed of 133 megahertz (MHz).

NOTE: Support for symmetric multiprocessing is available by installing a second Pentium III microprocessor. Symmetric multiprocessing greatly improves overall system performance by dividing microprocessor operations between the two independent microprocessors. To take advantage of this feature, you must use an operating system that supports multiprocessing, such as Microsoft^® Windows NT^® Server 4.0 or Novell^® NetWare^® 4.2 (and later versions).

NOTE: If you decide to upgrade your system by installing a second microprocessor, you must order a microprocessor upgrade kit from Dell. Not all versions of the Pentium III microprocessor work properly as a second microprocessor. The upgrade kit contains the correct version of the micro-processor for use as a second microprocessor as well as instructions for performing the upgrade.

A minimum of 128 megabytes (MB) of system memory, upgradable to a maximum of 4 gigabytes (GB) by installing matched pairs of 64-, 128-, 256-, 512-MB, or 1-GB registered synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) in the four DIMM sockets on the system board.
A basic input/output system (BIOS) that resides in flash memory and can be upgraded if required.
Four 1-inch hot-pluggable, small computer system interface (SCSI) hard-disk drives.
One additional 1-inch hard-disk drive can be installed in the peripheral bay.
A power-supply distribution board to accommodate up to two independent power supplies. One power supply is standard; a second power supply can be added to make the system redundant.
A single 1.44-MB 3.5-inch diskette drive.
A 24X integrated drive electronics (IDE) CD-ROM drive.

The system board includes the following integrated features:

Three Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slots located on the riser board.
An integrated Intel 82559 10/100 network interface controller (NIC), which provides an Ethernet interface.
A Gigabit 64-bit/66-MHz PCI Ethernet controller.
An integrated Adaptec AIC-7899 Ultra3 160/m SCSI host adapter that supports up to five SCSI hard-disk drives (four 1-inch hard-disk drives via a SCSI backplane board and one 1-inch hard-disk drive via the peripheral bay). The SCSI backplane automatically configures SCSI ID numbers and SCSI termination on individual hard-disk drives, greatly simplifying drive installation.
An optional integrated PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller (PERC) 3/Di.
An integrated video graphics array (VGA)-compatible video subsystem with an ATI RAGE XL video controller. This video subsystem contains 8 MB of SDRAM video memory (nonupgradable). Maximum resolution is 1600 x 1200 x 16.7 million colors (noninterlaced).
An integrated National Semiconductor PC97317 super input/output (I/O) controller that controls the bidirectional parallel port, two serial ports, keyboard, mouse, and diskette drive.

The parallel port can be set to operate in the following modes via the Parallel Mode option in the System Setup program: output-only (AT-compatible), bidirectional (Personal System/2 [PS/2]-compatible).

Integrated server management circuitry that monitors operation of the system fans as well as critical system voltages and temperatures. The integrated server management circuitry works in conjunction with the Dell OpenManage™ Server Agent software.
System board support for the Dell OpenManage Remote Assistant when the optional Dell OpenManage Remote Assistant Card 2 (DRAC 2) is installed, which provides additional local and remote server management.
PS/2-style keyboard and mouse ports, dual Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, and two 9-pin serial ports.

Standard PowerEdge 2550 systems include a combined 3.5-inch diskette drive and an IDE CD-ROM drive installed in an externally accessible bay and a SCSI hard-disk drive installed in slot 0.

The following software is included in your PowerEdge system:

Video drivers for displaying many popular application programs in high-resolution modes. For more information on these drivers, see "Using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD."
SCSI device drivers that allow the operating system to communicate with devices attached to the integrated SCSI subsystem. For more information on these drivers, see "Installing and Configuring SCSI Drivers."
The System Setup program, which can be accessed at system boot for quickly viewing and changing the system configuration information for your system.
Enhanced security features, including a user password and a supervisor password available through the System Setup program .
Diagnostics for evaluating your system's components and devices. For information on using the system diagnostics, see "Using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD" in this guide or "Running the Dell Diagnostics" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.

Supported Operating Systems

Dell supports the following network operating systems for use on PowerEdge 2550 systems:

Windows NT Server 4.0, Service Pack 4 or later
Windows^® 2000
NetWare 4.2 and 5.x
Red Hat Linux 7.x

NOTE: Installation service and support for other operating systems are available through Dell Plus. For more information, see "Getting Help" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.

Front Panel

Figure 1-1 shows the controls and indicators located behind the bezel on the system's front panel.

Figure 1-1. Front-Panel Features

The power button/indicator on the front panel controls the AC power input to the system's power supply.
The green indicator in the center of the power button lights up when the power supply is active and supplying the system with DC power.
The green system status indicator blinks amber when a system failure is detected.
The green hard-disk drive activity indicator lights when the hard-disk drives are in use.

Connecting External Devices

You can connect various external devices, such as a mouse and printer, to the I/O ports and connectors on the system's back panel (see Figure 1-2).

Figure 1-2. Back-Panel Features

The system BIOS detects the presence of external devices when you boot or reboot your system. When you connect external devices to your system, follow these guidelines:

Check the documentation that accompanied the device for specific installation and configuration instructions.

For example, most devices must be connected to a particular I/O port or connector to operate properly. Also, external devices such as a mouse or printer usually require that you load software files called device drivers into memory before they will work. These software drivers help the system recognize an external device and direct its operation. Device drivers of this type are normally included with your operating system software.

Always attach external devices while your system is turned off. Then turn on any external devices before turning on the system unless the documentation for the device specifies otherwise. (If the system does not seem to recognize the device, try turning on the system before turning on the device.)

For information about enabling, disabling, or configuring I/O ports and connectors, see "Using the System Setup Program" or "Installing SCSI Hard-Disk Drives." For detailed descriptions and illustrations of each port and connector on the I/O panel, see "I/O Ports and Connectors."

Preventing Unauthorized Access to the System

A keylock on the top of the system prevents unauthorized access to the system.

PowerEdge 2550 systems also include a system intrusion switch that signals the appropriate server management software if the system doors are opened.

Safety, Regulatory, and Warranty Information

See your System Information document for important safety, regulatory, and warranty information for your system.

Getting Help

If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide, or if your system does not perform as expected, Dell provides a number of tools to help you. For more information on these help tools, see "Getting Help" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.

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