Magma Network Card EB7R x8 User Manual

PCIe Expansion System  
User's Manual  
ExpressBoxUniversal (EBU)  
PCI Express® to PCI Express® Expansion  
Model: EB7-x8  
Model: EBU  
Model: EB7R-x8  
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M A G M A  
Table of Contents  
PREFACE..............................................................................................V  
Advisories .............................................................................................. v  
Safety Instructions..................................................................................vi  
When Working Inside a Computer .........................................................vi  
Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge ...........................................vii  
Rack-Mount Instructions ......................................................................viii  
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 1  
General Specifications ........................................................................... 1  
Pre-Installation Information .................................................................... 2  
Parts List................................................................................................ 2  
Tools Required for Installation................................................................ 2  
CHAPTER 2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION ..................................... 3  
Before you Begin.................................................................................... 4  
Install PCI Express Host Card................................................................ 4  
Attach Power and Expansion Cables..................................................... 5  
Laptop Installation (optional)......................................................................... 6  
Recheck the Installation......................................................................... 9  
Applying Power Correctly..................................................................... 10  
Starting Up:................................................................................................. 10  
Shutting Down:............................................................................................ 11  
Rack Installations................................................................................. 11  
CHAPTER 3 VERIFY INSTALLATION............................................ 13  
Windows .............................................................................................. 13  
Mac OS X............................................................................................. 14  
Expansion Slot Utility.................................................................................. 14  
Apple System Profiler........................................................................... 15  
RedHat 9 Linux .................................................................................... 16  
Mapping Physical Slot locations to port locations using lspci............... 17  
CHAPTER 4 INSTALL CARDS AND DRIVES................................ 20  
Remove PCI Express Expansion Chassis Cover................................ 20  
Install 3rd Party PCIe Cards or Hard Drives.......................................... 22  
Installing 3rd Party PCIe Cards.................................................................... 22  
Installing Hard Drives.................................................................................. 23  
System Should Be Up and Running..................................................... 24  
Finishing Touches................................................................................ 24  
“Hot-Swappable” PCIe Cards (optional)............................................... 24  
Procedure for hot-un-plugging a PCIe plug in card: ................................... 25  
PCIe Expansion Solutions with the EB7-x8.......................................... 28  
Digi Design Pro Tools® .............................................................................. 28  
Video Card expansion solutions ................................................................. 29  
High Throughput storage solutions............................................................. 30  
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CHAPTER 5 MODULAR SOLUTIONS WITH EBU .........................33  
Configuring a complete computer with EBU.........................................33  
Configuring EBU for I/O Sharing between multiple Blades or Other  
Servers.................................................................................................34  
Virtualization, Clusters, and EBU .........................................................34  
CHAPTER 6 CHASSIS MAINTENANCE.........................................36  
General Chassis Cleaning....................................................................36  
“Hot-Swappable” Power Supply (Optional)..........................................38  
Cleaning the Air Filter...........................................................................39  
CHAPTER 7 TROUBLESHOOTING................................................41  
Locate the Problem ..............................................................................41  
My Computer Can’t Find the PCIe Expansion System ............................... 41  
When Nothing Works .................................................................................. 44  
My Computer Hangs During Power Up............................................... 45  
My PCIe Card Doesn’t Work....................................................................... 46  
Support for 3rd Party PCIe Cards ........................................................ 48  
Windows Error Codes......................................................................... 48  
CHAPTER 8 HOW TO GET MORE HELP.......................................50  
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)......................................................50  
Contacting Technical Support ..............................................................50  
Magma Debug Utility................................................................................... 51  
PCIScope Software Utility........................................................................... 52  
Returning Merchandise to MAGMA......................................................54  
APPENDIX A NEED MORE PCIE SLOTS? .....................................55  
Multiple PCIe Expansion System Configurations .................................55  
Fan-Out....................................................................................................... 57  
Verify your configuration ..................................................................... 58  
Daisy-Chaining............................................................................................ 59  
Verify your configuration ..................................................................... 59  
Combination Configurations........................................................................ 60  
PCI e Card Conflicts.............................................................................61  
Power-On Sequence for Advanced Configurations..............................61  
Troubleshooting Advanced Configurations...........................................61  
Finding the Problem Card ........................................................................... 63  
APPENDIX B COMPLIANCE ..........................................................64  
FCC /CE /UL ........................................................................................64  
Industry Canada...................................................................................64  
CE ........................................................................................................64  
UL.........................................................................................................64  
500Watt Power Supply Specifications.................. 64  
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500Watt Power Supply Specifications........................................................ 65  
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Advisories  
Five types of advisories are used throughout this manual to provide  
helpful information, or to alert you to the potential for hardware damage  
or personal injury. They are Note, Important, Caution, Warning, and  
Danger. The following is an example of each type of advisory.  
NOTE  
Used to amplify or explain a comment related to procedural steps  
or text.  
IMPORTANT  
Used to indicate an important piece of information or special “tip”  
to help you  
CAUTION  
Used to indicate and prevent the following procedure or step from  
causing damage to the equipment.  
WARNING  
Used to indicate and prevent the following step from causing  
injury.  
DANGER or STOP  
Used to indicate and prevent the following step from causing  
serious injury or significant data loss.  
Disclaimer: We have attempted to identify most situations that may  
pose a danger, warning, or caution condition in this manual. However,  
Magma. does not claim to have covered all situations that might require  
the use of a Caution, Warning, or Danger indicator.  
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Safety Instructions  
Always use caution when servicing any electrical component. Before  
handling the Magma PCI-Express Expansion chassis, read the following  
instructions and safety guidelines to prevent damage to the product and  
to ensure your own personal safety. Refer to the “Advisories” section for  
advisory conventions used in this manual, including the distinction  
between Danger, Warning, Caution, Important, and Note.  
Always use caution when handling/operating the computer.  
Only qualified, experienced, authorized electronics personnel  
should access the interior of the computer. The power supplies  
produce high voltages and energy hazards, which can cause  
bodily harm.  
Use extreme caution when installing or removing components.  
Refer to the installation instructions in this manual for  
precautions and procedures. If you have any questions, please  
contact Magma Technical Support.  
WARNING  
High voltages are present inside the expansion chassis when the  
unit’s power cord is plugged into an electrical outlet. Disconnect the  
power cord from its source before removing the system cover.  
Never modify or remove the radio frequency interference shielding from  
your workstation or expansion unit. To do so may cause your installation  
to produce emissions that could interfere with other electronic  
equipment in the area of your system.  
When Working Inside a Computer  
Before taking covers off a computer, perform the following steps:  
1. Turn off the computer and any peripheral devices.  
2. Disconnect the computer and peripherals from their power  
sources to prevent electric shock or system board damage.  
3. Disconnect any telephone or telecommunications lines from  
the computer.  
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In addition, take note of these safety guidelines when appropriate:  
To help avoid possible damage to systems boards, wait five  
seconds after turning off the computer before removing a  
component, removing a system board, or disconnecting a  
peripheral device from the computer.  
When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector or on its  
strain-relief loop, not on the cable itself. Some cables have a  
connector with locking tabs. If you are disconnecting this type  
of cable, press in on the locking tabs before disconnecting the  
cable. As you pull connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned  
to avoid bending any connector pins. Also, before connecting a  
cable, make sure both connectors are correctly oriented and  
aligned.  
CAUTION  
Do not attempt to service the system yourself except as explained in  
this manual. Follow installation instructions closely.  
Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge  
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Warning  
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is the enemy of semiconductor  
devices. You should always take precautions to eliminate any  
electrostatic charge from your body and clothing before touching any  
semiconductor device or card by using an electrostatic wrist strap  
and/or rubber mat.  
Static electricity can harm system boards. Perform service at an ESD  
workstation and follow proper ESD procedures to reduce the risk of  
damage to components. Magma strongly encourages you to follow  
proper ESD procedures, which can include wrist straps and smocks,  
when servicing equipment.  
You can also take the following steps to prevent damage from  
electrostatic discharge (ESD):  
When unpacking a static-sensitive component from its shipping  
carton, do not remove the component’s anti-static packaging  
material until you are ready to install the component in a  
computer. Just before unwrapping the anti-static packaging, be  
sure you are at an ESD workstation or are grounded.  
When transporting a sensitive component, first place it in an  
anti-static container or packaging.  
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Handle all sensitive components at an ESD workstation. If  
possible, use anti-static floor pads and workbench pads.  
Handle components and boards with care. Don’t touch the  
components or contacts on a board. Hold a board by its edges  
or by its metal mounting bracket.  
Rack-Mount Instructions  
Elevated Operating Ambient - If installed in a closed or multi-unit rack  
assembly, the operating ambient temperature of the rack environment  
may be greater than room ambient. Therefore, consideration should be  
given to installing the equipment compatible with the maximum ambient  
temperature (Tma) Specified by the manufacturer.  
Reduced Air Flow - Installation of the equipment in a rack should be  
such that the amount of air flow required for safe operation of the  
equipment is not compromised.  
Mechanical Loading - Mounting of the equipment in the rack should be  
such that a hazardous condition is not achieved due to uneven  
mechanical loading.  
Circuit Overloading - Consideration should be given to the connection  
of the equipment to the supply circuit and the effect that overloading of  
the circuits might have on overcurrent protection and supply writing.  
Appropriate consideration of equipment nameplate ratings should be  
used when addressing this concern.  
Reliable Earthing - Reliable earthing of rack-mounted equipment  
should be maintained. Particular attention should be given to supply  
connections other than direct connections to the branch circuit (e.g. use  
of power strips).  
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General Specifications  
The Magma 7 Slot PCI Express® to PCI Express® Expansion System  
(Model EB7-x8) is a general-purpose bus expansion chassis for the  
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) local bus. The  
expansion chassis is fully compliant with the PCI Express Local Bus  
Specification. This system consists of a PCI Express host card, a 3–  
meter iPass cable, a rack-mount enclosure containing a 7 slot PCIe  
expansion backplane, a power supply, and cooling fans. The EB7-x8  
can be easily transformed into a host computer with 8 slots when a Root  
Complex card is installed in place of the expansion interface card in the  
chassis.  
Item  
Description  
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Host Card:  
Backplane:  
Low Profile PCI Express x8 (8 lane)  
7 PCIe slots, 1 PCIe upstream or Root Complex  
slot  
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Enclosure:  
Dimensions:  
Weight:  
Standard Cable Length:  
PCI Express Bus Specification  
PCI Local Bus Specification:  
PCI Bridge Architecture Spec:  
Interconnect Bandwidth:  
Cooling:  
4U Black Rack-mount (All Steel)  
19" W x 7" H x 17.7" D  
24 lb or 11.804 kg  
3-meter iPass cable  
Revision 1.1  
Revision 2.3  
Revision 1.2  
4000 MB/sec or 4 GB/sec or 40 Gbps  
One 85.2 CFM fan  
One fan in power supply  
Model EB7-x8 includes an auto-switching 500W  
supply  
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Power Supply:  
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MTBF:  
Operating Environment:  
53,000 hours  
0º to 50º C Operating Temperature  
-20º to 60º C Storage Temperature  
5% to 85% Relative Humidity, Non-condensing  
Windows XP/2000/Server 2003/Vista  
Mac OS X version 10.4.x +  
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Operating Systems:  
Red Hat Linux 9, Linux Kernel 2.6+  
Solaris and Open Solaris 2008.05  
1 Year Return to Factory  
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Warranty:  
Available Options:  
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7-meter cable (PN: SUBCBL7IP)  
Disk Drive Cage for up to seven 3.5”  
internal disk drives (PN: RDRIVECAGE)  
PCIe card hold down kit (PN: RCHD7)  
Rack-mount slide kit (PN: RSLIDES-XX)  
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Pre-Installation Information  
Before using the Magma expansion chassis you should perform the  
following steps:  
Inventory the shipping carton contents for all of the required parts  
Gather all of the necessary tools required for installation  
Read this manual  
Parts List  
The following parts are provided:  
Item Qty  
Item  
1
1
1
1
1
8 slot rack-mount chassis  
3-meter shielded iPass™ x8 cable  
Half-height PCI Express host card  
U.S. Standard 115V power cord  
Quick Start Guide  
Tools Required for Installation  
In order to complete the installation of the Magma  
expansion system you will need a Phillips-head  
screwdriver.  
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The following steps will guide you through the installation of your  
Magma expansion system.  
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Warning  
All PCI cards are susceptible to electrostatic discharge. When  
moving PCI cards, it is best to carry the cards in anti-static  
packaging. If you need to set a PCIe card down, be sure to place it  
inside or on top of an anti-static surface. For more information, see  
Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the Preface.  
WARNING  
High voltages are present inside the expansion chassis when the  
unit’s power cord is plugged into an electrical outlet. Disconnect the  
power cord from its source before removing the enclosure cover.  
Turning the system power off at the power on/off switch does not  
remove power to components. High voltage is still present.  
CAUTION  
Before touching anything inside the enclosure, move to an ESD  
station and follow proper ESD procedures. Failure to do so may  
result in electrostatic discharge, damaging the computer or its  
components. For more information, see “Protecting Against  
Electrostatic Discharge” in the Preface.  
STOP  
If your Magma expansion chassis was not purchased directly from  
Magma, you must check to ensure that it doesn’t contain any pre-  
installed PCI cards.  
Check the rear side of the chassis to see if any PCI cards are visible  
in the slots. If you see a PCI card, you should continue installation  
using instructions provided by your dealer. If no separate instructions  
are available, remove the cover by using instructions in Chapter 4  
Install Cards and Drives. Then remove the card(s) as normal. If no  
PCI card is visible, then continue with the cable installation.  
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Before you Begin  
The 500W AC power supply is auto-switching. This means that it will  
automatically switch to match whatever source power you are using.  
Since all products ship with a US/Canadian Standard 125V power cord,  
you will need to use a locally available power cord for non-US Standard  
power sources.  
Install PCI Express Host Card  
Begin the installation of your PCI Express (PCIe) host card by first  
powering down your computer. Use the procedures for shutting down  
your operating system and shutting off power to your system provided in  
your owner’s manual or system documentation.  
The PCIe host card is a “half-height” x8 PCIe card mounted to a “full-  
height” bracket as shown below:  
For low profile case applications, you may need to change the mounting  
bracket to the low profile bracket that shipped with your system. This is  
done by removing the screws that hold the card to the bracket. Be sure  
you are using proper ESD procedures when completing this action.  
Once the host computer is off and all power cords disconnected,  
remove the cover and insert the PCI Express host card into a vacant x8  
(or x16) PCIe slot by gently pushing the card until it is firmly seated.  
Then secure the card to the slot with a mounting screw.  
Notice that the PCI Express slots are located at a greater distance from  
the edge of the computer’s mother-board than are the standard PCI  
slots as illustrated in the following figure.  
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STOP  
YOU MUST ONLY INSTALL THE PCIe HOST CARD INTO A PCI  
EXPRESS SLOT.  
Only use cards WITH brackets. This will ensure that your PCIe host  
card can only be inserted into a PCIe slot. Although PCI Express  
cards without brackets may fit into conventional PCI slots, you run the  
risk of damaging the PCI Express host card if you insert it into a PCI  
slot. Please ensure that your host computer has PCI Express slots  
and install the host card only into a PCI Express slot.  
For more information on using PCIe cards, please refer to your  
computer’s user manual or system documentation.  
Attach Power and Expansion Cables  
The 3-meter iPass cable included with your Magma expansion chassis  
features a x8 connector on each side.  
Carefully position the expansion chassis so that the supplied expansion  
cable will conveniently reach from the host computer to the iPass  
connector on the back of the chassis. Then connect the x8 end of the  
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cable to the host card and the other end of the cable to the expansion  
interface card already installed in the chassis. Note: You may wish to  
verify the EIF is securely mounted in the chassis in the upstream slot.  
Connect x8 end to  
the chassis along with the power cord.  
Connect x8 end to  
the host card.  
CAUTION  
All cables attached to the expansion chassis must be securely  
fastened. When you hear a “click,” it is properly secured. If not  
securely connected, the connectors may cause intermittent or lost  
connections.  
NOTE  
If at all possible, plug all power cords from the expansion chassis  
and your host computer into a shared power strip, preferably one  
that has surge and noise suppression circuitry built into it.  
Laptop Installation (optional)  
In addition to interfacing the EB7-x8 expansion system to a PC, you can  
now add additional PCI Express slots to your laptop by installing  
Magma’s ExpressCard host and connecting it to your chassis with a  
dedicated iPass-to-TDP cable featuring an iPass interface on one side  
and a TDP interface on the other.  
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Attach one end of the PCI Express cable to the Magma ExpressCard  
module and the other end to the connector on the back of the Magma  
chassis.  
TDP side to Laptop  
iPass side to EB7-x8 Chassis  
Tighten the thumbscrews connecting the ExpressCard to the cable on  
one end and verify the other end is properly latched into the iPass  
connector of the chassis.  
In spite of the standardized design of the TDP interface, it is not  
impossible to connect the male and female connectors upside-down. In  
order to avoid that, please note the proper and improper concavity  
orientation of the connectors as shown in the two cases below:  
Picture A shows  
the correct  
orientation:  
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Picture B shows  
the Incorrect  
orientation:  
Before inserting the Magma ExpressCard, power down your laptop  
computer. Use the procedures for shutting down and powering off your  
system provided in your owner’s manual or system documentation.  
Insert the Magma ExpressCard module with the logo side up, into the  
ExpressCard slot on your computer. Gently push the card until it is  
firmly seated.  
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NOTE  
The Magma ExpressCard module can only be used in a computer  
system that contains an ExpressCard slot. It will not function in  
CardBus or PCMCIA slots.  
NOTE  
If your laptop’s ExpressCard slot is “spring-loaded”, be sure that your  
ExpressCard is inserted correctly. It is very easy for this style slot to  
partially release a card if touched slightly.  
For more information on using ExpressCard modules, please refer to  
your computer’s user manual or system documentation.  
IMPORTANT  
Due to an incompatibility issue between the chipsets used in the  
expansion system and those used by nVidia in its line of PCIe  
video cards, nVidia video cards will not function in the EB2 chassis  
if it is connected through the ExpressCard interface to the host PC.  
There is no issue interfacing with nVidia cards plugged into the  
EB2 chassis via the PCIe host card interface.  
Recheck the Installation  
Check your installation before powering up the Magma expansion  
chassis for the first time. Although the power supply has an over voltage  
protection device built into it, it may not "trip" in time to fully protect a  
device that has been improperly connected, or whose power cable has  
been damaged.  
CAUTION  
This product is provided with a power supply that automatically  
adjusts to input voltages between 100 to 240 Vac. A U.S. and  
Canadian 125 V power supply cord is provided with this product. If  
using this product outside of the U.S. or Canada, please use locally  
available power supply cords  
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Applying Power Correctly  
Starting Up:  
It is recommended that you apply power to the Magma expansion  
chassis prior to powering up your computer. This will allow the PCIe bus  
hierarchy to be in a stable state when the host system issues its master  
power-on bus reset. This will also allow the software driver to recognize  
the PCI bus hierarchy and any attached devices.  
The system’s On/Off switch is located on the front panel, as well as an  
LED indicator to indicate power status. Verify that the green power  
indicator is ON after pressing the  
button.  
Hardware Check  
As your computer starts up, you will see LINKUP lights appear on the  
back o f the chassis near the iPass connector.  
Green LINK LEDs  
0 – Connection between host and chassis has been established  
1 through 7 – PCI Express Cards have been found in respective  
slots  
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Windows Start Up  
As your Windows computer starts up, you  
will see a small message box pop-up in the  
lower-right corner of the screen to alert you  
that Windows has found new hardware.  
Now you are all set. The system does not require any Magma drivers in  
order to operate, unless you require Hot-Plug/Hot-Swap support (see  
Chapter 4 for more details).  
You may now proceed to Chapter 3 Verify Installation.  
MAC Start Up  
Apple MAC OS computers will boot up without any visible indicators that  
the Expansion System is connected. Go to Chapter 3 Verify Installation.  
Shutting Down:  
STOP  
DO NOT TURN OFF THE MAGMA EXPANSION CHASSIS UNTIL  
YOU HAVE SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPUTER COMPLETELY! It  
can cause a system lockup and loss of any unsaved data.  
When shutting your system down, it is recommended that you first shut  
down the computer correctly, and then power down the Magma  
expansion chassis to avoid ‘computer lock-up’ and potential data loss.  
Rack Installations  
Installing the Magma EB7-x8 chassis into an equipment rack has never  
been easier. Simply attach one of Magma's optional Rack-mount slide  
kits (PN: RSLIDES-XX) to allow you to mount the chassis in a computer  
rack and then simply slide the chassis in and out whenever you need to  
do work on, or in, it. These sets come in various lengths to  
accommodate various racks. Contact Magma for more information, or to  
order a set. When ordering, replace the “XX” in the part number with  
your required kit size (18, 24, 26, or 28 inches).  
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Windows  
To verify a successful installation on Windows, find the ‘My Computer’  
icon and “right-click” on it. Then select ‘Manage’ from the pop-up menu.  
Next, click on ‘Device Manager’ in the leftmost Computer Management  
window. Finally, click on the View Menu and select View Devices by  
Connection.  
Open ACPI (BIOS) Æ Open PCI BusÆ Click the ‘+’ sign several times  
until your reach a PCI Express Root Port with a PCI Standard PCI-to-  
PCI Bridge beneath it.  
When installed correctly, you will see eight PCI Bridges (ports) below  
your system’s PCIe Root port: One uplink and 7 PCI-to-PCI bridges  
designated for 3rd Party PCIe cards installed in the chassis.  
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If everything is OK, then the Magma expansion system installation is  
complete.  
If, however, the installation was unsuccessful, you may not see the PCI  
to PCI Bridge, or it will have a small yellow  
in front of it.  
Proceed to Chapter 6 for Troubleshooting installation problems.  
Mac OS X  
When using Mac OS X no additional software or drivers are needed.  
The operating system should automatically recognize the Magma host  
card and expansion chassis.  
Expansion Slot Utility  
The following screen may be displayed the first time you turn on your  
computer with the Magma EB7 installed.  
Choose OK.  
MacOS X is prompting you to choose a PCI Express profile that  
maximizes the performance of your attached devices. The Magma host  
card can communicate up to a bandwidth of x4 to and from the  
expansion chassis and devices. You should choose a profile that  
matches the configuration of all the cards installed in your Mac. Magma  
recommends that you install the system host card into a x4 slot in order  
to maximize throughput.  
In this example, the Magma host card is installed in slot 4 and appears  
as “Intel PCI-to-PCI Bridge Card”.  
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If your computer did not automatically prompt you to choose a PCI  
Express profile, you can locate this utility under System Æ Library Æ  
CoreServices Æ Expansion Slot Utility.app.  
Apple System Profiler  
When using Mac OS X no additional software or drivers are needed. As  
long as you are using Mac OS X Version 10.4 or newer, the operating  
system should automatically recognize the Magma expansion chassis.  
Select “About This Mac” under the Apple Icon  
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Then click the “More Info” button Æ click on the Devices tabÆ you  
should see a pci-bridge device listed under PCI as shown below:  
Any PCIe Cards you install in the expansion chassis will appear behind  
the pci-bridge device.  
Mac OS 10.5.x  
If any of these devices are not displayed as shown above, you should  
shut down your system (computer first, then the expansion chassis) and  
reconnect the cables and the PCIe expansion host card to ensure that  
you have a solid connection. Then restart the Magma expansion  
chassis followed by the computer. Next, try to verify the installation  
again, as shown above. If you are still having problems, contact Magma  
Technical Support at (858) 530-2511.  
RedHat 9 Linux  
Once the EB7-x8 has been installed in a RedHat9-based system, its  
installation can be verified by typing the following command lines:  
lspci –t Displays the overall structure of the PCIe expansion system  
lspci –vv Lists additional information about the PCIe switch (in our  
case it will list the Integrated Device Technology (IDT) information.  
Ispci –vvv Displays the most comprehensive information about the  
expansion system.  
Typical output from lspci –vvv is verbose, but you can dig through the  
information to find very important information. There are so many  
registers and settings associtated with PCI Express Switches.  
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For example, below is showing the Magma Chassis on Bus 7, Device 0,  
Function 0. Some information has been deleted, but notice the Link  
Supported Speed is 2.5 Gb/s, Width x8 . This is helpful to know that the  
chassis is configured for x8 PCI Express Speeds highlighted in red.  
07:00.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc.  
Unknown device 8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV-  
Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr-  
Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 64 bytes  
Device: MaxPayload 256 bytes, MaxReadReq 128 bytes  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s  
L1, Port 0  
Link: Latency L0s <512ns, L1 <4us  
Link: ASPM Disabled CommClk+ ExtSynch-  
Link: Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8  
Capabilities: [c0] Power Management version 3  
Flags: PMEClk- DSI- D1- D2- AuxCurrent=0mA  
PME(D0+,D1-,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)  
Status: D0 PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-  
Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting  
Capabilities: [200] Virtual Channel  
IMPORTANT ORDER OF PCI EXPRESS SLOTS  
The PHYSICAL PCI Express Slots 1 – 7 are not  
in order when displayed in any Operating  
Systems Device information.  
Mapping Physical Slot locations to port locations using lspci  
How do you locate your PCI Express Devices in our Magma Chassis?  
And how does that correspond to physical slot locations?  
Below is an example of 7 PCI Express Downstream Ports in our Magma  
Chassis. This output comes from lspci –vvv > info.txt. It has been  
cleaned up for this example. The Magma Chassis is located below  
under Bus 07. There are 7 downstream ports on Bus 8, each port has a  
number starting with 2, 4, … up to 14. Each port is associated with a  
physical slot number, 1 through 7. Ultimately, there is a SCSI card  
below located on port 8, port 8, corresponding to physical slot 2.  
Unfortunately, the SCSI card results from lspci do not spell out SLOT 2,  
just port 8 and that is why it is important to understand that a  
downstream port number is not the same as a physical slot number.  
The Ethernet card is on port 14, corresponding to physical slot 7.  
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Example: lspci –vvv Output  
07:00.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 0  
08:02.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 2  
Slot: Number 1, PowerLimit 0.000000  
08:04.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 4  
Slot: Number 4, PowerLimit 0.000000  
08:06.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 6  
Slot: Number 5, PowerLimit 0.000000  
08:08.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 8  
Slot: Number 2, PowerLimit 0.000000  
08:0a.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 10  
Slot: Number 3, PowerLimit 0.000000  
08:0c.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 12  
Slot: Number 6, PowerLimit 0.000000  
08:0e.0 PCI bridge: Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Unknown device  
8037 (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])  
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Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Port 14  
Slot: Number 7, PowerLimit 0.000000  
0c:00.0 SCSI storage controller: Triones Technologies, Inc. Unknown  
device 2310 (rev 02)  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x4, ASPM L0s, Port 8  
0f:00.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82571EB Gigabit Ethernet  
Controller (rev 06)  
Link: Supported Speed 2.5Gb/s, Width x4, ASPM L0s L1, Port 14  
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This chapter provides information on how to install 3rd Party PCIe cards  
or hard drives into your Magma expansion chassis. More details on the  
installation of individual cards are provided by the card’s manufacturer.  
This chapter is provided as a simple guide to help you install your PCIe  
cards, or hard drives, in the chassis.  
For the purpose of installation, the Magma expansion chassis functions  
exactly as a standard desktop computer chassis. Always follow the  
manufacturer’s instructions for installing their card or hard drive on a  
desktop computer.  
IMPORTANT  
We will provide reasonable technical support with 3rd Party PCIe  
cards or hard drives. However, if you have verified a successful  
installation of the Magma expansion system (as defined in Chapter  
3), but experience difficulty installing your 3rd Party PCIe cards or  
hard drive, the card or drive manufacturer should be able to  
provide the best support.  
Remove PCI Express Expansion Chassis Cover  
Four (4) screws retain the cover on the expansion chassis.  
Cover Screws  
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Remove all of these screws in order to open the enclosure.  
Slide the enclosure cover backward to disengage it from the guides at  
the front of the enclosure by firmly grasping the edges of the cover lip  
and pulling the cover backward about 1” until it clears the front hold-  
down, and then lift the cover off.  
Be careful to store the cover to avoid damage while you are working  
inside the chassis.  
CAUTION  
When replacing the enclosure cover, be sure that the front edge of  
the cover slides completely under the front lip of the enclosure.  
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rd  
Install 3 Party PCIe Cards or Hard Drives  
CAUTION  
When installing PCIe cards or hard drives, please ensure that the  
current ratings specified on the power supply label are not exceeded.  
Seven (7) PCIe slots  
Expansion Interface card with the x8 PCIe iPass connector  
Fan assembly with slot holders for full-length cards  
500W, 90-264V/9.0A, 47-63HZ Power Supply  
Drive bay – used to mount up to seven (7) 3.5” internal hard drives  
using 1 or 2 optional Disk Drive Cages (PN: RDRIVECAGE)  
Installing 3rd Party PCIe Cards  
When installing 3rd Party PCIe cards into the Magma expansion chassis,  
it makes no difference which PCIe slot you place your cards in. Usually  
that is determined by accessibility and heat dissipation considerations  
as may be specified by the card manufacturer.  
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Install the PCIe peripheral cards following the card manufacturer’s  
recommendations. Some PCIe card manufacturers recommend that you  
install their software driver(s) prior to installing the hardware. If this is  
the case, you should install their driver before you connect and power  
up the expansion chassis.  
Make sure that all PCIe cards are fully seated in their connectors. When  
correctly seated in its connector, you will notice a firm resistance when  
you pull up gently on the card. To keep the cards in place, secure them  
in the enclosure with their retaining screws (supplied with the Magma  
expansion chassis).  
IMPORTANT  
The sheer number of PCIe cards and device drivers available  
makes it impossible for Magma to fully test and certify all available  
PCIe cards for use in the Magma expansion chassis. Our best  
advice to you in this regard is to insist on full PCI Express  
Specification compliance from your card and system vendors.  
Cards and systems should be at least compliant with PCIe revision  
1.0 or better. Compliance in your system motherboard, PCIe  
cards, and console firmware (or BIOS) is your best assurance that  
everything will install and operate smoothly.  
Installing Hard Drives  
Installing up to four (4) hard drives into your  
chassis is simple using an optional Drive  
Cages (PN: RDRIVECAGE), available from  
MAGMA. Each cage can hold up to four (4)  
3.5” hard drives.  
The cages mount into the hard drive areas in  
the chassis identified by a  
in the previous  
graphic. Each drive will need to be connected  
to a corresponding PCIe controller residing in  
one of the 7 slots available.  
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System Should Be Up and Running  
Apply power to the Magma expansion chassis first, then power up the  
computer.  
Use the procedures detailed in Chapter 3 to confirm the card  
installation(s) in the Windows Device Manager or Apple System Profiler.  
When everything is functioning correctly, your Windows Device  
Manager should look something like this for any given slot:  
NOTE: The Physical slots do not show up in order as demonstrated  
above in Device Manager!  
If you discover that any of your 3rd Party PCIe cards contains a  
(exclamation) you have a problem with that card. Refer to Chapter 6  
Troubleshooting for further guidance.  
Finishing Touches  
After your system is working properly, replace any empty slots with slot  
covers, and replace the host computer and the expansion chassis  
covers.  
Last, if you previously installed the rack slides (PN RSLIDES-XX),  
simply insert the chassis rails into the rack rail, slide it into the rack and  
snap-lock it into position.  
“Hot-Swappable” PCIe Cards (optional)  
New technology allows you to remove your 3rd Party PCIe cards for  
maintenance or replacement – without shutting the system down.  
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For this feature to work, you need to install the Magma software  
driver. If running Windows XP, Server, or Vista go to our website  
and download the Expansion_DriverHP_2_6.exe,  
instructions on the screen. There is no hotplug support for 64 bit  
Windows, yet.  
Each of the PCIe slots is controlled by a Hot Button as seen below:  
Simply press the button corresponding to the slot you wish to “power-  
down,” hold the button for a minimum of five (5) seconds and then  
release it. The power has now been removed from that slot. All other  
PCIe cards remain fully functional, as they are independent of this slot.  
Procedure for hot-un-plugging a PCIe plug in card:  
1. Given a stable system booted with the Magma  
chassis, an applet on the right hand side of the start  
menu bar should appear depicting a card with a  
green arrow above it.  
Double click on the applet.  
2. A dialog should appear with the title “Safely Remove  
Hardware” in the dialog will be a list of devices that may be  
removed from the system. Within this list will be the cards  
currently plugged into the chassis.  
3. Select a device and click on the “Properties button”.  
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4. If the device is currently in the Magma chassis, the location will  
show “Magma chassis x slot y”. Where x identifies the physical  
chassis and y identifies the physical slot the device is plugged  
into.  
After verifying that this is the device to be removed, click  
on the OK button to close the new dialog.  
5. The properties dialog should close and the original “Safely  
Remove Hardware” dialog should remain.  
Click on the Stop button of the dialog.  
6. A dialog with the title “Stop a Hardware device” should appear.  
This device is used to confirm that the user wishes to stop this  
device.  
Click on the OK button of the new dialog.  
7. After a brief period a pop up will appear telling the user that the  
device may be removed safely, and the device will be removed  
from the list of the original dialog.  
Press the Attention button that corresponds to the slot  
where the device is located.  
Press  
and  
observe  
LED  
8. A green LED, labeled PX PwrE (where X  
corresponds to the slot number) will begin  
to flash.  
Note: If, by mistake, you’ve pressed the  
button corresponding to the wrong slot,  
immediately let go of the button and the  
LED will stop flashing and remain on,  
otherwise continue to step 9.  
9. After 5-6 seconds the LED will stop flashing  
and turn off completely.  
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Remove the card and replace it with a new one, then press  
the button again.  
Remove  
and  
replace  
PCIe card  
Ideally the PCIe card that was removed from the system will be  
replaced with an identical, working card. Replacing that card with  
one that has a different function or purpose may cause the system  
to crash due to a mismatch in the resources pre-allocated by the  
operating system.  
10. The LED should start flashing again.  
If power should not be applied to this slot, immediately  
press the button again and the LED will stop flashing and  
remain off, otherwise go to step 11.  
11. After 5-6 seconds the LED will stop flashing and remain on.  
After a brief period the new device will be recognized by  
the system, and it should be added to the list in the  
“Safely Remove Hardware” dialog  
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PCIe Expansion Solutions with the EB7-x8  
In the following section we will take a look at possible PCI Express  
expansion solutions using Magma’s EB7 chassis.  
Digi Design Pro Tools®  
Pro Tools® is a comprehensive  
solution for professional music  
editing. It offers advanced  
capabilities for recording and  
manipulation of music by controlling  
a large number of music tracks.  
This is done using at least one PCIe  
card with multiple Digital Signal  
Processor (DSP) chips onboard.  
From a system’s standpoint, the  
more PCIe cards (and hence DSP  
chips) are available, the more tracks  
can be edited and recorded digitally  
for a better final result.  
By combining the power of PCIe expansion through an EB7 system with  
multiple such PCIe cards, the same PC can record substantially more  
tracks. Additionally the same system may contain storage controllers  
(SAS/SATA/SCSI) as well as the hard drives for recording the tracks –  
all inside one box, freeing much of the PC hardware for other tasks.  
The table below shows a comparison between PCI and PCIe cards in  
terms of the number of recorded tracks.  
Sampled  
Frequency  
No. of tracks out of  
maximum possible  
Description/Notes  
192 out of 192  
Using EB7-x8 PCIe Expansion  
48KHz  
96 out of 96  
36 out of 36  
Using EB7-x8 PCIe Expansion  
Using EB7-x8 PCIe Expansion  
96KHz  
192 KHz  
144 out of 192  
96 out of 96  
13 out of 36  
Using Magma CB4 PCI Expansion  
Using Magma CB4 PCI Expansion  
Using Magma CB4 PCI Expansion  
48KHz  
96KHz  
192 KHz  
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Note that the maximum number of tracks is achieved with all PCIe cards  
inserted directly into the PC. Using the EB7 expansion chassis we note  
the difference in track counts is no larger than 20% compared to a  
scenario where all cards reside in the PC, taking up all available slots.  
Video Card expansion solutions  
Magma’s EB7 chassis can be used to add a high end PCI express video  
card to a PC system, server or laptop that was not equipped with such a  
device for various reasons: cost , physical space, heat dissipation etc.  
A question then arises as to how good  
of a performance we can get by  
utilizing the expanded PCIe bus and  
high end video card . In order to obtain  
a
definitive answer we turn to  
Futuremark’s 3DMark® benchmarking  
software. Since its introduction at the  
turn of the millennium, 3DMark® has  
become the de-facto standard in Video  
card  
performance  
testing  
and  
evaluation.  
The 3DMark® suite is optimized to  
work under Windows Vista and  
supports the latest DirectX and  
derivative 3D multimedia technologies.  
In this environment, a low-profile Dell  
PowerEdge server (with a built-in ATI  
ES1000 video chipset) was tested with  
various external PCIe video cards.  
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Since the built-in video chipset doesn’t support 3D rendering needed to  
run 3DMark® , we first established a baseline by installing an entry level  
PCIe card into an EB7 expansion chassis (Nvidia Quadro NVS440).  
All subsequent benchmarks were completed using higher performing  
video cards and documented in the table below:  
Tested Video Card  
SM2.0 Benchmark  
Score  
SM3.0 Benchmark  
Score  
148  
186  
NVidia Quadro NVS440  
301  
541  
NVidia Quadro FX560  
ATI 1650 Pro  
710  
871  
739  
778  
NVidia GeFORCE  
7600GS  
1060  
1632  
2118  
854  
1000  
1610  
2376  
764  
NVidia Quadro FX1500  
NVidia GeFORCE  
7900GS  
ATI 1900XT  
NVidia GeForce 8500GT  
NVidia 8800 Ultra  
2168  
2384  
2946  
3346  
ATI HD4850  
The comparison table shows performance improvements from 263% to  
2111% between the baseline and the highest-end video card tested (the  
NVidia GeFORCE 8800 Ultra). In other words, by expanding the PCI  
Express bus, the EB7 system was able to facilitate an ever-improving  
benchmark result limited only by the 3rd party card’s performance and  
the bandwidth limitations of the bus itself.  
For more details on the actual test methodology and an explanation of  
the benchmark figures please refer to: www.futuremark.com  
High Throughput storage solutions  
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The growing demand for storage solutions in the past few years was  
one of the major catalysts behind the exponential growth in hard drive  
capacity. Moreover, a new breed of faster and more efficient interfaces  
have emerged in order to provide higher throughput while maintaining  
the lowest possible delays in  
accessing our data.  
One such solution is ATTO  
Technology’s FC-44ES Fibre  
Channel PCIe controller. It can  
reach data transfer rates of up  
to 800MB/sec per channel when  
taking full advantage of the PCI  
Express bandwidth.  
But what if this impressive performance is still not enough to satisfy a  
bandwidth-hungry application such as a multi-dimensional database, or  
a high-definition, real time, video streaming broadcast? In that case, the  
EB7 becomes an obvious solution by allowing the user to combine up to  
7 Fibre Channel controllers into one system, which, in turn, only  
compromises a single PCIe slot out of the ones available in the host  
computer.  
Assuming we acquired the necessary hardware (controllers, the fiber  
medium and an array of high-speed storage devices) the question that  
arises is: How can we quantify the power of multiple controller cards?  
The answer lies in an open-source application, vastly popular among  
those working in the storage industry: Iometer® (see screenshot below)  
Iometer® is a software-based I/O exerciser capable to test and  
characterize stand-alone as well as clustered storage systems.  
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Developed originally by Intel as a proprietary tool, it eventually became  
part of the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) from which point it  
has undergone several revisions and updates.  
Going back to the Fibre channel host controller cards, one of the  
features that the ATTO FC-44ES supports is the creation of multiple,  
small virtual drives that can be striped by the OS for faster access. What  
that translates to is the ability of two cards to communicate amongst  
themselves at the fastest possible rate, unaffected by delays otherwise  
encountered by moving parts in an actual disk drive.  
By using this method  
combined with the  
Iometer® application,  
one can benchmark  
the  
communication  
channel and verify that  
the PCIe express link is  
utilized to its fullest  
potential.  
In the example below, a single ATTO FC-44ES card was installed into  
one of the 7 PCIe expansion slots provided by the EB7 chassis. It was  
then connected via fiber optic cables to a second FC-44ES card (set to  
simulate a fibre disk array, by using a striped set of small virtual drives ).  
Three tests were performed using Iometer. In the first, an equal amount  
of read and write threads were exercised between the two cards. The  
following two tests focused on either all-read or all-write threads. The  
test results are shown in the table below:  
I/O Test type  
Throughput [MByte/sec]  
1190.18  
50% Reads; 50% Writes  
698  
818  
100% Reads  
100% Writes  
The results show an aggregate throughput exceeding 1GByte in the  
case where reads and writes are evenly split 50-50 and a slower, more  
realistic rate when only a single type of threads was exercised.  
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Chapter 5 Modular Solutions with  
EBU  
Configuring a complete computer with EBU  
The EB7-x8 can be easily transformed into a Host Computer with  
8 slots when a Root Complex card is installed in place of the  
Expansion Interface card.Any Root Complex PCI Express form factor  
card can replace the Expansion Interface Card (EIF)  
in order to build  
your own computer. The remaining 7 PCIe slots can be populated with  
more root complex cards to build clustering systems or any combination  
of I/O and root complex PCIe cards.  
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Configuring EBU for I/O Sharing between multiple Blades or  
Other Servers  
All IO PCI-X cards in PE6R4 can be shared with multiple Blades.  
PE6R4 is Magma’s PCI-X box and can be replaced with any of  
Magma’s PCI Express expansion boxes as well, such as EB7, EB4  
EB4-1u, EB2R, EB2, etc. This can be useful in virtualization  
environments. See the figure below.  
Virtualization, Clusters, and EBU  
The EBU is ideally suited for configuring it to act as a concentrator box  
that can be used for powerful I/O Virtualization solutions. The built-in  
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ability of its chassis to allow for peer to peer communication between its  
slots as well as its ability to communicate with multiple Root Complex  
Port sources with its complementary Universal Host Adaptor product  
lends itself to very elegant and immensely cost effective I/O  
virtualization applications.  
The same fundamental approaches also allow for clustering Servers  
together using the PCI Express technology as the network fabric. This  
modular and scalable technology is unsurpassed in the industry for its  
performance potentials and ease of integration. A depiction of this  
application is illustrated in the diagram below.  
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Like all computer systems, you will need to perform some routine  
maintenance tasks. Some of these include making sure that the air  
vents in the chassis are clear of obstructions and that the cooling air  
from the fans flows freely. You will also need to check the foam filter  
behind the front panel to ensure it is clean, thus allowing for unrestricted  
air flow to the fans. You should always keep an eye on all cables to  
make sure they are not damaged and are securely connected.  
Occasionally, you should remove the chassis cover and check for loose  
cards, and remove any dust build-up.  
Always remember to power down your computer and the expansion  
system BEFORE you attempt to perform any maintenance tasks.  
General Chassis Cleaning  
The environment where your Magma chassis is operating should be the  
determining factor as to how often you should perform a general  
cleanup of the chassis. To perform a routine general cleaning of your  
chassis, you will need the following:  
1. Can of compressed air (proper distance, 6 inches)  
2. Cotton Swabs  
3. Isopropyl (alcohol)  
4. Anti static wipes  
5. Warm water (for filter)  
6. Dish soap (for filter)  
Do not use a vacuum because vacuums create ESD.  
First, remove the four cover screws with and the top chassis cover:  
Cover Screws  
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Next, use a can of compressed air from your local computer store to  
blow out any dust that may have accumulated in the chassis fans.  
Be sure to keep the can of compressed air about six inches from the  
parts being sprayed with air. Pay particular attention to the fans in the  
chassis  
and power supply  
because they are critical to air  
movement and to keeping your chassis cool. Also spray the PCIe slots  
on the backplane, and the chassis bay areas . If you have  
mounted hard drive cages in one or both of these areas, be sure to  
check for dust that can collect in the space between the drives.  
Next, you can use anti static wipes to wipe down any open areas inside  
and outside of the chassis to remove any remaining dust or dirt. If you  
have dust or dirt remaining in any “hard to reach area”, such as corners  
of a fan blade, you can use the cotton swabs, dipped in the isopropyl  
(alcohol), to gently rub the area clean.  
Lastly, if the chassis was extremely dirty, you can remove any installed  
3rd Party cards and wipe the PCIe slots with a soft bristle brush (like a  
toothbrush), dipped in the isopropyl (alcohol), to gently clean each slot.  
When finished, blow the slots with compressed air from about six inches  
away until dry.  
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If your chassis is extremely dirty and you would like professional  
help with getting it clean, you can contact Magma Support for  
instructions and costs on shipping the chassis back for cleaning.  
Finally, clean the air filter following the instructions later in this chapter.  
When finished, replace the cover and turn on power to the system.  
“Hot-Swappable” Power Supply (Optional)  
In spite of regular performance of routine maintenance tasks, some  
computer systems can experience hardware failures. Fortunately, your  
investment in a Magma Expansion system with a redundant power  
supply provides you with the ability to easily replace a power module in  
the event of a failure.  
The redundant power supply includes two hot-swappable modules that  
share the power load requirements during normal operations. Should  
one module fail for any reason, the power load will be shifted to the  
other module and sound an audible alarm.  
If a power supply fails, an alarm will sound to alert you of the problem.  
Press the square red button adjacent to the power supply to stop the  
audible alert.  
To replace a failed power supply, simply grab the handle, press down  
on the release lever at the top of the module, and pull. Replace the  
failed module with a new one and turn on the power to the module using  
the power switch at the bottom of the module. The power load will again  
be shared between these two modules.  
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In order to ensure the safety and efficiency of your expansion  
system, it is recommended that you keep a spare power supply  
module on hand – just in case. Protect yourself, keep a spare.  
Order your spare power supply module from Magma – PN 40-  
00005-03.  
Cleaning the Air Filter  
The chassis is equipped with an air filter that is easy to remove and  
clean. To keep your chassis running at its coolest, you should clean this  
filter regularly. How often the filter requires cleaning depends on  
environmental conditions where your Magma Expansion chassis is  
located. To clean this filter, follow these simple steps.  
First, power down the chassis and then remove the four screws on the  
front panel with a Phillips screwdriver.  
Next, open the faceplate and remove the foam filter, located behind the  
faceplate, and clean it with a solution of warm water and mild dish soap.  
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Finally, replace the filter and faceplate. Secure faceplate with four  
Phillips screws. Tighten screws until snug. Turn on power to the  
chassis.  
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Locate the Problem  
If you are having trouble with the Magma expansion system, verify that  
all cards are seated properly and all cables are connected properly. Be  
sure you followed the instructions in earlier sections of this User Guide.  
Always remember to power On and Off correctly when rechecking and  
testing your installation. If you are still having problems, try these simple  
troubleshooting steps.  
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
My Computer Can’t Find the PCIe Expansion System  
When Nothing Works  
My PCIe Card Doesn’t Work  
The Magma PCIe Expansion System is correctly displayed as a “PCI  
standard PCI-to-PCI bridge” (Windows Device Manager) and as a  
“pci-bridge” (MAC Apple System Profiler). When connected and  
functioning correctly, this Expansion System will be displayed as  
follows:  
Windows  
MAC  
If this is not what you see when you verify your installation, the following  
troubleshooting steps may help you locate and resolve your installation  
issues without having to call Technical Support.  
My Computer Can’t Find the PCIe Expansion System  
If the expansion system is not visible in your Windows Device Manager  
or your Apple System Profiler at all, you will need to turn off your  
computer (first) and then the Magma expansion chassis (second) and  
test all cords and cables to ensure you have everything connected  
correctly. If everything seems to be connected correctly, and you are  
sure you have applied power correctly (power up the expansion chassis  
first and then the computer), then try the following troubleshooting  
steps:  
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Double-check that the PCIe host card is seated correctly in the  
right PCIe slot. Note that a physical x16 slot (in length) can  
electrically be connected as x8 or less. Therefore it is important  
to consult your motherboard’s user manual to verify the actual  
bandwidth supported by the slot.  
Check the DIP switch settings on the Magma Host Card:  
The DIP switch must be set to the x8 position as shown in  
the above photo for the chassis to work correctly, since the  
EB7-x8 system supports PCIe bandwidths up to x8.  
ƒ
ƒ
Try moving the PCIe host card to a different PCIe slot.  
Verify that all required link lights on the back of the chassis are lit.  
All LEDs should be ON if all 7 slots are populated with PCI  
Express cards. The topmost LED on the left, labeled ‘0’ illustrates  
a good uplink connection between the chassis and the host  
machine. The rest of the LEDs light up depending on the  
populated slot number. In case LED ‘0’ is OFF, check the cable  
and verify it is properly connected. Also verify the Magma PCI  
Express Host card is properly inserted into the host computer  
slot. In case any other LED is off, ensure the respective card is  
functional and properly seated in its ExpressBox slot.  
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If the expansion system is still not visible after trying all of the  
above steps, go to Chapter 7 to get additional help.  
Windows  
If the PCI-to-PCI Bridge is now visible, but contains a  
in front of it, it has a problem that must be fixed.  
(exclamation)  
and select  
To identify this problem, right-click on the line with the  
“Properties” from the pop-up menu.  
Resolve the identified problem or go to Chapter 7 to get additional help.  
MAC  
Go to Chapter 7 to get additional help.  
RedHat9 Linux  
Go to Chapter 7 to get additional help.  
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When Nothing Works  
The following troubleshooting steps will help you when the computer or  
chassis won’t turn on or “nothing seems to work” correctly:  
If it powers up OK, but nothing works, check the computer’s Device  
Manager or System Profiler to see if the expansion system has been  
found. If not found, try the troubleshooting steps for My Computer Can’t  
Find the PCIe Expansion System. If the expansion system is visible, but  
has a problem, try to resolve the problem (See Note above). If that fails,  
go to Chapter 7 to get additional help.  
NOTE  
Review Chapters 3 (Verify Installation) and  
4 (Install Cards and Drives) as necessary  
to verify that you have a valid installation of  
the Magma expansion system and that you  
have correctly installed your 3rd Party PCIe  
card(s) and their associated drivers (as  
required).  
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My Computer Hangs During Power Up  
If your computer “hangs” while being turned on and you can’t even start,  
follow the following steps to try to fix this problem:  
1. Shut off the computer (first) and then the Magma expansion  
system and verify that all cards and cables are connected and  
seated correctly. Reapply power first to the expansion system  
and then to the computer.  
2. If it still hangs and you have added one or more hard drives in  
addition to several PCIe cards, ensure that you have not  
exceeded the power capabilities of the expansion system‘s  
power supply. You can verify the capacity of your power supply  
by checking the label on the power supply. If you are not  
certain about the power consumption of your peripherals, it is  
best to remove them one by one (starting with those you  
suspect of being most “power hungry”) until the system powers  
up.  
3. If you have removed all 3rd Party PCIe cards from the Magma  
chassis and it still hangs, try the following:  
a. Remove the Magma PCIe expansion host card from the  
computer and try booting up without the Magma  
expansion system attached.  
i.  
If it boots up OK without the Magma expansion  
system attached, call Magma Technical Support.  
ii.  
If it still hangs, the problem is in the computer and not  
with the Magma expansion system or the 3rd Party  
PCIe cards.  
b. If it boots up OK without any 3rd Party PCIe cards installed,  
try adding only one card and see if it boots up.  
i.  
If it boots up OK with one card in it, shut it down (in  
the proper order, of course) and swap cards. Repeat  
this until all cards have been tested. If they all test  
OK, then add them back one at a time until you find  
the combination that doesn’t work, or you are running  
fine. If you find a bad card, call Technical Support. If  
you don’t – congratulations, you fixed it!  
ii.  
If it still hangs up, try a different card – this one is  
probably bad (or has driver problems). If the second  
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cards works, troubleshoot the first card. If the second  
card also fails, call Technical Support.  
My PCIe Card Doesn’t Work  
The following flowchart describes a general approach to resolve PCIe  
card issues:  
PCIe card  
doesn’t work  
Reinstall  
drivers and  
re-check  
No  
Are drivers  
required ?  
Yes  
functionality  
Check error  
codes or try a  
different slot  
Did it fix  
the  
problem?  
No  
Yes  
Did it fix  
the  
Yes  
Congratulations!  
problem?  
No  
Is it a 3rd  
party PCIe  
card?  
No  
Call Magma Tech  
Support at:  
Call the Card  
manufacturer’s  
858-5302511  
tech support line  
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M A G M A  
The following additional steps might also help when the above  
troubleshooting steps fail to resolve your problem:  
1. Shut down the computer followed by the Magma expansion  
chassis  
2. Remove the PCIe card displaying a problem  
3. Replace the “problem card” with a simple PCIe card, such as  
an Ethernet card that has drivers built into the operating  
system. (Using this “type of card” will avoid any future  
questions about drivers possibly being installed incorrectly.)  
4. Turn on the Magma expansion chassis, and then turn on the  
computer.  
Windows  
5. Next, open the Device Manager (View by Connection  
selection).  
If the  
is gone, the problem is with the 3rd Party PCIe card  
or the card drivers. You should go to the Windows Error Codes  
section of this chapter to learn how to troubleshoot using error  
codes.  
If the  
is still visible, the problem may be with the Magma  
expansion system. Please contact Magma Technical Support  
for further guidance and/or a replacement product.  
MAC  
5. Next, open the Apple System Profiler and the 3rd Party PCIe  
card(s) should now be visible.  
RedHat9 Linux  
5. Using the lspci command, verify that the PCIe card is visible.  
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Support for 3rd Party PCIe Cards  
Magma will provide reasonable technical support to with 3rd Party PCIe  
cards. However, if you have verified a successful installation of the  
Magma PCIe Expansion System (as defined in Chapter 4), but  
experience difficulty installing your 3rd Party PCIe cards, the card  
manufacturer should be able to provide the best support.  
IMPORTANT  
The Magma PCIe Expansion System is designed to function  
exactly like your desktop computer. This means that you should  
follow the card maker’s instructions for installation on a Windows  
or Mac computer as if the expansion chassis WAS the desktop  
computer. When correctly installed, there is no difference to the  
operating system, removable cards, or most software.  
Windows Error Codes  
If you are having a problem with one of your devices, and the Device  
status box shows a Windows Error Code, refer to the following list of  
error codes for guidance:  
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Error Code  
Description/Action  
This code indicates that there is a problem with the 3rd  
Party PCIe Card driver.  
10  
If necessary, contact the card’s manufacturer for updated  
software drivers. If all else fails, contact Magma Technical  
Support for further assistance.  
On the Bridge: If you receive error code 12 on the first PCI to  
PCI Bridge, call Magma Technical Support.  
12  
On the Card: This usually means the memory, I/O, or prefetch  
is more than has been allocated. Call Magma Technical  
Support.  
Error Code  
Description/Action  
The driver for the PCIe card is not installed on your system.  
Reinstall the card driver following the manufacturer’s  
instructions. If that fails to fix the problem, call the card  
manufacturer for new drivers.  
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The PCIe host card or expansion chassis are not working  
correctly. Reinstall the PCIe host card into the computer’s slot  
and recheck all cable connections. If the error code remains,  
try another PCIe slot. If the error persists, call Magma  
Technical Support.  
1
For all other error codes, call:  
On the PCI to PCI Bridge: Magma Technical Support  
Other Codes  
On the Card: Card Manufacturer’s Technical Support, after  
first verifying that the Magma expansion system is installed  
properly.  
If you are still having problems, contact Magma Technical Support for  
more help.  
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  
You can visit the Magma Technical Support FAQ pages on the Internet  
at:  
Contacting Technical Support  
Our support department can be reached by fax at (858) 530-2733 or by  
phone at (858) 530-2511. Support is available Monday through Friday,  
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PT. When contacting Magma Technical Support,  
please be sure to include the following information:  
1) Name  
7) Serial Number  
2) Company Name  
3) Phone Number  
4) Fax Number  
5) Email Address  
6) Model Number  
8) Computer Make  
9) Computer Model  
10) Operating System and Version  
11) Make/Model of PCI cards in expansion chassis  
12) Detailed description of the problem  
You can also visit our web site at:  
For a quick response, use the Technical Support and RMA Request  
Form available in the Support Section of the website. Simply complete  
the form with all required information. Please make sure that your  
problem description is sufficiently detailed to help us understand your  
problem.  
For example: Don’t say “Won’t boot up.” Do say “Tried all the  
steps in the Troubleshooting Section and it still won’t boot up.”  
For faster diagnosis of your problem, please run the two utility programs  
described in the following sections and include the diagnostic files they  
generate with your email.  
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Magma Debug Utility  
Occasionally, Technical Support may request Windows users to  
produce and email a Magma debug log file to help them resolve your  
problem. This file should be included as an attachment when submitting  
a Technical Support request at www.magma.com/support. You can  
download  
Magnostic.exe  
from  
the  
following  
location:  
Magnostic.exe utility.  
1. once installed, under the Start Menu, go to Mission  
Technologies->Expansion->Magnostic.exe.  
2. Run Magnostic.exe  
3. Save the file and include it as an attachment when submitting a  
Technical Support request.  
4. E-mail file to forums@magma.com  
Include your Name and  
the Date the log was  
created in the file  
name. Then email it to  
Technical Support.  
Use the “Save as type” drop-down arrow to select a file type of (*.LOG).  
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PCIScope Software Utility  
PCIScope is a powerful tool for Windows users. It was designed by a  
Germany company called APSoft. This software utility is a valuable  
resource to explore, examine and debug the PCI subsystem of your  
computer. It was made to fit the requirements of the most demanding  
users, especially engineers, programmers, and system administrators,  
and to integrate all advanced functions and tools into one product.  
Please visit www.tssc.de for more information about the capabilities of  
PCIScope and other utilities offered by APSoft.  
An evaluation version of PCIScope is available for download at  
www.tssc.de. (You can purchase an inexpensive license from APSoft  
for use beyond the evaluation period.)  
PCIScope has proven to be extremely useful when verifying and  
debugging configurations involving the Magma PCI Expansion Systems  
under any Windows platform.  
PCIScope can provide information to you and our Technical Support  
Group such as PCI Bus Numbering, Resource Allocation, and other  
information that may prove useful when debugging expansion chassis  
or PCI card problems.  
If you are experiencing problems setting up your system, you should run  
PCIScope before contacting the Magma Technical Support Group.  
With the Magma expansion chassis powered up and connected to your  
computer, load and launch the PCIScope application. The PCIScope  
Program will be installed on your computer and a window similar to the  
one shown below will appear. (The example was taken from a Compaq  
Armada 7400)  
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You should save this data as a file on your computer. Please include  
your name and date as part of the file name with an extension of “.bpd.”  
This file should be included as an attachment when submitting a  
Technical Support request at www.magma.com/support.  
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Returning Merchandise to MAGMA  
If factory service is required, a Service Representative will give you a  
Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. Put this number and  
your return address on the shipping label when you return the item(s)  
for service. Magma will return any product that is not accompanied  
by an RMA number. Please note that Magma WILL NOT accept COD  
packages, so be sure to return the product freight and duties-paid.  
Ship the well-packaged product to the address below:  
MAGMA RETURNS DEPT.  
RMA # ________  
9918 Via Pasar  
San Diego, CA 92126  
USA  
It is not required, though highly recommended, that you keep the  
packaging from the original shipment of your Magma product. However,  
if you return a product to Magma for warranty repair/ replacement or  
take advantage of the 30-day money back guarantee, you will need to  
package the product in a manner similar to the manner in which it was  
received from our plant. Magma cannot be responsible for any physical  
damage to the product or component pieces of the product (such as the  
host or expansion interfaces for the PCIe expansion chassis) that are  
damaged due to inadequate packing. Physical damage sustained in  
such a situation will be repaired at the owner’s expense in accordance  
with Out of Warranty Procedures. Please, protect your investment, a bit  
more padding in a good box will go a long way to insuring the device is  
returned to use in the same condition you shipped it in. Please call for  
an RMA number first.  
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Multiple PCIe Expansion System Configurations  
The PCI Express Local Bus Specification defines the bus as  
hierarchical, where logical PCI to PCI Bridges (PPBs) may be used to  
add "levels" to the PCI bus hierarchy within a PCIe switch. Because  
hierarchies are organized systems arranged into different levels, you  
can take advantage of this automatic organizing and layering to expand  
the number of available PCIe slots beyond the number available in your  
computer’s motherboard.  
You can easily add two or more Magma expansion systems to your  
current system in either a "fan-out" or "daisy-chain" configuration. Each  
of these configurations has advantages and uses. To determine which  
type of configuration you wish to use, you should first understand a few  
basic facts:  
1. In a desktop computer, the BIOS enumerates automatically  
behind logical PCI bridges. In the Magma configuration, the  
BIOS looks beyond the Host card to find any PCIe cards  
installed in the expansion chassis behind a PCIe switch. The  
PCIe switch, in turn, emulates logical PRBs. The BIOS can  
then configure the cards and allocate resources. Empty PCIe  
slots are ignored during configuration.  
In theory, your computer “should” be able to travel across up to  
255 PCIe buses to identify and configure all installed PCIe  
cards. The 255 PCI bus limit is actually a theoretical maximum.  
The practical limit is somewhat lower and differs from one  
system to another, but should still be a fairly large number.  
In a desktop computer the bus numbers tend to be lower (0, 1,  
2, etc.). Once the BIOS is finished configuring everything and  
assigning resources, the Operating System starts loading and  
activates the PCIe cards found.  
When adding more Expansion Systems to an existing system,  
be sure to connect and test them “one-at-a-time.” This will allow  
you to quickly resolve any connectivity, or other, issues right at  
the start. DO NOT INSTALL any 3rd Party PCIe cards into any  
system until ALL attached systems are working correctly.  
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2. Most computers allow multiple logical bridges (and thus PCIe  
buses) to be correctly configured. Some computers,  
unfortunately, place an arbitrary limit on the number of bridge  
levels that can be traveled during power-on configuration. Your  
computer “power-on-software” should be compliant with the  
PCIe bus specification 1.1 in order to effectively use a Magma  
PCIe Expansion System. For "fan-out" and "daisy chained"  
system configurations, where more than one PCIe expansion  
system is being used, you should count all of the logical bridge  
levels to your most deeply nested PCI bus to determine the  
maximum number of bridge levels that must be traveled.  
Exceeding this number may cause software configuration  
conflicts even though hardware-wise the PCIe system is  
properly configured.  
3. For easier understanding, a given PCI system should be  
viewed as a “Resource Toll road” that runs from the computer  
CPU (resource home), through the “Toll Booths” (the PCIe  
switches and logical PCI bridges), to the “Resource Users”  
(PCIe Cards). As in the case of a real Toll Road, the more Toll  
Booths you have to cross (even if it takes a nanosecond), the  
longer it will take you (your data) to get from the PCIe Card to  
the CPU and back again. Under most circumstances the effect  
cannot even be detected. However, under other conditions, it  
can be important to know about.  
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Fan-Out  
For reasons described in bullet #3 above, we recommend using a fan-  
out configuration when you need to add successive PCIe expansion  
systems to the host computer. This addition to the PCI bus hierarchy is  
at the "peer" level of other existing expansion buses, thus adding  
"breadth" to the PCI bus hierarchy, since these buses will be at the  
same hierarchical level within the system configuration.  
You must ensure that you have the corresponding PCIe to PCIe  
Expansion System, or chassis to connect with your host card to  
support your desired configuration.  
In this configuration, you have fewer “Toll Booths” to pass through;  
therefore the latency is shorter, however you’ve “sacrificed” another  
PCIe slot from the host computer, which may not always be an option.  
For clarification, it is necessary to understand that the amount  
of latency caused by a PCIe switch (or a PCIe-to-PCI bridge  
built into some 3rd Party PCIe cards) is negligible  
(“nanoseconds”) and will not produce any visible effect on most  
systems. It is only mentioned here because of certain  
specialized configurations involving unique PCIe cards with  
special software drivers. The total number of logical buses that  
the data must pass through COULD make a difference. See  
Chapter 6 Troubleshooting for more information if you suspect  
this could be an issue with one of your specialty PCIe cards.  
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Verify your configuration  
Before you start installing your PCIe cards (refer to Chapter 4 Install  
Cards and Drives for more information), you should confirm that  
everything is in proper working order. Refer to Chapter 3 Verify  
Installation for guidance in verifying the proper installation of your  
Expansion System. For example, the following image shows the  
division within the Windows Device Manager display between two  
Expansion Systems connected in a “Fan-Out” configuration. In this case  
each expansion chassis offers only two slots of expansion.  
The following image shows the Apple Profiler display when a MAC has  
2 Expansion Systems connected in a “Fan-Out” configuration  
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Daisy-Chaining  
Recognizing the typical insignificance of the performance variance  
between the “Fan-Out” and “Daisy-Chaining” configurations, the primary  
reason for using this one would be limitations on physical space. This  
could be the number of available slots on the host computer  
motherboard, or a lack of desk or rack space.  
In the daisy-chain configuration, successive PCIe expansion systems  
are added to the "end" of the PCIe expansion hierarchy, which adds  
"depth" to the Local Bus by increasing the number of the logical PCI  
levels active in the system configuration.  
Verify your configuration  
Before you start installing your PCI cards (refer to Chapter 4 Install  
Cards and Drives for more information), you should confirm that  
everything is in proper working order. Refer to Chapter 3 Verify  
Installation for guidance in verifying the proper installation of your  
Expansion System.  
NOTE  
Notice that each Daisy-Chained unit appears in the Device Manager  
in the reverse order of its place in the configuration.  
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Combination Configurations  
Depending on your business requirements, and your physical space  
limitations, you can add additional Expansion System in multiple  
configurations, such as these. These combinations are only limited by  
the availability of PCIe slots (both in the host and in subsequent  
chasses).  
Fan-Out Daisy-Chain Combination Configuration  
W orkstation  
Daisy-Chain Fan-Out Com bination Configuration  
W orkstation  
Obviously, you will need to keep an eye on your overall system’s  
performance and make any required adjustments in an incremental  
manner such that the end result is a robust expansion solution.  
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PCI e Card Conflicts  
If you determine that one PCIe card is interfering with the operation of  
another card, first try reorganizing the cards on the motherboard.  
Moving the cards around can change the order in which the cards are  
configured by the system during power-on. This will go a long way  
toward resolving module conflicts.  
Power-On Sequence for Advanced Configurations  
As previously stated in Chapter 2 Hardware Installation, it remains  
necessary to power up ALL Expansions Systems BEFORE you turn on  
the computer. This will ensure that your power-on software can read all  
available buses and properly configure all installed PCIe cards.  
Obviously, the reverse also remains true for shutting your system down.  
The computer must be shut off BEFORE you attempt to turn off your  
Expansion System(s).  
Troubleshooting Advanced Configurations  
When trying to troubleshoot problems with PCIe cards in a multiple  
expansion system configurations, it is vital to correctly determine the  
nature of the problem. Therefore, the first task is to identify the card or  
chassis having a problem by using the Windows Device Manager, or  
Apple System Profiler. Refer to the first part of this Appendix for more  
information on identifying hierarchical levels in multiple expansion  
system configurations.  
Problems with 3rd Party PCIe cards might only be traceable once you  
have identified the expansion system containing the problem card.  
Below is a flow chart offering a troubleshooting approach when multiple  
expansion chasses are involved:  
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Finding the Problem Card  
Windows  
If you need help to determine which PCIe card, or which expansion  
chassis, has the problem, you can “right-click” on the card with the  
and check the information contained in the “Location:” field.  
Look for the “Error Code” in the box in the center of the Properties  
Window and then go to the Windows Error Code section for information  
on how to resolve this issue.  
MAC and Linux  
If you have already reinstalled and reseated everything according to  
instructions in Chapter 2, and the PCI to PCI Bridge is still not visible in  
the Apple System Profiler, call Magma Technical Support.  
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FCC /CE /UL  
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a  
Class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are  
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the  
equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates,  
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in  
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio  
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to  
cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the  
interference at his own expense.  
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the  
following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and  
(2) this device must accept any interference received including interference that  
may cause undesired operation.  
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for  
compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.  
NOTE  
The assembler of a personal computer system may be required to  
test the system and/or make necessary modifications if a system is  
found to cause harmful interferences or to be noncompliant with the  
appropriate standards for its intended use.  
Industry Canada  
This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian  
ICES-003. Cet appareil numériqué de la classe A est  
conformé à la norme NMB-003 du Canada  
CE  
The product(s) described in this manual complies with all applicable  
European Union (CE) directives. Magma will not retest or recertify  
systems or components that have been reconfigured by customers.  
UL  
EB7-x8 is UL Listed under the file number E211209  
64  
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M A G M A  
500Watt Power Supply Specifications  
AC INPUT  
Operating Range:  
90-264 VAC .99 power factor  
Frequency:  
Current:  
Efficiency:  
EMI:  
47-63Hz  
9A  
82%  
FCC-B, CE  
DC OUTPUT  
Output:  
+5V @ 24A  
+12V@ 35A  
-12V @ 0.8A  
+3.3V @ 24A  
+5VSB @ 2.5A  
continuous power = 500W  
peak power = 550W  
Regulation:  
5% (+3.3V, +5V, +12V)  
10% (-12V)  
Ripple:  
Hold Time:  
PG Delay:  
1% (p-p)  
16ms  
300ms  
SAFETY  
OV Protection:  
OC Protection:  
Agency Approval:  
+3.3V, +5V, +12V  
135%  
UL/ULC/CE/CB/RoHS  
ENVIRONMENTAL  
65  
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Temperature:  
Humidity:  
Fan Type:  
Noise:  
0° - 40°C  
10% - 90% RH  
22 - 34 CFM ball-bearing  
20 - 35dB(A)  
MISCELLANEOUS  
Compatibility:  
ATX12V (2.2), EPS12V  
20/24-pin, 8-pin, 4-pin, 6-pin  
PCI-E, 6/8-pin PCI-E  
13 (6 SATA, 1 mini)  
100,000 hrs  
M/B Connectors:  
Drive Connectors:  
MTBF:  
Warranty:  
5 Years  
66  
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M A G M A  
09-09917-01- A Manual, USER, EB7-x8, ROHS  
Magma  
9918 Via Pasar, San Diego, CA 92126, USA  
Phone (858) 530-2511 • Fax (858) 530-2733  
67  
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