This guide provides an overview of the architecture, general operation and descriptions of the major components that compose the SGI® Altix® integrated compute environment (ICE) 8400 series blade systems. It also provides the standard procedures for powering on and powering off the system, basic troubleshooting information, and important safety and regulatory specifications.
This guide is written for owners, system administrators, and users of SGI Altix ICE 8400 series computer systems.
It is written with the assumption that the reader has a good working knowledge of computers and computer systems.
 | Warning: To avoid problems that could void your warranty, your SGI or other approved system support engineer (SSE) should perform all the setup, addition, or replacement of parts, cabling, and service of your SGI Altix ICE 8400 series system, with the exception of the following items that you can perform yourself: |
Using your system console or network access workstation to enter commands and perform system functions such as powering on and powering off, as described in this guide.
Adding and replacing disk drives used with your system and using the ESI/ops panel (operating panel) on optional mass storage.
The following topics are covered in this guide:
Chapter 1, “Operation Procedures”, provides instructions for powering on and powering off your system.
Chapter 2, “System Management”, describes the function of the chassis management controllers (CMC) and provides overview instructions for operating the controllers.
Chapter 3, “System Overview”, provides environmental and technical information needed to properly set up and configure the blade systems.
Chapter 4, “Rack Information”, describes the system's rack features.
Chapter 5, “ICE Administration/Leader Servers” describes all the controls, connectors and LEDs located on the front of the stand-alone administrative, rack leader and other support server nodes. An outline of the server functions is also provided.
Chapter 6, “Basic Troubleshooting”, provides recommended actions if problems occur on your system.
Appendix A, “Technical Specifications and Pinouts” provides physical, environmental, and power specifications for your system. Also included are the pinouts for the non-proprietary connectors.
Appendix B, “Safety Information and Regulatory Specifications” lists regulatory information related to use of the blade cluster system in the United States and other countries. It also provides a list of safety instructions to follow when installing, operating, or servicing the product.
The following documents are relevant to and can be used with the Altix ICE 8400 series of computer systems:
SGI Altix XE270 User's Guide, (P/N 007-5535-00x)
This guide covers general operation, configuration, and servicing of the 2U Altix XE270 server node(s) used in the SGI Altix ICE 8400 system. The Altix XE270 is used as the default administrative server on the Altix ICE 8400 system. Additionally, an XE270 can also be used as a service node for login, batch, or other service node purposes. Note that the Altix XE270 is externally similar to the older XE250 service node used in the Altix ICE 8200 series; however, the internal mother board is significantly different and the two units are not interchangeable.
SuperServer 6016T-URF User's Manual, (P/N 860-0498-00x)
This guide discuses the use, maintenance and operation of the 1U server primarily used as the system's rack leader controller (RLC) server node. This stand-alone 1U compute node may also be ordered configured as a login, or batch server, or other type of support server used with the Altix ICE 8400 series of computer systems.
SGI Altix XE500 System User's Guide, (P/N 007-5572-00x)
This user's guide covers general operation, configuration, and servicing of the optional 3U-high Altix XE500 service node(s) used in the SGI Altix ICE 8400 series. The Altix XE500 is not used as the administrative server or rack leader controller. The 3U-system may be used as a general service node for login or batch services or more specifically as a graphics interface for the larger ICE system. The Altix XE500 may also be used as an I/O gateway, or a mass storage resource.
SGI Altix UV 10 System User's Guide, (P/N 007-5645-00x)
This user's guide covers general operation, configuration, troubleshooting and a description of major components of the optional 4U-high Altix UV 10 multi-node service unit used in SGI Altix ICE 8400 systems. The Altix UV 10 cannot be used as an administrative server or rack leader controller. Uses for the system include configuration as an I/O gateway, a mass storage resource, a general service node for login or batch services or some combination of the previous functions.
SGI Tempo System Administrator's Guide, (P/N 007-4993-00x)
This guide discuses system configuration and software administration operations used with the SGI Altix ICE 8400 series. At time of publication, this document is intended for people who manage the operation of ICE systems with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (SLES 11) or later.
Guide to Programming Environments and Tools Available on SGI Altix XE Systems
(P/N 007-4901-00x)
This guide describes how to use the software tools run with SGI ProPack for Linux operating systems on Altix XE systems. It explains how to perform general system configuration and operations and describes programming environments and tools available.
Man pages (online)
Man pages locate and print the titled entries from the online reference manuals.
You can obtain SGI documentation, release notes, or man pages in the following ways:
See the SGI Technical Publications Library at http://docs.sgi.com .
Various formats are available. This library contains the most recent and most comprehensive set of online books, release notes, man pages, and other information.The release notes, which contain the latest information about software and documentation in this release, are in a file named README.SGI in the root directory of the SGI ProPack for Linux Documentation CD.
You can also view man pages by typing man <title> on a command line.
SGI systems include a set of Linux man pages, formatted in the standard UNIX “man page” style. Important system configuration files and commands are documented on man pages. These are found online on the internal system disk (or DVD) and are displayed using the man command. For example, to display a man page, type the request on a command line:
man commandx |
References in the documentation to these pages include the name of the command and the section number in which the command is found. For additional information about displaying man pages using the man command, see man(1). In addition, the apropos command locates man pages based on keywords. For example, to display a list of man pages that describe disks, type the following on a command line:
apropos disk |
The following conventions are used throughout this document:
Convention | Meaning |
Command | This fixed-space font denotes literal items such as commands, files, routines, path names, signals, messages, and programming language structures. |
variable | The italic typeface denotes variable entries and words or concepts being defined. Italic typeface is also used for book titles. |
user input | This bold fixed-space font denotes literal items that the user enters in interactive sessions. Output is shown in nonbold, fixed-space font. |
[ ] | Brackets enclose optional portions of a command or directive line. |
... | Ellipses indicate that a preceding element can be repeated. |
man page(x) | Man page section identifiers appear in parentheses after man page names. |
GUI element | This font denotes the names of graphical user interface (GUI) elements such as windows, screens, dialog boxes, menus, toolbars, icons, buttons, boxes, fields, and lists. |
SGI provides a comprehensive product support and maintenance program for its products, as follows:
If you are in North America, contact the Technical Assistance Center at
+1 800 800 4SGI or contact your authorized service provider.If you are outside North America, contact the SGI subsidiary or authorized distributor in your country. International customers can visit http://www.sgi.com/support/
Click on the “Support Centers” link under the “Online Support” heading for information on how to contact your nearest SGI customer support center.
If you have comments about the technical accuracy, content, or organization of this document, contact SGI. Be sure to include the title and document number of the manual with your comments. (Online, the document number is located in the front matter of the manual. In printed manuals, the document number is located at the bottom of each page.)
You can contact SGI in any of the following ways:
Send e-mail to the following address: techpubs@sgi.com
Contact your customer service representative and ask that an incident be filed in the SGI incident tracking system.
Send mail to the following address:
Technical Publications
SGI
46600 Landing Parkway
Fremont, California 94538
SGI values your comments and will respond to them promptly.