• HP 9000 rp8420 Server chassis supports up to four internal low-profile hot-plug disk drives in three capacities.
• Two UltraSCSI controllers provide each disk drive with an independent SCSI channel
• Supported by MirrorDisk/UX across disk drives, controllers, and Core I/O boards
• Must order two Core I/O cards to support more than two internal disk drives

• HP 9000 rp8420 Server contains two removable media bays, which will support either a DVD-ROM or DDS-4 DAT drive. Removable media drives are not hot-plug capable.
• DVD-ROM drive provides enhanced features while preserving backward read compatibility with CD-ROM. Data transfer rates of up to 6.75 MB/s are achieved with the DVD format; 4.8 MB/s can be achieved with the CD format.
• DDS-4 drive has a maximum storage capacity of 40 GB with a peak transfer rate of 21.6 GB/hour compressed.
• Must order two Core I/O cards to enable more than one Internal Media device.

Additional I/O resources can be obtained by adding the HP Server Expansion Unit (SEU). The SEU is an add on chassis containing I/O resources that complement the I/O and partitioning capabilities within the HP 9000 rp8420 Server. The SEU mirrors the I/O resources embedded within the HP 9000 rp8420 Server chassis, adding 16 PCI X I/O card slots, 4 disk bays, 2 removable media slots, and enabling 2 additional hard partitions in the server.

The SEU must be installed in the same cabinet and directly above the host HP 9000 rp8420 Server for factory racked installations. For field installations, the SEU can be installed in an adjacent rack at the same height as the server if there is space limitations. The preferred installation is directly above the host server in the same rack . Please refer to therp84xx/rx86xx Server Expansion Unit section in this guide for more specific details.

The following table summarizes the I/O configuration rules when an SEU is configured with the HP 9000 rp8420 Server.

Although many HP 9000 rp8420 Server configurations can be sufficiently powered from a single 16 /20 amp branch circuit, HP strongly recommends using one 16 amp (minimum) branch circuit per power cord. Due to the variety of 16/20 plugs used throughout the world, the HP 9000 rp8420 Server menu offers a choice of plug options.

All HP 9000 rp8400 servers are shipped with four AC power cords.

Marked Electrical Power: (Input power at the ac input expressed as Volt-Amps.)
The server Marked Electrical Power is the rating given on the chassis label and represents the input power required for facility ac power planning and wiring requirements. This number represents the expected maximum power consumption for the server based on the power rating of the bulk power supplies. This number can safely be used to size ac circuits and breakers for the system under all conditions.

Typical Maximum Power: or User Expected Maximum Power, "Typical Configuration" (Expressed as Volt-Amps.)
The measured maximum worst case power consumption. This number represents the larges power consumption that HP engineers were able to produce for the server with any combination of hardware under laboratory conditions using aggressive software applications designed specifically to work the system at maximum load. This number can safely be used to compute thermal loads and power consumption for the system under all conditions.

HP 9000 rp8420 Server Fully Loaded Configuration:

• Sixteen dual core 1.1 GHz PA 8900 processor modules
• 256 GB of memory
• 16 PCI cards
• 4 cell boards
• 4 internal hard drives
• 2 DVD drives
• 2 Core I/O boards
• 6 bulk power supplies.
• Typical Maximum power: 3560 VA (3489 W) (17.8 A @ 200 VAC across 2 cords)
  
• Theoretical Maximum power: 5100 VA (4998 W) (25.5 A @ 200 VAC across 2 cords)
  
• Marked Electrical power: 5,400 VA, 30A @180VAC

HP 9000 rp8420 Server Average Configuration:

• Eight 1.1 GHz dual core PA 8900 processor modules
• 16 GB of Memory
• 8 PCI cards
• 2 cell boards
• 2 internal hard drives
• 0 DVD drives
• 2 Core I/O boards
• 4 bulk power supplies.
• Typical power consumption: 1809 VA (9.1 A @ 200 VAC across 2 cords)

60 amp Power Distribution Unit-
AF916A (NA/JPN) and AF917A (international) - supported with 10K G2 rack
E7683A (NA/JPN) and E7684A (International) - supported with Rack System E

A 60 amp Power Distribution Unit (PDU) has been developed for HP 9000 customers that prefer to use fewer, higher amperage connections into their wall electrical infrastructure. This PDU is sold separately and can be ordered with any HP Server solution. For more details on PDU's, please refer to the PDU sales collateral.

Example of how the PDU can be configured with the HP 9000 rp8420 Server in a dual grid configuration: In this case there are two HP 9000 rp8420 servers (average configurations drawing ~9 amps each) and two 60 amp PDUs configured with redundant power. The blue cords represent the primary power connections needed for normal operation. In this example, cords from each server are plugged into a separate branch circuits. However, it is acceptable, for lower VA configurations, for each server to plug both grid A cords into one branch circuit and both grid B cords into 2nd branch circuit. The remaining PDU outlets can be used to power other components as long as the specs per PDU rating is not exceeded.
For redundant power inputs, the second set of red cords is added. If the second PDU is plugged into a second grid this configuration provides protection against:

• Losing power from a single power grid
• Accidental tripping of one or two circuit breakers
• Accidental disconnect of a single PDU power cord
• Accidental disconnect of up to four system power cords

30 amp Power Distribution Unit-
252663-D74 (NA/JPN) and 252663-B33 (international) - supported on 10KG2 rack
E7681A (NA/JPN) and E7682A (International) - supported on Rack System E

A 30 amp Power Distribution Unit (PDU) is also supported with HP 9000 rp8420 Server. This PDU is sold separately and can be ordered with any HP Server solution.

Unlike the 60 amp PDU, each 30 amp PDU can only support one HP 9000 rp8420 Server. The following configuration guidelines apply when using the 30 amp PDU:

• HP 9000 rp8420 Server plugs A0 and A1 should be plugged into the same PDU
  
• Ax and Bx cords should never be plugged into the same PDU
  
• Use two 30 amp PDUs to achieve input power redundancy. A0/A1 and B0/B1 into separate PDUs.
  
• Ordering tools will not force the purchase of a second PDU for input power redundancy. A second PDU must be manually selected if redundant input power is desired.
  

A hardware partition corresponds roughly to a single, standalone system. The HP 9000 rp8420 Server can be subdivided into four partitions, each containing one or more cells that communicate coherently over a high bandwidth, low latency crossbar fabric. Cells are grouped into physical structures called cabinets or nodes. Special programmable hardware in the cells defines the boundaries of a partition in such a way that the isolation is enforced from the actions of other partitions. Each partition runs its own independent instance of the operating system. Applications cannot span partitions since each partition runs its own instance of the OS, essentially functioning as a stand-alone server. However, different partitions may be executing the same or different revisions of an operating system.

Each partition has its own independent processor modules, memory and I/O resources consisting of the resources of the cells that make up the partition. Resources may be removed from one partition and added to another without having to physically manipulate the hardware just by using commands that are part of the System Management interface. With a future release of HP-UX, using the related capabilities of dynamic reconfiguration (e.g. on-line addition, on-line removal), new resources may be added to a partition and failed modules may be removed and replaced while the partition continues in operation.
Partitioning the resources of the complex in this way makes it easy to run multiple applications on the same physical system; you can allocate physical resources and tune the operating system running on each partition depending on the needs of the application (or the most important application) you intend to run on it. Alternatively, you can configure the HP 9000 rp8420 Server as a single partition, allowing all the resources to be focused on a single set of tasks, for example a large online transaction-processing application.

You can increase or reduce the processing power of a partition by adding or deleting cells (with the current HP-UX release, you must shut down the operating system running on the affected partition(s) before moving cells, and before configuration changes will take effect). Though HP-UX 11i does include commands for some configuration tasks, HP recommends you use the Partition Manager (parmgr) to configure partitions.

The current release of HP 9000 rp8420 Server/HP-UX 11i supports hardware partitioning. Hardware based partition configuration changes may require a reboot of the partition depending upon the configuration change. The reboot of the partition only affects the partition that is being reconfigured. The other partition defined in the chassis is not affected and will continue to execute without interruption. In a future HP-UX release, dynamic hard partitions will be supported. Dynamic partitions imply that partition configuration changes do not require a reboot of the partition.

The HP 9000 rp8420 Server can be divided into four independent hardware partitions when configured with the rp84xx/rx86xx Server Expansion Unit. In a partitioned configuration, I/O bay resources such as I/O slots, core I/O, disk and removable media bays, are always dedicated to the corresponding cell board slot. In other words, I/O bay 0 resources are always configured to the cell board in Cell slot 0. Therefore, in a partitioned system, the amount of resources within a partition is always proportional to the number of cells within that partition. There is no flexibility to otherwise divide these components. For example, in a system configured with two cells in separate nPars, it is not possible to include twelve I/O slots in partition 0 and four I/O slots in partition 1. Please refer to the "HP Server Expansion Unit" section in this guide or more specific details.

The table below summarizes the resource availability based on hardware partitions.

In addition to hard partitioning (nPars), HP 9000 rp8420 servers support virtual partitioning (vPars) to the single processor or processor level (expected release of support or vPars on HP 9000 rp8420 servers in second calendar quarter of 2004). With vPars, a user may support up to eight separate virtual partitions each with an instance of HP-UX 11i v1 within each hard partition. VPars provides many of the features of nPars but without the electrical isolation and support for hardware failures that nPars provides.

Instant Capacity (iCAP) (formerly known as Instant Capacity on Demand [iCOD]).

The HP 9000 rp8420 Server was designed to provide industry leading performance density and availability when ordered in a racked configuration. At 17 EIA units (29.75 inches), two HP 9000 rp8420 servers or one rp8420 with a Server Expansion Unit can be mounted into a single HP two meter cabinet with 7 EIA units of extra space for mounting external peripherals.

The HP 9000 rp8420 Server industrial design and packaging was designed to allow easy and quick access to all of the system's components. The most frequently handled devices, removable media and disks, are directly accessible at the system's front. By removing the front bezel, hot swap fans, hot swap power supplies, and PCI power supplies can be completely serviced. At the rear, core I/O and more hot swap fans are directly accessible. For access to all other components, the rack mounted HP 9000 rp8420 Server comes with rack sliders. These rack sliders enables the HP 9000 rp8420 Server to be slid forward out of the HP cabinet for servicing of internal components such as fans, cell boards, and I/O cards, while the system is still running. The sliders also allows for servicing or replacement of any FRU (field replaceable unit) without removing the chassis from the cabinet. The HP 9000 rp8420 Server industrial design and slider strategy enables access and removal of any FRU within 15 minutes or less. This design feature minimizes the downtime associated with system upgrades in the rare event of a component failure. Also included with ever rack mounted HP 9000 rp8420 Server is a cable management arm (CMA) The CMA neatly secures data cables and prevents cables from becoming entangled while servicing of the system.

The following racking rules apply for HP 9000 rp8420 servers configured with an HP Server Expansion Unit.

• The HP Server Expansion Unit must be mounted in the same cabinet as the host HP 9000 rp8420 Server
  
• The HP 9000 rp8420 Server must be mounted directly below the HP Server Expansion Unit

A heavy duty stabilizing kit is required for the rack of the rx8640 server to add stability for the HP Universal 10K G2 rack. With this stabilizing kit, the ballast is no longer needed with the new HP Universal rack. Use of the Heavy Duty Stabilizing kit is mandatory and should be installed immediately.

Refer to the 10000 G2 Series Rack Best Practices Guide for information on rack deployment, stabilization and transportation. Go to http://www.hp.com/go/rackandpower for more information.

HP Servers are designed to maximize performance density when installed into HP system cabinets. HP system cabinets maintain the high level of safety and reliability of HP Server solutions that customers have come to expect. Although HP strongly recommends racking servers in HP cabinets, it is recognizes that some customer circumstances may prohibit this. For those customers, HP has developed a set of guidelines that when followed, enables server installations into third-party cabinets. It is extremely important that the guidelines be followed due to the wide variety of cabinets in the market place.

When field racking for the mid-range servers in any rack (10K G2, System E or 3rd party), the customer will have to order the appropriate service product (HP PN: HA124A1 Opt. 570 - HP Startup Field Racked Mid Server Service).

HP 9000 rp8420 Upgrades to HP Integrity rx8620 Servers

The HP 9000 rp8420 Servers were designed to be easily upgradeable to Intel Itanium 2 and PA RISC processors. With the release of the Intel Itanium 2 and the HP mx2 processors, HP 9000 rp8420 Server customers can now upgrade their systems as desired. Here are the components that a customer will need to order to do a board level upgrade to these new servers from an rp8420:

• A chassis upgrade kit: This product will contain a new server name insert for the front bezel, new firmware and various labels to apply to the server.
  • HP 9000 rp8420 to HP Integrity rx8620 upgrades-use product A9787A
• No new cell boards and memory: Cell boards are the same between PA-8900/8800 servers and Intel Madison 2 and HP mx2-based servers.
  • When upgrading to mx2 modules and if ordering 1 processor module per cell board, you must order cell board processor terminator (AB225A)
  • When upgrading to HP mx2 modules, you must buy one cell board baffle (A9792A) per cell board being upgraded
• New processor modules: HP sells two processors per module. These will replace two processors of the older modules.
  • Intel Itanium 2 dual-core module, 1.3-GHz, 3-MB cache-use product A9765A
  • Intel Itanium 2 dual-core module, 1.5-GHz, 6-MB cache-use product A6438A
  • HP mx2 dual-processor module, 1.1-GHz, 4-MB L3 cache, 32-MB L4 cache-use product A9767A
• Return credits: If the customer returns his old processor modules, they can get a return credit. (NOTE: These are single processor credits, not dual-core module credits. This means that two PA-8900/PA-8800 return credits should be ordered for each new dual-core module purchased.):
  • rp8420 900-MHz single processor return credit-use product A6436AN option 001
  • rp8420 1-GHz single processor return credit-use product A6437AN option 001
• Software:
  • For the HP Integrity servers, the operating system needs to be upgraded to HP-UX 11i version 2.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Intel and Itanium are registered trademarks or trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.