Installing and Removing Blades

There are two types of blades used in the rp3710 Blade Server:

Blades that are held in place on the chassis by locking levers. This type of blade has a blue LED that lights to indicate when it is shut down and ready to be removed.
Carrier blades that can contain up to two components, such as Fibre Channel disks. The components are held in the Carrier blade by screws and each has its own handle. Carrier Blades are held in place on the chassis by screws and are installed and removed by grasping the component handles.

Blade server cooling requirements dictate that all slots be closed, either by the server blades that are installed, or by slot blockers. Slot blockers come in two sizes:

Full size, 6U x 160 mm, used in the front slots and
Half size, 6U x 80 mm, used in the rear slots.

Blades are installed from either the front or rear of the chassis. However, the blade type must match the slot type and size. Both types and sizes are identified with stickers as described in the previous section.

The best way to ensure blade replacement within the requisite time window is to plan your installation in advance:

Ensure that you are properly grounded before commencing.
Have the blade ready for installation and near the blade server.
If you are removing a blade, have a slot blocker ready.
Have a number 1 Phillips screwdriver available.
Familiarize yourself with the operation before you begin.

Following the planning instructions outlined above, prepare your equipment and select the empty slot(s) compatible with the type of blade you wish to install. Then, follow the steps listed below.

Removing and Installing Slot Blockers

Figure 5-16 Slot Blocker

Slot blockers are installed in those empty slots in which there are no blades to maintain airflow integrity in the blade server chassis. Their installation is required to keep the resident blades cool during operation.




	CAUTION: You must complete both slot blocker removal and server blade installation/replacement within 3 minutes to comply with cooling requirements. Failure to comply with this requirement may cause loss of data when the installed blades exceed maximum temperature and begin to power down.

Remove the Slot Blocker

Remove Slot Blockers according to the steps listed below:

Loosen the captive screws on the slot blocker, shown in Figure 5-16 “Slot Blocker”.
Remove the slot blocker from the chassis. If the replacement blade uses two slots, remove the second slot blocker.
Place the slot blocker in a storage area where it can be easily located when needed next.

Install the Slot Blocker

Install Slot blockers according to the steps listed below:

Retrieve the slot blocker from its stored location.
Carefully align the slot blocker in the card guides and slide it into the chassis.
Tighten the captive screws.

Installing and Removing Blades With Locking Levers

Procedures for the installation and Removal of server blades with Locking Levers are listed and illustrated below.

Installing Blades With Locking Levers

Install the server blade according to the following steps:

Grasp the two locking levers and lift the blade from its antistatic surface.
If the locking levers are locked (levers do not open freely), press the red tabs on each locking lever in to unlock them. The open locking levers will then swing out with latches at right angles to the blade bulkhead.

Holding the blade by the locking levers, align it with the card guides inside the open slot and carefully push the blade fully into the chassis as shown in Figure 5-17 “ Align Blades With Card Guides and Push Into Chassis”.




	CAUTION: Ensure that the locking levers are unlocked before seating the blade in the chassis and closing the locking levers. Failure to observe this precaution may cause the red tabs to break, thereby compromising air circulation.

Figure 5-17 Align Blades With Card Guides and Push Into Chassis

When the blade is fully inserted, ensure that the hooks on the locking levers engage the chassis at the left and right edges of the blade slot.
Once the hooks engage the chassis, grasp the two locking levers and simultaneously push them toward each other to securely seat the blade in the connector on the backplane, as shown in the Figure 5-18 “ Insert the Blade”. It may take additional effort to push the board into final seating, because it must mate with several connectors on the backplane. The red tabs on the inside of each locking lever will automatically click into position. Figure 5-18 “ Insert the Blade”, shown below, illustrates the hooks engaging the chassis and the direction of force needed to close the locking levers.
NOTE: The blue LED will briefly illuminated when power is reestablished as the blade mates with the backplane connectors.
Figure 5-18 Insert the Blade
Tighten the small screws in each locking lever (as shown in Figure 5-19 “ Tighten the Locking Screws”). This completes the installation.
Figure 5-19 Tighten the Locking Screws

Removing Blades With Locking Levers

Removing Server Blades with locking levers can be accomplished in either of two ways:

Entering the /etc/shutdown -h command at the console to bring the blade to an orderly halt prior to pushing the red tabs toward the latches is the recommended way to shut down the blade.
Blades with locking levers are hot swappable and can be removed without an orderly shut down.

The steps listed below detail the hot swap method of blade removal.

Figure 5-20 Releasing Locking Levers

Press the red tabs, located on the inside of both left and right locking levers, inward, toward the latches. The latches will partially snap out. This action begins the blade hot swap shut-down procedure. Figure 5-20 “Releasing Locking Levers” illustrates the location of the red tabs.
The blade will now enter its hot swap shutdown routine. Do NOT attempt to remove the blade at this time or data may be lost. When the blade is completely shut down, a blue LED on the right side of the blade bulkhead will illuminate to indicate that the blade is ready to be removed. It can take up to two minutes for the blue LED to illuminate.
While waiting for the blue LED to illuminate, loosen the screws located in the left locking lever and right locking levers as shown in Figure 5-21 “Loosen Locking Screws”. Do NOT attempt to remove the blade at this time.
NOTE: The blue LED will remain illuminated until power is removed by loosening the blade from the backplane
Figure 5-21 Loosen Locking Screws
To release the blade from the backplane, apply pressure to the left locking lever and to the right locking lever at the same time. You should be able to “snap” the levers away from each other and unlatch the blade from the left and right edges of the blade slot. Figure 5-22 “Releasing Locking Levers” illustrates this step.
Figure 5-22 Releasing Locking Levers
Still grasping the locking levers, firmly pull the blade from the chassis (Figure 5-23 “Pull Blade From Chassis”). The blade connectors fit snugly in the backplane and it may take additional effort to disengage the blade from the backplane.
Figure 5-23 Pull Blade From Chassis
Extract the blade completely from the chassis and carefully place it on an antistatic-protected area. This concludes blade removal.

Installing and Removing Carrier Blades

Procedures to be used for the installation and removal of Carrier Blades are listed below.




	CAUTION: You must complete removal/installation steps within 3 minutes, or install slot blockers, to comply with cooling requirements. Failure to satisfy this requirement may cause loss of data when the remaining blades begin to power down.

Installing the Carrier Blade

This procedure is used for either one or two-slot blade installation.




	NOTE: Carrier blades do not have locking levers or handles. Each Fibre Channel disk that is mounted in the carrier blade has a handle that is used to mount the disk in the carrier. The disk handle is then used to insert the carrier blade into the blade server. A single disk may be ordered for the carrier, even though each carrier holds two disks. If the carrier is ordered with only one disk, ensure that a cover is used on the bulkhead to seal the unused disk space so that air circulation integrity is maintained.

One and two disk carrier blades are installed and removed the same way. The steps listed below describe the two-disk configuration.

Grasp the blade by the handles (shown in Figure 5-24 “Two-Handled Blade”) and align it with the card guides inside the open slot.
Figure 5-24 Two-Handled Blade
Carefully push the blade into the chassis until it mates with the backplane.
Tighten the captive screws to securely seat the blade in the connector on the backplane. This completes blade installation.

Removing the Carrier Blade




	CAUTION: Fibre Channel disks have no hot swap LED to indicate when they can be removed. Remove the disk carrier only under the following conditions: The bp2200 hot swap blue light is illuminated, indicating that the bp2200 is no longer accessing the Fibre Channel disks, or the disk has been unmounted at the OS level. Failure to observe this precaution may result in loss of disk data.

Remove Carrier Blades according to the following steps:

Loosen the captive screws at each side and unseat the blade from the backplane.
Figure 5-25 FC Disk Carrier Blade
Grasp the blade by the handles and carefully pull the blade all the way out of the chassis.
Place the blade in an antistatic bag and remove it to a safe place. This concludes blade removal.