Frequently Asked Questions

For a guide to troubleshooting various common known Sever system boot issues, open the Intel® Server System Boot Issues Troubleshooting Guide.

For detailed information on configuring and maintaining Server RAID arrays open the Intel® RAID Software User's guide.

Yes, for multi processor server systems to function optimally they should use processors with the same SL number.

We have a downloadable guide for troubleshooting the Intel® SS4000-E, you can download it here SS4000-E Troubleshooting Guide.

Find guidance on available accessories and spares for you server board or chassis here: Intel® Boxed Server and Workstation Products Spares and Accessories Stocking Guidance.

1. Copy all the files to a USB disk-on-key device.
2. Verify that the BIOS Select jumper on the server board is set to its default position on pins 2-3. If this jumper is set on pins 1-2, you must move it back to its normal position before updating the BIOS.

Booting to the embedded EFI operating environment

• Plug in your USB device containing the system software updates.
• Power on your server.
• During POST, hit the F2 key when prompted to access the BIOS Setup Utility.
• In BIOS Setup, move the cursor over to the BOOT MANAGER menu.
• Move the cursor down to EFI and hit enter.
• The system will boot to the embedded EFI Shell.

A list of tested hard drives compatible with Intel® 3000 and 5000 series chipsets is available here Tested Hard Drive List.

There are multiple RAID options available for the Intel® S5000PSL Server Board.

Users must decide which RAID option is right for their usage and environment.

The following board models are available:

• Intel® Server Board S5000PSLROMBR
• Intel® Server Board S5000PSLSASR
• Intel® Server Board S5000PSLSATAR

Each of these models have different storage controllers and capabilities:

• ESB2 SATA controller is on all models on the baseboard. It controls the black SATA ports.
• 1064e SAS Controller is only on the SAS model. It controls the 4 blue SAS ports on the motherboard.
• 1068 SAS Controller is only on the ROMB (RAID on Motherboard) Riser Card which ships with the ROMB model. It controls the 8 ports on the ROMB card and is independent of any ports on the motherboard itself.

All of the controllers are by default in non RAID mode and RAID must be enabled in the BIOS or by adding activation keys.

SAS controllers are capable of supporting either SAS or SATA drives.

These three controllers also offer RAID capabilities, which fall into two types:

• Embedded Server RAID Technology II (ESRT2), a firmware based RAID, available via BIOS setting on the ESB2 or 1064e controller.
• Intel® Integrated Server RAID (hardware RAID) available only on the 1068 controller when the optional RAID Activation key AXXRAK18E and RAM are added to the ROMB card.

ESRTII supports “software” RAID levels 0,1, or 10. You can expand this to support RAID level 5 by adding the software RAID 5 activation key (order code AXXRAKSW5). Both controllers that implement ESRT2 use the same driver available on the link below, even though one is a SATA RAID controller (ESB2) and the other a SAS/SATA RAID controller (1064e). The memory and processing power for this type of RAID comes from the main system board components. SATA and SAS Software RAID drivers for various operating systems:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/filter_results.aspx.

The SAS ROMB Riser card by default acts as a SAS controller with 8 ports capable of supporting up to 120 devices. To activate RAID on this controller, you need to add a Hardware RAID Activation key and memory (in a mini DIMM format). With the RAID key and RAM added, this solution supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10 or 50 and provides full hardware RAID functionality without using the system CPU or RAM.

Only the ROMB in hardware RAID mode can utilitize the optional Intel® RAID Smart Battery Backup (RSBBU). The RSBBU provides battery power to keep the data in NVRAM viable during a system power loss, so that on power restore, the data can be written to the storage drive.

Important Note: RAID is not an alternative to a regular backup. Please backup data regularly to avoid data loss.

Some useful links:

• Product Brief:
  http://download.intel.com/design/servers/boards/s5000psl/31187902.pdf
• Intel® S5000PSL Server Board support home page with product documentation, links to drivers and firmware and compatibility lists:
  http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/server
• RAID Compatibility Matrix:
  http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/RAIDsupportmatrix_v20.pdf
• Which RAID driver to use:
  http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-025445.htm

A summary of all our available Server Products can be found at
http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/server.

On this website you need to locate your system. Click on the link and you will be redirected to the main website for this product.

All available software, firmware and BIOS versions can be found under the link on the left-hand side “Software and Drivers”.

Failure to load mass storage drivers during Microsoft Windows* 2003 or Microsoft Windows* XP installation on the Intel® 5000 Series Chipset Baseboards using some USB Floppy Drives.

Microsoft Windows* requires a floppy device to successfully load a mass storage driver. Currently there is no floppy drive controller on the Intel® 5000 Series Chipset based server boards; however, a USB Floppy drive can be used to successfully load mass storage drivers during the Microsoft Windows* installation process. Some USB floppy disk drive models may not be compatible with the installation process. This issue occurs if the USB floppy disk drive ID is not listed in the 'txtsetup.sif file'. For more details on this issue, and for information on compatible USB floppy drives, please refer to http://support.microsoft.com/† .

For a list of USB floppy drives tested for compatibility with the server platform you are using, please check the Tested Hardware and Operating System List for that platform at http://support.intel.com. Microsoft* also has posted instructions on how to embed the driver into the installation media. Please check http://support.microsoft.com† for more information.

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Password May be Requested by FRUSDR Update Utility

Password may be requested by FRUSDR utility when running FRUSDR update. This is the password set in Mini-Baseboard Management Controller (mini-BMC) either by user or at factory. If you do not know the required password you must clear it before you can make FRUSDR update.

In order to clear the password on a system without Intel® Management Module installed:

1. Download System Configuration utility
2. Run the following command from DOS: SYSCFG.EXE /up1 ""
3. Run FRUSDR update utility again

In order to clear the password on a system with Intel® Management Module installed:

1. Download System Configuration utility
2. Power off the system and remove AC power
3. Remove Intel® Management Module
4. Power on the system and run the following command from DOS: SYSCFG.EXE /up1 ""
5. Power off the system and remove AC power
6. Install Intel® Management Module
7. Power on the system and run FRUSDR update utility again

Operating System: OS Independent

This applies to:

It is vitally important that you install your system fans and CPU fans to the correct connector on the system board according to the Quick Start Guide for the motherboard and the Quick Start User’s Guide for the chassis.

http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/se7520bd2/manual.htm

Then update the FRUSDR following the instructions associated with the FRUSDR update package. For SC5300BRP ensure you answer the hot swap fans question correctly during the update. It is also important to do the firmware updates in the following order: BMC, HSC, BIOS, FRUSDR.