Chapter 7. IBM System x3690 X5 3217.5.2 PCIe adapters: Slot selectionThe x3690 X5 offers a wide variety of PCIe adapter configurations among possible riser cardcombinations, as described in 4.10, “PCIe slots” on page 164. The two riser slots have theseriser card options: Riser slot 1 can contain one of the following options:– Two x8 slots (installed in most standard models)– One x16 slot for 3/4-length cards– One x16 slot for full-length cards (memory mezzanine cannot be used) Riser slot 2:– Three x8 slots (one slot is wired as an x4 slot) (installed in most standard models)The server can be ordered without riser card 1 or with any of the three possible riser cards.Riser card 2 comes standard in most models of the server, as described in 4.10, “PCIe slots”on page 164.Note these key points about the riser cards: Riser card 1 supports a single x16 adapter, such as a video card. If needed, an auxiliarypower connector is located on the system board near the riser card. Two x16 riser cards are available for riser slot 1: one for full-length cards and one for3/4-length cards. If you use the full-length card riser, you cannot also install the memorymezzanine, because the two options do not both physically fit in the server. As described in 4.9.5, “ServeRAID Expansion Adapter” on page 157, the ServeRAIDExpansion Adapter is a SAS expander that allows you to create RAID arrays of up to 16drives and across up to four backplanes. The Expansion Adapter must be installed in PCISlot 1 (in riser card 1) and the ServeRAID adapter must be installed in PCI Slot 3 (in risercard 2). See Figure 4-44 on page 164 for the locations of these slots. Slot 4 of riser card 2 is physically an x8 slot, but electronically, it is an x4 slot. If the Emulex 10Gb Ethernet Adapter is installed (it is standard in certain models, as listedin 4.3, “Models” on page 124), the adapter is installed in slot 5 in riser card 2. See 4.10.3,“Emulex 10Gb Ethernet Adapter” on page 166 for details about the adapter.Although true performance on a given PCIe adapter can largely depend on the configurationof the environment in which it is used, general performance considerations exist with respectto the x3690 X5 server.The I/O hub supports 36 lanes of PCIe traffic with a combined bandwidth of 36 GBs. Eachprocessor’s QPI link to the I/O hub is capable of a maximum throughput of 26 GBs, dependingon the processors installed in this server. With only one processor installed in this server, themaximum combined bandwidth of all the PCIe lanes is reduced to the maximum bandwidth ofa single QPI link.Microsoft Windows 2008 x64: When installed on an UEFI server, Microsoft Windows2008 x64 will install Microsoft Boot Manager as part of the boot sequence. Regardless ofhow you change the boot sequence in the boot manager, Microsoft Boot Manager willalways be at the top of the sequence.When you install this same OS with Legacy Only enabled, Microsoft Boot Manager is notinstalled as part of the boot manager. Removing the Legacy Only option from the bootmanager will prevent the server from booting into the installed Windows 2008 x64.
