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System Overview

Dell™ PowerEdge™ 500SC Systems User's Guide

  System Orientation

  Front-Panel Indicators and Features

  Back-Panel Features

  System Features

  Supported Operating Systems

  Power Protection Devices

  Other Documents You May Need

  Getting Help

This section describes the major hardware and software features of the system, provides information about the indicators on the system's front panel, and discusses connecting external devices to the system. It also provides information on obtaining technical assistance.

System Orientation

When following the procedures in this guide, assume that the locations or directions relative to the system are as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1. System Orientation

Front-Panel Indicators and Features

Figure 1-2 shows the indicators located on the front panel: the system power indicator, the hard drive activity indicator, CD drive activity indicator, and the diskette drive activity indicator.

Figure 1-2. Front-Panel Features

Back-Panel Features

Figure 1-3 shows the back-panel features of the system with the nonredundant AC power supply.

Figure 1-3. Back-Panel Features

When connecting external devices to your system, follow these guidelines:

• Check the documentation that accompanied the device for specific installation and configuration instructions. For example, most devices must be connected to a particular connector to operate properly. Also, external devices usually require you to install device drivers before they will work. Device drivers are normally included with your operating system software, or with the device itself.
  
  
• Always attach external devices while your system is turned off. Then turn on any external devices before turning on the system unless the documentation for the device specifies otherwise. (If the system does not seem to recognize the device, try turning on the system before turning on the device.)
  
  

For information about enabling, disabling, or configuring I/O ports and connectors, see "Using the System Setup Program."

System Features

• Intel® Pentium® III microprocessor with a speed of at least 1 GHz, an external bus speed of 133 MHz, and a 256 KB level 2 cache
  
  

OR

• Intel Celeron™ microprocessor with a speed of at least 800 MHz with an external bus speed of 100 MHz and a 128KB level 2 cache
  
  
• A minimum of 64 MB of system memory, upgradable to a maximum of 2 GB by installing combinations of 64-, 128-, 256-, or 512-MB registered PC-133 SDRAM memory modules in the four memory module sockets on the system board
  
  
• Support for up to three 1-inch, internal IDE hard drives
  
  
• A 250–330 W power supply
  
  
• 48X CD drive
  
  
• Dual USB ports
  
  
• 9-pin serial port
  
  
• 25-pin parallel port
  
  
• PS/2 compatible mouse and keyboard ports
  
  
• Embedded 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
  
  
• Optional IDE tape backup unit, DVD drive, or internal tape drive
  
  

The system board includes the following built-in features:

• Five PCI slots located on the system board. Two are 64-bit, 33- or 66-MHz slots; three are 32-bit, 33-MHz slots.
  
  
• An integrated VGA-compatible video subsystem with an ATI RAGE XL video controller. This video subsystem contains 4 MB of SDRAM video memory (nonupgradable). Maximum resolutions are 1600 x 1200 x 65K colors (noninterlaced). For 640 x 480-pixel, 800 x 600-pixel, 1024 x 768-pixel, and 1280 x 1024-pixel resolutions, true-color is available.
  
  
• Dual IDE controllers.
  
  
• An integrated Intel 10/100 NIC, which provides an Ethernet interface.
  
  
• Server management circuitry that monitors operation of the system fans as well as critical system voltages and temperatures. The server management circuitry works in conjunction with the server management software.
  
  

Standard systems include a diskette drive and one IDE hard drive. It also includes an IDE CD drive in the externally accessible bay.

The following software is included with your system:

• A system setup program for quickly viewing and changing the system configuration information for your system. For more information on this program, see "Using the System Setup Program."
  
  
• Enhanced security features, including a user password and a supervisor password, available through the System Setup program.
  
  
• Diagnostics for evaluating your system's components and devices. For information on using the system diagnostics, see "Running the System Diagnostics" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
  
  

Supported Operating Systems

Dell supports the following operating systems for use on your system:

• Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 Server
  
  
• Microsoft Windows® 2000 Server
  
  
• Red Hat Linux 7.x
  
  
• Novell® NetWare® version 5.x
  
  

Power Protection Devices

A number of devices are available that protect against power problems such as power surges, transients, and power failures. The following subsections describe some of these devices.

Surge Protectors

Surge protectors are available in a variety of types and usually provide a level of protection commensurate with the cost of the device. Surge protectors prevent voltage spikes, such as those caused during an electrical storm, from entering a system through the electrical outlet. Surge protectors, however, do not offer protection against brownouts, which occur when the voltage drops more than 20 percent below the normal AC line voltage level.

Line Conditioners

Line conditioners go beyond the overvoltage protection of surge protectors. Line conditioners keep a system's AC power source voltage at a fairly constant level and, therefore, can handle brownouts. Because of this added protection, line conditioners cost more than surge protectors—up to several hundred dollars. However, these devices cannot protect against a complete loss of power.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies

UPS systems offer the most complete protection against variations in power because they use battery power to keep the system running when AC power is lost. The battery is charged by the AC power while it is available, so once AC power is lost, the battery can provide power to the system for a limited amount of time—from 15 minutes to an hour or so— depending on the UPS system.

UPS systems range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, with the more expensive units allowing you to run larger systems for a longer period of time when AC power is lost. UPS systems that provide only 5 minutes of battery power let you conduct an orderly shutdown of the system, but are not intended to provide continued operation. Surge protectors should be used with all UPS systems, and the UPS system should be UL safety-approved.

Other Documents You May Need

Besides this User's Guide, the following documentation is included with your system:

• The Setting Up Your System sheet provides general instructions for setting up your system.
  
  
• The server management documentation describes the server management software for each applicable product, including alert messages issued by the software.
  
  
• Your system Installation and Troubleshooting Guide describes how to upgrade or troubleshoot your system.
  
  
• The System Information document describes important safety, regulatory, and warranty information.
  
  

You may also have one or more of the following documents.

NOTE: Documentation updates are sometimes included with your system to describe changes to your system or software. Always read these updates before consulting any other documentation because the updates often contain the latest information.

• Operating system documentation is included if you ordered your operating system software with your system. This documentation describes how to install (if necessary), configure, and use your operating system software.
  
  
• Documentation is included with any options you purchase separately from your system. This documentation includes information that you need to configure and install these options in your system. Installation instructions for the options are included in this User's Guide.
  
  
• Technical information files—sometimes called "readme" files—may be installed on your hard drive to provide last-minute updates about technical changes to your system or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.
  
  

Getting Help

If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide or if your system does not perform as expected, a number of tools are available to help you. For more information on these help tools, see "Getting Help" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.

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