Cubix Corporation
2800 Lockheed Way
Carson City, NV 89706-0719
Page 1
Sales 800.829.0550
http://www.cubix.com
xpander-rackmount2-g3 20181115
Xpander Rack Mount 2 Gen 3
HPC Version User Guide
Xpander Rack Mount 2 is a 2U rack mount PCI Express (PCIe) expansion enclosure that
enables connection of two passively-cooled accelerators to a host computer. The host must
have a PCIe x16 expansion slot available for the host interface controller (HIC). Rack Mount 2
provides two PCIe x16 slots. Connect a HIC in one host computer to one Xpander.
With a HIC installed, a single host computer can support two double-wide, passively-cooled
accelerators. It connects to one HIC in the host computer. Rack Mount 2 provides two PCIe
Generation 3 (Gen 3) x16 slots for graphical processing units (GPUs) or other accelerators. For
example, use NVIDIA Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) -enabled GPUs or Intel
Xeon Phi coprocessors for high-performance computing (HPC).
A HIC in a
host computer’s PCIe Gen 3.0 x16 slot provides the full connection transfer rate with
Xpander. For example, the HIC in a PCIe Gen 3.0 x16 slot provides a theoretical transfer rate of
8.0Gbs x16 = 128Gbps.
Xpander Rack Mount 2 Gen 3 Technical Specifications
Expansion slots, x16 std
PCI Express Gen 3.0 x16 mechanical / electrical
Number of slots
2 slots in one mainboard
Form factor support
2 double-wide, full-length, full-height accelerators
Connecting cable
External PCI Express x16, 136-pin cable
Cable / connector
x16 / 136-pin
Length, standard
2.00meters (78.74inches or 6.56feet)
Length, optional
1.00meter (39.37inches or 3.28feet)
Connector duty cycle
250 mating cycles maximum per connector
PCIe x16 HIC
Host interface controller, install in a PCIe x16 slot
PCIe Gen 3.0 slot
Provides a theoretical 128Gbps data transfer rate
PCIe Gen 2.0 slot
Provides a theoretical 80Gbps data transfer rate
PCIe Gen 1.0 slot
Provides a theoretical 40Gbps data transfer rate
Front panel LCD
Main menu = left button; sub-menu = right button
Cubix Corporation
MIB assembly and revision; management firmware revision
Power supply status
Standard main power
Temperature status
3 sensor readouts in degrees Centigrade (C)
Fan status
Fan status, voltage percent (%) speed
PCIe link status
x16 cable connected; 8.0Gbps x16 link speed
x16 cable
Connected or not connected status
Slot 1 - 2 x16 transfer
rate, theoretical
PCIe Gen 3.0, 8.0Gbps x16 = 128.0Gbps
PCIe Gen 2.0, 5.0Gbps x16 = 80.0Gbps
PCIe Gen 1.0, 2.5Gpbs x16 = 40.0Gbps
