EXPANSION CHASSIS
3-2
PCIe2-2711 PCI Express Gen2 Expansion System User’s Manual
Revision 1.1, October 2017
3.3
CHASSIS COOLING
Airflow in the PCIe2-2711 chassis is provided by four
77 CFM fans
located midship across the full
width of the chassis.
3.4
CHASSIS POWER
There are three different power supply options available for the PCIe2-2711. The 1200W option
provides ample power for the backplane and low-powered PCIe devices. The 2180W and 3240W
options provide N+1 redundancy, and are intended for high-powered, multi-GPU applications.
3.4.1
1200W Power Supply Option
The 4U chassis option is powered by a front-mounted 1200W single mini-ATX power supply. Power
entry is cabled to a receptacle located at the rear of the chassis. The supply outputs are modular,
providing the 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS and 4-pin EPS power connectors required by the PCIe-428
backplane. The 1200W supply can be configured to also provide up to eight 6+2 pin PCIe power
connectors for use the GPUs and other high powered PCIe cards, as well as eleven Serial ATA power
connectors for disk drives and other peripheral devices.
3.4.2
2180W/3240W Power Supply Options
The 5U chassis option is powered by an N+1 redundant supply providinig either 2180W or 3240W of
total power. Four individual power supply units reside across the bottom rear of the chassis and slide
into the redundant power supply housing. In this configuration, any one power supply module can fail
and the chassis will still provide full power capacity.
Should one power supply unit fail, an alarm will sound. The supplies are hotswappable; an individual
supply can be replaced while the unit remains powered on. Removing an individual supply is done by
loosening the thumb screw, then pushing outwards on the release tab while pulling the supply out of the
housing. Replacement power supply units are available from Cyclone.
The N+1 redundant supplies provide one 24-pin ATX power connector and two 8-pin EPS connectors
that power the PCIe-460 backplane. Additionally, the supplies provide eight six-pin PCIe power
connectors, and eight six-plus-two pin PCIe power connectors for use with GPUs and other high-
powered PCIe cards. There are also provides six SerialATA connectors for powering disk drives and
other peripheral devices.
NOTE: Users should be aware that 2180W or 3240W systems may exceed the power available
from a standard 15A or 20A AC circuit. When connecting to the AC mains, care should be taken
to use multiple AC circuits. Otherwise, problems with tripping circuit breakers can result.
3.5
LIGHT LOADING
Because the power supply has been sized for a fully populated chassis, when placed under light loading,
the supply may not stay in regulation. Symptoms of a supply that is not regulating properly are loss of
link back to the host (“CABLE LINK” LEDs are not ON) or a chassis that powers up momentarily, then
turns OFF.
