Rev A04
Mellanox Technologies
33
2
Installation Requirements
2.1
Site Planning
Planning the proper location and layout of your equipment rack is essential for successful and opti-
mal unit operation. Units that are placed too close together or in an inadequately ventilated area
may result in system over-temperature conditions. In addition, inadequate equipment placement
may make system panels inaccessible and difficult to maintain.
To ensure normal operation and to avoid unnecessary maintenance, plan your site's hardware con-
figuration and make the necessary preparations before the installation.
The environmental requirements are listed in the operational and non-operational environmental
site requirements for the Vantage 8500 switch and proper operation can be maintained by antici-
pating and correcting environmental conditions before they exceed the maximum operating range.
2.2
Heat Dissipation
Heat dissipation is an important consideration for sizing the air-conditioning requirements for an
installation. Within specified environmental ranges, the system can continue to operate; however, a
measurement that approaches the minimum or maximum of a range indicates a potential problem.
You can maintain normal operation by anticipating and correcting environmental conditions before
they exceed the maximum operating range.
Please refer to “Cooling” on page 28 for the operating and non-operating environmental site
requirements.
2.3
Rack and Clearance Requirements
The 15U high chassis of the Vantage 8500 switch is mounted in a standard 19" rack with the sFB-
8500 and sMBE boards facing to front of the rack, and the sLB-1024 boards with their 10GbE
ports facing to the rear. The following table lists the rack clear requirements.
The rack should support the mechanical and environmental characteristics of a fully populated
Vantage 8500 chassis as specified in See “Full Hardware Configuration” on page 22..
The Vantage 8500 switch continues to operate within the Mellanox-specified
environmental ranges. However, a measurement that approaches the minimum
or maximum of these ranges indicates a potential problem.
