Intel Server Board S5000VSA User’s Guide

Warnings

Heed safety instructions: Before working with your server product, whether you are using this guide or any other resource as a reference, pay close attention to the safety instructions. You must adhere to the assembly instructions in this guide to ensure and maintain compliance with existing product certifications and approvals. Use only the described, regulated components specified in this guide. Use of other products / components will void the UL listing and other regulatory approvals of the product and will most likely result in noncompliance with product regulations in the region(s) in which the product is sold.

System power on/off: The power button DOES NOT turn off the system AC power. To remove power from system, you must unplug the AC power cord from the wall outlet. Make sure the AC power cord is unplugged before you open the chassis, add, or remove any components.

Hazardous conditions, devices and cables: Hazardous electrical conditions may be present on power, telephone, and communication cables. Turn off the server and disconnect the power cord, telecommunications systems, networks, and modems attached to the server before opening it. Otherwise, personal injury or equipment damage can result.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) and ESD protection: ESD can damage disk drives, boards, and other parts. We recommend that you perform all procedures in this chapter only at an ESD workstation. If one is not available, provide some ESD protection by wearing an antistatic wrist strap attached to chassis ground any unpainted metal surface on your server when handling parts.

ESD and handling boards: Always handle boards carefully. They can be extremely sensitive to ESD. Hold boards only by their edges. After removing a board from its protective wrapper or from the server, place the board component side up on a grounded, static free surface. Use a conductive foam pad if available but not the board wrapper. Do not slide board over any surface.

Installing or removing jumpers: A jumper is a small plastic encased conductor that slips over two jumper pins. Some jumpers have a small tab on top that you can grip with your fingertips or with a pair of fine needle nosed pliers. If your jumpers do not have such a tab, take care when using needle nosed pliers to remove or install a jumper; grip the narrow sides of the jumper with the pliers, never the wide sides. Gripping the wide sides can damage the contacts inside the jumper, causing intermittent problems with the function controlled by that jumper. Take care to grip with, but not squeeze, the pliers or other tool you use to remove a jumper, or you may bend or break the pins on the board.

Intel® Server Board S5000VSA User’s Guide

S5000VSA specifications

The Intel S5000VSA is a server motherboard that has been tailored to meet the needs of businesses requiring a reliable and scalable infrastructure. Designed for Intel's 5000 series of chipsets, this motherboard is notable for its standards in performance, flexibility, and management capabilities.

One of the standout features of the Intel S5000VSA is its support for dual Intel Xeon processors. The flexibility to utilize various Xeon chips allows organizations to select the optimal processing power for their specific workloads, whether that be database management, virtualization, or heavy computation tasks. This capability is essential for providing the high levels of performance and responsiveness businesses demand in their server environments.

The motherboard supports up to 32GB of memory using DDR2 technology, with eight DIMM slots available for expansion. This memory capacity allows for significant multitasking and resource management, essential in data-heavy server applications. The board supports both ECC (Error-Correcting Code) and non-ECC memory, offering organizations options depending on their fault tolerance needs.

In terms of connectivity, the S5000VSA comes equipped with multiple PCI Express slots, providing ample options for expandability with various I/O cards or additional network interfaces. This is particularly important as businesses grow and require additional capabilities or higher performance networking solutions.

The Intel S5000VSA is also noted for its advanced management features. Integrated Remote Management capabilities enable IT administrators to monitor and manage the system from afar, enhancing both uptime and ease of maintenance. Support for Intel’s Active Management Technology (AMT) allows for greater control over the server and improves security by enabling remote management regardless of the operating system state.

Another important aspect of the S5000VSA is its built-in RAID controller that supports several RAID levels. This feature enhances data reliability and performance, allowing users to configure their storage systems according to their needs, whether they prioritize speed or redundancy.

In summary, the Intel S5000VSA is a robust server motherboard designed with scalability, performance, and management in mind. It supports dual Xeon processors, offers extensive memory options, and provides essential features such as RAID support and remote management. This makes it a suitable choice for data centers and enterprises looking for a competitive edge through advanced technology.