A reference for Designing Servers and Peripherals for the Microsoft® Windows nt® Server Operating System Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation Publication Date: October 10, 1997

Hardware Design Guide Version 1.0 for Microsoft Windows NT Server
A Reference for Designing Servers and Peripherals for the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server Operating System
Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation
Publication Date: October 10, 1997
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Intel and Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Intel and Microsoft, and Intel and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This document is for informational purposes only. INTEL AND MICROSOFT MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation.
Intel and Microsoft do not make any representation or warranty regarding specifications in this document or any product or item developed based on these specifications. Intel and Microsoft disclaim all express and implied warranties, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from infringement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Intel and Microsoft do not make any warranty of any kind that any item developed based on these specifications, or any portion of a specification, will not infringe any copyright, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property right of any person or entity in any country. It is your responsibility to seek licenses for such intellectual property rights where appropriate. Intel and Microsoft shall not be liable for any damages arising out of or in connection with the use of these specifications, including liability for lost profit, business interruption, or any other damages whatsoever. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages; the above limitation may not apply to you.
ActiveX, BackOffice, DirectShow, DirectX, Microsoft, Microsoft Press and Design, MS‑DOS, NetShow, Win32, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks, and Intel486 and MMX are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
© 1997 Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
This document is not for sale. To obtain additional copies of this document, please download the source files from the web sites at http://www.intel.com/procs/servers/ or http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/serverdg.htm.
Contents
Welcome vii
Additional Information on Server Hardware Design viii
Hardware Testing Programs at Microsoft viii
How to Use This Guide ix
Conventions Used in This Guide x
Conventional Terms x
Required vs. Recommended Features in This Guide xi
References and Resources xii
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 Overview of Server Design Issues 1
Introduction to Design Issues 1
Designing Systems for Windows NT Server 3
Classes of Servers 4
Preparing for ACPI and OnNow Design 5
Processor Requirements 6
Part 1 Basic Server Requirements 9
Chapter 2 Basic System Component Requirements 11
Basic Component Requirements 12
System Microprocessor Requirements 13
Memory Requirements 14
Configuration and Power Management Requirements 15
ACPI and Power Management Requirements 15
Startup Support Requirements 20
Plug and Play Requirements 22
Chapter 3 Basic Bus and Device Requirements 25
PCI Bus Requirements 25
USB Requirements 32
Other Bus Requirements 34
Device Requirements 36
Chapter 4 Basic Networking and Communications Requirements 43
Network Adapter Requirements 45
Modem Requirements 49
Requirements for Other Communications Devices 53
ATM Requirements 53
ADSL Requirements 56
ISDN Requirements 56
Serial ISDN Modems 57
Parallel ISDN Devices 60
Chapter 5 Basic Storage Device Requirements 63
SCSI Controllers and Peripherals 65
IDE Controllers and Peripherals 68
Fibre Channel Controllers and Peripherals 72
Erasable Disk Drives 72
CD-ROM and Other CD Drives 73
CD-ROM Requirements 73
DVD-ROM Requirements 75
Tape Drives 79
Media Changers 81
CD Changers 81
Tape and Optical Disk Changers 81
Chapter 6 Basic Physical Design and Hardware Security Requirements 83
Physical Design Requirements 83
Hardware Security Requirements 85
Chapter 7 Basic Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability Requirements 87
Backup and Reliability Requirements 87
Backup Hardware 88
Power Supply 88
Fault-Tolerant Hardware 89
High Availability Requirements 90
Manageability Baseline Requirements 91
General Manageability Baseline Requirements 91
Manageability Component Instrumentation Requirements 93
Part 2 SOHO and Enterprise Server Requirements 95
Chapter 8 SOHO System Requirements 97
SOHO System Microprocessor Requirements 97
SOHO Memory Requirements 97
SOHO ACPI and Power Management Requirements 98
SOHO Bus and Device Requirements 100
SOHO Storage Device Requirements 101
SOHO Fibre Channel Controllers and Peripherals 101
SOHO Tape Drives 102
SOHO Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability Requirements 102
Chapter 9 Enterprise Server Requirements 103
Enterprise System Microprocessor Requirements 103
Enterprise System Memory Requirements 104
Enterprise Storage Device Requirements 104
Enterprise Tape Drives 104
Enterprise Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability Requirements 105
Enterprise Power Supply and Ventilation 105
Enterprise Fault-Tolerant Hardware 105
Appendix A Clustering Hardware 107
Clustering Overview 107
Cluster Hardware Testing 109
Clustering Hardware Requirements 109
Appendix B Server Requirements Checklist 111
Glossary 125
Index 135
Welcome
Hardware Design Guide Version 1.0 for Windows NT Server is for engineers who build server systems, expansion cards, and peripheral devices that use the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server operating system.
This guide is co-authored by Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation. The requirements and recommendations in this guide indicate features that the hardware industry should consider in designing servers and peripherals for various price levels and performance levels.
This guide includes design requirements for classes of systems that will run Windows NT Server, including:
Design requirements for basic commodity server designs, plus additional design requirements for small office/home office (SOHO) and Enterprise servers.
Design requirements related to the OnNow design initiative, including requirements related to the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification, Plug and Play device configuration, and power management in server systems.
Additional design requirements for devices supported under Windows NT Server.
New manageability requirements that focus on improving Windows NT Server in order to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) by providing support for maximum automation of administrative tasks with centralized control and maximum flexibility.
Important: These system requirements are guidelines for designing servers that deliver an enhanced user experience when implemented with the Windows NT Server operating system. These design requirements are not related to the minimum, most-optimal, or best system requirements for running the Windows NT Server operating system. For information about the minimum system requirements for running Windows NT Server, see the web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/.
|