DPE component descriptions
2U, 25-drive DPE component overview
The 25-drive DPE is two rack units (U), 8.9 cm (3.5 in.) high, 79.2 cm (31.2 in.) deep, and includes slots for twenty-five 2.5-in. drives.
Drives
The DPE consists of the following components:
- Drives
- Midplane
- Storage processor assembly
- Power supply module
- EMI shielding
Each drive consists of one drive in a carrier. The drive carriers are metal and plastic assemblies that provide smooth, reliable contact with the enclosure slot guides and midplane connectors. Each carrier has a handle with a latch and spring clips. The latch holds the drive in place to ensure proper connection with the midplane. Drive activity and fault LEDs are located on the front of the enclosure.
SAS and SAS flash drives are supported. The drives are populated in the system from left to right.
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Note:
The first four drive slots are reserved for system drives, and should not be removed.
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You can visually distinguish between drive types by their different latch and handle mechanisms and by type, capacity, and speed labels on each drive. You can add or remove a drive while the DPE is powered on, but you should exercise special care when removing modules while they are in use. Drives are sensitive electronic components.
The midplane separates the front-facing drives from the rear-facing SP assemblies. It distributes power and signals to all components in the enclosure. The SP assemblies and drives plug directly into the midplane.
Each DPE contains two SP assemblies. The SP assembly is the intelligent component providing the compute capability of the DPE. Acting as the control center, each SP assembly includes status LEDs.
Each SP assembly contains a power supply module that connects the system to an exterior power source. Redundant power supplies can keep the entire DPE running if one power supply fails. The power supplies include LEDs to indicate component status. A latch on the module locks it into place to ensure proper connection.
EMI compliance requires a properly installed electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield in front of the DPE drives. When installed in cabinets that include a front door, the DPE includes a simple EMI shield. Other installations require a front bezel that has a locking latch and integrated EMI shield. Remove the bezel or shield to remove and install the drives.
DPE front view
On the front, the DPE contains the following elements:
- Drives in 2.5 in. carriers
- Status LEDs

Location
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Description
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SAS or SAS Flash drives
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Drive fault LED
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Drive ready/activity LED
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DPE power on LED
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LED
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Location
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State
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Description
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---|---|---|---|
Disk drive fault
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Amber
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Fault has occurred.
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Off
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No fault has occurred, normal operation.
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Disk drive active
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Blue
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Disk drive activity.
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Off
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Disk drive is powered off.
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DPE fault/power
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Blue
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Power is on. No fault has occurred, normal operation.
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Amber
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Power is on. Fault has occurred within the enclosure.
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Off
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Power is off.
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System identification tags
The Product Serial Number Tag (PSNT) and World Wide Name Seed are serialized labels that allow customer support to track nested hardware material in the field.
Product Serial Number Tag
The PSNT for the 25-slot DPE is a black pull-out tag that is located between the drives in slots 16 and 17.

World Wide Name (WWN) Seed Tag
The World Wide Name (WWN) Seed tag is a blue pull-out tag that is located between the drives in slot 7 and 8.

DPE rear view
On the rear of the DPE are two SP assemblies: SP assembly A and SP assembly B.
Each SP assembly contains the following hardware components:
- One embedded module
- Two optional I/O modules
- One power supply module

Location
|
Description
|
---|---|
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Storage processor assembly B
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Storage processor assembly A
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Power supply module
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I/O module, slots 0 and 1
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Embedded module
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DPE embedded modules and 4-port cards
About embedded modules
Each SP assembly contains one embedded module that can hold one 4-port card for connectivity.
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Note:
Both
SP assemblies must have the same type of
embedded modules in the same slots.
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The embedded module contains the following components:
- One 4-port card
- One non-maskable interrupt (NMI) button
- Two mini-SAS HD back-end ports
- Two RJ-45 LAN connectors
- System management port (
)
- Service port (
)
- System management port (
- One USB 3.0 port
- One mini-USB port (unused)
- One DB9 serial port (service access)
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Note:
The following figure shows the location of these components on the
embedded module in
SP assembly A. The location of the components in
SP assembly B is mirrored.
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Location
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Description
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---|---|
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4-port card
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Mini serial port (unused)
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Mini-SAS HD back-end ports
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DB9 serial port (unused)
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RJ-45 LAN connector - service port
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RJ 45 LAN connector - system management port
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Non-maskable interrupt (NMI) button
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USB 3.0 port
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About 4-port cards
The 4-port card is an optional component located within the embedded module. There are two supported 4-port cards: the 25GbE 4-port card and the 10GbE BaseT 4-port card.
The 25GbE 4-port card supports 1GbE SFP to RJ45, 10GbE or 25GbE SFP28, 25GbE passive TwinAx, and 10GbE active or passive TwinAx. Depending on the installed SFP or TwinAx cable, the following speeds are supported: 1GbE, 10GbE, and 25GbE. The ports may be configured individually with TwinAx or any of the supported SFPs.
The 10GbE BaseT 4-port card serves Ethernet traffic and iSCSI block protocol. The following speeds are supported: 1GbE and 10 GbE.
Embedded module and 4-port card LED status

LED
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Location
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State
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Description
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---|---|---|---|
Embedded module power
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Amber
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Embedded module has faulted
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Off
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No fault has occurred, normal operation.
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Ethernet port link
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Green
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Link established.
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Off
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No link established.
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Ethernet port activity
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Amber
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Port activity.
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Off
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No port activity.
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SAS port/activity Link
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Blue
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SAS port link is up.
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Off
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No link established.
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Port link
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Green
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Link up with high speed.
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Amber
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Link up with degraded speed.
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Off
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Link down.
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Storage processor assembly fault
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Amber
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Fault has occurred.
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Blue
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Storage processor assembly in Degraded Mode.
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Amber or blue blinking
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System is booting.
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Blue and amber alternating (green for 3 seconds)
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System not initialized. A management IP address has not been assigned.
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Blue and amber alternating at one second intervals
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Storage processor assembly in Service Mode.
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Off
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No fault has occurred, normal operation.
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Storage processor assembly power
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Green
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Storage processor assembly is on (main power).
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Green blinking
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Storage processor assembly is initializing a serial over LAN session (Standby Mode).
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Off
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Storage processor assembly is off.
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Unsafe to remove
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White
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Do not remove the
embedded module. Improper removal could cause data loss.
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Off
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Safe to remove the
embedded module when the
embedded module has been properly prepared.
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Nonmaskable interrupt (NMI) button
The nonmaskable interrupt (NMI) button is a recessed button located on the embedded module, which is used to reset the system password or force a system reboot.
Use a bent paper clip or pen to press the recessed button. Press the button for approximately 2 seconds to reset the password. The SP assembly fault LED blinks blue when the password has been successfully reset.
Press the button for 10 or more seconds to force a system reboot.

DPE I/O module types
I/O module installation priority
There are two I/O module slots per SP assembly: slot 0 and slot 1. Slot 0 has a 16 lane PCIe channel, and slot 1 has an 8 lane PCIe channel.
Populate new I/O modules in the following order to take advantage of the increased speed on slot 0. If two I/O modules are ordered, use the same installation priority for both I/O modules.
- 4-port 25GbE Optical I/O module
- 4-port 16Gb Fibre Channel I/O module
- 4-port 10GbE BaseT I/O module
- 4-port 12Gb SAS backend I/O module
When adding new I/O modules, always install I/O modules in pairs: one module in SP assembly A and one module in SP assembly B. Both SP assemblies must have the same type of I/O modules in the same slots.
I/O module LED status

LED
|
Location
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State
|
Description
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---|---|---|---|
Port link
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Green or blue
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Link up
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Off
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Link down
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Power fault
|
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Green
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Power
|
Amber
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Power fault
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4-port 25GbE Optical I/O module
The 4-port 25GbE Optical I/O module is an Ethernet I/O module that is used to serve Ethernet network traffic and iSCSI block protocol to hosts for the platform. The I/O module uses an optical 10G or 25G capable SFP+ connection to a host or switch port.
4-port 16Gb Fibre Channel I/O module
The 4-port 16Gb Fibre Channel I/O module comes with four optical ports, one power and fault LED, and a combination link and activity LED for each optical port. This I/O module can interface at speeds of 4, 8, and 16 Gb/s FC for host or initiator layered connections.
4-port 10GbE BaseT I/O module
The 4-port 10GbE BaseT I/O module can interface at speeds of 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s and supports both IP(file) and iSCSI (Block) on the same SP assembly. Ports can be configured as both IP and iSCSI simultaneously. The I/O module comes with four 10-Gb/s RJ-45 ports, one power/fault LED, activity LED, and link LED for each port.
4-port 12Gb SAS backend I/O module
Where supported, the 4-port 12Gb SAS backend I/O module comes with four x4 lane mini-SAS high density (HD) ports, one power and fault LED, and a combination link and activity LED for each port. Install thisI/O module into the SP assembly to provide additional SAS buses. Labeled 12Gb SAS v1.
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Note:
The optional back-end 12-Gb/s SAS module is only supported on Unity 480F, Unity 680F, and Unity 880F systems.
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The 4-port 12Gb SAS backend I/O module can also be configured to support x8 lane cabling for the 80-drive DAE by combining ports 0 and 1 as back-end 2, or ports 2 and 3 to create back-end 4. The I/O module can also be configured to support both x4 lane and x8 lane back-ends simultaneously.
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Note:
If the
4-port 12Gb SAS backend I/O module is to be configured for x8 lane cabling, the x8 lane cable must be inserted into the I/O module before persisting it. If the x8 lane cables are not inserted into the I/O module first, all four ports default to x4 lane ports.
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DPE power supply
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NOTICE
The power supply used in your system must meet the system power requirements and must be the same type of power supply to be used in both nodes. Do not mix power supply types.
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LED
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Location
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State
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Description
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---|---|---|---|
AC power (input)
|
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Green
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AC power is on.
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Off
|
AC power is off. Verify source power
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DC power (output)
|
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Green
|
DC power is on.
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Off
|
DC power is off. Verify source power.
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Fault
|
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Solid amber
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Power supply or backup fault. Check cable connection.
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Blinking amber
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BIOS, POST, and OS starting up or system overheating.
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Off
|
No fault.
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Storage processor assembly internal components
Included within the SP assembly are the following components:
- Dual inline memory modules (DIMM)
- M.2 SSDs
- Internal battery backup module
- Fan module
Dual inline memory modules
Twenty-four, 288-pin DIMM sockets support up to 12 DDR4 DIMMs, capable of up to 96 GB, 192 GB, or 384 GB of memory, depending on the model.
The SP assembly includes a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) internal battery that powers the associated SP assembly during a power event.
Each SP assembly has two slots for M.2 SSD on a M.2 SSD adaptor located between DIMM slots 5/17 and 6/18. One M.2 SSD is used for general system operations, while the other M.2 SSD is used for vaulting.
Six redundant fan modules connect to the motherboard within the SP assembly to provide continuous airflow through the front drives and through the rear of the SP assembly to keep the components at optimal operating temperatures.
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Note:
The
SP assembly performs a protective thermal shutdown if two cooling modules fault within the same
SP assembly.
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