HP XW8600 Dual Quad-Core CPU workstation Configuration guide

Avid Configuration Guidelines

HP XW8600 Dual Quad-Core CPU Workstation

Media Composer 6.0, Symphony 6.0, NewsCutter 10 and later

(To configure an XW8600 for prior versions of Avid software see the earlier version XW8600 guide posted on the Avid KB)

1.) HP Z800 AVID Qualified System Specification:

Z800 / AVID Qualified Operating System:

- Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition with Service Pack 1

Z800 Hardware Configuration

Formally Supported CPU

- Dual Intel® Quad-Core Xeon® X5450 Processors @ 3GHz

- Video Card: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 PCI-e video board

- 250GB SATA-II 3Gb/s 7200RPM System Disk Drive (minimum recommendation)

Supported / recommended memory configurations

Minimum AVID memory configuration: 4GB DDR2-667 Fully Buffered memory a) Four 1GB DIMMs, (4 x 1GB) installed in DIMM slots 1, 3, 5, 7 b) Eight 512MB DIMMs, (8 x 512MB) installed in DIMM slots 1 - 8

Preferred AVID memory configuration: 8GB DDR2-667 Fully Buffered memory a) Eight 1GB DIMMs, (8 x 1GB) installed in DIMM slots 1 - 8 b) Four 2GB DIMMs, (4 x 2GB) installed in DIMM slots 1, 3, 5, 7

2.) Qualified Operating Systems for Avid Client Editing Applications, Hardware and Shared-

Storage connectivity for the HP XW8600 with Media Composer / Symphony 6.0 , NewsCutter

10 or later:

- Supported: Only Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition with SP1 (SP1 required)

- Not Supported - Microsoft® Windows XP 32-bit, 64-bit (any version)

- Not Supported - Microsoft® Windows Vista 32-bit, 64-bit (any version)

- Not Supported - Microsoft® Windows 7 – any 32-bit version, or any version of Home, Ultimate or

Enterprise editions.

Note regarding Service packs:

As of this writing Service Pack 1 is the current Service Pack release for Win7. SP1 is required for Media

Composer 6.0, Symphony 6.0 and NewsCutter 10. As future Service Packs are released Avid will evaluate and announce formal support when testing is completed.

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3.) Qualified Hardware and shared storage supported:

AVID qualified Hardware / Shared Storage

Mojo DX

Nitris DX

3 rd

Party Qualified Hardware

Unity ISIS System Infrastructure

Unity ISIS 1 Gbit Ethernet Client

Unity ISIS Hi-res (10 Gbit) client

Unity MediaNet Infrastructure

Unity MediaNet Fibre

Unity MediaNet AECIFs

1394 Adrenaline DNA

1394 Mojo-SDI DNA

1394 Mojo-Analog DNA

Qualified / Supported

Yes

Yes

See release notes and Avid website for information regarding supported 3 rd

party hardware (vendor qualified)

ISIS 1.4 Infrastructure

ISIS 2.03 Client

N/A Not Supported

MediaNet 4.2.4 Infrastructure

MediaNet 5.1.2 Client

MediaNet 5.1.2 Client





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AVID qualified HBA info

AVID qualified HBA

Avid HIB, DX Interface HBA

**

AVID Part Number

Active: 7030-30048-01

Active: 7030-20084-01

Passive: 7030-30021-01

Not stocked by AVID

Slot

Location

#4

Function

Avid DX Hardware Interface HBA

Vendor Qualified 3 rd

party hardware interface

Atto R380

Atto UL5D

Intel PRO 1000 PT

Intel PRO 1000 PF - ISIS

7030-20166-01

7030-20002-01

7030-20139-01

Not stocked by AVID

#4

#5

#5

#6

#6

See release notes and Avid website for information regarding supported 3 rd

party hardware (Vendor Qualified)

Local SAS Storage Support –

Avid VideoRAID ST (5-bay)

Xtore StudioRAID 5Ti (5-bay)

Local u320 SCSI Storage – VideoRAID RTR &

Legacy Avid u320 SCSI storage

(The UL5D BIOS should be disabled) Shared

Shared Storage: ISIS Copper Gb-Ethernet

Shared Storage: Unity ISIS Optical Gb-Ethernet

Shared Storage: Unity MediaNet Fibre Atto FC-41ES 7030-20004-01 #6

Specific Important qualified HBA Support Notes

**

Avid DX Interface HBA Support Note: (See reference pictures on page 6 of this guide ).

All 3 versions of the DX interface HBA are supported with the Media Composer / Symphony 6.x and NewsCutter 10.x

1) Active DX interface HBA 7030-30048-01


3) Passive DX interface HBA 7030-30021-01


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4.) Slot Configuration:

Slot #

1

2

7

6

4

3

5

Electrical

PCI 32bit /33MHz x16 PCI-E x4 PCI-E x16 or x8 PCI-E

(Set to x8 electrical via system BIOS)

X8 or x1 PCI-E

(Set to x8 electrical via system BIOS) x4 PCI-E

PCI-X 133MHz

Slot Configuration Information

Mechanical

PCI 32/33 x16 x8 x16 x8 x8

PCI-X

64-bit

Do Not Use.

Will cause PCI BUS contention with embedded 1394 controller ports

(front-panel / rear-panel ports) because it shares the same PCI bus.

Quadro FX 3700

Not Used

Avid HIB, DX Interface HBA

Active: 7030-30048-01 & 7030-20084-01

Passive: 7030-30021-01

OR

Vendor Qualified 3 rd

Party Hardware PCI-e Interface

See release notes and Avid website for information

regarding supported 3 rd

party hardware

Local Storage Controllers:

Atto R380 – Avid VideoRAID ST (5-bay) SAS support

Atto R380 – Xtore StudioRAID 5Ti (5-bay) SAS support

Atto UL5D - Legacy u320 SCSI support (The UL5D BIOS should be disabled)

Shared Storage Controllers:

Atto FC-41ES – MediaNet LAN Share

Intel PRO 1000 PT – ISIS 5000 / 7000

Intel PRO 1000 PF – ISIS 5000 / 7000

** Important – This slot shares the same bus as the embedded SAS 1068 controller. This is particularly important for users utilizing the embedded SAS ports to interface to a local storage array such as the Avid VideoRAID SR.

Installation of any non-specified HBA into this slot (in particular a PCI 32bit/33MHz HBA) will result in severely degraded performance of the embedded

SAS controller and associated storage. This slot should not be used if the embedded SAS controller / external SAS ports of the XW8600 are utilized.


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5.) Utilization of the Z800 embedded (on-board) 1394 ports for Camera / Deck / Disk Drive support

Media Composer / Symphony 6.0 and NewsCutter 10 do not support Avid 1394 hardware such as Adrenaline and

1394 Mojo-SDI. This simplifies utilization of the XW8600 embedded 1394 ports. The embedded 1394 ports can and should be

used for all 1394 Camera / Deck / Disk Drive connectivity for all configurations running Media Composer / Symphony 6.0 and

NewsCutter 10.

Configuration

Embedded 1394 utilization for

Camera / Deck / Disk Drive support

Avid DX Hardware

Software Only

Yes - Supports 1394 Deck / Camera / Disk Drive

( 1394 disk drives are recommended only for file transfers)

Vendor Qualified

3 rd

Party PCIe

Hardware


(

1394 disk drives are recommended only for file transfers)


However 3 rd

party hardware and a 1394 Camera or Deck cannot be simultaneously connected.

( 1394 disk drives are recommended only for file transfers)

HP XW8600 Slot Layout


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9.) Various Configuration Issues:

A.) D/X hardware configs –

All 3 versions of the DX interface HBA are supported with the Media Composer / Symphony 6.x and NewsCutter 10.x



3) Passive DX interface HBA 7030-30021-01

Active DX interface HBA 7030-30048-01 Active DX interface HBA 7030-20084-01

Passive DX interface HBA (7030-30021-01)


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B.) Qualified Avid system BIOS version(s): (As of this writing):

BIOS Ver 1.36 required for systems running 64-bit Win7 O.S.

Current Avid qualified XW8600 BIOS information and installers are maintained at the following Avid KB link: http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=267609&Hilite=hp+bios

Required system BIOS change to set PCI-E speeds for slots #4 and #5

During boot up press F10 at the white HP screen, for Set Up.

Select English. <Enter>

Select the Advanced tab

Select Chipset / Memory <Enter>

Select PCIe Lane Allocation (SLOT4: SLOT5)

Default setting is AUTO

Change this setting from AUTO to x8:x8

Save Changes and Exit

C.) Nvidia Qualified Driver:

Nvidia qualified drivers

AVID Software

Media Composer / Symphony

NewsCutter

Version(s)

6.0 and later

10.0 and later

Nvidia GPU

Quadro FX 3700

Quadro FX 3700

Nvidia Driver Required

275.89

275.89

After installation of the AVID software the supported Nvidia driver can be found in the following directory:

Program Files / Avid / Utilities / Nvidia


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Set optimized Nvidia driver settings for Avid editing environments:

1. See picture below

2. Right-Click on the desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel

3. Select the “Desktop” menu selection in the control panel menu bar.

4. Enable “Desktop -> Video Editing Mode


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5. Select Manage 3D Settings

6. Select “Global Settings” Tab

7. Under the “Global Settings” tab select “Base Profile” as shown in the picture below:


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8. Scroll down and locate the “Power Management Mode” feature. The default setting is “Adaptive” as shown in the picture below.


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9. For the “Power management mode” feature, select “Prefer maximum performance” as shown in the picture below.

10. Depress the “Apply” button.


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Make the following setting for “Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration”

11. Stay in the “Manage 3D Settings” and “Base Profile” area


13. Scroll down and locate the “Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration” feature. See picture below. The setting should be set to “Multiple display performance mode”. If not set properly, select Multiple display performance mode and depress the “Apply” button. (The other settings are “Single display performance mode” and “Compatibility performance mode”. These settings are not recommended for

Avid editing environments).


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Make the following additional setting for “3D App-Video Editing”

14. Stay in the “Manage 3D Settings” area


16. Under “Global Settings” tab select “3D App-Video Editing” setting as shown in picture below:

17. Depress the “Apply” button

18. Nvidia driver optimization settings for Avid environments are complete.


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D.) Serial Port Deck Control:

Serial Port Deck Control:

The HP XW8600 workstation does have an embedded serial port. The embedded serial-port has been qualified by

Avid and will maintain frame accuracy in Avid environments. Primary or secondary / additional serial port deck control can be established via two methods (both of which have been qualified by Avid and will maintain frame accuracy in

Avid environments)

USB port of the Z800 directly to the RS422 port of a deck.

http://www.addenda.com/addenda-elect/products/rsUSB4.php

2. Combination of a Keyspan (Tripp-Lite) Model USA-19HS USB-to-serial-port adapter with Addenda Rosetta

Stone model RS – 2/8 RS232-to-RS422 converter

- Keyspan (Tripp-Lite) Model USA-19HS (AVID P/N 7080-20013-01) http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=518&EID=13384&txtModelID=3914

- Addenda Rosetta Stone (or equivalent) model RS – 2/8 RS232-to-RS422 converter (AVID P/N

7070-00507-01) http://www.addenda.com/addenda-elect/products/rs28.php

To connect the Keyspan 19HS / Addenda RS -2/8 combination:

- Install the Keyspan 19HS driver before plugging the device into a Z800 USB port.

- Once the Keyspan 19HS driver is installed then plug the Keyspan 19HS into a Z800 USB port.

- The Keyspan 19HS will now show up in device driver.

- Using a serial cable, connect the 9-pin serial port of the Keyspan 19HS USB adapter to the port of the

Addenda marked RS232 from PC nd

- Using a 2 serial port cable connect the port of the Addenda marked “RS422 to VTR” to the deck control serial port of the deck.

E.) O.S. setting recommendations for optimum performance with Avid Editing applications:

The following links provide O.S. setting suggestions for ensuring optimum performance when working with your Avid editing application with a Windows operating system.

- Optimizations for Video Editors - Windows 7 http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=390339


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F.) Supported external local SAS storage connectivity via embedded SAS controller and ports:

Supported

- AVID VideoRAID SR (16-bay)

- Xtore StudioRAID 16Re (16-bay) / 5Te (5-bay) chassis

The XW8600 can support: a. Up to two external AVID VideoRAID SR (16-bay) SAS local storage chassis b. Mix and match of up to two external Xtore StudioRAID 16Re (16-bay) / 5Te (5-bay) chassis

Simultaneous connectivity of AVID VideoRAID and Xtore chassis is not formally qualified or recommended.

External SAS Port 2 External SAS Port 1


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G.) Set Windows “Visual Effects” for “best performance”:

(Please Note: Windows 7 screen shots shown for reference. WinXP and Vista screens will vary).

1. Right-Click on My Computer / Computer

3. The screen below will be displayed:

4. On the left side of the screen above, locate and select “Advanced system settings”


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5. The System properties window will be displayed. (Picture below).

6. Under the “Advanced” tab depress the “Settings...” button for performance.


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8. Under the “Visual Effects” tab select the “Adjust for best performance” selection. (Picture below).

9. Depress the “Apply” button

10. Reboot Windows

11. Required Windows visual performance settings for Avid environments are now complete.


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H.) ATTO UL5D issue: When an ATTO UL5D PCI-E u320 SCSI controller is installed in slot #5, the UL5D BIOS must be disabled or the following warning may be reported during system boot: (Also the UL5D BIOS must be disabled for proper operation when connected to an AVID VideoRAID RTR u320 SCSI).

110 – Out of memory space for option ROMS.

The option ROM for the following device was unable to run due to memory constraints. If you choose to continue, one or more

PCI devices may not work properly

To disable the UL5D BIOS and eliminate the above warning, perform one of the following:

A. AVID Knowledge Base article 273945, http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=273945&Hilite=UL5D

Install Atto UL5D configuration tool and launch the software.

Expand the Express PCI UL5D menu, and click on Channel.

The Boot Driver has to be disabled on both channels of the UL5D.

Configure the UL5D per this screenshot, and do this for both Channel 1 and Channel 2

B. Or during system boot perform the following:

1. Reboot the system

2. Hit “Escape” to clear the HP splash screen

3.

Hit Ctrl-Z when the following Atto UL5D BIOS message prompts

*********************************************

** ATTO ExpressPCI ™ Version 2.10 **

***** Press [Ctrl + Z] for Setup Utility *****

4.

Select 1 - Adapter menu

5. Select 2 - Configure Both Adapter Channels

6. For ver 2.10 firmware

‐ Select Host Adapter BIOS

‐ Select “Disabled” using [Page Up] / [Page Down]

7. For ver 2.27 firmware

‐ Select Boot Driver

‐ Select “Disabled” using [Page Up] / [Page Down]

8. Press “ESC”

9.

Press “ESC”

10. Select 4 – Save Parameters and Exit


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I.) Intel PRO 1000 PT for ISIS connectivity: For proper operation and connectivity of the Intel PRO 1000 PT with ISIS the following are required:

1. For the Intel PRO 1000 PT driver, under the performance settings, change the following parameters:

- Receive Buffers to 1024

- Transmit Buffers to 1024

2. Disable the windows firewall.

Intel PRO 1000 PT Driver: The proper driver can be found in the ISIS software directory: Tools_3rdParty / Drivers_and_Firmware

To set the Intel PRO 1000 PT Receive / Transmit buffers:

Go to device manager and select each instance of the device named Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter which will be used for ISIS connectivity.

Select performance options and then select Properties.


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Set Receive Buffers to 1024 Set Transmit Buffers to 1024

Perform this for each instance of the device named “Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter” which will be used for ISIS connectivity.

J.) Disable the windows firewal l:

Navigate to Control Panel / Windows Firewall -- Select Turn Windows Firewall on or off


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Select Turn off windows firewall in both network locations, OK to save

Revision Update

Revision Date

A Oct 27 th

, 2011

Name

Joe Conforti

Update

Initial public release of the XW8600 configuration guide for support of Media Composer 6.0, Symphony 6.0 and

NewsCutter 10


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HP XW8600 Dual Quad-Core CPU workstation Configuration guide

Assistant Bot

Avid Configuration Guidelines