Preventative Maintenance Checklist

1. Server Preventative Maintenance Checklist: High-Reliability Compute Node (HRCN-4000 Series)

This document serves as the definitive technical guide and preventative maintenance checklist for the High-Reliability Compute Node (HRCN-4000 Series) server configuration. This platform is engineered for mission-critical workloads requiring maximum uptime and predictable performance. Adherence to the specified maintenance schedule is crucial for preserving the warranty and ensuring the documented performance characteristics are maintained over the system's operational lifecycle.

The HRCN-4000 series utilizes dual-socket, high-core-count processors coupled with redundant, high-speed NVMe storage arrays and enterprise-grade ECC memory, making it suitable for virtualization hosts, database servers, and high-performance computing (HPC) nodes.

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1. 1. 1. Hardware Specifications

The HRCN-4000 configuration is based on a 2U rack-mountable chassis designed for high-density deployment. All components selected meet strict enterprise-grade reliability targets (MTBF > 150,000 hours).

1. 1. 1. 1.1 System Architecture Overview

The core architecture is built around the Intel C741 platform, supporting dual-socket configurations with extensive PCIe Gen 5 connectivity.

**HRCN-4000 Core Platform Specifications**

Feature	Specification	Notes
Form Factor	2U Rackmount Chassis (30.5" depth)	Optimized for standard 1000mm racks.
Motherboard Chipset	Intel C741 (Codename: Whitley/Sapphire Rapids Refresh)	Supports dual-socket configurations and 8-channel memory controllers per CPU.
BIOS/UEFI Firmware	AMI Aptio V (Rev 4.12.x or later)	Must support in-band and out-of-band management (IPMI 2.0).
Power Supplies (PSU)	2 x 2000W 80+ Platinum Redundant (N+1)	Hot-swappable, supporting 200-240V AC input. Maximum combined power draw under full load: ~1850W.
Cooling Subsystem	High Airflow Redundant Fans (4x)	Top-to-bottom airflow configuration. Must maintain < 35°C ambient intake.

1. 1. 1. 1.2 Central Processing Units (CPUs)

The HRCN-4000 is standardized on the Intel Xeon Scalable "Sapphire Rapids" family, optimized for high core density and integrated accelerators (e.g., AMX, QAT).

**HRCN-4000 CPU Configuration Details**

Parameter	Specification (Primary/Secondary Socket)	Reference Standard
CPU Model	2x Intel Xeon Platinum 8480+	High-core count, high-frequency variant.
Core Count (Total)	2 x 56 Cores / 112 Threads	Total 112 physical cores, 224 logical threads.
Base Clock Frequency	2.4 GHz	Guaranteed minimum operational frequency.
Max Turbo Frequency (Single Core)	Up to 3.8 GHz	Dependent on Thermal Design Power (TDP) budget.
L3 Cache (Total)	112 MB (56 MB per socket)	Shared Smart Cache architecture.
TDP (Thermal Design Power)	2 x 350W	Thermal management critical. Refer to Thermal Management Protocols.
Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)	AVX-512, AVX-VNNI, AMX (Advanced Matrix Extensions)	Essential for AI/ML and vectorized workloads.

1. 1. 1. 1.3 Memory Subsystem (RAM)

The configuration mandates the use of high-density, high-reliability DDR5 Registered ECC memory operating at the maximum supported frequency dictated by the memory controller topology.

• **Total Capacity:** 2048 GB (2 TB)
• **Module Type:** DDR5 RDIMM (ECC Registered)
• **Module Density:** 16 x 128 GB DIMMs
• **Speed Grade:** 4800 MT/s (JEDEC Standard)
• **Configuration:** All 8 memory channels per CPU fully populated (4 DIMMs per channel utilized in a balanced configuration).
• **Error Correction:** Hardware-level ECC (Error-Correcting Code) enabled and verified.
• **Memory Topology:** Interleaved across both sockets to maximize memory bandwidth utilization, adhering to the NUMA Architecture Guidelines.

1. 1. 1. 1.4 Storage Subsystem: Boot and Data Arrays

The storage strategy employs a highly resilient, dual-path NVMe configuration for primary data storage, segregated from the dedicated boot volume.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.4.1 Boot/OS Array

| Component | Specification | Quantity | Interface | Redundancy | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Boot SSD | 2x 960GB Enterprise NVMe M.2 (PCIe 4.0) | 2 | M.2 Slot (Dedicated) | RAID 1 (Software/Firmware) |

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.4.2 Primary Data Array (High-Speed Tier)

This array is configured for maximum IOPS and sequential throughput, utilizing PCIe Gen 5 host adapters and U.2 NVMe drives.

| Component | Specification | Quantity | Interface | Redundancy | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Data NVMe SSD | 16x 7.68 TB Enterprise U.2 NVMe (PCIe 5.0) | 16 | AOC Card (via PCIe 5.0 x16 slot) | RAID 6/ZFS Stripe of Mirrors | | Total Usable Capacity | ~73.7 TB (Post-RAID 6 Overhead) | N/A | N/A | N/A |

• • Note on Storage Configuration:** The RAID level (RAID 6 or ZFS equivalent) must be configured to provide $\text{N}-2$ redundancy against double drive failure. Refer to the Storage Redundancy Protocols documentation.

1. 1. 1. 1.5 Networking Interface Controllers (NICs)

The HRCN-4000 prioritizes high-speed, low-latency connectivity, typically utilizing OCP 3.0 form factors for flexibility.

| Interface Type | Quantity | Speed | Controller Model | Purpose | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Management (BMC) | 1 | 1 GbE (Dedicated) | Realtek RTL8211F | IPMI/Redfish Management | | Data Port 1 (Primary) | 2 | 100 GbE QSFP28 | Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx | Cluster Interconnect/High-Throughput Data | | Data Port 2 (Secondary) | 2 | 25 GbE SFP28 | Intel E810-XXV | Storage Network/Management Traffic |

All data ports must be configured for flow control and utilize Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) where supported by the host fabric RDMA Configuration Guide.

1. 1. 1. 1.6 Expansion Capabilities (PCIe Layout)

The system provides ample bandwidth via PCIe Gen 5 lanes originating directly from the CPUs and the C741 PCH.

• **Total PCIe Slots:** 6 (4 x PCIe 5.0 x16, 2 x PCIe 5.0 x8)
• **Available Lanes:** Up to 128 usable lanes across the two CPUs.
• **Expansion Card Slot Utilization:**

   *   Slot 1 (CPU0): PCIe 5.0 x16 (Dedicated for Storage Accelerator)
   *   Slot 2 (CPU1): PCIe 5.0 x16 (For GPU or High-Speed Fabric Card)
   *   Slots 3-6: Flexible utilization for accelerators or additional NICs.

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1. 1. 2. Performance Characteristics

The HRCN-4000 is benchmarked specifically to validate its capability in handling sustained, high-concurrency workloads. Performance metrics are derived from standardized tests conducted under controlled thermal and power envelopes (25°C ambient, 90% utilization).

1. 1. 1. 2.1 Compute Benchmarks (CPU and Memory)

The primary performance indicator is sustained floating-point operations per second (GFLOPS) and memory latency.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.1.1 SPECrate 2017 Integer and Floating Point

These benchmarks measure sustained throughput across the entire core count, simulating complex multi-threaded enterprise applications.

**SPEC Benchmark Results (Dual 8480+ Configuration)**

Benchmark Suite	Result Score	Comparison Baseline (HRCN-3000)
SPECrate 2017 Integer	11,500	+38%
SPECrate 2017 Floating Point	12,850	+45%
Memory Bandwidth (Peak Read)	1.4 TB/s	N/A (DDR5 Advantage)

The substantial uplift in Floating Point performance is attributed to the enhanced AVX-512 and AMX capabilities of the Sapphire Rapids architecture compared to previous generations.

1. 1. 1. 2.2 Storage Input/Output Performance

Storage performance is critical for I/O-bound workloads such as transactional databases (OLTP). The configuration targets extremely low latency and high IOPS.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.2.1 Mixed I/O Workload Simulation (4K Block Size)

Testing utilized FIO (Flexible I/O Tester) configured with 70% reads and 30% writes, utilizing the entire 16-drive NVMe array in RAID 6 configuration.

**Storage IOPS and Latency Metrics (4K Mixed Workload)**

Metric	Value Achieved	Target SLA
IOPS (Total)	> 2.5 Million IOPS	$\ge$ 2.0 Million IOPS
Average Latency (Read)	45 microseconds ($\mu s$)	$\le$ 60 $\mu s$
P99 Latency (Read)	110 microseconds ($\mu s$)	$\le$ 150 $\mu s$
Sequential Throughput (Read)	18.5 GB/s	$\ge$ 17.0 GB/s

• • Performance Note:** Maintaining P99 latency below $150 \mu s$ is contingent upon proper QoS Configuration for NVMe Devices and ensuring the RAID parity calculations do not saturate the PCIe bus bandwidth.

1. 1. 1. 2.3 Network Throughput

Network performance validation focuses on achieving line rate throughput across the 100GbE interfaces with minimal packet loss under sustained load.

• **TCP Throughput (Single Stream):** Measured at 98.5 Gbps end-to-end (12.3 GB/s) between two HRCN-4000 nodes configured with ConnectX-6 adapters.
• **Jumbo Frames:** Tested successfully at 9216 byte MTU with zero packet drops during 1-hour sustained transfers.
• **RDMA Performance:** Latency between nodes using RoCEv2 averaged $1.1 \mu s$ for small message transfers ($<256$ bytes), confirming effective offload to the NIC hardware.

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1. 1. 3. Recommended Use Cases

The HRCN-4000 configuration is specifically designed for workloads that demand high CPU core count, massive memory capacity, and extremely fast, persistent storage access.

1. 1. 1. 3.1 High-Density Virtualization and Cloud Infrastructure

With 112 physical cores and 2 TB of high-speed DDR5 memory, the HRCN-4000 excels as a hypervisor host (e.g., VMware ESXi, KVM).

• **VM Density:** Capable of securely hosting over 300 standard Virtual Machines (VMs) or 50 large-footprint VMs (e.g., 64GB RAM each).
• **Overcommitment:** Due to the high core count, CPU overcommitment ratios of 4:1 (physical cores to vCPUs) are safely achievable for balanced workloads.
• **Key Benefit:** The fast NVMe array minimizes storage latency impact on VM responsiveness, a common bottleneck in traditional SAN environments. Refer to Virtualization Performance Tuning.

1. 1. 1. 3.2 Enterprise Database Management Systems (DBMS)

The combination of massive RAM (for in-memory caching) and high IOPS storage makes this ideal for demanding database platforms.

• **OLTP Workloads (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle):** The low P99 storage latency ensures rapid transaction commits and high concurrency handling.
• **In-Memory Databases (e.g., SAP HANA):** The 2TB memory capacity supports large in-memory database instances directly on the host, minimizing reliance on external persistent storage access during active processing. See In-Memory Database Deployment Guide.

1. 1. 1. 3.3 High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Scientific Simulation

The vector processing capabilities (AVX-512/AMX) and high memory bandwidth are crucial for numerical simulation workloads.

• **Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD):** Excellent performance in highly parallelized tasks that benefit from wide vector registers.
• **Genomics/Bioinformatics:** Rapid processing of large datasets (sequencing alignment, variant calling) benefiting from high memory throughput.

1. 1. 1. 3.4 AI/ML Model Training (Data Preprocessing)

While dedicated GPU accelerators are required for the actual matrix multiplication in deep learning training, the HRCN-4000 serves as an exceptional **Data Loader/Preprocessing Node**.

• It can rapidly ingest, transform, and feed massive datasets (terabytes) to the GPU cluster via the 100GbE fabric, preventing the GPUs from idling while waiting for data staging. Consult AI Cluster Interconnect Standards.

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1. 1. 4. Comparison with Similar Configurations

To illustrate the value proposition of the HRCN-4000, we compare it against two common alternatives: a previous-generation high-density node (HRCN-3000) and a similar configuration utilizing AMD EPYC processors (HRCN-4000A).

1. 1. 1. 4.1 Comparison with Legacy Configuration (HRCN-3000)

The HRCN-3000 utilized dual-socket Intel Xeon Scalable Gen 3 (Ice Lake) processors and DDR4 memory.

**HRCN-4000 vs. HRCN-3000 (Legacy)**

Feature	HRCN-4000 (Current)	HRCN-3000 (Legacy)
CPU Generation	Sapphire Rapids (Gen 4/5)	Ice Lake (Gen 3)
CPU Cores (Total)	112 Cores	80 Cores
Memory Type/Speed	DDR5 @ 4800 MT/s	DDR4 @ 3200 MT/s
Storage Interface	PCIe Gen 5	PCIe Gen 4
Peak Throughput Improvement	$\approx$ 40% Compute, 100% Storage Bandwidth	Baseline
Power Efficiency (W/Core)	3.12 W/Core	3.85 W/Core

The HRCN-4000 demonstrates superior performance density and better power efficiency per computational unit, justifying the migration cost for performance-sensitive environments.

1. 1. 1. 4.2 Comparison with AMD EPYC Alternative (HRCN-4000A)

The HRCN-4000A utilizes the contemporary AMD EPYC "Genoa" platform, which typically offers higher core counts but often different memory bandwidth characteristics.

**HRCN-4000 (Intel) vs. HRCN-4000A (AMD EPYC)**

Feature	HRCN-4000 (Intel)	HRCN-4000A (AMD EPYC Equivalent)
CPU Model Example	2x Xeon Platinum 8480+ (112 Cores)	2x EPYC 9654 (128 Cores)
Total Cores/Threads	112 / 224	128 / 256
Memory Channels	8 Channels (DDR5)	12 Channels (DDR5)
Peak Memory Bandwidth	1.4 TB/s	$\approx$ 1.8 TB/s (Advantage AMD)
Vectorization Support	AVX-512, AMX (Stronger AI Acceleration)	AVX-512 (No native AMX equivalent)
Storage Interface	PCIe Gen 5	PCIe Gen 5
Workload Suitability	Vectorized HPC, AI Pre-processing, Intel Optimized Stacks	General Virtualization, High Core Density, Memory-Bound Tasks

• • Conclusion on Comparison:** While the AMD variant offers higher raw core and memory channel counts, the HRCN-4000 (Intel) is selected for environments heavily invested in Intel-specific acceleration technologies (e.g., QAT, AMX) or where the robust maturity of the Intel toolchain is required. Both configurations meet the high-reliability threshold.

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1. 1. 5. Maintenance Considerations

Maintaining the HRCN-4000 requires strict adherence to environmental controls and component-specific replacement schedules to ensure the longevity of the high-density components.

1. 1. 1. 5.1 Thermal Management Protocols

The 700W combined TDP of the CPUs necessitates aggressive cooling. Failure to manage thermal dissipation leads directly to clock throttling, performance degradation, and premature hardware failure.

1. 1. 1. 1. 5.1.1 Data Center Ambient Environment

• **Intake Temperature:** Must be maintained between $18^{\circ}\text{C}$ and $25^{\circ}\text{C}$ (ASHRAE Class A1/A2 recommended).
• **Maximum Rack Inlet Temperature:** **Never exceed $30^{\circ}\text{C}$** for extended periods (>$1$ hour).
• **Airflow Management:** Hot/Cold aisle containment is mandatory. Blanking panels must cover all unused rack units (U) to prevent hot air recirculation into the server intake. Refer to Rack Airflow Best Practices.

1. 1. 1. 1. 5.1.2 Internal Component Monitoring

The Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) must be configured to generate critical alerts if any component temperature exceeds defined thresholds:

• **CPU T_junction Max:** $100^{\circ}\text{C}$. **Action:** If sustained above $92^{\circ}\text{C}$, initiate load shedding and thermal investigation.
• **System Ambient (Chassis):** $45^{\circ}\text{C}$.
• **NVMe Drive Temperature:** $70^{\circ}\text{C}$. High flash temperatures significantly reduce drive lifespan (TBW).

• • Preventative Action:** Every 6 months, visually inspect heatsink contact points and ensure all thermal interface material (TIM) appears intact and free from pump-out or drying.

1. 1. 1. 5.2 Power Delivery and Redundancy

The system relies on dual 2000W Platinum-rated PSUs.

• **Input Voltage Stability:** Operation must be within $\pm 5\%$ of the nominal 208V or 240V AC input range. Power quality monitoring (PQM) is required to detect brownouts or high Total Harmonic Distortion (THD).
• **PSU Redundancy Test:** Quarterly, perform a controlled shutdown of one PSU via the IPMI interface to confirm that the remaining PSU seamlessly handles the full system load (including startup surge) without triggering low-voltage warnings. This validates the N+1 capability. See Power Redundancy Validation Procedures.
• **Cable Management:** Ensure all power cables are rated for the full load (minimum 16A @ 208V) and are securely fastened to prevent intermittent connection causing power supply cycling.

1. 1. 1. 5.3 Drive Health Monitoring and Replacement Cycle

Given the reliance on the NVMe array for critical data, proactive monitoring is essential.

1. 1. 1. 1. 5.3.1 SMART Data Collection

The system must poll the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) data for all 18 storage devices (2 Boot, 16 Data) at least hourly.

• **Critical Metrics to Track:**

   *   `Media_Wearout_Indicator` (Normalized Life Remaining)
   *   `Temperature_Celsius`
   *   `Reallocated_Sector_Count` (Should remain zero unless failure is imminent).

1. 1. 1. 1. 5.3.2 Predictive Failure Thresholds

If any drive’s `Media_Wearout_Indicator` drops below 15% (relative to the drive's factory rating), the drive must be placed on the immediate replacement queue. Do not wait for a second failure in a RAID 6 array.

• • Maintenance Schedule:**
• **Monthly:** Full SMART report review.
• **Annually:** Perform a **Zero-Fill/Secure Erase** on one non-critical spare drive to verify the process works correctly before an actual failure occurs. This is part of the Storage Failure Recovery Testing.

1. 1. 1. 5.4 Firmware and Software Lifecycle Management

Maintaining current, validated firmware is critical for stability, security, and performance, especially concerning PCIe lane negotiation and memory timing stability.

| Component | Recommended Update Cadence | Criticality Level | Verification Requirement | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **BMC/IPMI Firmware** | Biannually (or upon security advisory) | High | Full remote management functionality test post-update. | | **BIOS/UEFI** | Annually (or upon memory/CPU microcode update) | Critical | Re-run full SPEC benchmarks to confirm performance parity. | | **Storage Controller Firmware** | As released by vendor (if performance/bug fix noted) | High | Validate IOPS/Latency post-update (Section 2.2). | | **OS Kernel/Drivers** | Monthly Patch Cycle | Medium | Verify RDMA functionality after network stack updates. |

• • Firmware Rollback Plan:** Always ensure the BMC/BIOS firmware repository contains the immediately preceding stable version. Never update firmware components during peak operational hours. Consult the Firmware Upgrade Best Practices.

1. 1. 1. 5.5 Physical Inspection and Cleaning

Dust accumulation is the primary non-electrical failure cause in high-density servers.

1. **Power Down and De-Rack (Semi-Annually):** System must be fully powered down, and power cords disconnected. 2. **Compressed Air Cleaning:** Use low-pressure, filtered, dry nitrogen or compressed air to clean cooling fan intakes, CPU heatsinks, and memory module fins. **Do not use standard vacuum cleaners.** 3. **Fan Inspection:** Check all 4 redundant cooling fans for excessive vibration or bearing noise. Replace any fan exhibiting audible anomalies immediately, even if the system reports "OK." A failing fan increases local airflow temperature, stressing neighboring components. See Fan Replacement Guide. 4. **Cable Integrity:** Inspect all internal SAS/SATA/PCIe riser cables for crimps or chafing. Verify all DIMMs are fully seated (requires gentle pressure check). Improper seating causes memory channel asymmetry, impacting NUMA performance.

1. 1. 1. 5.6 Component Lifespan Expectations

Proactive replacement schedules prevent catastrophic failures tied to Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) statistics.

• **Electrolytic Capacitors (Motherboard/PSU):** Expected lifespan of 5-7 years under continuous operation at high temperatures. Schedule mainboard replacement or extensive capacitor testing after 6 years.
• **Cooling Fans:** Expected operational life of 40,000 to 60,000 hours. Plan for replacement around the 5-year mark, regardless of reported status, to mitigate cascading failure risk.
• **NVMe Drives:** Based on the workload (Section 3.2), the drives are expected to reach their Total Bytes Written (TBW) rating between 3 and 5 years. Replacement should be scheduled based on the projected TBW based on the prior year's usage logs. Refer to SSD Write Amplification Management.

By rigorously following this checklist and maintaining environmental controls as specified, the HRCN-4000 configuration will reliably meet its demanding service level objectives. Continuous monitoring through the integrated BMC is the first line of defense against performance drift and failure.

Intel-Based Server Configurations

Configuration	Specifications	Benchmark
Core i7-6700K/7700 Server	64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB	CPU Benchmark: 8046
Core i7-8700 Server	64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB	CPU Benchmark: 13124
Core i9-9900K Server	128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB	CPU Benchmark: 49969
Core i9-13900 Server (64GB)	64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i9-13900 Server (128GB)	128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (64GB)	64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (128GB)	128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Workstation	64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000

AMD-Based Server Configurations

Configuration	Specifications	Benchmark
Ryzen 5 3600 Server	64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 17849
Ryzen 7 7700 Server	64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 35224
Ryzen 9 5950X Server	128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 46045
Ryzen 9 7950X Server	128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 63561
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB)	128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB)	128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB)	128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB)	256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB)	256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 9454P Server	256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe

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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️