Reference: Supported Slot Configurations

Use this reference to understand supported slot configurations and restrictions or caveats for specific cards.

Supported slots for SteelHead CX 5080 and 7080

SteelHead CX 5080 and 7080 supported NICs	Quantity	Supported slots
40 GbE	2	2, 4 These cards require two slots due to their larger size and can be installed in slot 2 (slot 1 will be occluded) and/or slot 4 (slot 5 will be occluded).
10 GbE	4	1, 2, 4, 5 These cards can be installed in slots 1, 2, 4, 5 and cannot be installed in slots 3 and 6 due to hardware restrictions.
1 GbE	6	1-6. These cards can be installed in slots 1 to 6. If a QAT Compression/Acceleration card is installed in slot 6, you loose that slot.
QAT Compression/Acceleration	1	6 only. The QAT Compression/Acceleration card can only be installed in the CX xx80 appliance, slot 6.

Slots restrictions for SteelHead CX 5080 and CX 7080

The slot restrictions based on height and length of NICs are described in these tables.

Right riser slots

Slot #	Bus width	Height	Length	Notes
Slot 1	x8	FH (Full-Height)	FL (Full-Length)	When a x16 card is in slot 2, slot 1 can’t be used.
Slot 2	x16 or x8	FH (Full-Height)	FL (Full-Length)	When a x16 card is in slot 2, slot 1 can’t be used. Two-Port 40-GbE Fiber SR4/LR4 cards require x16 bus width slots and are only supported in slots 2 and 4.
Slot 3	x8	FH (Full-Height)	HL (Half-Length <= 6.6 in.)	SteelHead CX 5080 and CX 7080 appliances ship with a Four-Port 1-GbE Copper Bypass card installed in slot 3.

Left riser slots

Slot #	Bus width	Height	Length	Notes
Slot 4	x16 or x8	FH (Full-Height)	FL (Full-Length)	When a x16 card is in slot 4, slot 5 can’t be used. Two-Port 40-GbE Fiber cards are only supported in slot 2 and 4 due to their larger size.
Slot 5	x8	FH (Full-Height)	FL (Full-Length)	When a x16 card is in slot 4, slot 5 can’t be used.
Slot 6	x8	See notes.	HL (Half-Length <= 6.6 in.)	Half-Height: CX 7080 ships with a 3008-8i HBA mezzanine card preinstalled. The CX 7080 requires this mezzanine card for internal PCIe and IO expansion. The CX 5080 doesn’t require a mezzanine card. Full-Height: The CX 5080 is full-height NIC compatible when a mezzanine card isn’t installed. The QAT Compression/Acceleration card can be installed in slot 6. Two Mini-SAS-HD cables connect the 3008-8i HBA mezzanine card and the backplane connectors. If these cables are bad or loose, the SSDs won’t function properly. If the 3008-8i HBA mezzanine card fails, the SSDs won’t be recognized.

Supported slots for Interceptor 9800

Interceptor 9800 supported NICs	Quantity	Supported slots
100 GbE	2	2, 4 (Two-Port 100-GbE cards are only supported in slot 2 and 4 due to their larger size.) When a 100-GbE card is installed in slot 2, slot 1 is unusable. When a 100-GbE card is installed in slot 4, slot 5 is unusable.
40 GbE	2	2, 4 (Two-Port 40-GbE cards are only supported in slot 2 and 4 due to their larger size.) When a 40-GbE card is installed in slot 2, slot 1 is unusable. When a 40-GbE card is installed in slot 4, slot 5 is unusable.
10 GbE	4	1, 2, 4, 5 (hardware restriction in slot 3 and slot 6).
1 GbE SX	4	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 No slot restrictions.

Interceptor 9800 supported NIC combinations and slot restrictions

Interceptor 9800 appliances support a maximum of four NICs (occupying slots 1, 2, 4, and/or 5) in the following combinations:

• 2 x 100-GbE NICs in slots 2 and 4. In this combination, slots 1 and 5 must be empty.

• 2 x 40-GbE NICs in slots 2 and 4. In this combination, slots 1 and 5 must be empty.

• 1 x 40-GbE NIC + 1 x 10-GbE NIC:

– 40-GbE NIC in slot 4 (slot 5 should be empty), then 10-GbE NIC can occupy either slot 1 or slot 2.

– 40-GbE NIC in slot 2 (slot 1 should be empty), then 10-GbE NIC can occupy either slot 4 or slot 5.

• 1 x 40-GbE NIC + 2 x 10-GbE NIC:

– 40-GbE NIC in slot 4 (slot 5 must be empty), then 2 x 10-GbE NIC can occupy slots 1 and 2.

– 40-GbE NIC in slot 2 (slot 1 should be empty), then 2 x 10-GbE NIC can occupy slots 4 and 5.

• 4 x 10-GbE NICs; slots 1, 2, 4, and 5.

• 3 x 10-GbE NICs; can occupy any three of slots 1, 2, 4, or 5.

• 2 x 10-GbE NICs; can occupy any two of slots 1, 2, 4, or 5.

• 1 x 10-GbE NIC; can occupy any one of slots 1, 2, 4, or 5.

• Multiple 1-GbE SX NICs can occupy any of slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 and be used in combination with all other NICS supported on the Interceptor 9800.

Slot restrictions for Network Performance Monitoring products

SteelCentral product	Slot restrictions
SteelCentral AppResponse 4180	Only install NICs in slots 2 and 3, populating slot 2 first. The appliance is equipped with preinstalled RAID cards. Do not move or remove the RAID cards located in slots 4, 5, and 6.
SteelCentral AppResponse 8180	You can install 1-GbE and 10-GbE NICs in slots 2 and 3, populating slot 2 first. For 40-GbE and 100-GbE NICs, the NIC must be installed in slot 2. Slot 3 can only be populated with a 1-GbE or 10-GbE NIC. The appliance is equipped with preinstalled RAID cards. Do not move or remove the RAID cards located in slots 4, 5, and 6.
SteelCentral NetProfiler 4280	The Two-Port Fiber Channel HBA (SAN) 4/8/16-GbE card must be installed in slot 2.
SteelCentral NetProfiler 8280 EXP	The Two-Port Fiber Channel HBA (SAN) 4/8/16-GbE card must be installed in slot 2.
SteelCentral Flow Gateway 2280	You can install an additional two-port 10-GbE card in slots 2.