User`s guide

8 007-5630-001
1: Introduction and Overview
System Overview
The Octane III deskside graphics workstation is comprised of a stand-alone enclosure that can be
configured as a single or two-head deskside workstation. Depending on the configuration ordered,
the system holds one or two 3U compute/graphics “trays” that house processors, DIMMs, power
supplies, hard drives and graphics or I/O options. Octane III enclosures are mounted on castors so
they can be moved within the office or lab environment. Check with your sales or service
representative before loading any operating system on your Octane III not provided by the SGI
factory or service organization.
In addition to the 3U compute/graphics trays and chassis, various hardware components may be
included as part of your Octane III configuration as follows:
• SATA Accessories: A minimum of one hard disk drive (used by the primary
compute/graphics tray) is required for operation. Optional hard disk drives or solid state
drives may be installed in each tray.
• PCI Express x16 and x8 risers are available via each motherboard.
• One (1) external DVD drive can be used with each Octane III deskside system.
Workstation External Ports
Your SGI Octane III deskside workstation may come with one or (optionally) two internal
graphics trays each of which supports an independent graphics “head”. While the two graphics
heads may be directly linked internally via InfiniBand or Ethernet, they are functionally
independent compute/graphics/storage units. I/O ports used on each compute/graphics/storage
tray “head” in the Octane III will vary based on the configuration ordered.
Default I/O ports include one Gigabit Ethernet port, one VGA port, one serial port, three USB 2.0
ports, one stereo sync port, and up to four DVI-I ports. Duplicates of all these I/O ports are
included in an optional Octane III (dual -head) workstation configuration.