Cost effective workgroup power servers with the capacity to grow

System Overview
Features and Benefits
Technical Specifications

Apricot reserves the right to alter specifications without prior notice.

The information contained in these specifications was correct at the time of compilation.

Document Revision: SJ2-300895-IP

System Overview

The FT//ex 1000 follows in Apricot's long tradition of building and delivering quality PC servers at an affordable price. The FT//ex 1000 is designed as an industry standard entry-level PC server, housed in a compact deskside unit. It is ideally suited to both ‘file and print’ and workgroup applications.

Solid performance

There are two models of the FT//ex 1000, both using Pentium processors, full width cache, and a 64-bit wide interface to address up to 128MB of memory.

To balance the Pentium processor performance, the I/O bus is a PCI bus. This operates at 133MB/second, four times the band width of EISA, and helps to eliminate I/O bottlenecks. From this, an EISA bus provides support for existing EISA cards.

This protects your investment in this technology, and gives access to a wide choice of add-in cards.

An on-board PCI based SCSI II controller drives the exchangeable and initial fixed disks, ensuring that the basic system is also a usable system.

Every FT//ex 1000 is provided with a quad-speed CD-ROM, allowing the system to take advantage of software that is now distributed on this media.

Space to expand

• Memory can be expanded to 128MB, using industry standard 36-bit SIMMS.

• I/O can be expanded, with six free slots available — two PCI, three EISA and one shared PCI/EISA.

• Up to eight 3.5" fixed disks can be supported, giving a total disk capacity of 40GB.

• Up to three half height 5.25" exchangeable drives can be supported.

System Overview - High availability options

Two high availability options can be added — RAID and an external UPS — taking the FT//ex 1000 into the support of workgroup applications.

• The SmartRAID controller is an add-in PCI card that ensures complete data integrity. It supports RAID levels 0, 1 and 5 on a single SCSI channel, using an on-board processor. The add-in card is supplied with 4MB of Smart Cache, giving a performance boost to all storage operations. In association with the add-in card there is an Apricot hot plugging system. This is an internal backplane that allows drives to be added and removed whilst the system is operational.
• The external Smart UPS serves a dual role. It protects the server against total mains failure, and it conditions the mains supply. In the event of a mains failure, batteries will automatically cut-in, allowing the server to close down tidily. When the mains supply is successfully restored, the system will automatically re-load. In conditioning the mains, the UPS removes spikes and dips in the voltage, presenting ‘clean’ power to the server, enabling the system to run at its optimum level.

Manageable

Key management functions can be monitored and controlled remotely using Windows-based utilities provided with the SmartRAID and Smart UPS options.

Features and Benefits

High performance I/O

All of the I/O in the FT//ex 1000 is based around a high performance PCI bus. This operates at 133MB/second, providing a good balance between the I/O bus and the processor/memory bus. This PCI bus allows the new high performing PCI based cards to be supported. EISA is handled via a bridge, bringing in a wide range of existing I/O cards.

I/O expansion

In order to provide significant expansion of the system, six free slots are available - two PCI, three EISA and one shared PCI/EISA.

Pentium power

At the heart of the FT//ex 1000 is a Pentium processor, available in either 60MHz or 90MHz options. The processors are provided on their own plug-in cards, enabling easy field upgrade.

Quad speed CD-ROM

Every system comes with a quad speed CD-ROM as standard. This allows the system to accept operating systems distributed on CD-ROM media.

Drive expansion

There is enough room inside the FT//ex 1000 for eight fixed disk drives and three exchangeable disk drives. The fixed disks are 3.5", full or half height SCSI II mechanisms, mounted on a quick release sledge to allow for easy changeout. Three sizes of SCSI drive are provided - 1GB, 2GB and 5GB - giving a maximum capacity of 40GB. These drives are high quality, good performance drives, with a burst data rate of up to 12MB/second, and mean time between failure of up to one million power-on-hours. The exchangeable disk drives are 5.25" half height mechanisms. One supports the CD-ROM, the others accommodate optional backup devices.

Smart UPS option

This is the first of the high availability options for FT//ex 1000. It is an intelligent external UPS which protects the system, not only from complete mains failure, but also conditions the mains supply to the machine. In the event of a mains failure, the UPS keeps the machine running at full power, while automatically initiating a graceful close down of the service. The FT//ex 1000 automatically re-loads when a reliable mains supply is restored. In addition to this, the UPS cleans up the incoming mains, protecting the system from spikes and dips in the voltage, and keeping the system operating reliably.

SmartRAID option

This is the second of the high availability options for the FT//ex 1000 and provides security for the data held on the fixed disks. RAID options 0, 1 and 5 are provided by a plug-in PCI card, driving a single SCSI channel. The card has on-board Smart Cache RAM to give improved disk performance, and the on-board controller ensures no loss of data should a disk fail. Support for a hot spare standby disk and the Apricot hot plug backplane ensures maximum service availability while disks are added or removed.

Physical security

The side panel and fixed disk area are both lockable, protecting the system against unauthorised access.

On-board PCI SCSI

The SCSI interface provided via the PCI bus, and integrated into the motherboard drives the exchangeable disks and the initial fixed disks. This means that the basic system is also a usable system. No additional add-in cards are required in order to use the system.

Technical Specifications