KB 700001 - Points to consider while configuring RAID Controller in ASUS Dual socket server with single CPU

KB 700001 - Points to consider while configuring RAID Controller in ASUS Dual socket server with single CPU

Points to consider while configuring RAID Controller in ASUS Dual socket server with single CPU

When planning a single CPU configuration in a dual-socket server, it's essential to review the motherboard specifications and design to fully understand these PCI limitations and how they may impact your intended use case. Many dual-socket motherboards allocate PCIe lanes based on the number of CPUs. A single CPU may mean fewer available lanes, limiting the number of high-bandwidth devices (like RAID Controllers, GPUs or NVMe drives) you can install.

ASUS Servers use Low Profile PCI slot (Butterfly Raiser Card) for adding RAID controllers. Based on the server model, this particular slot will be associated with either CPU 1 or CPU 2. It’s important to check the Server user manual to understand this information. Following illustrates two Server model examples

Example 1: ASUS RS700-E10-RS4U

Below is a snippet of System specifications Table from Server User manual. It’s clear that the RAID controller slot belongs to CPU 1. Hence RAID controllers can be added even in single CPU populated configuration scenarios


Document link: E22686_RS700-E10-RS4U_UM_V3_WEB.pdf (asus.com)

Example 2: ASUS RS700-E11-RS4U

As per the system specification, RAID controller slot of this particular server model belongs to CPU2. This means RAID controller will not supported in a single CPU populated server configuration.

Therefore, it's always a good idea to refer the system specifications of the server you plan to configure. Alternatively, a single-socket server option can be recommended if it meets the requirements.