Unofficial DPTPB Nutanix Dynamic Visio Shapes: NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6

More in depth notes regarding NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6 Dynamic Visio shapes.

While NX-3155G-G7/G6 front-view shapes are as easy to use any other dynamic shapes, mixing NICs and GPUs with NX-3155G-7 and NX-3155G-G6 rear view shapes has added some complexity.

You might save some headaches by checking this documentation before trying the NX-3155G-G7 and NX-3155G-G6 rear-view shapes, if you opt to NOT to use automated placement of NICs/GPUs and decide to place them manually. Even more so than with NX-3170-G6.

In dynamic / automatic mode NX-3155G-Gx rear view shapes are as easy to use as any other dynamic shape and should not cause any headaches.

Default mode of a dynamic shape

NX-3155G-G7_Front_Default

When a dynamic shape is pulled to a drawing it looks like any normal non-dynamic shape as by default all the dynamic elements are turned off.

However you have an option to make your shape to show more detailed information by using pull-down menus in “Shape Data” and the shape will automatically adjust its appearance based on your selections.

This design decision was made to:

  • Have more uniform look for the shapes when pulled to a drawing for the first time
  • If I had chosen to use one of the dynamic configurations as a default look
    • The default might not have been the right one
      • Better to show no info than wrong info
  • With “clean slate” look you can manually populate NICs and such with separate NIC shapes if you so desire
    • Without having to disable the dynamic features first
    • Most of the time there is no need for manually populating NICs
    • Manual functionality mainly is reserved for
      • exceptions
      • or
      • To have ability to continue working in case some spec sheet changes have not yet been updated to shape parameter files

Using “Shape data” Window to modify the dynamic shapes

Access “Shape Data” window (Visio 2016)

  • “View” – “Task Panes” – “Shape Data”
  • or
  • Select a shape – Right Click – “Data” – “Shape Data”

“Shape Data” menus are also Dynamic

  • It shows only relevant info / sections
  • For example if you choose All Flash disk layout, you can only choose the size of SSD drives, no menu for HDD size

“Shape Data” shows any data relevant to currently selected shape

  • No data visible = check that you have selected correct shape

Dynamic Front View Shapes for NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6

NX-3155G-G7_Front_all_flash

By making selections in “Shape Data” window pull-down menus you can change the appearance of your shapes. The built-in automation will populate dynamic elements within the shape to match your selection.

NX-3155G-G7/G6 shapes have similarities with NX-8155-Gx shapes, but NX-3155G-Gx front view shapes have some modifications when compared to the original “parent shapes”. NX-3155G-Gx supports only six disks, while NX8155-Gx can have upto 12 disks. Additionally there are differences between the G7/G6 generations of NX-3155G rear view shapes as there are differences in which disk bay disk drives are placed.

“Shape Data” pull-down menus for front view shapes

Nutanix Model

  • Showing Nutanix  model number
  • Just one entry with Single-Node models
  • More useful with Multi-Node models

Disk Layout

  • List of supported disk type combinations
    • NX-3155G-G7/G6 supports up to 6 disks per node
  • NX-3155G-G7/G6
    • Hybrid
      • 2xSSD + 4xHDD
    • All Flash
      • 2xSSD / 4xSSD / 6xSSD
    • Hybrid with Self Encrypting Drives (SED)
      • The same combinations as with SSD +HDD
      •  Using SED SSD and SED HDD drives
    • All Flash with Self Encrypting Drives (SED)
      • The same combinations as with SSD
      • Using SED SSD drives
    • NVMe + SSD
      • N/A with NX-3155G-G7 / NX-3155G-G6
  • Allowed disk layouts are based on information found in the spec sheets
    • these might change over time, I will update the shapes as needed

Disk Size

  • Per disk type
  • Disk size menu for a disk type is only shown, if the disk type is present in the disk layout

Bezel

  • You can opt to show bezel instead of detailed disk bay view
    • Not Shown (=detailed disk bay view)
    • Bezel Only
    • Bezel + Model No (as text)

Dynamic Elements

The appearance of following dynamic elements will change according to the changes made in “Shape Data” pull-down menus

Dynamic Disk Labels

  • Disk size shown as text
  • Disk labels are color coded
    • Light Green label = SSD
    • Light Blue label = HDD
    • Orange label = SSD (SED)
    • Black label = HDD (SED)
    • Grey label = NVMe

Dynamic Disk activity lights

  • Disk activity lights toggled
    • If a disk is in use
      • the leds are Red/Blue
    • If a disk is not in use
      • the leds are Gray/Gray

Dynamic Disk Latches

  • Disk latch appearance will change according to disk type
  • NVMe = Orange color + lock symbol
  • All other = Dark Red color + no lock symbol

Dynamic Bezel

  • Bezel can be hidden/shown

Shape Data pull-down menu examples for NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6 front view shapes

The default settings

NX-3155G-G6_Front_shape_data

“Select Disk Layout” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G6_Front_shape_data_disk_setup

  • Depending on your disk layout selection selection
    • disk label color and text are changed
    • only relevant disk size menus are shown
      • i.e if your selected disk layout contains only SSD drives, only SSD size menu is shown, no HDD size menu is shown

“Select SSD Size” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G6_Front_shape_data_ssd

  • Depending on your selection the label text changes
  • To have label just show color, not text, select the first line, empty line
  • To have label show color and disk type, select the second line
  • To have label show color, disk type and size, select any of the lines showing disk capacity
  • Similar menu for SED SSDs

“Select HDD Size” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G6_Front_shape_data_hdd

  • Depending on your selection the label text changes
  • To have label just show color, not text, select the first line, empty line
  • To have label show color and disk type, select the second line
  • To have label show color, disk type and size, select any of the lines showing disk capacity
  • Only available if using HDDs is supported with the platform
  • Similar menu for SED HDDS

“Bezel” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G6_Front_shape_data_bezel

Dynamic NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6 Front View Shape Examples

Example: The default front view look for NX-3155G-G7

NX-3155G-G7_Front_Default

  • No selections have been made in “Shape Data”
  • Disk Bays in use
    • 1,2,4,5,7,8

Example: The default front view look for NX-3155G-G6

NX-3155G-G6_Front_Default

  • No selections have been made in “Shape Data”
  • Disk Bays in use
    • 1,4,5,7,8,9

Example: NX-3155G-G7 Hybrid

NX-3155G-G7_Front_hybrid

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (F)” shape used
  • “2xSSD + 4xHDD” disk layout selected from “Shape Data” / “Select Disk Layout”
  • “SSD 3.84TB” selected in “Shape Data” / “Select SSD Size”
  • “HDD 12TB” selected in “Shape Data” / “Select HDD Size”

Example: NX-3155G-G6 Hybrid (SED)

NX-3155G-G6_Front_hybrid_sed

  • “NX-3155G-G6 Dyn (F)” shape used
  • “2xSEDSSD+ 4xSEDHDD” disk layout selected in “Shape Data” / “Select Disk Layout”
  • “SED 1.92TB” selected in “Shape Data” / “Select SED SSD Size”
  • “SED 6TB” selected in “Shape Data” / “Select SED HDD Size”
  • While the same number of disks are used as in previous example
    • With G6 generation NX-3155G-G6 shape different disk bays are used

Example: NX-3155G-G7 All Flash

NX-3155G-G7_Front_all_flash4x

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (F)” shape used
  • “4xSSD” disk layout selected in “Shape Data” / “Select Disk Layout”
    • Four out of possible six disk bays populated
    • Disk activity leds for unused disk bays “turned off”
  • “SSD 3.84TB” selected in “Shape Data” / “Select SSD Size”

Example: NX-3155G-G6 All Flash (SED)

NX-3155G-G6_Front_all_flash_sed

  • “NX-3155G-G6 Dyn (F)” shape used
  • “4xSEDSSD” disk layout selected in “Shape Data” / “Select Disk Layout”
  • “SED 1.92TB” selected in “Shape Data” / “Select SSD Size”
    • Four out of possible six disk bays populated
    • Disk activity leds for unused disk bays “turned off”
  • While the same number of disks are used as in previous example
    • With G6 generation NX-3155G-G6 shape different disk bays are used

Example: NX-3155G-G7 with Bezel

NX-3155G-G7_Front_Bezel

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (F)” shape used
  • “Bezel Only” selected in “Shape Data” / “Bezel”
  • If you had previously made any “Disk Layout” and “Disk Size” selections
    • those selections are preserved
    • you can switch back to more detailed disk bay view by selecting “No Bezel”

Example: NX-3155G-G6 with Bezel + Model No

NX-3155G-G6_Front_Bezel_ModelNo

  • “NX-3155G-G6 Dyn (F)” shape used
  • “Bezel+Model No” selected in “Shape Data” / “Bezel”
  • If you had previously made any “Disk Layout” and “Disk Size” selections
    • those selections are preserved
    • you can switch back to more detailed disk bay view by selecting “No Bezel”

Dynamic Rear View Shapes for: NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_2GPUDW_2NICS_real_shapes_labels

While dynamic rear-view shapes for other NX models are fairly straightforward to use and you might have skipped reading the documentation, with NX-3155G-Gx rear view shapes it is my strong recommendation to read the documentation before trying the shapes. As a result of mixing GPUs and NICs with the shapes, NX-3155G-Gx shapes by far the most complex shapes in the dynamic shape collection. 

Bad news: Using these shapes can be more complex and it might be difficult to get it right 

Good news: the NX-3155G-Gx shapes have built-in automation to place the elements correctly and you don’t usually have to worry about it, unless you decide to skip the automation and instead place GPUs / NICs manually by using separate GPU / NIC shapes

By making selections in “Shape Data” window pull-down menus you can change the appearance of your shapes. The built-in automation will populate dynamic elements within the shape to match your selection.

The rear view “parent” shape is the same for NX-3155G-G7 and NX-3155G-G7, the differences are implement by using different parameter files. Rear view shapes for NX-3155G-G7/G6 support using GPU shapes.

“Shape Data” pull-down menus

Nutanix Model

  • Showing Nutanix  model number
  • Just one entry with Single-Node models
  • More useful with Multi-Node models

Select NIC Setup

  • List of supported NIC types
    • Dual 10G BaseT
    • Dual 10G sfp+
    • Quad 10G sfp+
    • Dual 25G sfp28
    • Dual 40G qsfp+
  • Only one NIC type supported to be used at a time
  • Max three NICs per node
  • Supported NIC type / speed / count are model and generation specific
    • NX-3155G-G7
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 10G BaseT
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 10G sfp+
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Quad 10G sfp+
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 25G sfp28
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 40G qsfp+
    •  NX-3155G-G6
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 10G BaseT
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 10G sfp+
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Quad 10G sfp+
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 25G sfp28
      • 1x / 2x / 3x Dual 40G qsfp+

NIC Port Labels

  • Dynamic menu that will only appear
    • If you have NICs selected
  • Possible values
    • Not shown = only NIC image is shown
    • Shown = NIC ports are labeled

Select Port Label Type

  • Dynamic menu that will only appear
    • If you have NICs selected
    • and
    • Selected NIC connector type is sfp or qsfp
  • Possible values
    • More generic labels
      • Fiber
      • DAC
    • or vendor specific DAC labels
      • DAC ntnx (= Nutanix)
      • DAC brcd (=Brocade)
      • and so on

Motherboard Port Labels

  • Independently of your NIC selection you can label motherboard network ports by using this menu
  • Possible values
    • Not Shown
    • IPMI
    • IPMI + 2x1G BaseT
    • IPMI+ 2x10G BaseT
    • 2x1G BaseT
    • 2x10G BaseT

Select GPU Setup

  • Dynamic menu
  • Selections in NIC menu might change the setups available in the GPU menu
    • No option to select GPU setup that would cause a PCI slot conflict with selected NICs
    • If you increase your NIC count to three (or to two with quad 10G sfp+), your GPU count might be lowered to resolve PCI slot conflict
      • with DWFH GPUs your GPU count will be lowered to 1, if you had previously chosen to use two GPUs
      • with FH GPUs your GPU count will be lowered to 3, if you had previously chosen to use four GPUs
      • To reselect higher number of GPUs again
      • You have to first lower your NIC count to 2 (or 1 with quad 10G sfp+)
        • “Select GPU Setup” will be repopulated with more GPU setup options
      • And then you can increase your GPU count by using “Select GPU Setup” menu
  • Supported GPU types are generation specific
    • NX-3155G-G7
      • Nvidia M10
      • Nvidia P40
      • Nvidia V100
      • Nvidia T4
    •  NX-3155G-G6
      • Nvidia M10
      • Nvidia P40
      • Nvidia V100
      • Nvidia T4

Dynamic Elements

The appearance of following dynamic elements will change according to the changes made in “Shape Data” pull-down menus

PCI slots

  • Can be populated with NIC images
    • Correct form factor (FH/LP)
    • Correct orientation (0°/180°)
  • Can be populated with GPU images
    • Correct form factor (FH / DWFH)
    • Correct orientation (0°/180°)
  • Possible PCI slot conflicts are automatically resolved by
    • preventing selection of unsupported GPU setups
    • or
    • adjusting your GPU count to resolve a conflict caused by a change in NIC count

NIC Labels

  • Labels for
    • NIC ports
    • Onboard IPMI / 1GbE/ 10GbE ports
  • Label text indicates
    • link speed (1G,10G,25G,40G)
    • and
    • with some DAC cables, cable manufacturer
  • Labels are color coded by cable type
    • Red = RJ45 / Cat6 cabling
    • Black = sfp/qsfp connected Direct Attached Copper (DAC) cabling
    • Orange = sfp/qsfp connected Fiber cabling
  • Line pattern
    • Continuous line = Primary connection / Ports 1 (& 3)
    • Dotter line = Alternate connection / Ports 2 (& 4)

Connection points in NIC ports

  • Are dynamically enabled for any visible NIC port
  • you can connect cables to these connection points to further document your networking

PCI Slot usage order or priority

Like with other platforms there are rules regarding PCI slot population with NICs and GPUs with NX-3155G-G7 and NX-3155G-G6. With other platforms the rules are fairly logical and easy to follow, they might say: NIC1 always goes to PCI slot 2. And there are no exceptions.

Unfortunately with NX-3155G-G7/G6 it is not so simple as there are quite a few exceptions to these rules.

The rules might change depending on:

  • the type add-on-card (NIC or GPU) used
  • the form factor of the GPU used
  • the type of NIC used
  • the type of GPU used
  • the generation (G6 or G7) of the NX-3155G-Gx

PCI slot orientation and form factor

Additionally there are different PCI slot orientations (0° / 180°) and NIC form factors in use (LP/FH).

Too many combinations makes life hard

Various combinations of exceptions, PCI slot orientations and form factors makes the usage of the shape somewhat complex. I’ve tried to alleviate most of that complexity with automation that prevents users selecting combinations that are not supported.

PCI slot numbering with NX-3155G-G7 / NX-3155G-G6

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots

  • Lets start with numbering the PCI slots so you can follow the rest of the documentation
  • My PCI slot numbering is slightly different than what is used in the official spec sheets
    • The official spec sheets won’t have PCI slot 4 and call it PCI slot 3 instead
      • They state that various adapters are connected to PCI slot 3, when in fact they are connected to the fourth PCI connector / slot (counting from the bottom)
    • For me this doesn’t make much sense, so I have both PCI slots 3 and 4 in my documentation
      • If you need to connect something to PCI slot 4, logically it is connected to the fourth PCI connector / slot (from the bottom)
      • According to current spec sheets nothing is really connected to PCI slot 3
        • When in use DWFH GPUs will occupy / block PCI slot 3
          • But are still connected to PCI slot 4
        • In the future this might change
          • and something could be connected to PCI slot 3
          • Had I been using term “PCI slot 4” when actually talking about “PCI slot 3”
          • -> lot’s of now very confusing documentation to be fixed

PCI Slot Orientation with NX-3155G-G7 / NX-3155G-G6

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_with_orientation

  • While were are at it, let’s cover also PCI slot orientation
  • To illustrate PCI slot orientation in the example above I’ve flipped the text in PCI slots which are in 180° orientation
    • 0° orientation
      • The text runs in normal orientation
      • PCI connector is on the left side of the NIC / GPU
    • 180° orientation
      • The text runs in upside-down orientation
      • PCI connector is on the right side of the NIC / GPU
  • Why is orientation important?
    • In real life there are NO separate NICs for different orientations
    • When you install a NIC in 180° orientation
      • you have to flip it in order to
      • line up the PCI connector of the NIC with the PCI connector in the PCI slot
    • Once you flip a NIC
      • NIC port order and port numbering also flips
      • Typically with
        • 0° orientation, port #1 is the leftmost port
        • 180° orientation, port#1 is the rightmost port
    • If you don’t take orientation into account you might mess up your cabling
      • and cable NIC port#2 to switch X
      • when you were supposed to cable NIC port#1 to switch X
      • while assuming that NIC port#1 is always the leftmost port
        • when in fact NIC port#1 is the rightmost port with NICs installed in 180° orientation
    • With GPUs the orientation is not that important
      • No ports or port numbers flipping around to potentially mess up your cabling

Dynamic Rear View NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6 Shape Data pull-down menu examples

The default settings

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_shape_data_default

“Select NIC Setup” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_shape_data_default_nic_setup

“NIC Port Labels” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_shape_data_default_nic_label

“Select Port Label Type” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_shape_data_default_nic_label_type

“Motherboard Port Labels” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_shape_data_default_MB_label

“Select GPU Setup” menu expanded

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_shape_data_default_GPU

Dynamic NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6 Rear View shape examples

Example: The default rear view look for NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6

NX-8150-G7_Rear_Default

  • No selections in “Shape Data”
  • Looks very exactly like NX-8150-G7, NX-8155-G7/G6 or NX-5155-G6
    • But uses different PCI slots for NICs and GPUs
    • Different connection points in PCI slots for adding NICs and GPUs manually

 Example: NX-3155G-G7/G6 with one GPU of DWFH form factor and up to three NICs

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_3xNIC_1xGPU_DWFH

  • NIC1
    • Form Factor = Low-Profile (LP)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 5
  • NIC2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 7
  • NIC3
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 8
  • GPU1
    • Form Factor = Double-Wide / Full Height (DWFH)
      • G6 = Nvidia M10,P40,V100 GPUs
      • G7 = Nvidia M10,V100 GPUs
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slots 3 & 4
      • GPU is actually connected to PCI slot 4
      • but because GPU is so wide it also blocks the usage of PCI slot 3
  • GPU2
    • N/A as it would have to go to the same PCI slot as NIC3

Example: the same example as above, this time with actual NIC and GPU shapes

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_3xNIC_1xGPU_DWFH

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (R)” shape used
  • “3xDual 10G sfp+” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select NIC Setup”
  • “1xNvidia V100” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup”

Example: “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup” menu expanded for example above

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_Shape_Data_GPU_3xNIC_1xGPU_DWFH

  • Since we had chosen to use 3xNIC
  • the available GPU setups were dynamically adjusted
  • to show only the GPU setups that would NOT cause PCI slot conflicts with NICs

Example: the same example as above with additional NIC labels (DAC csco)

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_3xNIC_1xGPU_DWFH_labels

  • “Shown” selected from “Shape Data” / “NIC Port Labels”
  • “DAC csco” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select Port Label Type”
  • NIC Port Labels
    • the speed of the port (“10G”)
    • the type of cabling used (“Black” = sfp+ connected DAC)
    • DAC cable manufacturer indicated with “ticker” (“csco” = Cisco)
    • Line pattern indicates
      • Continuous line pattern = Primary connection (or odd numbered ports, 1,3)
      • Dotted line pattern = Alternate connection (or even numbered ports, 2,4)
    • Location of the primary / alternate ports with in NIC shape varies based on NIC orientation

Example: NX-3155G-G7/G6 with two GPUs of DWFH form factor and up to two NICs

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_2GPUDW_2NICS

  • NIC1
    • Form Factor = Low-Profile (LP)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 5
  • NIC2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 7
  • NIC3
    • N/A as it would have to go to the same PCI slot as GPU2
  • GPU1
    • Form Factor = Double-Wide / Full Height (DWFH)
      • G6 = Nvidia M10,P40,V100 GPUs
      • G7 = Nvidia M10,V100 GPUs
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slots 3 & 4
      • GPU is actually connected to PCI slot 4
      • but because GPU is so wide it also blocks the usage of PCI slot 3
  • GPU2
    • Form Factor = Double-Wide / Full Height (DWFH)
      • NVidia M10,M60,P40,V100 GPUs
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slots 8 & 9
      • GPU is actually connected to PCI slot 8
      • but because GPU is so wide it also blocks the usage of PCI slot 9

Example: the same example as above, this time with actual NIC and GPU shapes

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_2GPUDW_2NICS_real_shapes

  • “NX-3155G-G6 Dyn (R)” shape used
  • “2xDual 10G BaseT” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select NIC Setup”
  • “2xNvidia M10” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup”

Example: “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup” menu expanded for example above

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_2GPUDW_2NICS_shape_data

  • Since we had chosen to use 2xNIC
  • there is no need to adjust available GPU setups
  • as none of the GPU setups would cause PCI slot conflicts with 2xNICs

Example: the same example as above with additional NIC labels

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_2GPUDW_2NICS_real_shapes_labels

  • “Shown” selected from “Shape Data” / “NIC Port Labels”
  • NIC Port Labels
    • the speed of the port (“10G”)
    • the type of cabling used (“Red” = BaseT /RJ45 connected)
    • Line pattern indicates
      • Continuous line pattern = Primary connection (or odd numbered ports, 1,3)
      • Dotted line pattern = Alternate connection (or even numbered ports, 2,4)
    • Location of the primary / alternate ports with in NIC shape varies based on NIC orientation

Example: NX-3155G-G7 with Four GPUs of FH form factor and up to two NICs

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_4GPUFH_2NICS

  • NIC1
    • Form Factor = Low-Profile (LP)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 5
  • NIC2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 7
  • NIC3
    • N/A as it would go to the same PCI slot as GPU2
  • GPU1
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NX-3155G-G7 = NVidia T4
      • NX-3155G-G6 = N/A
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 4
  • GPU2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NX-3155G-G7 = NVidia T4
      • NX-3155G-G6 = N/A
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 8
  • GPU3
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NX-3155G-G7 = NVidia T4
      • NX-3155G-G6 = N/A
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 2
  • GPU4
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NX-3155G-G7 = NVidia T4
      • NX-3155G-G6 = N/A
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 1

Example: the same example as above, this time with actual NIC and GPU shapes

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_4GPUFH_2NICS

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (R)” shape used
  • “2xDual 25G sfp28” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select NIC Setup”
    • No visual difference between “Dual 10G sfp+” and “Dual 25G sfp28” NIC shapes
  • “4xNvidia T4” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup”

Example: “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup” menu expanded for example above

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_4GPUFH_2NICS_lables

  • Since we had chosen to use 2xNIC
  • there is no need to adjust available GPU setups
  • as none of the GPU setups would cause PCI slot conflicts with 2xNICs

Example: the same example as above with additional NIC labels

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_4GPUFH_2NICS_lables

  • “Shown” selected from “Shape Data” / “NIC Port Labels”
  • “Fiber” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select Port Label Type”
  • NIC Port Labels
    • the speed of the port (“25G”)
    • the type of cabling used (“Orange” = spf+/sfp28 fiber connected)
    • Line pattern indicates
      • Continuous line pattern = Primary connection (or odd numbered ports, 1,3)
      • Dotted line pattern = Alternate connection (or even numbered ports, 2,4)
    • Location of the primary / alternate ports with in NIC shape varies based on NIC orientation

Example: NX-3155G-G7 with three GPUs of FH form factor and up to three NICs

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_3NICS

  • NIC1
    • Form Factor = Low-Profile (LP)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 5
  • NIC2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 7
  • NIC3
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 8
  • GPU1
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NVidia T4, only supported with NX-3155G-G7
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 4
  • GPU2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NVidia T4, only supported with NX-3155G-G7
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 2
      • In previous example this slot was reserved for GPU3
  • GPU3
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NVidia T4, only supported with NX-3155G-G7
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 1
      • In previous example this slot was reserved for GPU4
  • GPU4
    • N/A as it would cause PCI slot conflict with NIC3

Example: the same example as above, this time with actual NIC and GPU shapes

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_3NICS_real

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (R)” shape used
  • “3xDual 40G qsfp+” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select NIC Setup”
  • “3xNvidia T4” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup”

Example: “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup” menu expanded for example above

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_3NICS_real_shape_data

  • Since we had chosen to use 3xNIC
  • the available GPU setups were dynamically adjusted
  • to show only the GPU setups that would NOT cause PCI slot conflicts with NICs

Example: the same example as above with additional NIC labels

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_3NICS_real_labels

  • “Shown” selected from “Shape Data” / “NIC Port Labels”
  • “DAC brcd” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select Port Label Type”
  • NIC Port Labels
    • the speed of the port (“40G”)
    • the type of cabling used (“Black” = qsfp+ DAC connected)
    • DAC cable manufacturer indicated with “ticker” (“brcd” = Brocade)
    • Line pattern indicates
      • Continuous line pattern = Primary connection (or odd numbered ports, 1,3)
      • Dotted line pattern = Alternate connection (or even numbered ports, 2,4)
    • Location of the primary / alternate ports with in NIC shape varies based on NIC orientation

Example: NX-3155G-G7 with 2xDual Quad 10G sfp+ NICs and one GPU of DWFH form factor

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_1GPUDWFH_2NICquad

  • NX-3155G-G7 supports only maximum of two quad port 10G NICs
    • and Quad port 10G NICs have different PCI slot usage order than the rest of the NICs
    • Why? I have no clue, but I am sure that there is a valid technical reason for this as it is explicitly stated in the spec sheets
  • With NX-3155G-G7 you can have only one GPU of DWFH form factor while using two quad port 10G NICs
  • NIC1
    • Form Factor = Low-Profile (LP)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 5
  • NIC2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 8
  • NIC3
    • N/A as it is not supported to use three quad 10G sfp+ adapters with NX-3155G-G7
  • GPU1
    • Form Factor = Double-Wide / Full Height (DWFH)
      • G6 = Nvidia M10,P40,V100 GPUs
      • G7 = Nvidia M10,V100 GPUs
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slots 3 & 4
      • is actually connected to PCI slot 4
      • but because it is so wide it also blocks the usage of PCI slot 3
  • GPU2
    • N/A as it would have to go to the same PCI slot as NIC2
    • It looks like there would be room for GPU2 using PCI slots 1 & 2
      • Not supported
        • For unknown technical reason
        • maybe stacking two powerful GPUs into adjacent PCI slots might produce too much thermal load in that region?
    • It looks also like there would be room for GPU2 using PCI slots 6 & 7
      • Not supported
        • For unknown technical reason
        • Slot 6 is not used with NICs (or GPUs) with NX-3155G-Gx platforms
        • Maybe there is a HBA (for disks in PCI slot 6)?

Example: the same example as above, this time with actual NIC and GPU shapes

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_1GPUDWFH_2NICquad_real_shapes

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (R)” shape used
  • “2xQuad 10G sfp+” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select NIC Setup”
    • NIC2 was placed in non-standard PCI slot 8
      • With any other NIC type PCI slot 8 is reserved for NIC3 or GPU2
  • “1xNvidia V100” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup”

Example: “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup” menu expanded for example above

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_1GPUDWFH_2NICquad_shape_data

  • Since we had chosen to use “2xQuad 10G sfp+” NIC setup
  • the available GPU setups were dynamically adjusted
  • to show only the GPU setups that would NOT cause PCI slot conflicts with NICs

Example: the same example as above with additional NIC labels

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_1GPUDWFH_2NICquad_real_shapes_labels

  • “Shown” selected from “Shape Data” / “NIC Port Labels”
  • “DAC extr” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select Port Label Type”
  • NIC Port Labels
    • the speed of the port (“10G”)
    • the type of cabling used (“Black” = sfp+ DAC connected)
    • DAC cable manufacturer indicated with “ticker” (“extr” = Extreme Networks)
    • Line pattern indicates
      • Continuous line pattern = Primary connection (or odd numbered ports, 1,3)
      • Dotted line pattern = Alternate connection (or even numbered ports, 2,4)
    • Location of the primary / alternate ports with in NIC shape varies based on NIC orientation

Example: NX-3155G-G7 with 2xDual Quad 10G sfp+ NICs up to three GPUs of FH form factor

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_2NICquad

  • NX-3155G-G7 supports only maximum of two quad port 10G NICs
    • and Quad port 10G NICs have different PCI slot usage order than the rest of the NICs
  • With NX-3155G-G7 you can have only up to three GPUs of FH form factor while using two quad port 10G NICs
  • NIC1
    • Form Factor = Low-Profile (LP)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 5
  • NIC2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
    • Orientation = 180°
    • PCI Slot 8
  • NIC3
    • N/A as it is not supported to use three quad 10G sfp+ adapters with NX-3155G-G7
  • GPU1
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NVidia T4, only supported with NX-3155G-G7
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 4
  • GPU2
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NVidia T4, only supported with NX-3155G-G7
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 2
  • GPU3
    • Form Factor = Full-Height (FH)
      • NVidia T4, only supported with NX-3155G-G7
    • Orientation = 0°
    • PCI Slot 1
  • GPU4
    • N/A

Example: the same example as above, this time with actual NIC and GPU shapes

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_2NICSqud_real

  • “NX-3155G-G7 Dyn (R)” shape used
  • “2xQuad 10G sfp+” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select NIC Setup”
    • NIC2 was placed in non-standard PCI slot 8
      • With any other NIC type PCI slot 8 is reserved for NIC3 or GPU2
  • “3xNvidia T4” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup”

Example: “Shape Data” / “Select GPU Setup” menu expanded for example above

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_2NICquad_shape_data

  • Since we had chosen to use “2xQuad 10G sfp+” NIC setup
  • the available GPU setups were dynamically adjusted
  • to show only the GPU setups that would NOT cause PCI slot conflicts with NICs

Example: the same example as above with additional NIC labels

NX-3155G-G7_Rear_PCI_Slots_3GPUFH_2NICSqud_real_ntnx

  • “Shown” selected from “Shape Data” / “NIC Port Labels”
  • “DAC ntnx” selected from “Shape Data” / “Select Port Label Type”
  • NIC Port Labels
    • the speed of the port (“10G”)
    • the type of cabling used (“Black” = sfp+ DAC connected)
    • DAC cable manufacturer indicated with “ticker” (“ntnx” = Nutanix)
    • Line pattern indicates
      • Continuous line pattern = Primary connection (or odd numbered ports, 1,3)
      • Dotted line pattern = Alternate connection (or even numbered ports, 2,4)
    • Location of the primary / alternate ports with in NIC shape varies based on NIC orientation

Limitations

Differences between NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6 dynamic shapes

Generic Differences

  • There are differences with PCI slot usage priorities
  • There are differences with supported number of NICs
  • There are differences with supported type of NICs
  • There are differences with NIC orientation
  • There are differences with NIC form factor
  • There are differences with supported GPUs
  • There are differences with supported disk types
  • There are differences with supported disk sizes
  • Differences are implemented by using different parameter files and additional coding
  • The actual differences are updated ONLY in the parameter files NOT here.
    • This way I don’t have update the information in two places

New features and bug fixes

Even if you are not interested in using the dynamic features and just want to use the basic static shape, it is my recommendation to use the dynamic shapes anyway. The  reason for this recommendation is that the current Official Nutanix stencils set contain some bugs that are fixed in DPTPB Dynamic Nutanix Visio shapes.

How would you know? I also made the official stencils 🙂

Why aren’t they fixed in the official stencil? – No funding

NX-3155G-G7 & NX-3155G-G6

New GPU shapes

  • More visually appealing GPU shapes
  • Totally new GPU shape
    • Nvidia T4
    • Missing from the official stencil set

Fixes for NIC orientation and port order

  • NICs are now placed into PCI slots in correct orientation
  • NIC ports are now in correct order (depending on NIC orientation)
    • If NIC is placed in 0° orientation, port 1 is the leftmost port
    • If NIC is placed in 180°, port 1 is the rightmost port
    • Normally there is no need to care about NIC orientation as automation takes care of the orientation with the dynamic shapes
      • But if you want to manually populate the NICs with separate shapes, you have use the correct variant of the NIC shape
  • Not specifically stated in spec sheets, there are some pictures where you have to figure out this by yourself

More visually appealing NIC and NIC port shapes

  • Better visual cues about NIC orientation

More unified coloring of the shapes

  • in the official version of the stencil multiple shades of gray was used with front and rear view shapes

“Yellow” dots or connection point “usage hints” now removed

  • Since all the elements are placed correctly in automated fashion, there is little use for these hints
  • While they were useful feature with non-dynamic shapes where you had to manually place NICs and such, they were slightly problematic
  • The correct Visio term for “Yellow Dot” is “control point”
  • Besides giving usage hints, “control points” can be used to move elements within a shape
  • Even though I had disabled the moving feature of “control point” they made moving the shape harder
  • When you clicked a shape to move it, you might have clicked a “control point” instead and you couldn’t move the shape
  • You had to click the shape in an area that was not close to “control point” in order to move the shape
  • The further zoomed out were, the harder it was to click a portion of the shape that was not close to a “Yellow dot / Control point”
  • i.e. when heavily zoomed out, it was harder to move a shape within a drawing

Bugs found?

Comments regarding any possible bugs can be left in the comments section of this post, your help is much appreciated

Downloads

  • Please visit the Nutanix stencil download page for the latest stencil package.
  • Since these are unofficial Visio shapes, they are not available on visiocafe.com, where the official stencil package resides.

Further documentation

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