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CHAPTER 2: INSTALLATION 17
Installing a Cascaded Paragon System
Paragon II’s channel port capacity can be expanded by installing a cascade of Base Units. In a “two-tiered”
cascaded system, one or more subsidiary Base Units are connected to the channel ports of a master Base
Unit. If you fully populate a second tier, you can add a third tier by connecting additional subsidiary Base
Units to the channel ports of Base Units in the second tier. Three tiers is the maximum depth of a cascaded
system; only CIMs may be attached to the channel ports of Base Units in the third tier. A three-tier system
can accommodate up to 2048 CPUs.
Note: In cascaded configurations, the subsidiary Base Units in the third tier (if there is one) must be
powered ON first, then the subsidiary Base Units in the second tier, then the master Base Unit. User
Stations can be powered ON and OFF at any time as needed.
Figure 23 Sample cascaded system
1. Connect one end of a CAT5 UTP cable to user port #1 on the back of the master Base Unit. Connect
the other end of the cable to the RJ-45 CAT5 port on the back of the User Station. Connect a PS/2
keyboard, PS/2 mouse, and VGA monitor to the User Station. Do not plug in or turn on the User
Stations or monitors yet. (Do not attach anything to the Base Unit’s channel ports and do not plug it in
or turn it on yet.)
2. For each subsidiary Base Unit you want to attach directly to the master, run CAT5 UTP cables from
consecutive channel ports on the master Base Unit to the subsidiary Base Unit’s user ports.
3. If you are installing a third tier: Run CAT5 UTP cables from consecutive channel ports on a second-
tier Base Unit to the user ports on a third-tier Base Unit. Repeat for all other subsidiary Base Units in
the third tier.
4. Follow step 5 of Installing a Paragon System with a Single Base Unit to attach CIMs and CPUs to
the channel ports of any third-tier Base Units, any free channel ports on your second-tier Base Units,
and any free channel ports on your master Base Unit.
5. Following step 1 of Installing a Paragon System with a Single Base Unit, plug in and power ON any
third-tier Base Units, then plug in and power ON second-tier Base Units, then plug in and power ON
your master Base Unit. Following steps 2b, 2c, and 2e of Installing a Paragon System with a Single
Base Unit, plug in and power ON your User Stations and monitors. The master Base Unit should
automatically recognize the connected subsidiary Base Units and update its configuration. All monitors
should display the Login Menu. If any monitors instead display a “.....No connection to Paragon.....”
message, the User Station they are attached to is not properly connected to the master Base Unit.
Check for loose connections and make sure you are using good, intact CAT5 cables. (See Appendix A:
Specifications for UTP-cabling information.)
Note: If your video image is fuzzy (especially if you are using an LCD flat-panel monitor), you can adjust
the video gain to focus the video image. If the OSUI is not already on screen at a given monitor, activate it
by pressing the [Scroll Lock] key twice rapidly, then use the numeric keypad’s [+] and [–] (plus and minus)
keys to adjust the video image until it appears to be in focus.