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Which PCIe slot supports 4-port FC cards on FlashArray//XL?
On the FlashArray//XL, the 4-port Fibre Channel (FC) cards are specifically supported in Slot 8 (and typically Slot 4 depending on configuration depth). The FlashArray//XL chassis (5U) utilizes a significantly different PCIe bus layout compared to the standard 3U FlashArray//X series. While the //X series typically uses Slot 0 or Slot 2 for host connectivity, the //XL architecture reserves the lower-numbered slots (0-3) primarily for backend connectivity (SAS/NVMe-oF) or specific NVRAM modules in certain configurations.
To support the high bandwidth requirements of the 4-port 32Gb FC cards, the //XL chassis provides specific x16 electrical slots. Slot 8 is a designated high-performance slot located in the upper riser section of the controller, making it the correct placement for these dense host I/O cards. Using an incorrect slot such as Slot 2 (often x8 or reserved for other functions in XL) would likely result in the card not being recognized or operating at reduced performance. Therefore, Implementation Engineers must verify the specific 'slot map' for the //XL model in the FlashArray//XL Hardware Guide before seating cards, with Slot 8 being the standard supported location for the 4-port FC option among the choices provided.