1
Expand your power
HP Z4 G4 WORKSTATION
Take your business to the next level of performance, expandability, and no compromise reliability in one complete
package. The HP Z4 G4 Workstation features a perfect mix of HP Z DNA in a performance workstation package
with up to 18 discrete processor cores, up to 512 GB of RAM, and multiple storage and PCIe conguration options.
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Chassis and system
highlights
4
PCI-Express
Optimizations on
HP Z4 G4 Workstation
7
Storage congurations
and RAID
18
Memory congurations
and optimization
TECHNICAL
WHITE PAPER
CONTENTS & NAVIGATION
2TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER
CHASSIS AND SYSTEM
HIGHLIGHTS
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation is HP’s high performance single processor
workstation, delivering outstanding value in a newly redesigned,
expandable mini-tower with integrated front and rear handles.
The innovative HP Z4 G4 Workstation architecture oers a choice
of the Intel
®
Xeon
®
W or Intel
®
Core
TM
X-series processors and supports
the latest professional graphics and single socket multicore processor
technology. With a choice of 465 W, 750 W or 1000 W 90% ecient power
supplies, the new HP Z4 G4 workstation supports a vast selection
of hardware congurations.
Tool-free design
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation continues in the tradition of providing tool-free access for ease of conguration and
serviceability. With clearly marked blue touch points and tool-free serviceability, upgrading components is as easy as
ever. The HP Z4 G4 oers tool-free access to many of the user-serviceable components such as: internal hard drives,
PCIe expansion slots, and external device bays. In addition, the unique approach HP takes to cable management
presents a clutter-free environment for ease of access with the added benet of improved airow for enhanced thermal
and acoustic performance.
Intel
®
Xeon
®
W Processors Intel® CoreTM X-Series Processors
Security
HP understands the importance of system and component security and has incorporated several security features
into the HP Z4 G4 Workstation. New for the HP Z4 G4 is an optional side access panel barrel key lock, providing
customers with an integrated security solution. Additionally, the side access panel continues to oer the security
features of its predecessor: the HP BPC Security Lock mounting feature, a security slot, and a padlock loop—
allowing customers to select the right level of security. For customers with remote security needs, a system intrusion
switch and a remote/centrally controlled solenoid lock are available as optional accessories.
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation also features HP SureStart Gen 3, HP Secure Erase, which enables the ability to
overwrite data ve times over ensuring complete data removal; and HP’s Manageability Integration Kit.
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PCI-Express
Optimizations on
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Storage congurations
and RAID
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Memory congurations
and optimization
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Expandability and performance
The HP Z4 G4 delivers enhanced expandability and I/O performance where it matters. The new architecture features
eight memory slots, with support for the latest DDR4 memory, and up to ve
1,4
high-performance 3rd-generation
PCI Express expansion slots. To help eliminate bottlenecks with external devices, HP Z4 G4 also provides six rear
accessible SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports1.
New with this generation of premium workstations, the Front IO-User Interface is now modular and congurable
with two options to choose from. Both modules feature the power button/LED, HDD activity LED, audio jack, USB
charging port, and optional SD card reader. The Entry module features 4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, while the
Premium module provides 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C ports and 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports. The HP Z4 G4 has
the power and features needed to quickly get the job done.
With two internal storage bays and two standard 5.25” external device bays—the HP Z4 G4 delivers exibility for
storage and accessory options. The internal storage bays feature tool-free drive trays which have been designed to
minimize drive vibration, ensuring silent operation. The drive trays are compatible with industry standard 3.5” storage
devices, and can be easily adapted to accept the smaller 2.5” form-factor. The HP Z4 G4 also provides tool-free
accessibility to the external device bays. Expanding storage capabilities or attaching additional I/O can be easily
completed in just a few easy steps.
Quiet and reliable
Acoustic performance is essential to HP Workstations and our customers—because a noisy environment increases
user fatigue and reduces productivity. HP has extended its leadership in this area with the new HP Z4 G4. With the
additional performance and capabilities, one might expect the HP Z4 G4 to be louder than its predecessor. However,
through innovations in engineering, the HP Z4 G4 Workstation continues to improve acoustic performance. Fans are
strategically placed to provide optimum system cooling, and by using advanced algorithms to control fan speeds,
based on system conguration and key component temperatures, the HP Z4 G4 delivers an extremely quiet system
without compromising reliability. The HP Z4 G4 also supports the HP Premium Cooler, which delivers acoustic
improvements under even the most extreme processor workloads using cutting edge cooling technology.
While low acoustics, thermal management, expandability, and performance are all high priorities—it is essential that
the system reliably withstands extreme conditions and workloads. Rigorous climatic and dynamic testing help ensure
that HP Workstations are highly reliable in a wide variety of demanding conditions, while delivering uncompromising
performance.
Designed with the environment in mind
HP is committed to environmental sustainability and energy eciency. To reduce energy consumption, HP
Workstations oer ENERGY STAR
®2
qualied congurations with a choice of 90% ecient power supplies-1000 W
1,3,4
,
750 W
1
, or 465 W
1
. The HP Workstation design team has taken a proactive approach (beyond industry regulations) to
recyclability and selecting materials that reduce the impact on the environment. HP Z4 G4 congurations are available
with low-halogen materials.
5
Processor List
See Z4 G4 QuickSpec for current processor oering.
https://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c05527757
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PCI-Express
Optimizations on
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Storage congurations
and RAID
18
Memory congurations
and optimization
CONTENTS & NAVIGATION
4TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER
PCI-EXPRESS
OPTIMIZATIONS
ON HP Z4 G4 WORKSTATION
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation utilizes PCI-Express 3.0 technology with high
performance over a variety of conditions. This paper provides guidance on
optimizing the performance of your system when using PCI-Express cards.
Integrated PCI-Express 3.0
The HP Z4 G4 uses the lntel
®
Xeon
®
W Processors and Intel
®
Core
TM
X-series Processors
6
, with integrated PCI-
Express 3.0 controllers delivering a peak bandwidth of 16 GB/s per direction for each x16 slot (1 GB/s per lane).
PCI-Express 3.0 is backward compatible with 1.0 and 2.0, and slots will train to the highest common speed.
PCI Express 3.0 slots will initialize at 1.0 and then transition to 3.0 through a training sequence that involves four
adaptive training phases. It is recommended to carefully evaluate and validate PCI-Express 3.0 devices that are
not available or supported from HP. PCI-Express options vary by processor selection. There are dierences on the
motherboard tied to the processor family, therefore motherboards are not interchangeable between the Intel
®
Xeon
®
W Processors and Intel
®
Core™ X-series Processors.
PCI-Express Performance
The HP Z4 G4 integrates several features within the processor: three PCIe 3.0 controllers, DMA caching, and two
2-channel memory controllers (2 DIMMs per channel). This produces excellent performance in I/O bandwidth,
and latency.
Figure 1. HP Z4 G4 Workstation Block Diagram
Figure 2. x16 Peak Bandwidth per Direction-GB/s
Slot 2: PCle3 x4
Slot 4: PCle3 x4
Slot 2: PCle3 x4
Slot 4: PCle3 x4
M.2
M.2
Slot 1: PCle3 x16
Slot 3: PCle3 x16
Slot 5: PCle3 x8
Intel®
C422
sSATA
LAN
LAN
M.2
Slot 1: PCle3 x16
Intel® Xeon® W Processors
Intel® Core
TM
X-series Processors
Slot 3: PCle3 x16
Slot 5: PCle3 x8
sSATA
LAN
Intel®
X299
12
8
4
0
16
Gen 1.0 Gen 2.0 Gen 3.0
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PCI-Express Slot Options
The HP Z4 G4 provides a total of ve high-performance Graphics and Expansion slots and supports up to two PCIe
3.0 graphics cards. Two M.2 slots are also available at PCIe 3.0 speeds. An additional bulkhead allows for a sixth
mechanical-only Expansion card. The HP Z4 G4, depending on system congurations, can support up to two
250 W cards.
Figure 3. PCle slot layout
CPU ConnectedPCH Connected
M.2 StorageM.2 Storage
M.2 Storage
Intel® Core
TM
i9X/XE and i7-9800X Processors
Intel® Xeon® W Processors
Intel® Core
TM
i7-7800X Family Processors
Slot #
1
2
3
4
5
SSD 1 SSD 1SSD 1
SSD 1
Slot #
1
2
3
4
5
PCle3 x4
PCle3 x4
PCle3 x16
PCle3 x16
PCle3 x8
PCle3 x4
PCle3 x4
PCle3 x16
PCle3 x16
PCle3 x8
Slot #
1
2
3
4
5
PCle3 x4
PCle3 x4
PCle3 x16
PCle3 x16 (x8)
PCle3 x8 (N/A)
Recipe for Optimizing PCI-Express I/O Performance
For high I/O bandwidth applications, the choice of slot loading, processor, and memory conguration can be
optimized to ensure maximum bandwidth available. Applications and cards sensitive to I/O latency may benet as
well from some of the tips below.
Recommended Conguration Steps
1. Place GPU and graphics cards rst, following the slot order listed in Table 1.
2. Place Expansion cards next, from highest bandwidth to lowest, following the load priority listed in Table 1.
This is the optimal load order for most applications.
3. Additional I/O bandwidth renements may be possible. If necessary, refer to the tips below.
Table 1. HP Z4 G4 Expansion Slot Recommended Load Order
Intel
®
Xeon
®
W Processors
Load Priority Card Description Slot 0 Mech Slot 1 x16 Slot 2 x4 Slot 3 x16 Slot 4 x4 Slot 5 x8
1 1st Graphics NA Only
2 HP Z Turbo Drive Quad
Pro (4x M.2 card)
NA Only
3 2nd Graphics* NA 1 2
4 SAS Controller NA 2 1
5 Thunderbolt
TM
3 (2-port) NA Only
6 Network Interface
(LAN, WLAN, etc.)
NA 1 4 2 3
7 eSATA (2x port cable) 4 3 2 1
8 Serial port (1x port cable) 4 3 2 1
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Table 1. HP Z4 G4 Expansion Slot Recommended Load Order (continued)
Intel
®
Core
TM
i9X/XE and i7-9800X processors
Load Priority Card Description Slot 0 Mech Slot 1 x16 Slot 2 x4 Slot 3 x16 Slot 4 x4 Slot 5 x8
1 1st Graphics NA Only
2 HP Z Turbo Drive Quad
Pro (4x M.2 card)
NA Only
3 2nd Graphics* NA 1 2
4 Thunderbolt
TM
3 (2-port) NA Only
5 Network Interface (LAN,
WLAN, etc.)
NA 1 4 2 3
6 eSATA (2x port cable) 4 3 2 1
7 Serial port (1x port cable) 4 3 2 1
Intel
®
Core
TM
i7-7800X Family Processors
Load Priority Card Description Slot 0 Mech Slot 1 x16 Slot 2 x4 Slot 3 x8 Slot 4 x4 Slot 5 MECH
1 1st Graphics NA Only NA
2 Thunderbolt
TM
3 (2-port) NA Only NA
3 Network Interface (LAN,
WLAN, etc.)
NA 1 3 2 NA
4 eSATA (2x port cable) 4 3 2 1
5 Serial port (1x port cable) 4 3 2 1
Intel
®
Core
TM
i7X Processors have fewer available PCle lanes, leaving only one x16 slot for graphics.
Congurations with additional PCle cards utilizing 16 lanes are no supported.
Additional Tips
If possible, make sure all I/O cards are loaded in slots that have a PCI-Express Lane Width at least as wide as the
card (see Table 1).
For cards that are latency sensitive, load these cards in processor slots.
Ensure Idle Power Savings BIOS setting is set to Normal (BIOS setup menu -> Advanced -> Power
Options -> Idle Power Savings = Normal).
Use the latest system BIOS version available on hp.com.
Check for updates in the latest performance optimization white papers (link below).
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Memory congurations
and optimization
CONTENTS & NAVIGATION
*Double-wide 2nd graphics is not supported when HP Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro is installed.
7TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER
STORAGE CONFIGURATIONS
AND RAID
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation includes a 6 port, 6 GB/s Intel
®
SATA RAID
controller.
SATA Storage Features
Controller interfaces and supported drive types.
The controllers support the following drive types and max link speeds:
Controller Number of ports Max link speed Interface type Drives supported*
SATA 6 6 GB/s SATA SSD, SED, HDD, and ODD
*Key management software used with SED drives requires that SATA emulation mode be set to AHCI.
Controller Number of ports RAID levels Max RAIDs
SATA 6 0, 1, 5, 10 2
RAID Levels
The RAID levels supported are shown in the table below:
Option ROM Launch Policy
In the Pre-OS environment, HP Workstations can use either Option ROM (OROM) or a Unied Extensible Firmware
Interface (UEFI) driver for conguration and management of the RAID controllers. The default shipping conguration
is set to All UEFI. This can be changed in BIOS Setup under “Advanced”, “Option ROM Launch Policy”. Select the
desired Option ROM Launch Policy from the pull down menu. The OROM or UEFI driver is not available when the
SATA controller is set to AHCI.
If the setting is grayed out, it will be necessary to change Secure Boot Conguration in BIOS setup under
“Advanced”, “Secure Boot Conguration”, “Congure Legacy Support and Secure Boot”.
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PCI-Express
Optimizations on
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Storage congurations
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Options that include “Legacy Support Disabled” will enforce All UEFI Option ROM Launch Policy.
“Legacy Support Enabled” will allow setting Option ROM Launch Policy to “All Legacy” or “All UEFI Except Video”.
When the Option ROM Launch Policy is set to All Legacy, the SATA OROM will only display at power on if there
are two or more RAID capable devices attached to the controller, or a single device is attached that contains RAID
metadata. In the latter case, the OROM will show that the RAID is failed or degraded.
When the Option ROM Launch Policy is set to UEFI, the legacy OROM will not display and management of RAID can
be performed in BIOS Setup under UEFI Drivers.
Controller Enable/Disable
The SATA controller can be Disabled or Enabled from the BIOS menu under “Advanced”, “System Options”.
Uncheck or check the box in front of the controller that you would like to Disable or Enable.
SATA emulation modes
The SATA controller is capable of being set to two dierent SATA emulation modes. Controls are provided for SATA
Emulation Mode in the BIOS under “Advanced”, “System Options”. Check the Controller RAID Mode box for RAID
or uncheck the box for AHCI.
RAID (Default; ACHI + RAID capability with greatest exibility for most users)
AHCI (Required when using SEDs)
The following shows the settings for Controller Enable/Disable and SATA emulation mode.
Per port Enable/Disable of SATA ports
Individual SATA ports can be Disabled or Enabled individually from the BIOS menu under “Advanced”, “Port Options”.
Select Enable Disable, or eSATA from the pull down menu for the Port that you would like to Enable Disable or
designate as eSATA. Setting the port to eSATA will enable the port and mark it as an external port that can be ejected.
External SATA (eSATA)
External SATA (eSATA) is supported on the SATA controller with an optional eSATA bulkhead adapter.
Ports can be congured individually as eSATA in the BIOS under “Advanced”, “Port Options”. Select eSATA from the
Enabled/eSATA/Disabled pull down menu for the desired port. When a port is designated as eSATA, the port link speed
may be limited to 3 GB/s. An option to eject the drive will be available from the “Windows Taskbar Safely Remove
Hardware and Eject Media” applet. Disks included in a RAID array will not be visible in the Eject applet. The current OS
disk may be visible in the Eject applet but cannot be ejected. External drives can be hot plugged if the drive is compatible
with hot plugging.
Hot plug or Hot unplug and surprise removal/insertion of internal drives is not recommended.
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TRIM support for SSDs
TRIM keeps track of les that have been deleted but not erased on the drive to improve performance and help
extend the life of the SSD. TRIM is not an acronym, but is a command specic to SSDs and is typically represented
by TRIM in all upper case. TRIM is supported on individual non-RAIDed SSDs and is supported on RAID 0, 1, and 10
on the SATA controller.
AHCI and RAID Technology
The default SATA emulation mode on HP Workstations is RAID (RAID + AHCI) unless SEDs are installed. If SEDs are
installed, the SATA emulation mode will be set to AHCI. The SATA emulation mode can be changed in BIOS setup
under “Advanced”, “System Options”, but changing the mode is not recommended and can result in boot failure or
data loss if the SATA emulation mode is changed after the OS is installed or if a volume already contains data. Always
back up your data before making any storage system changes.
RAID
RAID provides all of the benets of AHCI with the added exibility of RAID for congurations needing performance or
data redundancy. Even if you don’t use RAID today, setting the SATA mode to RAID makes your system RAID ready
for the future. RAID is the preferred mode and default storage conguration SATA mode set in HP Workstation BIOS.
AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface)
AHCI is a technical standard developed by Intel® for the hardware mechanism that allows software to communicate
with SATA (Serial ATA) devices. It is enumerated as a PCI device and transfers data between system memory and
SATA devices.
AHCI provides many benets over the legacy IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drive interface. Some of the
benets include:
Elimination of master/slave handling
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) that allows a SATA device to internally optimize the order of command execution
for increased performance
TRIM command support for SSDs which keeps track of les that have been deleted but not erased on the drive.
This improves performance of the drive and helps extend the life of the SSD by preventing unnecessary writes
Supported RAID levels
RAID provides a method of combining multiple disks into a single logical volume to increase performance
or create data redundancy.
RAID 0 – Creates a single volume that has data striped across two or more drives on the same controller. The size of
the volume is based on the size of the smallest capacity drive times the number of drives in the RAID 0 conguration.
RAID 0 is typically used to improve performance or create a larger volume from smaller drives. There is no data
redundancy or parity in a RAID 0 conguration.
RAID 1 Creates a single volume that is a mirror image of identical data on two physical drives on the same
controller. The size of the mirror is limited by the smallest drive used in the RAID 1 conguration. This conguration
provides data redundancy protection against a single drive failure, does not use parity, and does not improve
performance. If a drive fails, the drive can be replaced by a drive of the same capacity or larger capacity to rebuild the
RAID array.
RAID 5 – Creates a single volume from three or more physical drives on the same controller. RAID 5 uses striping
with parity data in distributed blocks across all member disks. A RAID 5 volume is tolerant of a single disk failure.
RAID 5 has performance attributes similar to a RAID 0 and reliability of RAID 1, however parity calculations can
reduce the performance relative to a RAID 0.
RAID 10 – Creates a mirror of a pair of drives, and then stripes the data on the mirrored pairs. A RAID 10 must
contain two or more drive pairs, with a four drive minimum. A RAID 10 is fault tolerant to one drive per mirrored pair.
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highlights
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PCI-Express
Optimizations on
HP Z4 G4 Workstation
7
Storage congurations
and RAID
18
Memory congurations
and optimization
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10TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER
Creating RAID Arrays on the SATA controller
RAID arrays on SATA controller can be created through Option ROM (OROM) at power on, BIOS Setup under UEFI
Drivers, DOS utilities, EFI shell utilities, Windows command line utilities, or from a graphical user interface (GUI) within
the Windows OS.
Pre-OS RAID creation through the Option ROM (OROM)
In order to use the OROM for conguration of RAID arrays, the Option ROM Launch Policy in BIOS must be set to
All Legacy. This can be changed in BIOS Setup under “Advanced”, “Option ROM Launch Policy”.
To access the OROM, press Ctrl-I as soon as you see Intel
®
Rapid Storage Technology enterprise Option ROM.
The OROM will only display at power on if there are two or more RAID capable devices attached to the controller, or a
single device is attached that contains RAID metadata. In the latter case, the OROM will show that the RAID is failed
or degraded.
Once in the OROM, you can Create RAID Volumes, Delete RAID Volumes, Reset Disks to Non-RAID, or Exit.
The keys available for use are listed at the bottom of the screen.
Example: RAID volume creation on the SATA controller through OROM.
1. Use the Up/Down arrows to navigate to “1. Create RAID Volume” if not already selected.
2. Enter the desired volume name and press Tab or Enter.
3 . Use the Up/Down arrows to scroll through available RAID levels. A description of the level will appear in the
“HELP” box. Select the desired RAID level and press Tab or Enter.
4. Press Enter to open the “SELECT DISKS” window.
5. Use the Up/Down arrows to highlight a desired disk and press Space to select the disk. Press Enter after you
have selected all of the disks that you want to be included in the RAID.
6. If you are creating a RAID array that is striped, you can use the Up/Down arrows to change strip size if desired.
Press Enter when done.
7. Capacity will be automatically calculated for you based on the RAID type. The capacity shown may be around
95% of the actual available capacity. In a mirrored array, the reserved space helps to ensure that a failed drive
can be replaced with another drive of the same listed capacity even if the actual capacity is slightly less than
the listed capacity. Press Enter to accept the default capacity.
8. Press Enter to create the volume.
Similarly a user can Delete RAID volumes or reset disks to Non-RAID status by following the on screen prompts and
using the keys listed at the bottom of each screen.
RAID creation using the UEFI driver in BIOS setup
In order to create RAID arrays using the UEFI, the Option ROM Launch Policy in BIOS must be set to All UEFI or All
UEFI Except Video. This can be changed in BIOS Setup under “Advanced”, “Option ROM Launch Policy”.
Example: RAID volume creation on SATA controller using the UEFI Driver interface.
1. Use the Up/Down arrows to select “Create RAID Volume” and press Enter.
2. Use the Up/Down arrows to select Name and press Enter to enable editing the name. Change the name
if desired and press Enter to close the edit box.
3. Use the Up/Down arrows to select RAID Level and press Enter to show available RAID levels. Use the Up/Down
arrows to select the desired RAID level and press Enter to accept.
4. Use the Up/Down arrows to highlight a disk to be included in the array. Press Enter to activate the pull-down
menu and use Up/Down arrows to change from blank to “X”. Press Enter to accept. Continue selecting drives
until you have selected all of the drives that you want to include in the RAID array.
5. Arrays that use striping, will have an option to select strip size. You can accept the default by navigating past it
or press Enter and make a selection.
6. Leave the capacity as default.
7. Use the Up/Down arrows to select Create Volume and press Enter to create the array. This will take you back
to the main screen for the current controller where you can create an additional RAID array (up to 2 arrays)
or view already created arrays.
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Optimizations on
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Storage congurations
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RAID creation from a DOS or EFI shell
RAID arrays can be created in a DOS or EFI shell by using the shell specic Intel® RAID Utility for the controller.
This is useful in a deployment environment where an organization wants to congure multiple systems identically.
The utilities can also be run from a DOS or EFI bootable USB key.
The utilities are specic to a particular driver version and are available with the driver package downloadable from
hp.com.
The utilities are:
DOS Shell
RCfgSata.exe (For the SATA controller)
EFI Shell
RCfgSata.e (For the SATA controller)
For the latest commands use “/?” option when executing the command.
RAID creation from a Windows Administrator Command Prompt
RAID arrays can be created by using the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (RSTe) Command Line Interface
(RSTCLI) for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems. RSTCLI is included in the Intel® RSTe driver package for
your system, downloadable from hp.com. The RSTCLI must be executed from an administrator command prompt.
If you attempt to execute the RSTCLI utility from a non-administrator command prompt, you will receive the following
message: “Could not obtain system information to display middleware version.”
See the RSTe CLI Specication included with the RSTCLI for specic usage instructions.
RAID creation from within the OS using the Intel
®
Rapid Storage
Technology enterprise GUI
The RSTe GUI provides an easy method for creating RAID arrays. The RSTe GUI is pre-installed on systems shipped
from the factory, and can also be installed from the latest driver package available on hp.com.
Launch Intel
®
Rapid Storage Technology enterprise GUI by navigating to it from the start menu, or press the Windows
key and then start typing “Intel
®
” in the Box that appears. A short list should appear that contains “Intel
®
Rapid
Storage Technology enterprise”. Click this item with the mouse to launch the GUI.
Click the “Create Volume…” button to start the guided RAID array creation process. Additional help is available on
each page of RAID creation process by clicking on “More help on this page” at the lower right corner of each page.
A balloon with a question mark inside will be displayed if help or suggestions are available for a specic topic.
Click on the balloon to display the help on the item in a new page.
HP Z Turbo Drive Storage Features
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation can support up to 6 HP Z Turbo Drives. All HP Z Turbo Drives qualied on HP Z4 G4 are
NVMe storage devices.
There are two M.2 slots on the system board, and up to four additional M.2 modules may be added via a HP Z Turbo
Drive Quad Pro carrier. The two M.2 slots on the system board can accommodate M.2 modules up to the 2280 form
factor. The HP Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro can accommodate four modules up the 22110 form factor.
TRIM support for HP Z Turbo Drives
TRIM keeps track of les that have been deleted but not erased on the drive to improve performance and help extend
the life of the SSD. TRIM is not an acronym, but is a command specic to SSDs and is typically represented by TRIM
in all upper case. TRIM is supported on NVMe devices using the DATASET MANAGEMENT command.
Conguring RAID with HP Z Turbo Drives using Microsoft Windows
Once the HP Z Turbo Drives are installed in the system and the system has been rebooted, launch Disk Management.
For Windows 7
1
systems, click Start, right-click on Computer, select Manage, select Disk Management.
For Windows 8 and later systems, hit the Windows+X keys on the keyboard, select Disk Management. If the HP Z
Turbo Drives are new, you will be asked to initialize the drives.
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Choose either Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID Partition Table (GPT). You can use MBR or GPT for arrays
smaller than 2.2 TB (e.g. the array size for two 512 GB drives in a RAID 0 is equal to 1 TB; the array size for two 512
GB drives in a RAID 1 is equal to 512 GB). GPT must be used for arrays larger than 2.2 TB (e.g. the array size for
four 1 TB drives in a RAID 0 is equal to 4 TB). Click OK.
The drives are now initialized but unallocated.
Figure 4. Initialize disk
Figure 5. Initialized but unallocated drives
Mouse over one of the unallocated HP Z Turbo Drives and right-click. A menu will appear to congure a software
RAID.
The software RAID modes are dened as follows:
Simple volume: No RAID, single drive.
Spanned volume: A single partition that includes multiple drives. Files are not deliberately broken up among the
drives. A spanned volume does not include any performance or redundancy advantages.
Striped volume (RAID 0): Data and les are deliberately broken up across multiple disks in an attempt to improve
read and write performance. The resulting RAID volume size is the sum of the individual drives included in the
conguration.
Mirrored volume (RAID 1): Data is replicated between drives, providing data redundancy but no performance
advantage. The RAID volume size equals the size of the smallest drive in the array.
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RAID 5 volume: A RAID 5 does not replicate data between multiple drives and is more ecient at storing the
redundancy information necessary to restore the RAID when a drive fails. Instead of replicating all data to a second
drive, it creates a smaller parity partition to allow data recovery. RAID 5 is not available on Windows 7
1
or Windows 10.
Figure 6. Disk Management screen and menu choices
Figure 7. Windows RAID Conguration Wizard
For this document, RAID 0 is selected using HP Z Turbo Drive G2s. Windows provides a wizard to help
complete the process.
Click Next.
Choose the other drives to be included in the RAID array. For each drive to be added to the array:
Select the drive.
Click Add.
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Figure 8. Drive selection
Figure 9. Drive selection
Once all drives have been added, click Next.
Assign a drive letter for the resulting RAID volume. Notice that the RAID can be assigned to an empty NTFS folder.
Choose the appropriate option, then click Next.
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Figure 10. Assigning a drive letter
Figure 11. Stripe size
The OS will now format the RAID volume. Select either the default stripe size, or choose an alternative size.
Click Next to continue.
When the RAID conguration has completed, click Finish.
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Figure 12. RAID conguration completion message
Figure 13. RAID conguration conrmation
Figure 14. Disk Management with HP Z Turbo Drives in a RAID 0 conguration
Click Yes to continue with the RAID conguration, or No to abort.
Note: On completion the OS will see a new drive and may generate an AutoPlay dialog. Either select Open folder to view les or close the dialog box.
When completed, Disk Management will show all the disks congured using RAID, based on the name of the
volume and the assigned drive letter. Note that in Disk Management, the volumes shown in the top pane relates to
the overall size of the RAID while the disks listed at the bottom display the size of the individual drives.
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Figure 15. AutoPlay dialog box
Performance considerations
Power settings
The default “Balanced” and “Power Saver” plans in Windows Power Options may result in power management
settings that may adversely aect performance of your applications. If the workstation is being used for a high
demand application, consider choosing the “High performance” power plan or choose custom settings that better
t your use model.
SSDs used in RAID congurations and TRIM support
TRIM keeps track of les that have been deleted but not erased on the drive to improve performance and help
extend the life of the SSD. As the SSD is used, the controller within the SSD distributes data across the available
FLASH on the SSD until all FLASH is used. After the FLASH has been used up, a block erase is required before
subsequent writes can occur. The TRIM command normally frees up memory prior to being needed for the next
write. If the TRIM commands are not sent to the drive and no unerased FLASH is available for writing, the SSD
controller must erase a block of memory prior to writing. This can slow performance in applications that perform
a lot of le write and le delete operations. One example is in compiling code where the compiler generates many
intermediate les that then get deleted.
The table below shows which RAID arrays support TRIM:
Controller TRIM supported TRIM not supported
SATA 0, 1, 10 5
NVMe 0, 1, 10
Storage caching options
HP Workstations ship with default storage cache settings that balance performance with data protection.
The balance of performance and protection can be adjusted by changing one or more of these settings.
Create a backup of your data before attempting to change any storage related settings.
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Windows Write-caching policy
(Disk Properties in Disk Manager)
Write caching on the device: DEFAULT: Enabled
Improves performance by enabling write caching on the disk; however, a loss of power may result in loss of data
that has not been committed to the storage media.
Windows write-cache buer ushing: DEFAULT: Enabled
When enabled, Windows will periodically instruct the storage device to commit data in the devices cache to the
non- volatile storage media. These periodic commands result in decreased overall system performance.
A user can choose to disable Windows write-cache buer ushing to restore system performance, allowing the
Intel
®
RSTe driver to handle all write-cache buer ushing.
Intel
®
RSTe write-back cache [for RAID volumes] (Intel
®
RSTe GUI, Volume Properties)
DEFAULT: Disabled
When enabled the read and write performance of a RAID or recovery volume is improved. In write-back cache
mode, the RAID controller acknowledges write I/O requests immediately after the data loads into the controller
cache. The application can continue working without waiting for the data to be physically written to the hard drives.
Enabling Intel
®
RSTe write-back cache will enable Write caching on the device if not already enabled and will disable
Windows write-cache buer ushing.
Note: If Windows write-cache buer ushing is enabled, Intel® RSTe write-back cache is disabled. To enable write-back cache on volumes, you must disable
Windows write-cache buer ushing.
MEMORY CONFIGURATIONS
AND OPTIMIZATION
The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the memory
congurations for the HP Z4 G4 Workstation and to provide
recommendations to optimize performance.
Supported memory modules
Types of memory supported on an HP Z4 G4 Workstation with Intel
®
Xeon
®
W Processors are:
For the Intel Xeon W-2100 Series Processors:
8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB PC4-2666-R 2666 MHz DDR4 Registered DIMMs
Single and dual rank 8 Gb based DIMMs are supported
For the Intel Xeon W-2200 Series Processors:
8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64GB PC4-2933-R 2933 MHz DDR4 Registered DIMMs
Single and dual rank 8 & 16Gb based DIMMs are supported
Types of memory supported on an HP Z4 G4 Workstation with Intel
®
Core
TM
X-Series Processors are:
For the Intel Core i7-7800X, Core i9-7800X/XE, Core i7-9800 and Core i9-9800 Series Processors:
•8 GB and 16 GB PC4-2666-U 2666 MHz DDR4 Non-ECC Unbuered DIMMs
•Single and dual rank 8 Gb based DIMMs are supported
For the Intel Core i9-10900 Series Processors:
•8 GB, 16 GB, and 32GB PC4-2933-U 2933 MHz DDR4 Non-ECC Unbuered DIMMs
•Single and dual rank 8 and16 Gb based DIMMs are supported
Types of memory NOT supported on an HP Z4 G4 Workstation are:
•LR DIMMs
•DDR, DDR2, or DDR3 DIMMs
See Memory Technology White Paper for more memory module technical information.
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Platform capabilities
Maximum capacity with Intel
®
Xeon
®
W Processors
512 GB with Intel
®
Xeon
®
W-2200 Processor Family
Maximum capacity with Intel
®
Core
TM
X-Series Processors
256 GB with Intel
®
Core
TM
i9-10900X/XE Processor Family
Total of 8 memory sockets
8 memory sockets available
4 channels per processor and 2 sockets per channel
Speed
2933, 2666, 2400 and 2133 MHz memory speeds are supported in this platform
Memory will operate at the speed of the slowest rated installed processor or DIMM
Dynamic power saving is enabled
NUMA, Sub-NUMA and Non-NUMA modes are supported and user congurable
Memory features
ECC is supported on Registered DIMMs
Single-bit errors are automatically corrected
Multi-bit errors are detected and will cause the system to immediately reboot and halt with an F1 prompt error
message
By way of comparison, non-ECC memory does not detect or correct single-bit or multi-bit errors which can cause
instability, or corruption of data, in the platform. See Memory Technology White Paper for more information
Command and Address parity is supported
Command and Address errors are detected and will cause the system to immediately reboot and halt with an F1
prompt error message
Optimize performance
System performance is largely based on the applications being used. Generally, to obtain the best performance, it is
advised that you follow the following guidelines:
For best performance, it is recommended to load memory into all channels. Since these platforms have 4
channels, install memory in sets of 4.
Proper individual DIMM capacity selection is essential to maximizing performance. Evenly distributing total desired
memory across all operational channels and CPUs will deliver the best performance.
Loading rules
Load the memory modules in order of size, starting with the largest module and nishing with the smallest module.
Each channel includes two DIMM sockets; black and white connector pairs represent a channel. The DIMMs
should be loaded rst in the black sockets and then in the white sockets. The DIMMs should be loaded starting
with the DIMM furthest from the CPU, with the rst DIMM loaded in the top most socket and alternating sides of
the CPU.
See gures below for loading order.
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* Not all features are available in all editions or versions of Windows. Systems may require upgraded and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers,
software or BIOS update to take full advantage of Windows functionality. Windows 10 is automatically updated, which is always enabled. ISP fees may
apply and additional requirements may apply over time for updates. See http://www.windows.com
DISCLAIMERS
1
Supported on Intel
®
Xeon
®
processor congs.
2
EPEAT
®
registered where applicable. EPEAT
®
registration varies by country. See www.epeat.net for registration status by country. Search keyword
generator on HP’s 3rd party option store for solar generator accessories at www.hp.com/go/options.
3
Supported on Intel
®
Core™ i7-X processor congs.
4
Supported on Intel
®
Core™ i9-X processor congs.
5
External power supplies, power cords, cables and peripherals are not low halogen. Service parts obtained after purchase may not be low halogen.
6
Multi-Core is designed to improve performance of certain software products. Not at customers or software applications will necessarily benet from use
of this technology. Performance and clock frequency will vary depending on application workload and your hardware and software congurations. Intel
®
’s
numbering, branding, and/or naming is not a measurement of higher performance.
7
Optional or add-on feature.
8
For hard drives, GB= 1 billion bytes. TB= trillion bytes. Actual memory speeds dependent on processor capability.
RESOURCES, CONTACTS, OR ADDITIONAL LINKS
hp.com/go/whitepapers
This site includes white papers on USB 3.0 Technology, Battery Charging technology, Thunderbolt
TM
2
Technology, etc.
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-z4-g4-workstation/16449890/manuals
LEARN MORE AT
hp.com/go/workstations
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES
HP.COM/GO/GETUPDATED SHARE WITH COLLEAGUES
FANFAN
1
5
3
7
8
DIMM1
DIMM2
DIMM3
DIMM4
DIMM5
DIMM6
2
6
DIMM7
DIMM8
CPU 0
4
Figure 17. Loading order for single and dual CPU congurations
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CONTACT US
© Copyright 2019 HP Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty
statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Intel, Xeon and Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner.
4AA7-2219ENW, December 2019