On FlashArray//XL, which slots support a 4-port FC card?

During the physical installation and cabling of a Pure Storage FlashArray//XL, an Implementation Engineer must adhere to strict PCIe slot population rules to ensure optimal performance, proper cooling, and backend/frontend redundancy. The FlashArray//XL utilizes a different chassis layout than the standard //X or //C series, and the supported locations for Fibre Channel (FC) Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) are specific.

According to the FlashArray//XL Port Usage and Definitions hardware matrix, the 4-port 32G/64G Fibre Channel expansion cards are officially supported in PCIe slots 1, 5, and 8 . Other slots on the //XL chassis are strictly reserved for different functionalities. For instance, Slot 0, 4, and 6 are generally prioritized for NVMe/TCP, DirectFlash Shelf (DFS) connectivity, or hardware non-disruptive upgrade (HWNDU) cards. Installing a 4-port FC card in an unsupported slot (such as Slot 2, which requires special Product Management approval) will trigger hardware configuration alerts, prevent the array from passing its pre-installation hardware_check.py script, and potentially cause multipathing imbalances.