3rd party MB for the Supermicro 836BA chassis

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nivedita

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Dec 9, 2020
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For the X11SPH-nCTF breakout cables shouldn't be needed, since its SATA ports are bundled into SFF-8087 ports. Should just be 2 each of SFF-8643 to SFF-8087 and SFF-8087 to SFF-8087, and regular SATA-SATA cable for the boot drives. Choosing the best length might be a bit tricky I guess without having the chassis/motherboard on hand.
 
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itronin

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2018
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Denver, Colorado
For the X11SPH-nCTF breakout cables shouldn't be needed, since its SATA ports are bundled into SFF-8087 ports. Should just be 2 each of SFF-8643 to SFF-8087 and SFF-8087 to SFF-8087, and regular SATA-SATA cable for the boot drives. Choosing the best length might be a bit tricky I guess without having the chassis/motherboard on hand.
doih! totally right! my bad. editing my previous post. Length is always tricky. I'm pretty fond of the 3m lay flat origami folding cables myself (at least for the SFF-8087 to SFF-8087) I think I'm about to decomm some of those in fact as I move to SAS 3 HBA's.

For guessing lengths I just cut out the motherboard size in cardboard mark the connectors or pcie cards, lay it in the chassis and use some string, wire, or an old cable to figure out the cable pathway .
 
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jack2020

New Member
Feb 28, 2021
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Hi nivedita, itronin.

You asked for it and here it is.

Chassis:
Supermicro 836BA-R920B - being shipped already

MB:
Supermicro MBD-X11SPH-nCTF

CPU:
Intel Bronze Xeon 3204

Heat Sink:
Supermicro SNK-P0068APS4

RAM:
RDIMM 2133 16GB (2) - AddOn AM2133D4DR4RLP/16G x1 JEDEC Standard Factory Original 16GB DDR4-2133MHz Registered ECC Dual Rank x4

Accessories:

SupermicroMCP-220-83608-0NHDD chassis
SupermicroFAN-0104L4Chassis Fan
SupermicroFAN-0074L4Chassis Fan
Replacement fans (make system quieter)


Cables:
Supermicro CBL-0281L (2) - SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 MB to BP
Supermicro CBL-SAST-0507-02 (2) - MiniSAS HD to MiniSAS 80cm
Supermicro CBL-SAST-0508-02 (2) - MiniSAS HD to MiniSAS 50cm
Supermicro CBL-0157L - 8pin to 8pin for SGPIO 40cm
Supermicro CBL-0157L-01 - 8pin to 8pin for SGPIO 61.5cm

Getting 2 lengths of certain cables to be sure I have what I will need. Lead times for parts is long, so spend a bit more (not like they are $30.00 or so). I love how they create new designations for the same socket. LGA3647 also goes by FC-LGA14B. I could not find a cross reference table and took some time to just verify this one.

Thanks again.
 
Last edited:
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nivedita

Member
Dec 9, 2020
41
22
8
Hi nivedita, itronin.

You asked for it and here it is.

Chassis:
Supermicro 836BA-R920B - being shipped already

MB:
Supermicro MBD-X11SPH-nCTF

CPU:
Intel Bronze Xeon 3204

Heat Sink:
Supermicro SNK-P0068APS4

RAM:
RDIMM 2133 16GB (2) - AddOn AM2133D4DR4RLP/16G x1 JEDEC Standard Factory Original 16GB DDR4-2133MHz Registered ECC Dual Rank x4

Accessories:

SupermicroMCP-220-83608-0NHDD chassis
SupermicroFAN-0104L4Chassis Fan
SupermicroFAN-0074L4Chassis Fan
Replacement fans (make system quieter)


Cables:
Supermicro CBL-0281L (2) - SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 MB to BP
Supermicro CBL-SAST-0507-02 (2) - MiniSAS HD to MiniSAS 80cm
Supermicro CBL-SAST-0508-02 (2) - MiniSAS HD to MiniSAS 50cm
Supermicro CBL-0157L - 8pin to 8pin for SGPIO 40cm
Supermicro CBL-0157L-01 - 8pin to 8pin for SGPIO 61.5cm

Getting 2 lengths of certain cables to be sure I have what I will need. Lead times for parts is long, so spend a bit more (not like they are $30.00 or so). I love how they create new designations for the same socket. LGA3647 also goes by FC-LGA14B. I could not find a cross reference table and took some time to just verify this one.

Thanks again.
Is the SGPIO cable for the rear drive kit? I think that already comes with one, it says it includes an 81cm SGPIO cable.
 

nivedita

Member
Dec 9, 2020
41
22
8
Hi.

The extra SGPIO cable is for connecting the MB to the Backplane.
Did Supermicro say that's needed? Normally the SGPIO should be sent via the SFF-8087 connector, and that backplane doesn't seem to have any separate SGPIO connectors on it, only I2C: I think only -TQ backplanes would have the SGPIO headers. I'd also think the SGPIO connector on the motherboard is meant for using with the two SATADOM ports, though the manual doesn't specifically state that.
 

jack2020

New Member
Feb 28, 2021
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Did Supermicro say that's needed? Normally the SGPIO should be sent via the SFF-8087 connector, and that backplane doesn't seem to have any separate SGPIO connectors on it, only I2C: I think only -TQ backplanes would have the SGPIO headers. I'd also think the SGPIO connector on the motherboard is meant for using with the two SATADOM ports, though the manual doesn't specifically state that.
Hi.

It was a question that I forgot to ask when I was talking to them. I just assumed that I would need one, silly me. I looked at the manual for the chassis and it made mention of it. Again, I must have got it wrong.

I appreciate you pointing this out to me. Still very green in this area.
 

itronin

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2018
1,233
793
113
Denver, Colorado
Hi.

It was a question that I forgot to ask when I was talking to them. I just assumed that I would need one, silly me. I looked at the manual for the chassis and it made mention of it. Again, I must have got it wrong.

I appreciate you pointing this out to me. Still very green in this area.
If your order has not yet shipped from SM you may be able to get them to remove the SGPIO cables from the order.
 

jack2020

New Member
Feb 28, 2021
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If your order has not yet shipped from SM you may be able to get them to remove the SGPIO cables from the order.
Hi.

I have not placed my order yet. I will be ordering from a local reseller in Canada, probably at the end of the week. I will remove that cable from my list so that I don't order it.

Thanks.

Back to troubleshooting a network problem. I switched out all my network switches yesterday afternoon with Cisco SG-200, SG300 & SG-350 series switches. I had everything working just perfect in my test environment (my bench). All ports configured properly, devices getting IP from correct subnet, Trunks and LAGGS all good. Last night As I am checking things out, had one small problem which got fixed as I had a pair of patch cables swapped (easy fix). The problem I have is with my one of my NASes. Not getting an IP and the DHCP log just keeps showing DCHP discovery and DHCP offer. All other devices are working. Check my config and it looks good. I connect a laptop to each port on the switch and it get an IP on the correct subnet. I should mention that I have a 2 port LAGG setup for the switch and on the NAS. I used this NAS to check IP & LAGG when I had it all setup on the bench. Back to the drawing board to figure out what is wrong.
 

jack2020

New Member
Feb 28, 2021
17
4
3
Hi.

Have been busy swapping out my networking gear and put in some Cisco SG200, SG300 & SG350 switches. Everything worked great on the bench. Had all the LAG feeds connected as they would be when in place and all that. Management stuff all working as well. 1st problem was a very quick fix, 2nd one I had to swap the 20 port SW as my QNAP NAS was not getting an IP. DHCP log just kept showing DHCP Discover and DHCP Offer. Just need to fix a problem with management on one.

I got delivery of my Supermicro chassis today. What a heavy beast and quite the challenge to get it out of the box and on the table. Well back to trying to fix the management stuff on the last switch.
 
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jack2020

New Member
Feb 28, 2021
17
4
3
Hi nivedita, itronin & i386.

Been some time. Been busy with some repairs at the condo. Taking it slow and easy as still recovering from the surgery. Taking longer then I expected. Still can't walk at the speed I use to or the distance, I was and soon hope to be the fast walker. Still quite a few things that I need to finish up at the condo.

I just received the last item, the Supermicro MBD-X11SPH-nCTF MB and took 2 months to get it. Took a quick peek at it, looks really nice. Will be the first server class board that I will be working with. Probably be a couple of weeks before I can take some time and start to work on this project. Can't wait.

Want to thank you for all your help again.

The Pokethernet unit I bought, came in handy several times already. Not expensive, but not cheap, but worth it, as it saved me time and my sanity.

Take care.
 
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