Post SuperMicro Server Build Observations and Questions

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

BryceRocky

New Member
Oct 16, 2017
29
0
1
39
I finally finished putting together my server after months of planning and sourcing (YAY! self-five). I built this using a SuperMicro X11 DPi-N and CS216 chassis. with a PWS-902-1R power spply.
A few oddities:
1. The front pin cluster on the motherboard had an additional 2 pins for NMI button. seems kinda odd plugging in the front connector which doesn't cover the cluster ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2. The power supply fan runs as soon as the psu is plugged and runs after the system shuts down. I do notice the light change colors (yellow on standby), but is this normal?
3. I'm assuming the there is no particular direction for the intrusion pin (I think the mechanism is just closing a circuit?)
4. My unit came with 2 8Pins but they're labeled differently (PC and PB) - do they both serve the same purpose?

Overall, I'm super happy with my jet engine. Looking forward to get my open rack and rails installed next week.
 

K D

Well-Known Member
Dec 24, 2016
1,439
320
83
30041
  1. I found that Wierd too but apparently That is normal. Some of the SMC chassis have that as part of the front panel connector cable so one cable just fits.
  2. The power supply is always on to power the BMC. Amber means the system is off and green means the system is on.
  3. I used it in my first chassis and just plugged it in. No polarity. Check the motherboard/chassis manual if in doubt.
  4. I've used both and see no difference. A while back I tested them with a psu tester and both had the same output.
What CPU are you using? Please post some pics.
 

BryceRocky

New Member
Oct 16, 2017
29
0
1
39
Thanks K D for the info! Will post some pics once it's on the rack. I used dual Xeon Silver 4110s for my build paired with 64 GB of RAM. This is replacing my two i5 servers that were getting long in the tooth.
 

chaostheorem

New Member
Dec 11, 2017
1
0
1
47
1. Standard Supermicro proprietary front panel connector pinout

2. The newer Supermicro boards have updated IPMI and power supply firmware to adjust power supply fans to run like that. The idea is to keep the fans running after the system shuts down, mainly for cooling the power supply internals.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,186
1,545
113
4. The two 8-pin power connectors are identical. There are two because this chassis/PSU is often used with dual-cpu Motherboards that require 2 8-pin power connections (one per CPU). Yours doesn’t, so just use either one.