Editing Supermicro Xeon D-1500 (section)

== SuperMicro SuperServer mini towers with the Xeon D-1500 SoC  ==
The SuperMicro SuperServer mini towers with the Xeon D-1500 SoC are a more powerful version of the HP MicroServer mini towers. While the physical characteristics are similar (i.e. it is a small box with a small power footprint), the performance characteristics differ wildly. The Xeon D-1500 really is a high-performance workhorse. Combined with the small footprint of the SuperServer, it makes for an ideal, albeit expensive home lab.
[[File:sys-5028d-tn4t_open-cropped-1bb3851b930b862fd320071d7d8070ac.jpg|400px|center]]

Let's start by looking at this beast from 10,000 feet:
# It's small, low-power and quiet. The [[Wife Acceptance Factor]] is high with this one!
# Any of the Supermicro-based Xeon D-1500 SoC motherboards fit in this chassis, so easy to choose your own!
# Those motherboards have all the basics onboard: the processor, 4 memory slots for up to 128GB of RAM, onboard network interfaces (2x 1Gbit, 2x 10Gbit or both), a decent IPMI interface for remote management, an M.2 slot for PCI-e based NVMe flash storage and more.

In this article, we're specifically talking about the SuperMicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T and it's derivates (i.e. build-your-own based on a base Bill-of-Material and swapping out the SoC motherboard). The SYS-5028D-TN4T is a complete barebone package and serves as a reference to build your own. In my experience, recreating a complete barebone from scratch (offering flexibility in processor and motherboard choice) isn't hard at all. Read the section [[Supermicro Xeon D#Choosing the right SoC|Choosing the right SoC]] to guide you in choosing the best motherboard for you.

=== Choosing the right SoC ===
After picking the preferred processor, it's time to shop accompanying SuperMicro motherboards. These are the [https://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/#1667 X10-SDV] models.
With your preferred processor in mind, go through this list, taking specific motherboard pro's and con's such as networking, SATA and USB ports into account.

=== Completing the barebone package ===
When you've selected the right motherboard (and processor), it's time to create a Bill of Materials so it becomes a complete home lab server. Because SuperMicro lists all parts for any given product, it's easy to reverse engineer the contents of the SYS-5028D-TN4T package.
Let's start on it's [http://www.supermicro.nl/products/system/midtower/5028/SYS-5028D-TN4T.cfm?parts=SHOW#jump product page]:
[[File:SuperMicro Xeon D BOM barebone.png|border|center|Overview]]

Now drill down into the [http://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon/D/X10SDV-TLN4F.cfm?parts=SHOW#jump motherboard] and [http://www.supermicro.nl/products/chassis/tower/721/SC721TQ-250B.cfm?parts=SHOW#jump chassis] pages to see their parts list:
[[File:SuperMicro Xeon D BOM barebone.png|border|center|Overview]]
[[File:SuperMicro Xeon D BOM motherboard.png|border|center|Overview]]

You'll end up with the following parts on your Bill of Material"
{| class="wikitable"
|+Parts List for the 5028D-TN4T
|-
! scope="col"| Item
! scope="col"| Part Number
! scope="col"| Qty
! scope="col"| Part Description
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Motherboard / Chassis||MBD-X10SDV-TLN4F||1||Super X10SDV-TLN4F Motherboard
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Chassis||CSE-721TQ-250B||1||Mini Tower Chassis
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Backplane||CSE-SAS-733TQ||1||4 x 1ö SAS backplane w/SES-II
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Cable 1||CBL-0157L||1||8 pin to 8 pin ribbon SGPIO cable with tube , 40cm, PBF
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Cable 2||CBL-0483L||1||29cm 30AWG SATA S-S cable
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Cable 3||CBL-0473L||4||21cm 30AWG SATA S-S cable
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Parts List for the X10SDV-TLN4F
|-
! scope="col"| Item
! scope="col"| Part Number
! scope="col"| Qty
! scope="col"| Part Description
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Motherboard||MBD-X10SDV-TLN4F||1||X10SDV-TLN4F Motherboard
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|I/O Cables||CBL-0044L||2||57.5CM SATA FLAT S-S PBF
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|I/O Shield||MCP-260-00084-0N||1||STD I/O SHIELD
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Parts List for the 5028D-TN4T
|-
! scope="col"| Item
! scope="col"| Part Number
! scope="col"| Qty
! scope="col"| Part Description
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Chassis||CSE-721TQ-250B||1||Mini-Tower Chassis (Black)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Backplane||CSE-SAS-733TQ||1||4 x 1ö SAS backplane w/SES-II
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Power Supply||PWS-251-1H	||1||1U 250W Flex ATX Multi-output Bronze Power Supply
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Fan 1||FAN-0124L4||1||12 CM x12 CM fan
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Drive Tray(s)||MCP-220-00075-0B||4||Black gen 5.5 hot-swap 3.5" HDD tray
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Drive Tray(s)||MCP-220-00024-1B||1||MCP-220-00024-0B without dummy HDD
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Drive Tray(s)||MCP-220-00081-0N||1||3.5" dummy HDD (hollow-panned) for MCP-220-00075-0B,RoHS/REACH,PBF
|}

Now, you won't actually need all of these items if you're building your own, and depending on a number of variables, you need extra stuff. Let me break this down:
# Some SoC motherboards come with a CPU fan, some don't. You'll always need a CPU fan.
# If you add PCI-e based storage, like an NVMe M.2 drive, you'll want to add a case fan to keep it cool.
# Depending on the motherboard package, you won't need some SATA cables. The -B versions of a motherboard is a bulk version and comes with less stuff. The -O version is the retail version, and comes with cables you don't want anyway. Don't buy the -O version; it's a waste of the extra money.

=== Example build ===
I recently built my own SuperServer, since I really only needed a 4-core system, and wanted the Xeon D-15x1 refresh. this led me to the Xeon D-1521 on the X10SDV-4C-TLN2F motherboard. Equipped with the part lists above, I set out to build my own list.

Parts List:
# 1x X10SDV-4C-TLN2F motherboard in the -B version, which includes the MCP-260-00084-0N I/O shield. This motherboard doesn't have a CPU fan.
# 1x CSE-721TQ-250B Mini Tower Chassis, which includes the CSE-SAS-733TQ SAS backplane, the PWS-251-1H, 1U 250W Flex ATX Multi-output Bronze Power Supply, the FAN-0124L4, 12 CM x12 CM fan, four MCP-220-00075-0B and four 3.5" disk trays and two 2.5" disk bays.
# 1x CBL-0157L-02, 8 pin to 8 pin ribbon SGPIO cable with tube , 40cm, PBF for SES-II
# 5x CBL-0473L, 21cm 30AWG SATA S-S cable to link up the four SATA ports on the SAS backplane to the motherboard and one for a 2.5" bay. These are very thin cables. Highly recommended
# 1x CBL-0483L, 29cm 30AWG SATA S-S cable to link up the the second 2.5" bay.
# 1x SSD-DM016-PHI SSD SATADOM (optional)
# 1x Samsung 950 Pro 512GB NVMe drive (optional, but very highly recommended. Best money I ever spent on a piece of storage. The performance and latency are just... WOW.)
# 2x Noctua NF-A6x25 PWM 60x25mm PWM fans for the CPU and case.
# 2-4x M393A4K40BB0-CPB, Samsumg 32GB RAM modules to pimp out the server to 64 or 128GB. I highly recommend spending the extra money to get 128GB.