Supermicro SuperServer 5028D-TN4T Photo Gallery

Posted by Paul Braren on Jul 1 2015 (updated on Nov 3 2015) in

Perhaps you're "just looking." Well then, you've found the right page. The case, the motherboard, the drive bays, it's all seen in detail, with many screenshots too. More pics will be added over time, so revisit and refresh your browser, and yourself. Enjoy!

Supermicro SuperServer 5028D-TN4T

Comments/questions are open to all right below this photo gallery, where you'll also find a handy list of related articles.

JavaiKVM — Two 32GB DDR4 DIMMs inserted in the correct [blue] mobo sockets, running at full interleaved speeds.

Same-Speed-M2-and-PCIe — Note that both M.2 and PCIe slots are identical in capabilities, and also note this iKVM screen is clearer than above screenshot, because I turned the quality up.

So that's what a Samsung 32GB DDR4 SDRAM looks like. Note the unusual shape of the bottom edge.

Two of Four DIMM slots populated, note thick shielded USB 2.0 beige cabling routed from the front bezel to the board.

Optionally, I've filled the 2nd 2.5" drive bay with an SSD, SATA cable not included, best to order another Supermicro 8.27in 30AWG SATA S-S Cable, mine hasn't arrived yet.

SAS733TQ Backplane for 3.5" drives, with 4 SATA3 seen cables and many blue jumpers

looking down at the distant motherboard, with the back side of the 3.5" SATA drive backplane seen in foreground.

LSI7204EP-FC-card-fits-barely-backplane-above-impinges-when-trying-to-insert.JPG — Fitting this LSI7204EP half-height low-profile FC card in was somewhat challenging, mostly just because it's pretty large, and clearing the backplane right above it makes it tough to make the angle to insert it. Instruction Manual tells you to slide the whole motherboard out the back for PCIe card install. Not necessary at all, if you are very cautious.

Backplate shown, with PCI slot occupied.

See how this SMAKN mSATA to M.2 adapter can't fit, adjacent PCI slot is in the way, oh well, just use a 2.5" to mSATA adapter instead.

ESXi-installer — Super easy, used Rufus-created install USB drive, installed without a hitch.

ESXi-I350-seen — By default, the 2 Intel i350 NIC ports are visible to ESXi 6.0, that makes it much easier for new folks trying this.

SYS-5028D-TN4T-monitoring-just-works-with-esxi-6-no-extra-work — Supermicro tells me that this minor deviation from the expected 1.20 volts is nothing to worry about. I agree, because Web UI for IPMI status shows "green" at 1.191 volts, seen in the next photo. Amazing amount of info seen here with default simple ESXi 6.0 install, no separate CIM downloads required.

SensorReadingsWithShowThresholdsOff — Supermicro IPMI Web UI for Server Health, Sensor Readings. See VDIMM showing 1.191 Volts, within thresholds [seen on next photo], which I'm assuming is an average, because it doesn't break the voltage down per DIMM. Tip: this view renders best on IE 11, avoiding the need to scroll to see all 20 sensor readings.

IPMISensorReadings — Sensor readings with Show Thresholds turned on.

Oct 05 2015 Update - this yellow warning issue has been resolved! See:

Supermicro Superserver 5028D-TN4T UEFI BIOS 1.0.b and IPMI 02.14 released - improves boot from M.2 or NVMe support

Windows-10-Preview-10159-on-SuperServer — Running a single OS with 64GB as a little experiment, notice the GHz drop seen under CPU in Task Manager, saving power when simply idle. See also complete details at TinkerTry.com/superserver-windows-10-build.

X10SDV-TLN4FMotherboardLayout — Schematic.

View the PDF version of this "Supermicro X10SDV-TLN4F Quick Reference Guide" pictured above.

SuperServer-System-Block-Diagram — From page 11 of the Instruction Manual.

View the PDF version of this "Supermicro SuperServer 5028D-TN4T User's Manual" pictured above.

The above schematic showed the speaker terminals are present, so $5.49 easily adds a tiny speaker. You can also see the StarTech.com 2 Port USB Motherboard Header Adapter [USBMBADAPT2] here, with a SanDisk Ultra Fit USB key inserted. Note, this header is USB 2.0 for speeds [the only USB 3.0 ports are the two at the back panel]. See more add-on ideas at TinkerTry.com/superserver-enhancements

Nov 03 2015 Update

Shop

Supermicro SuperServer 5028D-TN4T
at Wiredzone

Not available on Amazon or Newegg, I got my system (CPU/mobo/power/mini-tower pre-assembled) at Wiredzone for the reasons outlined here. If you appreciate the information and videos you've found here at TinkerTry and you decide to buy, please consider using any of the bundle links.

Supermicro SYS-5028D-TN4T Review small box – big power
MAY 13 2015, by Patrick Kennedy at Serve The Home
Intel Xeon D – Intel SoC Changing the low end with Broadwell-DE
MAR 09 2015, by Patrick Kennedy at Serve The Home
Supermicro X10SDV-TLN4F Review – A must get platform
APR 13 2015, by Patrick Kennedy at Serve The Home, here's an excerpt:

BOTTOM LINE:
With four port Ethernet (two 10Gbase-T and two 1Gbase-T), solid storage m.2 PCIe x4 and 6x SATA III, a fast and low power CPU (Intel Xeon D-1540) and 128GB of RAM, the Supermicro X10SDV-TLN4F is a must get platform. For those still using Intel Xeon L5520 or L5620 generation processors, one can get more performance in less than half of the power and space footprint which is astounding. For those that always wanted more than the Xeon E3 line could offer in terms of their limited RAM capacity (practical 32GB limit) and core count (4C/ 8T max), this is the answer.

Supermicro SuperServer 5028D-TN4T Photo Gallery