A Dell PowerEdge E560F is functionally the same as a PowerEdge R640. It is possible to rebrand the E560F to appear like it is really an R640. This is purely cosmetic and doesn’t effect the function of the server.

First start by obtaining the correct board service utility / ID Module. This is the file that worked for me but you may have to experiment with different ID modules depending on your server.

After downloading you must extract the .PM file from the exe using a utility like 7zip.

After the PM file has been obtained upload it directly through iDRAC.

Manually reboot the system once the job is in the queue.

You will see the process of rebranding begin to take place.

After the server reboots itself you will see the new R640 branding.

The Dell PowerEdge R440 is a 1U server designed for Intel Xeon Scalable processors. The platform is available in several storage and PCIe configurations. The server we’ll focus on today is the Dell PowerEdge R440 8 Bay Small Form Factor, which supports up to eight 2.5-inch SAS or SATA drives through the front drive bays.

This guide covers the major components required to assemble an R440 8 Bay from an empty chassis, including the motherboard, storage backplane and cabling, cooling system, and PCIe risers.

Essential Components

Before you begin assembling an R440 8 Bay from an empty chassis, it is important to identify the hardware required to turn the chassis into a functioning server. This section covers the major components that should be installed and verified before moving on to the rest of the build.

The goal is to start with a bare chassis and make sure you have everything necessary to power the system on, recognize the installed hardware, and eventually install an operating system.

For a complete list of compatible R440 parts and components see this page. 

Motherboard

The motherboard should already be installed in the chassis and securely fastened in place. It serves as the central connection point for the server’s processors, memory, storage, expansion cards, cooling system, and power delivery.

The processors and memory modules are installed directly onto the motherboard, while the power supplies connect through the rear of the chassis to the R440 power distribution board. PCIe risers attach to the motherboard to provide expansion slots, and the front storage backplane connects to the system board and storage controller. The hot-swap fan modules also connect directly to the motherboard.

Before installing additional components, make sure the motherboard is properly seated and secured inside the chassis.

Backplane and Cables

The front storage backplane is a critical component of the R440 8 Bay configuration. It provides the connections required for the front-mounted drives to communicate with the server’s storage controller while also supplying power to the drive bays.

The backplane requires the appropriate signal and power connections, along with the SAS connection to the RAID or HBA controller. This is the required signal cable for the backplane. The signal cable connects the backplane to the motherboard.

The power cable for the backplane is supplied by the power distribution board. 

For the 8 Bay SFF backplane you’ll need this SAS cable if you’ll be using a standard PCIe RAID or HBA controller from Dell. There is also a cable compatible with the H750 controller. The H750 has a different connector compared to controllers like the H730P or the H740P.  Select the right cable for your particular controller.

Please note – the R440 does not support a Dell mini mono RAID/HBA controller like many other platforms in the same generation.

Before proceeding with the build, inspect the backplane and verify that all required signal, power, and storage-controller connections are present and properly seated.

Cooling

The R440 uses a combination of fan modules, processor heatsinks, and an air shroud to maintain proper operating temperatures. These components work together to move airflow through the 1U chassis and remove heat from the processors, memory, and other internal hardware.

The R440 uses 6 fans to push air through the system. These fans are not hot swappable nor are they modular like the fan design of the R640. The fans connect to the motherboard via cable and the system should be powered off if you need to change them. The fans come in both a standard and high performance variation.

The processors also require compatible heatsinks. A system with two processors will require two heatsinks. On the R440 the heatsinks for CPU1 and CPU2 are not interchangeable. This is the heatsink for CPU1 and this is the heatsink for CPU2.

The final major cooling component is the air shroud. Positioned over the motherboard, the shroud directs airflow from the fan modules through the processor and memory areas. Operating the server without the appropriate shroud can disrupt the intended airflow pattern and reduce cooling performance.

The fan modules, processor heatsinks, and air shroud should all be considered essential parts of the R440’s thermal management system.

Risers

The R440 has a relatively simple PCIe riser system compared with larger PowerEdge platforms. There are 2 different chassis variations. One variation supports a single full-height riser in the rear (see picture above.) The other chassis variation supports 2 low-profile risers in the rear. Both variations support the internal riser designed for a PCIe RAID/HBA controller.

The following build guide will be focused on the chassis variation with the full-height riser.

If I ever get access to the 2 riser chassis I will update the guide.

Here is a breakdown of general riser terminology:

• LP (Low Profile) refers to the height of the expansion card.
• FH (Full Height) refers to the taller standard-height card.
• HL (Half Length) refers to the front-to-back length of the card.

For example, an FHHL card is full-height and half-length, while an LPHL card is low-profile and half-length.

Another note if you have the 2 rear low-profile riser chassis – the left and right low-profile risers are not interchangeable. Although both accept low-profile, half-length cards, they are different assemblies and connect to different processor PCIe resources.

Building the server

You will need the following tools to complete this build:

• Torque #30
• Phillips #2
• Compressed air
• thermal paste

Installing the processors

Remove the lid to the server and remove the air shroud. Remove the heatsink of CPU1 to expose the CPU socket. Press inward on the blue plastic retaining clips. Do not be alarmed if they snap off or break. This is common after years of heat exposure and they aren’t entirely necessary.

Visually inspect the CPU pins. None of them should be bent. Blow out any dust or debris with a can of compressed air or electric blower.

Carefully place the CPU in the socket. Make sure the arrow on the CPU is oriented with the arrow on the motherboard.

Apply thermal paste. Please excuse my messy application on this one (:

Place the heatsink over the CPU and press firmly until you hear the black plastic CPU retaining bracket snap into place. Screw down with a T30 bit.

Follow the same procedure above to install CPU2.

Installing memory

Dell went with a curious memory arrangement for the R440. There are 10 DIMM slots assigned to CPU1 yet only 6 assigned to CPU2. The memory configuration rules remain similar to other servers of the same platform – spread your memory across as many channels as possible and mirror the configuration across both processors. If you populate DIMM A1 be sure to populate DIMM B1 (for a 2 CPU configuration) The R440 has a total of 6 channels per CPU. Each channel is represented by the white DIMM slots. Secondary slots for the channel are represented by the black slots. Always populate the white slots first.

Here I have just 2 sticks of RAM so I’ll populate DIMMs A1 and B1. You could just as easily populate DIMMs A2 and B2. The point is to mirror the configuration and use as many channels as possible.

Installing the RAID/HBA controller

Near the center left of the chassis you will see the low profile internal riser. This where the storage controller will install. The storage controller will need a low profile bracket. I find it is easier to first remove the internal riser, connect the storage cable to the storage controller, install the controller into riser, and finally install the riser back on the motherboard.

The first thing you need to do is ensure the storage cable is properly plugged into the backplane and routed in a way that reaches the internal riser.

2 mini SAS HD connectors labeled A0 and B0 connect to the backplane:

The cable routes through this part of the server.

Remove the riser. There is a small blue locking mechanism that must be switched before removing.

Install the controller into the riser.

Plug in the SAS cable:

Reinstall the riser:

Installing the LOM/OCP riser

The R440 supports various compatible OCP network cards that DELL (somewhat confusingly) calls the LOM riser. The card installs into the OCP mezzanine port at the rear of the server.

Remove the riser(s) to access the installation point:

Remove any screws present in the mounting holes:

Line up the connectors. The card will have holes that align with the blue pegs seen on the motherboard:

Insert the ports through the rear bracket and then snap the card into place. Secure the card with 2 screws using a phillips #2 bit:

Installing the rear riser(s)

Now that the OCP networking card is installed you can reinstall the riser. As mentioned in the beginning, the particular chassis in this guide is setup for a single full-height riser. There is also a chassis variation that has 2 low-profile risers rather than one full-height.

Now is the time to install any PCIe devices you’d like:

Take note of the alignment peg:

Snap the riser into place:

If you do not have any risers or you do not require any additional PCIe slots, you can install the rear filler in place of the risers. This ensures proper air flow and prevents debris from entering the server where it can restrict airflow or cause damage.

Installing the power supplies

The power supplies install in the rear of the server:

Complete build photo

At this point reinstall the air shroud. The build is done and should look similar to the image below:

This guide documents the process of building a Dell PowerEdge R940 from an empty chassis. We’ll cover the processors, memory, processor expansion module, storage backplane, cabling, cooling, risers, network adapter, RAID/HBA controller, and power supplies required to turn a bare chassis into a functioning server.

Before you begin assembling an R940, it is important to identify the hardware required to turn the chassis into a functioning server. This section covers the major components that should be installed and verified before moving on to the rest of the build.

The goal is to start with a bare chassis and make sure you have everything necessary to power the system on, recognize the installed hardware, and eventually install an operating system.

Motherboard

The motherboard should already be installed in the chassis and securely fastened in place. It serves as the central connection point for nearly all of the server’s hardware. The R940 processor expansion module or mezzanine will also plug in to the motherboard through a set of 2 or 4 cables depending on the configuration.

The R940 is a four-socket 4U server, so the system board provides connections for up to four Intel Xeon Scalable processors along with their associated memory. 2 of the processors install directly on the motherboard. The other 2 will install onto the expansion module.

Before installing additional components, make sure the motherboard is properly seated and secured inside the chassis. A loose or incorrectly installed system board can prevent the server from powering on or cause other hardware to malfunction.

Processor expansion module

If you will be installing all 4 processors you will need the processor expansion module. This part may also be referred to as the mezzanine. The module will expand the system to support an additional 2 processors. This is a required part if you want to enable your system with the maximum number of CPUs. You can configure the R940 as 2 processor system. This will require a different set of cables then what is required to enable a system with 4 processors.

This expansion module requires 4 of these cables. These are called UPI cables. They connect to the primary motherboard.

The last cable required by the PEM is the clock cable. This looks like a mini SAS HD cable but it functions more like a signal cable for the multi-CPU architecture of the R940 rather than a storage cable.

Backplane and Cables

The storage backplane is another critical component of the R940. It provides the connections that allow the front-mounted drives to communicate with the server’s storage controller while also supplying power to the drive bays.

Dell manufactured multiple variations of this server. This is the backplane for the 8 bay SFF model. 

The backplane will have 2 cables that connect it to the motherboard. One of these cables is a signal cable. The other is a power cable.

If you’re installing a RAID or HBA controller you will also require the following cable. This is the PCIe SAS storage cable that connects the backplane to the storage controller. It is specific to the 8 Bay SFF backplane.

Before proceeding with the build, inspect the backplane and confirm that all required signal, power, and storage-controller connections are present and properly seated. These connections are essential for the server to detect and communicate with the installed drives.

Cooling

The R940 uses a combination of hot-swappable fan modules, processor heatsinks, and an air shroud to maintain proper operating temperatures throughout the system. These components work together to move air through the 4U chassis and remove heat from the processors, memory, storage components, and PCIe hardware. The fans install into the following assembly cage. 

The fan modules are a particularly important part of the R940’s cooling system because the server can contain up to four processors and a large number of expansion and storage components. The correct fan configuration therefore depends on the hardware installed in the system.

Unlike a smaller 1U or 2U PowerEdge server, the R940’s cooling requirements need to be considered alongside the processor configuration, memory population, PCIe cards, storage configuration, and other installed hardware.

The processors also require compatible heatsinks. Because the R940 supports up to four processors, a fully populated four-CPU configuration requires four processor heatsinks.

The appropriate heatsink should be matched to the processor and system configuration. Each heatsink must be properly secured to maintain adequate contact with the processor and allow heat to be transferred into the chassis airflow.

The final major component of the R940’s cooling system is the air shroud. Positioned over the motherboard, the shroud helps channel airflow from the fan modules through the areas containing the processors, memory, and other heat-producing components.

Operating the server without the appropriate air shroud can disrupt the intended airflow pattern and reduce cooling performance.

The fans, processor heatsinks, and air shroud all work together as part of the R940’s thermal management system. Before powering on a server assembled from an empty chassis, verify that the appropriate fan modules and heatsinks are installed and that the air shroud is securely in place.

Risers

The R940 has a substantially more extensive PCIe expansion system than the R740 because of its larger 4U chassis and four-processor design. This means many of your PCIe devices will plug in directly to the motherboard rather than the risers. If you have the processor expansion module installed the system does support up to 2 risers assuming you’re running a 4 CPU configuration.

There is a left riser and a right riser. These plug into the processor expansion module and add an additional 6 PCIe x16 slots to the system. These risers are connected to CPU3 and CPU4 so please ensure you have those processors installed onto the expansion module.

Please note the riser links above are technically part numbers for the PCB. Also required are the left riser assembly cage and right assembly cage. The PCB attaches to these metal cages. These usually come together as a pair on the second hand market but the distinction is worth noting.

Building the server

Once you have all the required components you can begin assembling the server. Aside from the server components there are a number of tools you will need to complete the assembly.

Required tools:

• Torque bit #30
• Phillips #2
• Compressed air
• Thermal paste

Installing CPU 1 and 2

Remove the lid of the R940 to expose the inner components. Your server may have the processor expansion module already installed. If this is case, first remove the risers. Then pull up on the handle and lift the expansion module into an upright position. This will allow you to access processors 1 and 2 located beneath the module. You can also remove the expansion module entirely.

You will also need to remove the fan assembly cage:

Remove the heatsinks to expose the CPU socket. Take this opportunity to inspect the CPU pins for damage and to blow out any dust or debris with an electric blower or compressed air.

Align the arrow on the corner of the CPU with the arrow on the motherboard and carefully place the CPU in the socket. You can also install the CPU into the heatsink first. I prefer this method. Often times the black plastic CPU retaining brackets become brittle from years of heat exposure. When you flip the heatsink over to install it over the socket, the CPU can fall out and damage the pins.

Apply thermal paste:

Finally, snap on the heatsink and tighten down the T30 screws.

Installing the memory

Each CPU in the PowerEdge 940 has 12 memory slots. The population rules are similar to other Dell servers. The main idea is spreading the memory across as many channels as possible and mirroring the configuration across CPUs. Always populate the white slots first. Each white slot represents a channel. Only after populating the white slots can you begin populating the black slots which represent the second DIMM for the channel. If you populate A1 it’s best practice to populate B1. Because this is a 4 CPU system you will also have slots labeled C and D. These will be located on the processor expansion module.

R940 memory population chart

R940 channel layout

Installing the NDC

On the R940 the NDC first installs into this bracket. The bracket (also called the rNDC bracket) then interfaces with the mezzanine port on the motherboard.

Installing a RAID/HBA controller

The RAID or HBA controller will also install in the rear of the server directly in a PCIe slot. Be sure you have the correct SAS cable. This cable will route from the 8 bay SFF backplane, to the left side of the chassis, and finally to the rear expansion slots. You will need a full height bracket for any PCIe card you have.

This is the required cable. One end will plug into the backplane. The other end goes to the storage controller.

The rear expansion ports are locked in by a black plastic mechanism. Slide the mechanism and then lift. Once the card is installed lock the mechanism back into place.

Installing the processor expansion module

Now it’s time to install the mezzanine for processors 3 and 4. Because it blocks the installation path for the other components it is best to install this piece last. Populate the processors and memory in the exact same way you did for processors 1 and 2. You can do this when the module is out of the server or you can install the module first and then put in the processors and memory.

Before you install the module you should plug in the required UPI cables. Installing the module first will make plugging these cables in more difficult than it needs to be. There are 4 in total. The connection only goes in one way so make sure you orient them properly. On the motherboard you will see connectors for UPI cables A, B, C, and D.

In the image below you will see the 4 UPI cables. Also make note of the clock cable. 

With the clock and UPI cables plugged in it’s time to install the processor expansion module.

Lift the module using the handle on the front and guide it down to its installation point. On the rear corners of the module you will see the hinging mechanism. This latches on to the chassis.

At the bottom make sure you have the following component installed. When rotated down into position the expansion board comes into contact with these 2 small chips:

Make sure the expansion board can easily hinge up and down. You shouldn’t encounter any resistance except from the weight of the board itself.

Now plug in the UPI cables that you previously attached to the motherboard. They are assigned letters. Simply match up the letters. You will notice the cables cross over each other. It is helpful to have the expansion board in its fully upright position while plugging in the cables. 

Once you have the cables plugged in carefully bring the expansion board down to its natural sitting position.

Installing the risers

One of the last components to install are the risers. These plug in to the processor expansion module. There is a left riser and a right riser. Both have a gear-like mechanism that pulls them up or down into position and securely connects them to the riser connector.

Installing power supplies

Last and certainly not least are the power supplies. They slide in through the rear of the chassis like most PowerEdge servers.

Final picture

Here is the complete build. I do believe there is an air shroud that can be installed but I didn’t have one on hand for this particular server.

The HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 Premium 10-Bay SFF is a unique configuration equipped with an NVMe backplane that provides NVMe support across all 10 front drive bays. With the installation of a Smart Array controller, the first 8 drive bays become “universal,” supporting SAS, SATA, or NVMe drives, while bays 9 and 10 remain NVMe-only.

In this guide, we’ll go through a complete build of this server, covering everything from installing the processors and memory to the RAID controller, Smart Array battery, network daughter card, risers, PCIe cards, storage and NVMe cabling, and power supplies.

Essential Components

Before you begin assembling an HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 10-Bay SFF Premium server from an empty chassis, it is important to identify the hardware required to turn the chassis into a functioning server. This configuration is different from the standard 8-bay DL360 Gen10 because it uses a 10-SFF premium backplane and dedicated NVMe hardware to provide a combination of SAS, SATA, and NVMe storage support.

The goal of this section is to identify the major components that should be installed and verified before moving on to the rest of the build. Starting with the bare chassis, you will need to install and configure the motherboard, processors, memory, storage backplane and cabling, cooling system, Smart Array controller, network daughter card, PCIe risers, expansion cards, and power supplies.

Motherboard

The motherboard should already be installed in the chassis and securely fastened in place. It serves as the central connection point for the server’s processors, memory, storage, expansion cards, networking hardware, cooling system, and power delivery.

The processors and memory modules are installed directly onto the system board. PCIe risers connect to the motherboard and provide expansion slots for network adapters, storage controllers, and other PCIe devices. The front storage backplane connects to the appropriate storage controller and NVMe hardware through dedicated cabling.

The DL360 Gen10 also uses a network daughter card, which installs directly into the system board and provides the server’s integrated network interfaces. The hot-plug fan modules connect to the motherboard through dedicated fan connectors.

Before installing the remaining components, make sure the motherboard is properly seated and secured inside the chassis. A loose or incorrectly installed system board can prevent the server from powering on or cause individual components to malfunction.

Backplane and Cables

The 10-SFF premium backplane is one of the most important components in this particular DL360 Gen10 configuration. HPE identifies the 10-SFF NVMe/SAS/SATA backplane as spare part 875556-001.

This backplane provides the physical connections for all ten front drive bays. Unlike a standard 8-SFF SAS/SATA configuration, the premium configuration is designed to provide both traditional SAS/SATA storage and direct NVMe connectivity.

The ten drive bays are divided into two functional groups. Bays 1 through 8 can support a mixture of NVMe and SAS drives, while bays 9 and 10 are NVMe-only when the 10-SFF NVMe/SAS backplane option is installed.

This makes the first eight bays effectively universal from a drive-type perspective, provided the appropriate storage controller and NVMe connections are installed. The final two bays are dedicated to NVMe storage.

The backplane requires several different cable connections depending on the storage configuration. HPE’s cabling documentation identifies separate connections between the backplane, the Smart Array controller, and the NVMe riser. For the 10-SFF configuration, HPE lists dedicated cables for the NVMe connections (see below) as well as a separate SAS cable for the connection to the Smart Array controller.

For the premium configuration, particular attention should be paid to the individual cable types and their port assignments. The cables can look similar, but each cable is designed for a specific connection between the backplane, controller, or NVMe riser.

There are 3 different cables you’ll need to connect the NVME backplane to the NVME riser.

The Smart Array controller provides the SAS/SATA storage connection, while the NVMe drives use dedicated PCIe connectivity. HPE’s DL360 Gen10 cabling documentation specifically includes configurations for a 10-SFF NVMe backplane connected to an NVMe riser and for the 10-SFF premium backplane connected to the P824i-p Smart Array controller.

Before proceeding with the rest of the build, inspect the backplane and confirm that the required backplane power cable, SAS, and NVMe connections are present. Verify each cable against its intended port before installation.

Correct cabling is particularly important on this configuration. A drive can be physically installed in a bay but still remain unavailable to the operating system if the corresponding storage controller or NVMe PCIe connection has not been properly connected.

For a complete 10-bay configuration, the storage system should therefore be treated as two interconnected subsystems:

• SAS/SATA storage — connected through the Smart Array controller.
• NVMe storage — connected through the dedicated NVMe PCIe/riser connections.

The exact cable arrangement depends on the controller and NVMe configuration being built, so the individual cable part numbers and port assignments should be verified before installation.

Cooling

The DL360 Gen10 uses a combination of hot-plug fan modules, processor heatsinks, and an air baffle to maintain proper operating temperatures throughout the 1U chassis.

The fan modules are individually installed into the chassis and connect to the system board through dedicated fan connections. HPE identifies the DL360 Gen10 fan modules as hot-plug components, allowing individual fan modules to be replaced without removing the entire server from service.

The processor heatsink mounts directly above each Intel Xeon Scalable processor and transfers heat away from the CPU into the airflow generated by the fan modules. The air baffle directs airflow through the processor, memory, and other internal components.

The DL360 Gen10 has different cooling configurations depending on the installed processors and hardware. For higher-power processors and configurations with increased thermal requirements, HPE offers the DL360 Gen10 High Performance Heat Sink Kit (873591-001) and High Performance Fan Kit (871244-B21).

For a 10-bay NVMe configuration, cooling should be treated as an important part of the overall build rather than an optional finishing component. NVMe drives, high-power processors, storage controllers, and PCIe expansion cards can all contribute to the thermal load inside the 1U chassis.

Before powering on the completed server, make sure the appropriate fan modules, processor heatsinks, and air baffle are installed and that all required fan connections are properly seated.

Risers

The DL360 Gen10 uses several different PCIe riser configurations depending on the intended hardware. The risers provide expansion slots for Smart Array controllers, network adapters, NVMe hardware, GPUs, and other PCIe devices.

The 10-SFF NVMe configuration is particularly important because it uses a dedicated NVMe riser to provide the PCIe connectivity required by the front NVMe drives. HPE’s QuickSpecs identifies a 5-port 10-SFF NVMe Riser Kit, which provides connections for up to ten NVMe SSDs. This riser is included with certain 10-SFF chassis configurations and the 10-SFF Premium Backplane Kit.

The DL360 Gen10 also supports other riser configurations, including an x16/x8 primary riser, a low-profile x16 riser, and other PCIe configurations. The correct riser depends on the chassis configuration and the expansion hardware being installed.

When building a 10-bay premium server from an empty chassis, it is therefore important not to assume that any DL360 Gen10 riser will work with the configuration. The NVMe riser and its associated cabling are specifically required for the front NVMe storage connections.

The riser board installs into its corresponding riser cage and connects to dedicated PCIe connectors on the system board. Before installing an expansion card, verify that the riser provides the required PCIe slot type, lane width, physical height, and electrical connectivity.

For this particular build, the riser configuration should be established before installing the Smart Array controller, NVMe cabling, and other PCIe expansion cards. This helps ensure that each card is installed in the correct position and that there is sufficient room for the required cabling.

Building the server

Assuming you have all the required components listed above we can begin adding components.

Before starting, also ensure you have the following tools:

• T30 bit
• T20 bit
• T10 bit
• Phillips #2 bit
• Compressed air
• Thermal paste

Installing the processors

Open the lid to expose the inner components and remove the heatsinks or CPU covers. It is first necessary to inspect the pins prior to installing the other components. If for whatever reason the CPU pins are damaged you should highly consider not continuing the build, especially if the server will be going into any serious production environment.

Remove the heatsink to expose the CPU socket. Blow out any dust or debris with the compressed air:

Place CPU in the socket. If you prefer you can install the processor on the heatsink and then just install the heatsink. I have found sometimes the CPU can slip out of the black plastic bracket and damage the CPU pins, so I like to install the CPU into the socket first, and then install the heatsink next. Be sure to orient the arrow on the CPU with the arrow on the motherboard.

Apply thermal paste:

Install the heatsink. You will need the T30 bit for this:

Installing the memory

For this build I have 8 DIMMs in total. I’ll assign 4 to CPU1 and 4 to CPU2. In general you want to populate the white DIMMs first before populating the black dimms. Because I have 4 DIMMs per CPU I will populate DIMM slots 3, 5, 8, and 10. If you have a different amount consult the memory population guidelines below.

Installing the smart array battery

At this point I like to install the smart array battery. This is the battery that maintains the RAID controller cache in the event of a power outage. Start by removing any cables attached to the backplane. If your server already has the full set of NVME and SAS cables installed, these have to be removed in order to install the battery. You will also need to remove the fans (at least the center fan.)

Installing the Smart Array Raid controller

The smart array controller is what will allow the server to recognize SAS and SATA drives. The NVME cables alone will only support NVME drives. In order for the drive bays to be truly universal (supporting SAS, SATA, and NVME) you must have both the smart array controller and NVME cables installed.

It is best to install the Smart Array controller with the cables removed from the system. The controller will sit under the cables and it’s a lot easier to install prior to NVME cable installation. It is also helpful to remove the risers although not completely necessary.

This controller has a proprietary connection to the motherboard as seen here:

There are 2 holes in the controller. Line them up with the blue pegs on the board. Tighten down the screws.

Plug in the Mini SAS cables if you have the cable installed already. We’ll cover installing the cables in the next section.

NVME and SAS cabling

Now it’s time to install the cables. The first cable you want to install is the blue Mini SAS cable shown above. This attaches from the backplane and then to the smart array controller.

This is the installation location on the backplane. Route it along the right side of the chassis. It will make a 90 degree left turn before the riser and plug in to the smart array controller.

Now that the mini SAS cable is plugged in it’s time to install the NVME cables. These cables will plug into the backplane and route to the rear of the server where they will be plugged into the dedicated NVME riser. Cables that plug in to ports 1 and 2 on the backplane will route to the right side of the server. NVME cables port 3, 4, and 5 will route to the left.

NVME cables port 1 and 2:

Here you can see how the cables route along the edge of the chassis:

NVME cables port 3, 4, and 5

Now for the last set of cables. These install into their respective ports on the backplane like ports 1 and 2. These cables however will route to the left side of the chassis.

Installing NVME riser and plugging in cables

All of these cables now plug in to the NVME riser.

Installing NDC

The NDC will install below riser 1. Remove riser 1 and remove any blank slot fillers prior to installation of NDC.

Installing PCIe card

With the riser removed it’s time to install any PCIe cards you have. The primary riser has a full height and half height slot available. Here I will install a card in the full height slot:

Installing power supplies

The very last thing to do is install the power supplies.

Cleaning up

Prior to powering on for the first time ensure everything is in its place. If you removed the fans during installation reinstall them. Ensure all cables are properly routed and neatly tucked in to the side channels. If they’re not, it may be difficult getting the lid back on. If you’ve determined that everything is in order, plug in the power supplies and power the server for the first time.