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SGI Origin 300 General Maintenance

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SGI Origin 300 rear panel
Origin 300 rear panel: LINK and XIO connectors, heartbeat LEDs, serial, USB and L1 console ports, external SCSI, Ethernet, two PCI slots and the power connector (SGI User's Guide, Figure 1-4)

Routine care for the SGI Origin 300, from SGI's SGI Origin 300 User's Guide (007-4365-002) and SGI Origin 300 System with NUMAlink Module User's Guide (007-4498-002).[1][2] SGI lets owners change PCI cards, disk drives and memory; everything else, including the lithium battery on the system I/O board, was for qualified service staff.[3] On a server of this age the parts that wear are the fans and the power supply, and the voltage and temperature monitoring on the motherboard can itself fail.[4][5]

Environment

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Origin 300 environmental specifications (SGI User's Guide, Table 1-1)
Specification Value
Temperature, operating 5 to 35 °C up to 1,500 m; 5 to 30 °C from 1,500 to 3,000 m
Temperature, stored −40 to 60 °C
Humidity 10% to 95%, non-condensing
Noise 50 dB(A) maximum
Heat output 938 Btu per hour maximum

[6]

Air flows from front to back.[6] Keep the ventilation slots clear, and do not place the server on or near a radiator or in an enclosed space without ventilation.[3] The L1 controller raises an advisory at 30 °C intake air, a critical warning at 35 °C and a fault at 40 °C; with the high-altitude setting the limits are 27, 31 and 35 °C.[7]

Cleaning

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SGI's instructions are to unplug the server before cleaning it and to use a damp cloth, not liquid or aerosol cleaners.[3]

Switching off and opening

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  1. Shut down IRIX with init 0.[8]
  2. Press Ctrl+T to reach the L1 prompt and enter power down (or * power down for two joined servers or a server with a PCI expansion module).[8]
  3. Disconnect all cables at the rear. SGI warns that components may be hot: wait about 5 minutes before going on.[3]
  4. Remove the two screws holding the server to the front rack rails and pull it out until the safety latches stop it. For a full-height card in PCI slot 2, take the server right out of the rack.[3]
  5. Remove the two screws on the hinged cover and lift the cover off.[3]

Use a grounded wrist strap and keep components in their antistatic bags until you fit them.[3] To refit, close the cover with its two screws, press the safety latches on both sides, slide the server in and refit the rack screws.[3]

Fans

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Three chassis fans cool the server in an N+1 arrangement, and the power supply has two fans of its own arranged the same way.[6] The L1 env command lists each fan (left, centre, right and the two supply fans) with its current speed and a warning threshold of 2160 rpm; fan shows the speeds alone.[9] A fan below its threshold goes into a warning state, and the yellow service-required LED lights when an item such as a fan has stopped but the server is still running.[9][8]

SGI's guides do not give the fan type. An owner on the IRIX Network forum, replacing a failed left fan, bought an NMB 3110KL-04W-B79 and found its plug had to be changed to fit the motherboard connector.[4] Check the size, voltage and connector of the fan you take out before ordering.

Disk drives

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The two drives are behind the bezel door on the front.[3]

  • To fit a drive, open the bezel door, slide the sled along the bay guide rails, swing the locking handle towards the chassis until it latches, and close the door.[3]
  • A data drive can be removed once it has spun down. Power the server off first before removing the system drive, with power down at the L1 prompt (or ctc power down for the server joined to it).[3]

Memory

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  • Fit DIMMs in pairs: slots 1 and 3 first, then slots 2 and 4. The two DIMMs of a pair must be the same size, but the two pairs may differ.[3]
  • Seat a DIMM by aligning its three notches with the keyed socket and pressing straight down until the plastic ejector latches close. SGI warns that too much pressure can damage the socket. The air baffle does not need to come out.[3]
  • Origin 300 DIMMs are not interchangeable with those of the Origin 200, Origin 2000, Onyx2 or Octane.[3]

PCI cards

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The two slots take 3.3 V or universal PCI cards; 5 V-only cards are not supported.[3] Remove a card by undoing its retaining screw and pulling it straight out, and fit a blanking plate in any empty slot.[3]

Power

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  • The power supply is a single, non-redundant unit.[6]
  • SGI's requirement is 100-120 V at 15 A or 200-240 V at 16 A on a single-phase circuit, and its safety notes say not to use extension cords.[10][3]
  • The L1 controller stays powered whenever the server is connected to mains, and shows L1 running on its display.[8]
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References

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  1. ↑ Silicon Graphics, SGI Origin 300 User's Guide, 007-4365-002, April 2002 (File:SGI Origin 300 User's Guide (007-4365-002).pdf).
  2. ↑ Silicon Graphics, SGI Origin 300 System with NUMAlink Module User's Guide, 007-4498-002, 2002 (File:SGI Origin 300 System with NUMAlink Module User's Guide (007-4498-002).pdf).
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 SGI, 007-4365-002, chapter 4, pp. 43-62. Safety instructions including cleaning and the lithium battery, PCI cards, disk drives, memory.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "How to Incorporate an Origin 300 In Homelab?", IRIX Network forum, posts by jander31 and weblacky, 6 May 2025, forums.irixnet.org/thread-4523.html. Owner's report of a failed fan and its replacement.
  5. ↑ "Origin 300 is not starting", IRIX Network forum, March to April 2022, forums.irixnet.org/thread-3466.html. Faulty voltage readings and the DS1780 monitoring chips.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 SGI, 007-4365-002, chapter 1, pp. 5 and 13. Table 1-1 specifications, power supply and cooling.
  7. ↑ SGI, 007-4498-002, chapter 5, pp. 106-109, Tables 5-1 and 5-2. Troubleshooting chart and L1 controller messages, including the temperature limits.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 SGI, 007-4365-002, chapter 3, pp. 35-39. L1 running message, powering on and off, status LEDs.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 SGI, 007-4498-002, appendix C, pp. 183-186. L1 env and fan commands with example output.
  10. ↑ SGI, 007-4365-002, appendix A, p. 65, Table A-2. Power requirements.


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