Does this look good for a storage server?

R

Red Squirrel

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
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Decided it's time to bite the bullet and build a storage server. Decided to go with 16 bay instead of 24 so finding a proper controller is not as hard. 16 is still plenty especially with 4TB drives being available and I can always just build another in the future as needed. I'll probably go with 3TB drives but for now I'll just be moving the existing 1TB drives from my server to this one and use NFS.

My current server has lot of IO difficulties, lot of random errors and crap, I've just been dealing with it, but before the whole thing just completely explodes it's time to move the data off it. Currently it's using a bunch of cheap pci 2 port sata cards and the motherboard ports.

Eventually I want to upgrade to one or more 1U boxes and most likely do more virtualization.

Anyway, this is what I have, let me know if it's good or if I may be missing something:

Chasis:
Supermicro Chassis SC936E1-R900B 3U 16X3.5IN Hot Swap SAS/SATA 7 Full Slots 1+ 1 900W Redund Black
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60781

Sata cards: (2 of them)
Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8 Channel 3GB/S SAS/SATA RAID PCI-E Card Marvell 6480
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=37999

SAS cables: (4 of em, Is this actually what I need?)
Norco C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=48800

Rest probably does not matter as much, but just to be sure:

CPU:
Intel Core i3 3220 Dual Core Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Ivy Bridge 3MB Retail Box
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=75429

Mobo:
Supermicro MBD-X9SCM LGA1155 C204 DDR3 ECC 6SATA 4PCIE 2GBE IPMI 9USB2.0 mATX Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=81833

Ram:
Supermicro MEM-DR380L-HL01-EU13 8GB DDR3-1333 240PT 1.5V DIMM CL9 ECC Server Memory
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=79451

SSD for OS:
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=77210&promoid=1304

Grand total: $2,387.57




EDIT: NEW LIST (keeping old for historical purposes)

Chasis:
SUPERMICRO SuperChassis CSE-846A-R1200B Black 4U Rackmount Server Case 1200W Redundant
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152527

3x Sata card:
IBM ServeRaid M1015 (will flash to LSI9211-IT)
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/IBM-ServeRai...sk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item485511bfbb

6x SAS cable:
Norco C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=48800

CPU:
Intel Xeon E3 1230 V2 Quad Core Processor 3.3GHZ 8MB LGA1155 69W Retail Box
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74987&vpn=BX80637E31230V2&manufacture=Intel Server Products

Mobo:
Supermicro MBD-X9SCM LGA1155 C204 DDR3 ECC 6SATA 4PCIE 2GBE IPMI 9USB2.0 mATX Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=81833

Ram:
Supermicro MEM-DR380L-HL01-EU13 8GB DDR3-1333 240PT 1.5V DIMM CL9 ECC Server Memory
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=79451

SSD for OS:
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=77210&promoid=1304

Heat sink:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120mm
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=41337&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

Updated 08-may-2013





Should all that work fine together? I'm new to the world of storage servers so not sure about all this SFF8087 stuff and all that, so I'm hoping I got the right items. Let me know if anything is wrong/missing, thanks!

Probably going to keep using Linux mdraid but I'll go raid 10 instead of 5. Might also look into ZFS in the future. For now though I'll just be physically moving my existing raid array to that server. All data will be accessed via NFS. I'll probably setup a dedicated switch for storage but for now I'll just be using it as a NAS more than a SAN.
 
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None of your links work btw. Are you Canadian or American?

You're may have to get a different card: IIRC, the reason why that particular Supermicro card wasn't all that popular back was because it didn't work too well with Linux or FreeBSD. AFAIK, the only other non-Windows OS I'm aware of that works with that card is UnRAID.

If you don't mind used, the IBM ServeRAID M1015 is one of the better bang for the buck cards out there.
 
I had to split the links since the site does weird stuff. I'm Canadian, so unfortunately my selection of stuff is much more limited. I was afraid that card would be an issue, I read mixed reviews on it.

Is there any cards that are OS independent? Seems most of the cards are OS dependant, which is an issue, since most companies usually skimp on Linux support and their drivers are usually a pain to install. Something driverless would be nice if there's such thing.

Does the IBM ServeRAID M1015 work as is? I read stuff where you have to flash it or something, I want to avoid having to do any weird stuff. Also I'd need 2 of em, is it an issue to have 2 of the same cards? Can't see why but figured it's worth checking.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Is there any cards that are OS independent? Seems most of the cards are OS dependant, which is an issue, since most companies usually skimp on Linux support and their drivers are usually a pain to install. Something driverless would be nice if there's such thing.
Click to expand...
Well not entirely driver less but there are plenty of cards that'll work with Linux, i,e the IBM I recommended. In fact, AFAIK, any card based on the LSI SAS 2008 controller should work with Linux just fine:
http://www.servethehome.com/lsi-sas-2008-raid-controller-hba-information/


Red Squirrel said:
Does the IBM ServeRAID M1015 work as is? I read stuff where you have to flash it or something, I want to avoid having to do any weird stuff.
Click to expand...
Yes you do have to flash it.
http://www.servethehome.com/ibm-serveraid-m1015-part-4/


Red Squirrel said:
Also I'd need 2 of em, is it an issue to have 2 of the same cards? /QUOTE]
AFAIK, no.
Click to expand...
 
Hmm guess I'll have to go with that then, the process does not seem that hard so may as well just go with it and once it's flashed it's flashed. Guessing LSI9211-IT mode is what I want.

Also is that cable I have in my list the right thing to get to connect the card to the backplane?
 
Hmm guess I'll have to go with that then, the process does not seem that hard so may as well just go with it and once it's flashed it's flashed. Guessing LSI9211-IT mode is what I want.

Also is that cable I have in my list the right thing to get to connect the card to the backplane?
 
I must say that seeing Marvell amongst all that expensive professional branded stuff made me laugh !
 
Red Squirrel said:
Supermicro Chassis SC936E1-R900B 3U 16X3.5IN Hot Swap SAS/SATA 7 Full Slots 1+ 1 900W Redund Black
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60781
Click to expand...
I would not recomend this case unless you get it dirt cheap. IMHO Its to expensive compared to 24bay version. Also this one you listed has sas expander (and only 3gb/s one). My choice would be SC846BE16-R1K28.

Sata cards: (2 of them)
Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8 Channel 3GB/S SAS/SATA RAID PCI-E Card Marvell 6480
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=37999
Click to expand...
Since you listed a case with expander, you only need 1 card with 1 sas port. And as suggested already, IBM M1015 with IT fw is the way to go.

SAS cables: (4 of em, Is this actually what I need?)
Norco C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=48800
Click to expand...
To connect a card to the chassis (expander) you only need 1.

CPU:
Intel Core i3 3220 Dual Core Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Ivy Bridge 3MB Retail Box
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=75429
Click to expand...
Intel Xeon E3-1230V2

Eventually I want to upgrade to one or more 1U boxes and most likely do more virtualization.
Click to expand...
Unless you want multiple boxes to have a cluster/cloud (and i suggest looking into dell c6100 on ebay instead of several 1U boxes, that is if you are in USA since EU gets screwed by horrible shipping cost), there is no point in having them just to have things virtualized. Search this forum for all in one ZFS box.
 
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SSD for the OS drive doesn't add much value.
 
BTW I would recommend the IBM M1015 card over the Marvell. I have 3 of the M1015 in my X9SCM-F motherboard, with Xeon E3-1220. I bought most of the stuff from newegg a couple of years ago when they had a 10% off server motherboards and ECC RAM (I think I bought Kingston branded ECC RAM).

The M1015s I bought from a US company through a private individual who worked there - bypassed ebay, saved a lot of money ($100 each). It is difficult to find anyone who would ship them to Canada, and they often sell out on ebay rather quickly, unfortunately. I flashed all mine with IT firmware.

I got a Norco 4224 from NCIX at the same time, when they had a free shipping for under 100 lbs promotion.
 
Some i3 and even Pentium/Celeron support ECC. Just not i5/i7.
 
Unfortunately the SC846BE16-R1K28B is not available at any of the Canadian retailers unless they have it under another product ID, they do have the version without the expander but it I would need lot of cards, and try to find a motherboard that can fit that many. So this one has an expander as well and only needs one cable and one card? I was looking at the Norco but what sells me with the supermicro is the redundant power supplies. Since this would be a dedicated box for all my future servers to connect to, I want to be able to plug it into two different UPSes so I can unplug one to do UPS maintenance or what not. I can get a redundant psu for the norco but it ends up being even more expensive than supermicro.

For CPU, is this what I need then? Good catch on ECC, I completely forgot about needing a xeon. Was trying to cheap out on a lower end cpu.

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74987&vpn=BX80637E31230V2&manufacture=Intel Server Products

And for the card:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/IBM-ServeRai...sk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item485511bfbb

There's a few that are a few bucks cheaper but they don't have the low profile bracket.

Oh and I see ncix links work now.

So, new list:


Chasis:
Supermicro Chassis SC936E1-R900B 3U 16X3.5IN Hot Swap SAS/SATA 7 Full Slots 1+ 1 900W Redund Black
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60781

Sata card:
IBM ServeRaid M1015 (will flash to LSI9211-IT)
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/IBM-ServeRai...sk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item485511bfbb

SAS cable:
Norco C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=48800

CPU:
Intel Xeon E3 1230 V2 Quad Core Processor 3.3GHZ 8MB LGA1155 69W Retail Box
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74987&vpn=BX80637E31230V2&manufacture=Intel Server Products

Mobo:
Supermicro MBD-X9SCM LGA1155 C204 DDR3 ECC 6SATA 4PCIE 2GBE IPMI 9USB2.0 mATX Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=81833

Ram:
Supermicro MEM-DR380L-HL01-EU13 8GB DDR3-1333 240PT 1.5V DIMM CL9 ECC Server Memory
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=79451

SSD for OS:
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=77210&promoid=1304


The reason for SSD is reliability, since I wont be using raid for the OS, I will just tuck it inside the case. I don't need the disk space so it ends up being the same price as buying a 1TB drive anyway and at least I have piece of mind it wont fail, and given the low IO rate it wont really wear out any time soon.

Oh, and I recently built a PC and after seeing the size of heat sinks now, they are abyssmally huge. What is the solution for rackmount cases? Do I need to cut it so it fits? Given the enhanced airflow in a rackmount case it does not have to be as big anyway, but good luck finding one that's not 50 pounds of pure copper and the size of a bowling ball lol. Or wuld a properly size heat sink come with a xeon given they're meant for servers? Though seems heat sinks don't come with cpus anymore.
 
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Oh one more thing - the i3-3220 seems to support ECC, however, it does not have vt-d support - so you wouldn't be able to make use of VMWare ESXi passthrough if you ever wanted to go that route and have the M1015s be passed directly to one of the VMs. The Xeon E3-12x0 will have it for sure.

BTW, you probably should snap up those M1015s ASAP - they tend to sell out quick! I hope the seller is reputable.

Most of the parts look ok to me. I am not familiar with the expander stuff though,
 
I've read enough about those cards that I think they're good so think I'll get 2 to be safe. But if I'm correct, I only need one right, even if I go with the 24 bay case? I might go that route given it's only a bit more expensive for near double the drives. If I'm going to spend over a grand may as well make it good! Here's hoping they don't replace sata with anything else any time soon, as I plan to have this for quite a long time.

Heck I might just throw one of these in the existing server and see if my IO related issues go away... much cheaper fix. :D
 
Oh and one more thing (I keep forgetting to mention this):

If you intend to flash the M1015s into IT mode, you *might* need to use another, possibly older, PC to flash them. The LSI flash software seems finicky and won't work on quite a few boards - you might want to search around to see if there are any issues to be aware of.

My memory is hazy but I think I had to use an old Core2Duo E6400 machine to flash my M1015s, because it wouldn't work on my X9SCM - possibly the BIOS interferes with the card identification process used by the flash software. I could be wrong though and confused myself with the older 1068E LSI cards I had earlier.
 
I think most people would recommend that you get 3x M1015s instead of using a SAS expander. I went that route and it worked perfectly for me.

Good thinking on getting more than you need though - I bought 4 M1015s, holding one back as a spare!
 
Hmm yeah that will work, that is exactly 24 ports, then I can use the motherboard port for the internal OS drive. Speaking of spares, if one of these fails and I replace with another brand card, it will still work as long as I'm using jbod mode right? I'd try to get the same but just want to have my bases covered.

Just did a check out on 3. :D This originally started as a pipe dream project but it's approaching as being real. Guess there goes my tax refund money that I had originally saved up for an air conditioner, but meh, I will only use the AC for what, 2 months of the year? This will be used 24/7. :p
 
amarshonarbangla said:
That case, I don't think it supports mATX motherboards.
Click to expand...

Which one, the one I originally linked to, or the 24 bay one?


Edit: NM I just checked. I always assumed mATX boards were automaticly compatible with ATX though, but guess is it the screws don't match? This seems like the only other choice I have if I want to go with Supermicro:

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69154&vpn=MBD-X9SCA-O&manufacture=SuperMicro

Though there's also Tyan, are they good?

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=64983&vpn=S5510GM3NR&manufacture=TYAN

Only thing is it only has 3 slots, so it leaves zero room for expansion. ex: a 10gigabit nic in the future or something.
 
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Red Falcon said:
Just a heads up, this does not have the HD embedded graphics, so it will require a separate GPU.
I would recommend either the E3-1225V2 or the E3-1275V2, which actually has the P4000 embedded GPU.

Difference between the HD4000 and P4000: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...ance-xeon-e3-1200-hd-graphics-p4000-guide.pdf
Click to expand...

Even if the motherboard has a VGA port? Did not realize that was CPU dependant. Definitely want to go with onboard, addon video cards are too big and take too much power, considering it wont really be doing anything.
 
You can use a window fan instead of A/C! It can cool a house faster than AC at night, if you have one or two window fans set up on the upper floor, with windows on the opposite side of the house left open - just like a computer case! :)

Yes, you can replace the card and it should work.

It was a fun project when I built my server. Running OpenIndiana, PFSense, and Windows Server 2008R2 as VMs in VMWare ESXi.
 
Don't worry about the GPU too much - an X9SCM-F can be run "headless". It has a VGA-out port, which uses a (primitive) graphics chip that also links it with the IPMI capability.
 
Rectal Prolapse said:
Don't worry about the GPU too much - an X9SCM-F can be run "headless". It has a VGA-out port, which uses a (primitive) graphics chip that also links it with the IPMI capability.
Click to expand...

Ohh ok, so that port WILL work? I had the impression for a minute that with that CPU it would not work or something. I only care enough about video to be able to configure/setup the OS and potentially having to look at the console to troubleshoot something where I can't connect to it, other than that it could be 16 color for all I care. :p Worse case scenario I might be able to find a cheap PCI video card so I don't need to have a power hungry beast nor take up a PCI-e slot (which will be needed for the sata cards).

Ok, so NEW LIST! Let me know if anything is not right. I only changed the motherboard. I also changed my mind and I WILL be going with the 24 bay case,and 3 IBM cards. That takes up all the PCI-e slots in the motherboard though but at least I have PCI, I suppose that could be used for a network card if I decide to add one. But the motherboard does have 2 ports so given this is dedicated for storage I'll probably team them or something and it should be good enough.

So here's the new list:


Chasis:
Supermicro 846E26-R1200B 4U RM 24BAY Hs 1200W Rps EATX Dual Expander Black
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58309&vpn=CSE-846E26-R1200B&manufacture=SuperMicro

Sata card:
IBM ServeRaid M1015 (will flash to LSI9211-IT)
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/IBM-ServeRai...sk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item485511bfbb

2x SAS cable:
Norco C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=48800

CPU:
Intel Xeon E3 1230 V2 Quad Core Processor 3.3GHZ 8MB LGA1155 69W Retail Box
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74987&vpn=BX80637E31230V2&manufacture=Intel Server Products

Mobo:
Supermicro Motherboard X9SCA C204 Xeon E3-1200 LGA1155 DDR3 ATX 16PCIE 2.0 3PCI 2XGLAN
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69154&vpn=MBD-X9SCA-O&manufacture=SuperMicro

Ram:
Supermicro MEM-DR380L-HL01-EU13 8GB DDR3-1333 240PT 1.5V DIMM CL9 ECC Server Memory
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=79451

SSD for OS:
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=77210&promoid=1304

Heat sink:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120mm
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=41337&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER


I'm still hesitating to spend that much money but I definitely want to do this at one point or the other so I'll at least save this for later, but given how fast things change probably best I order it soon. Probably as soon as I'm done with the basement and server room.
 
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Rectal Prolapse said:
Don't worry about the GPU too much - an X9SCM-F can be run "headless". It has a VGA-out port, which uses a (primitive) graphics chip that also links it with the IPMI capability.
Click to expand...

What chip is it that is running the graphics?
That doesn't make much sense, imo.

Intel chips have the GPU and northbridge both integrated into the CPU, so there is no GPU on the motherboard chipset.
So what chip are you talking about?
 
Some of those supermicro boards have integrated video in the form of (for example) a matrox chip. It will give you basic vga out for a server.

Check the specs of that particular mobo at the supermicro website to verify if this mobo is one of those or if it depends on the intel integrated gpu.
 
This is what it says:

Video
Graphics Controller Manufacturer: Matrox
Graphics Controller Memory: 16 MB
Graphics Controller Model: G200eW
Onboard Video: CPU Dependent Video
Click to expand...

Not sure what CPU Dependent Video means though... will it mean I need a specific cpu that has the video capabilities? Or does it just mean it wont have any acceleration of any kind?
 
Yes,, you'll need CPUs that support integrated video. Check the manual for your motherboard, which you should be able to download and read before you buy it.
 
Stop scaring this guy so much :p You DON'T need a CPU with integrated gpu because the onboard one is enough for 2d & ipmi. If you need hardware 3D or any other acceleration though, then you buy a dedicated GPU or a CPU with one, but you need a different mobo for the latest.
Where does it say that you cant install mATX mobo in a case that supports ATX and even EATX? Thats a first for me.
As for the case, don't buy the 936E1 as it has an old 3gb/s expander. That 846E26 you linked is better but it has 2 expanders (for redundancy) which you don't need so its a waste of money. Also i can't believe that in Canada you can't buy anything but those 2. The case is very important and you'll have it even after you upgraded the rest of internal components.
If you want to stick with Supermicro, i suggest buying a 846(B)E16 (the "B" is just a newer version with 2x2.5" hotswap in the back, the old has a 2x3.5" fixed internal), or a 846(B)A which has no expander thus you need at least 3 ibm m1015 cards to connect it. If none of those are available, then go with DIY norco build, just dont buy a Supermicro E1 case.
 
Sorry -- I meant "if you want acceleration of any kind". The onboard chipset won't be accelerated without a processor that supports it, as far as I can tell.
 
You don't need a graphics card with the X9SCM motherboard - as mentioned above it has a basic VGA output with IPMI support. If the PC is just going to be a media server, you don't need anything else. I don't even remember if the X9SCM even has audio out. ;)

Once I had the IP address setup, I removed the monitor - saves a lot of room, and you can use the web-based IPMI interface to do everything, including changing BIOS settings and seeing the entire boot sequence. IPMI is awesome.

Red Falcon: I don't remember what chip it uses - but it is definitely not using the CPU. It should be mentioned in the manual somewhere.
 
I'm concerned with the choice of case too, just the price makes me cringe. I like the idea of redundant PSU but that's a little expensive just for that. Also you mentioned low profile brackets for the M1015 but a 24HDD case is anything but low profile, so unless you get both types of brackets you'll have a problem (well not a big one, I've got both brackets but use neither since the card is on top of the waterblock of a 2 slots graphic card).

Also, unlike us poor Europeans, in Canada you can usually order stuff in the US without paying that much in shipping, certainly something to consider instead of restricting yourself.
 
Rectal Prolapse said:
Red Falcon: I don't remember what chip it uses - but it is definitely not using the CPU. It should be mentioned in the manual somewhere.
Click to expand...

Someone else in this thread also mentioned that the board uses a 16MB Matrox video chip, which for a server of this class and for 2D, will be more than enough.
Thanks for helping to clairify that. :)

Just a heads-up though, some motherboards do not come with any video chipset, such as the board I'm using with my Xeon E3-1225V2, even though it has a single DVI port.
On motherboards like that, definitely get a CPU with the embedded GPU. ;)
 
Aesma said:
I'm concerned with the choice of case too, just the price makes me cringe. I like the idea of redundant PSU but that's a little expensive just for that. Also you mentioned low profile brackets for the M1015 but a 24HDD case is anything but low profile, so unless you get both types of brackets you'll have a problem (well not a big one, I've got both brackets but use neither since the card is on top of the waterblock of a 2 slots graphic card).

Also, unlike us poor Europeans, in Canada you can usually order stuff in the US without paying that much in shipping, certainly something to consider instead of restricting yourself.
Click to expand...

Oh I changed my mind so I'll be using normal profile. Something that expensive from the states would probably cost another grand just in custom fees, so rather not take the chance.

So the 24 bay case is not good then? What about the one with the expander? Is that one better?

And yeah this is a server, I don't need any kind of video acceleration. As long as it can show the base OS console, even if it's in like 16 color, it will be fine. Just need to be able to install the OS, that's it.


Edit: WAIT, I put the wrong link in my last list! It's not that case I meant to put, but the 24 bay one with no expander. Let me see if I can find it...
 
Ok so here's the deal, I decided I will go with the case that has the dual expanders, that way it leaves more motherboard slots free, and I can't seem to find the one with no expander anymore. Is it really a huge deal to use an expander vs separate cards?

By having those slots free it also enables me to put in my fiber channel HBA so I can also hook the drives from my IBM SAN over. May as well control them all from the same box especially considering it's going to be a pretty powerful machine. Will also leave the 3rd slot free in case I ever decide to go 10gb for the network. The other way I'd be using all the pci-e slots with zero room for expansion.

Updated the OP with what I'm hoping is the final list, but let me know if there's any major issues, like if I really should not use the expander method.
 
My server has 3x M1015s and an Intel X540-T2 (dual 10 GBe) card - that's all 4 slots being used on the X9SCM. I guess that mobo you listed only has 3 huh? Darn.

Red Falcon: Yup!
 
Actually think the X9SCM is the one I originally chose but I was told ATX case wont hold a mATX mobo, is that the case? I always thought it did work myself... but wondering if it has to do with the screw holes. Since that board is an option for me as well and it has 4 slots.

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=81833&vpn=MBD-X9SCM-O&manufacture=SuperMicro

Also given the money I'm spending it wont kill me to pay shipping twice, I can always go with newegg.ca and use this case:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152527

Instead of the one with expanders. Think that's a better way to go?
 
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