Intel Xeon E3-1220 for storage servers

Mudhoney said:
thanks, I'd be most grateful.
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It seemed to hang during boot, but I didn't have time to play with any bios settings, and I was trying it with the live CD iso attached via the virtual CD feature in the ipmi management console. It might have worked with some adjustments or real media, but I dunno.
 
Any reason to get the micro version over the ATX if I have room for a ATX? MBD-X9SCM-F-O vs MBD-X9SCA-F-O. The pci-e port configuration not taken into account.

Seems like all the Xeon E3 builds I read up on, the builder ops for the micro version.

Edit: The micro version has an internal usb port but the full atx doesn't... hrm I might actually use that.
 
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zeroARMY said:
Any reason to get the micro version over the ATX if I have room for a ATX? MBD-X9SCM-F-O vs MBD-X9SCA-F-O. The pci-e port configuration not taken into account.

Seems like all the Xeon E3 builds I read up on, the builder ops for the micro version.
Click to expand...
Personally, I would most likely skip Supermicro and go with the Tyan S5510GM3NR because it provides a 3rd intel nic that can actually be used for something other than a useless dedicated ipmi nic.

I've also had a much better experience with Tyan boards.
 
I'd like to confirm that Sandy Bridge is the best for power consumption VS AMD's or older Intel's:
1) idle
2) ops/watt under load

Patrick@ServeTheHome got 37w idle. (Thanks Patrick!)

(going for ZFS/openindiana/napp-it)
 
Alrighty, I came through for you Jon S. I tested it on the SuperMicro X9SCM-F (Cougar Point 204 Chipset).

Results are below:


It appears that everything functions normally except for the Intel 82579LM Gigabit network controller. Not sure if drivers are available, but at least the 82574L works. The other two errors are just the 9240-8i IBM M1015 cards which the drivers for, of course, are not included on the LiveCD.
 
Thanks much unclerunkle

Your verification of the X9SCM-F / OpenIndiana compatibility tipped the scales for me.

However rather than a Supermicro X9SCM-F (micro ATX), I will buy a similar Supermicro X9SCA-F (full ATX) board as I think it would work even better out of the box with OpenIndiana as it has two 82574L NICs (eliminating the 82579LM issue you pointed out).

Note, at first I merely plan to use the just the motherboard with no additional PCI cards specifically the six (6) onboard SATA channels (I think built in to the C204 PCH chipset) for ZFS as this will be more of a compute box.

When I get the board I will post my results for both SE11, OpenIndiana oi_148b (respin) and _oi151

Jon Strabala
 
After unclerunkle verified things a bit (refer to)

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p
​
=1037190898&postcount=47

I built a Supermicro X9SCA-F ( Intel® C204 PCH Chipset) system it works fantastic in OpenIndiana oi_148b, no undetected items on the "device driver utility" test. Note this MOBO has four (4) 3Gbps SATA ports and (2) 6Gbps ports so for a larger NAS you need an addin HBA.

System Configuration: Supermicro X9SCI/X9SCA
BIOS Configuration: American Megatrends Inc. 4.6.4 02/24/2011
BMC Configuration: IPMI 2.0 (KCS: Keyboard Controller Style)
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E31280 @ 3.50GHz SOCKET 0​

I did have to disable the S3 (sleep mode?) in BIOS, and I also set 'cpupm enable poll-mode' in /etc/power.conf - other than that a stock install that really screams.

Jon Strabala

Jon S said:
Thanks much unclerunkle

Your verification of the X9SCM-F / OpenIndiana compatibility tipped the scales for me.

However rather than a Supermicro X9SCM-F (micro ATX), I will buy a similar Supermicro X9SCA-F (full ATX) board as I think it would work even better out of the box with OpenIndiana as it has two 82574L NICs (eliminating the 82579LM issue you pointed out).

Note, at first I merely plan to use the just the motherboard with no additional PCI cards specifically the six (6) onboard SATA channels (I think built in to the C204 PCH chipset) for ZFS as this will be more of a compute box.

When I get the board I will post my results for both SE11, OpenIndiana oi_148b (respin) and _oi151

Jon Strabala
Click to expand...
 
Jon S said:
After unclerunkle verified things a bit (refer to)

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p
​
=1037190898&postcount=47

I built a Supermicro X9SCA-F ( Intel® C204 PCH Chipset) system it works fantastic in OpenIndiana oi_148b, no undetected items on the "device driver utility" test. Note this MOBO has four (4) 3Gbps SATA ports and (2) 6Gbps ports so for a larger NAS you need an addin HBA.

System Configuration: Supermicro X9SCI/X9SCA
BIOS Configuration: American Megatrends Inc. 4.6.4 02/24/2011
BMC Configuration: IPMI 2.0 (KCS: Keyboard Controller Style)
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E31280 @ 3.50GHz SOCKET 0​

I did have to disable the S3 (sleep mode?) in BIOS, and I also set 'cpupm enable poll-mode' in /etc/power.conf - other than that a stock install that really screams.

Jon Strabala
Click to expand...

Jon - Sorry to bring this old thread back but I was curious what case you used to house 6 drives? I am looking to do something similar to what you did. Just use the 6 internal SATA headers for 6 drives, then throw in an additional PCI-Express card to handle 2 more for a total of 8.

I can't really find any suitable cases that support 8 - 12 drives. Most of them have SAS backplanes. I just want straight SATA. Any suggestions?
 
@doofoo: If you get a chassis that can hold the 8 drives and uses SAS backplanes, you could always use a reverse breakout cable to go from the SFF-8087 (backplane) to SATA connectors (motherboard)! It's easy and it has been done many times over. Take a look around at some of the build logs or posts on this forum.
 
treadstone said:
@doofoo: If you get a chassis that can hold the 8 drives and uses SAS backplanes, you could always use a reverse breakout cable to go from the SFF-8087 (backplane) to SATA connectors (motherboard)! It's easy and it has been done many times over. Take a look around at some of the build logs or posts on this forum.
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Yeah that is what I am looking at doing now.

What do I do in the case of utilizing my Adaptec 2405 which utilizes as SFF-8087 connector? Are there SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cables that would work with that - see below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133034 ?

Or The Intel SASUC8I card w/ two SFF-8087? I was thinking about just getting those if they are well supported in Opensolaris/OpenIndiana, etc. Just want to make sure I get the right cables and controllers for a Norco 3216. I will post up a build thread shortly. Ready to get off this QNAP.
 
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The cable has nothing to do with support from the OS. It's a physical medium to interconnect the different devices.

You would have to make sure that the controller you intend on using is supported by the OS. The OS doesn't care how the drive is physically connected to your controller. Think of an SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cable as 4 individual SATA cables combined into one (that's basically what a SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cable is). As long as the controller you want to use has a SFF-8087 cable and the backplanes in your chassis have a SFF-8087 connector, then you can use the cable you referenced in the link. Just make sure you get the appropriate length cable for your chassis.
 
treadstone said:
The cable has nothing to do with support from the OS. It's a physical medium to interconnect the different devices.

You would have to make sure that the controller you intend on using is supported by the OS. The OS doesn't care how the drive is physically connected to your controller. Think of an SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cable as 4 individual SATA cables combined into one (that's basically what a SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 cable is). As long as the controller you want to use has a SFF-8087 cable and the backplanes in your chassis have a SFF-8087 connector, then you can use the cable you referenced in the link. Just make sure you get the appropriate length cable for your chassis.
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Treadstone - I understand the need for the support in the OS. I am using a Adaptec 2405 and Intel SASUC8I both of which are supported, as well as the local SATA ports on the motherboard.

My question was mostly just making sure I am getting the correct cables between the backplane and the Adaptec and Intel. I know for the built in/mb ports i need a reverse breakout SFF-8087. I wanted to just make sure it was just a standard SFF-8087 I needed for the two other cards, which it seems is true.

Thanks again for the replies.. I think I have all my parts together now, just need to find a power supply now that has enough molex 4 pin power and will handle fully loaded 24 drives.
 
NP. Best thing would be to post your parts list before you go out and buy your stuff to double check with others that have been down this road before to make sure you are buying the correct parts. On the power supply side, you can always use Y splitters to get more molex connections from a single molex connector that is attached to the power supply.

Edit: Never mind, just noticed you started a build log :) Exactly what I was mentioning...
 
I'm thinking of using the X9SCM in an esxi configuration. My drive needs aren't huge and budget is a concern. With this in mind, would it be possible to use a 60gb ssd on the 6gbps controller to install esxi on and then pass through the 4gbps controller? I recognize I'd only have room for 4 drives but thats all I need.

I don't want to spend money on LSI 2008 or equiv if I don't need to. I could always buy one in the future if I found I needed more space.
 
Did you mean 3gb, not 4? Anyway, as long as the ports are on separate controllers, you should be go to go - I am doing exactly this with no issues.
 
@danswartz

another thread is saying the the 3gb/6gb are not on separate controllers. which mb are you using successfully or how can I check if they are on separate controllers or not?
 
Sorry if my post was confusing. I wasn't trying to imply they are on separate controllers; in fact AFAIK, they are on the same. What was I was trying to say was "as long as they ARE on separate controllers you are OK". Easiest way to check if you already have ESXi installed - go to the Hardware => Advanced section and it will show you all valid pass through devices. If you only have one mobo sata controller showing up, you are SOL.
 
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