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Best consumer boards for VM server

jimphreak

jimphreak

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 27, 2012
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What are some good consumer boards (for a non Xeon build) that would work well for ESXi/Hyper-V hosts? Looking for boards that have at least dual NIC's and if possible support IPMI.

Trying to compare the cost of going with server grade hardware for a VM server as opposed to consumer based since I don't really have any need for ECC RAM and could save money going with non-server grade parts.
 
jimphreak said:
Yea I know. I guess IPMI isn't a deal breaker if the total build can save me a lot of money.
Click to expand...

If you buy cheap, you buy twice...
For a VM server, you should use a server grade boards.
If you look at the SuperMicro uATX serverboards they are up from 130 Euro ($ maybe the same)
 
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You aren't saying which generation. For Sandy/Ivy Bridge you could think about P8B WS/P8C WS, for Haswell P9D WS. All have similar feature set - that is dual Intel LAN, ECC support (not required), VT-d support, internal USB port. No IPMI or AMT unfortunately. You could use Xeon E3 CPU or any of the non-K S1155/S1150 CPU, as they support VT-d.
 
I like the Q series chipset board specifically intels own offerings for cheap and cheerful, AMT is as close as you'll get to ipmi and they seem solid enough.
 
I hate to sound like a skipping record, but the Dell C1100's that you can get on eBay for $400 are the best bang for your buck. They have dual procs, tons of ram, IPMI, and 4 hotswap bays. It is really hard to build a better system cheaper.
 
klank said:
I hate to sound like a skipping record, but the Dell C1100's that you can get on eBay for $400 are the best bang for your buck. They have dual procs, tons of ram, IPMI, and 4 hotswap bays. It is really hard to build a better system cheaper.
Click to expand...

And if I could fit a pair of them into the the same space that 2 micro-atx cube cases stacked on top of each other could I'd have bought them a week ago :D.
 
jimphreak said:
And if I could fit a pair of them into the the same space that 2 micro-atx cube cases stacked on top of each other could I'd have bought them a week ago :D.
Click to expand...

Which excatly model did you bought ?
 
WIth your fiscal and space restrictions I'd just totally buy used. You can probably get used Supermicro X9SCL microATX boards for like $50+shipping, put a used Xeon E3 in there ($150-$200) and some RAM and you are golden.

Pretty sure the X9SCL does ESXi just fine, it's got Intel onboard cards so there shouldn't be a driver issue with it either.

I remember you saying that you already have RAM. If it doesn't fit this board then just sell it.
 
In my opinion That Supermicro E3 boards with integrated 2 Nic network and SAS LSI controller are very interesting. That haswell cpu will draw very little power from the wall so if you are concern about it - it can be important. I doubt that Dell C1100 has similar power draw to that Xeon E3. Mine i5 without any additional cards and hdd draw around 35W from the wall (230V) Now is around 80-90W idle with all drives.
 
jimphreak said:
And if I could fit a pair of them into the the same space that 2 micro-atx cube cases stacked on top of each other could I'd have bought them a week ago :D.
Click to expand...

My apologies. I didn't take the time to see the name on the OP just went to the meat and potatoes.

:p
 
jimphreak said:
What are some good consumer boards (for a non Xeon build) that would work well for ESXi/Hyper-V hosts? Looking for boards that have at least dual NIC's and if possible support IPMI.

Trying to compare the cost of going with server grade hardware for a VM server as opposed to consumer based since I don't really have any need for ECC RAM and could save money going with non-server grade parts.
Click to expand...

_Gea said:
If you buy cheap, you buy twice...
For a VM server, you should use a server grade boards.
If you look at the SuperMicro uATX serverboards they are up from 130 Euro ($ maybe the same)
Click to expand...

Hmmm ... does it mean I can build 2 consumer grade host for the price of a business/server grade system? :D

Kidding ... some days I wish I had a server grade board ...but only because I have hit my 32GB memory limit on the current consumer boards ... of course I can get a desktop board: LGA 2011 / X79 ..but I would go to a server board at this point. Above 32GB, I want ECC.

bmh.01 said:
I like the Q series chipset board specifically intels own offerings for cheap and cheerful, AMT is as close as you'll get to ipmi and they seem solid enough.
Click to expand...

+1 ...if staying with consumer/desktop boards ...
DQ87PG
DQ77MK
DQ67SW

The above kind of meet the requirements of the OP.

Caveat for WMware ESXi = NIC where dual NICs available on desktop boards, usually one is 82579LM which is not OOB ready for VMware. The other NIC is usualy 82574 and works fine.

Caveat for CPU = CPU must have Integrated Graphics for vPro/AMT (IPMI functionality) to work.


Either way..you can add a 4/6 port Intel chipset Gigabit NIC
 
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