Check out Supermicro's new Mini-ITX mobos (3rd Gen Core CPUs, 4xGigE+IPMI, 16GB ECC)

I

idea

Gawd
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Jan 24, 2005
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Can we get a discussion going on using these in a vSphere lab? Why haven't I seen any mention of these around here? I know I'm not the only one that has been waiting all my life for a low power/noise Mini ITX server board with integrated IPMI, ECC memory, VT-x, VT-d, etc.

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core/

QM77 Express chipset / Socket FCBGA1023 BOARDS

Supermicro X9SPV-F and X9SPV-LN4F motherboards based on the Mobile Intel QM77 Express chipset support Intel's 3rd Generation Core i7/i5/i3 processors. The compact mini-ITX motherboards are ideal for high-performance, low-power embedded applications, with features that include support for 16GB DDR3 Memory, SATA 3 & SATA 2 HDD/SSD storage with RAID support, 4x Gigabit Ethernet LAN Ports, PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot for added Graphics, Networking or I/O expansion. Compared to the previous generation architecture, this solution delivers 15% more processing performance, up to 50% more 3D graphics performance supporting the latest graphic APIs - DX11, OpenCL 1.1 and OpenGL 3.1 and new features such as Intel® Smart Response Technology enabling increased storage I/O performance with SSD caching.
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When these mature a bit, and the prices come down, I'll be using these to build a vSphere lab. I imagine two 1U whisper quiet systems booting off USB using only about .5 or .6 amps combined. With the onboard quad NICs I can LACP two NICs per server to a switch for access to iSCSI storage shared from a ZFS based system.

They state on their website that the board can handle up to 2x 8GB ECC SODIMMs but history shows Supermicro always underrates their max memory capacity. I bet when they start selling 16GB ECC SODIMMs we can upgrade to 32GB.
 
At $570-$750 a board I will hold off. They look great but not for me at the moment.
 
Good point, but still cheaper for me to buy a mATX board, proc and quad nic.
 
Would rather do mATX with a Celeron for low power or a full i5/i7 for more power.
 
peanuthead said:
Good point, but still cheaper for me to buy a mATX board, proc and quad nic.
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I dunno... you're getting pretty close to $570. Plus, $570-$750 is just Supermicro's MSRP on their brand new product. Give it some time to come down.

Code: 
$200 Supermicro X9SCM-F or X9SCM-iiF
$240 Intel Xeon E3-1230
$150 Intel NIC 2x 1Gb (cheapest ESXi compatible on Newegg, I think)
$20-50 Aftermarket heatsink+fan combo, unless you want to use the Intel kit cooler
--
$610-640 TOTAL

And you still don't get a pocket sized Mini ITX form factor with embedded CPU that runs cool and quiet at 35W TDP, which is less than half of the E3-1230 at 80W TDP. Obviously the good thing about mATX is you get more horsepower out of the CPU and 4x DIMM slots for 32GB RAM max, and more PCI expansion slots. But I don't need these extra for my home lab. I need small cool and quiet.

Edit: and the mATX combo, if put in a 1U or 2U rackmount chassis, will be annoyingly loud because it requires small fans
 
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NEED 32GB Capable Mini-ITX til then they wont get any of my money!
 
dasaint said:
NEED 32GB Capable Mini-ITX til then they wont get any of my money!
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Memory DIMMs don't exist in such capacity yet. The largest is 8GB and Mini-ITX usually fits one or two of them. Maybe if/when 16GB DIMMs are released, then these boards can handle it after a firmware update.
 
idea said:
Can we get a discussion going on using these in a vSphere lab? Why haven't I seen any mention of these around here? I know I'm not the only one that has been waiting all my life for a low power/noise Mini ITX server board with integrated IPMI, ECC memory, VT-x, VT-d, etc.

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core/
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Yes ... we can do another discussion strictly on the SuperMicro ..but there is a very similar thread from about a month ago with similar ideal mini-itx setups:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1747313


idea said:
I dunno... you're getting pretty close to $570. Plus, $570-$750 is just Supermicro's MSRP on their brand new product. Give it some time to come down.

Code: 
$200 Supermicro X9SCM-F or X9SCM-iiF
$240 Intel Xeon E3-1230
$150 Intel NIC 2x 1Gb (cheapest ESXi compatible on Newegg, I think)
$20-50 Aftermarket heatsink+fan combo, unless you want to use the Intel kit cooler
--
$610-640 TOTAL

And you still don't get a pocket sized Mini ITX form factor with embedded CPU that runs cool and quiet at 35W TDP, which is less than half of the E3-1230 at 80W TDP. Obviously the good thing about mATX is you get more horsepower out of the CPU and 4x DIMM slots for 32GB RAM max, and more PCI expansion slots. But I don't need these extra for my home lab. I need small cool and quiet.

Edit: and the mATX combo, if put in a 1U or 2U rackmount chassis, will be annoyingly loud because it requires small fans
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Again ...see the following ... notice "PigLover"'s setup w/ i5-3470T
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1039649600&postcount=22

Comparing server components to desktop components ...not sure this is fair ...especially when it comes to cost.

And to your edit.... if you throw anything in a 1u or 2u rackmount chassis, it will likely be annoyingly loud without special reduced noise (low flow) fans.


idea said:
Memory DIMMs don't exist in such capacity yet. The largest is 8GB and Mini-ITX usually fits one or two of them. Maybe if/when 16GB DIMMs are released, then these boards can handle it after a firmware update.
Click to expand...

When 16GB SO-DIMM (not just DIMM) are available, your $500+ Mini-ITX box cost will go through the roof and it will be more cost effective to build something else.

We saw this with ECC Unbuffered Memory needed for many SuperMicro and Dell PowerEdge T110-II systems about a year ago.

Pries did come down ..but you get into the perpetual waiting syndrome.

Don't get me wrong .... cool/wow factor is top notch ....but cost/performance still lags behind a slightly larger Micro-ATX setup.

As long as your lab requirement does not exceed the current 16GB limitation, you seem to have found what you were looking for.

Get it and let us know how you like it ..ie review :)
 
Netwerkz101 said:
And to your edit.... if you throw anything in a 1u or 2u rackmount chassis, it will likely be annoyingly loud without special reduced noise (low flow) fans.
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A few of these boards, including my favorite one (photo), are fanless. Pair them with a fanless chassis and fanless PSU and you have complete silence.


When 16GB SO-DIMM (not just DIMM) are available, your $500+ Mini-ITX box cost will go through the roof and it will be more cost effective to build something else.

We saw this with ECC Unbuffered Memory needed for many SuperMicro and Dell PowerEdge T110-II systems about a year ago.

Pries did come down ..but you get into the perpetual waiting syndrome.
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Agreed! Don't depend on the 16GB DIMMs or SO-DIMMs for quite some time. And even when they do come out, there is no guarantee they will be compatible with these boards.

Don't get me wrong .... cool/wow factor is top notch ....but cost/performance still lags behind a slightly larger Micro-ATX setup.

As long as your lab requirement does not exceed the current 16GB limitation, you seem to have found what you were looking for.

Get it and let us know how you like it ..ie review :)
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I completely understand. I'm not sold on them either. I haven't made a decision if 16GB is enough (it probably is) or if I want to deal with the challenges of MiniITX over much more expandable MicroATX form factor. That is why I wanted to get a discussion going.
 
By the way, I'm not opposed to MicroATX at all but my requirements are all the same with any form factor. "Small, cool, and quiet." I can certainly go with an X9SCM-iiF and E3-1265L v2 CPU (45W TDP). But then I have to figure out how to make it run cool inside a 1U or 2U without making any noise.
 
Not worth it until they can fit 32GB RAM or greater onto one.
 
I saw these at CES and mentioned them in a post. One other counter-point is that the Dell C6100 gen 2 is down to $800 with 8x L5520 CPUs and 96GB total RAM. PigLover even figured out how to make them quiet.

Have had a bunch of STH readers get C6100'sand consensus is that they are a killer value right now. Especially if you get lucky and get SAS controller or dual port QDR mellanox Connect-X2 mezz cards for free with the units. Of course, 2U not mini ITX but unless one really needs that size, and only needs one, they are a hard sell to the casual in-home cloud builder.
 
pjkenned said:
I saw these at CES and mentioned them in a post. One other counter-point is that the Dell C6100 gen 2 is down to $800 with 8x L5520 CPUs and 96GB total RAM. PigLover even figured out how to make them quiet.
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To be fair, the mods I did made the C6100 tolerable, not "quiet". Quieter, to be sure. Quiet enough to be used at home in a semi-isolated space like the garage or a side-room. But to me "quiet" is a pretty high standard. "Quiet" means something that you could put in the family room with your entertainment center and not get complaints from you wife. The best version of "quiet" requires no fans and - preferably - no moving parts at all. Like my little mini-ITX ESXi server.

pjkenned said:
Have had a bunch of STH readers get C6100'sand consensus is that they are a killer value right now. Especially if you get lucky and get SAS controller or dual port QDR mellanox Connect-X2 mezz cards for free with the units. Of course, 2U not mini ITX but unless one really needs that size, and only needs one, they are a hard sell to the casual in-home cloud builder.
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I agree that the C6100 is an amazing value right now. Less than $1k for a self-contained server complex with 8 total sockets, 32 cores, 64 threads and 96GB memory. But its also a heat-pump sucking down at least 200W idle with all four nodes running. Not exactly the same game as the SFF server running ESXi quietly (or even silently) and drawing less than 20W.

Both have their place. In fact, I have both <g>.

I think the SuperMicro mini-ITX boards are very, very interesting. Perhaps a bit pricey, but if you need small, quiet, low-power and lots of 1Gbe ports they are uniquely capable.
 
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All great points PL. I had dba from STH over to look at the rack. Pretty good collection of boxes there. And that does not include the extra bedroom converted to photo studio/ quick and dirty testing lab/ storage.

I did get a Supermicro H8SML-7F in the lab late last week. That has the potential to be a really interesting platform also.
 
pjkenned said:
All great points PL. I had dba from STH over to look at the rack. Pretty good collection of boxes there. And that does not include the extra bedroom converted to photo studio/ quick and dirty testing lab/ storage.

I did get a Supermicro H8SML-7F in the lab late last week. That has the potential to be a really interesting platform also.
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Where did you get the H8SML-7F from?
 
lizardking009 said:
Did you buy it directly from them? The H8SML-7F isn't at many retailers yet.
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pjkenned runs servethehome.com, a website which reviews small office/home server systems. AKA he is Supermicro's biggest fan, so they send him stuff to review
 
idea said:
pjkenned runs servethehome.com, a website which reviews small office/home server systems. AKA he is Supermicro's biggest fan, so they send him stuff to review
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More like we have a relevant niche in a very small market segment :) We have been moving away from the home/ small office segment a bit though. You should hear some of the feedback I give when I stop by Supermicro. Very pointed. If anything those Dell C6100's I'm a huge fan of at the moment since I'm now at 20 nodes of capacity there. Had one of the other STH guys over this weekend and he has a bunch of them too.

Now... WTB moonshoot 1500 :)
 
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