In search of a new 2 / 4 node to replace my C6100

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PnoT

Active Member
Mar 1, 2015
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I've sold off my C6100 a while back and haven't managed to find anything, in a descent price range, to replace it. I was hoping the C6200 was the ticket but after researching a bit discovered there are some drawbacks that make it a poor candidate for me personally.

I'm looking for something that fits the following:

~$1000 - 2000 but the lower the better ( I don't expect CPUs or RAM for this price I have those already)
4 nodes either in 2U or 4U configurations
PCI 3.0 slots (more the merrier)
Mezzanine slot with options that won't break the bank
10GB ports
IPMI
Intel E5 v2 support
2P solution

There have been some killer deals on a few Intel units around but I've been late to the show and missed out on them recently.

Thanks in advance
 

PnoT

Active Member
Mar 1, 2015
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What's the deal with HPs site as most of the information on those are broken via google. I can't find any SL6500's on eBay atm =/
 

PnoT

Active Member
Mar 1, 2015
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I just saw 8 nodes 4u and most of the letters and number, an extra L here or there meh.. you know, save slave same diff:confused:
It's all good I'm trying to figure out what's the best combo for the HP line of stuff. There are some options for sure but most of it is 1GB networking and whether or not you want 1U or 2U nodes. I'm still learning this line of servers so any help or insight is appreciated.
 

Patriot

Moderator
Apr 18, 2011
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It is supposed to be SL6500, and it appears the $2000 barebones with 8 SL230 Gen8s are no longer listed.
I would expect them to return.

Twas a killer deal.
That said, that is the end of the SL6500 line, The apollo 6000 series replaces it.

If you have any question on the HP lineup just ask.

The DL2000 and later on the Apollo 2000 series is the direct C6100 competitor... 2u 4 nodes.
 

DavidRa

Infrastructure Architect
Aug 3, 2015
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Central Coast of NSW
www.pdconsec.net
Just one thing to consider - IIRC HP may still be keeping firmware and the like to themselves. They started a while back - without maintenance you don't get BIOS, firmware etc even if the device or driver has a security issue (e.g. iLO susceptible to SSL attacks).
 

Patriot

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Apr 18, 2011
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Just one thing to consider - IIRC HP may still be keeping firmware and the like to themselves. They started a while back - without maintenance you don't get BIOS, firmware etc even if the device or driver has a security issue (e.g. iLO susceptible to SSL attacks).
You get bug fixes that are crits... just no new features. And the Eula never changed, it just got enforced... a bit. If you know what you are looking for, google is your friend.
 
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PnoT

Active Member
Mar 1, 2015
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The Intel® Server System H2216* line looks interesting for sure and has most of what I want but it looks like there are still only 4 PCI slots and I'm guessing those are tied to the nodes in a 1-1 configuration. If I could source the FDR/QDR boards reasonably cheap, which they're not, that might actually be an option.

$1000 chassis barebone
$400-500 ea node which are pretty scarce w IB

I'm in $3000 and only have some of what I'm looking for which doesn't include the RAM and CPUs I'll have to throw in.

@Patriot
Thanks for clearing up the "L" portion of that and the fact they're no longer on eBay. I'll have to setup a search and see if something pops up.
 

Patriot

Moderator
Apr 18, 2011
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The Intel® Server System H2216* line looks interesting for sure and has most of what I want but it looks like there are still only 4 PCI slots and I'm guessing those are tied to the nodes in a 1-1 configuration. If I could source the FDR/QDR boards reasonably cheap, which they're not, that might actually be an option.

$1000 chassis barebone
$400-500 ea node which are pretty scarce w IB

I'm in $3000 and only have some of what I'm looking for which doesn't include the RAM and CPUs I'll have to throw in.

@Patriot
Thanks for clearing up the "L" portion of that and the fact they're no longer on eBay. I'll have to setup a search and see if something pops up.
There are SL6500s on there now... they are just populated by older nodes or are excessively priced.
The DL2000 is the 2u for g6/g7, SL2500 for Gen8 and the Apollo 2000 series for gen9.

SL simply stands for Scalable... Eventually all the compact boxes got into the density optimized/HPC group which is what Apollo is now.

HP ProLiant DL2000 G6 8x QUAD CORE L5630 2.13GHz 96GB RAM NO HDD
old one for example mainly.
 

Mech

New Member
Dec 8, 2015
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For what its worth - I got my S6500 8 node gen _6_ cheap - and it does what I need....
If you can find gen 8 gear cheap, that would probably be even better! The HP stuff
seems very solid. I'd probably look at the DL2000's to replace the C6100 going forward.
if you go HP, REALLY look for one that has the IPMI 'extensions' - the 'basic' HP IPMI seems reliable,
but not good for more then power cycling the machine ( no web console, no asset information, etc)
 

PnoT

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Mar 1, 2015
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Great recommendations so far guys I appreciate it! :D

The HP line looks fairly interesting especially the 230/250s but most of what I can find on eBay atm is up near the $3,000 range due to them including some RAM and CPUs of which I don't need. I've messaged a few vendors to see if they have a barebones setup. One thing that I don't get is both of these sleds say they have 1 expansion slot but close up pictures of the nodes themselves show 2 at times in certain pictures. What gives?

I'm also looking at the Intel 1/2/4U offerings as I hear the 1u are office quiet but, once again, eBay is slim pickings. The sleds with built-in IB look attractive and I've set some of those up on my auto searches.

I did pickup 4 x E5-2670 @ $89 last night and if I can find me a chassis might grab 4 more soon.
 

dba

Moderator
Feb 20, 2012
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San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
I've sold off my C6100 a while back and haven't managed to find anything, in a descent price range, to replace it. I was hoping the C6200 was the ticket but after researching a bit discovered there are some drawbacks that make it a poor candidate for me personally.

I'm looking for something that fits the following:

~$1000 - 2000 but the lower the better ( I don't expect CPUs or RAM for this price I have those already)
4 nodes either in 2U or 4U configurations
PCI 3.0 slots (more the merrier)
Mezzanine slot with options that won't break the bank
10GB ports
IPMI
Intel E5 v2 support
2P solution

There have been some killer deals on a few Intel units around but I've been late to the show and missed out on them recently.

Thanks in advance
There is the Dell C6220 of course. These will be quite familiar to a C6100 owner. They have just one PCI slot and one mezzanine slot, but they use the same cards as the C6100, which is great. There are a few of the V1 versions available now on eBay for $1,450 barebones shipped WITH a Dell warranty - see DELL PowerEdge C6220 2U Barebones Included 4x NODES 24x2.5" 2x PWS CTO SERVER. They can be even less expensive - I think I bought one for $500 or so.
Note that these take Xeon E5 V1 CPUs, whereas the C6220 II takes V2 CPUs.
 

PnoT

Active Member
Mar 1, 2015
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Thanks for the heads up @dba but I had been debating getting a C6220 a while ago but found a few things that kept me from buying one.

1. v1 only support which leaves no room to wiggle
2. SATA,SAS traces that go through the motherboard from back to front for drive connectivity only support 3Gbps even with 6Gbps hardware it seems.
3. In the videos they mention they've upgraded it to PCI 3.0 but in looking closer that PCI slot is 2.0 while the mezz has been bumped up to 3.0.

I want to get 10GB, QDR/FDR, and 6Gbps SAS/SATA but no matter how you slice it I don't think it can be done on those. You'd essentially have to go ConnectX-3, got more than a few myself, for 1 port 10GB and the other FDR, and then slap in a mezz that can do 6Gbps for the drives but the documentation states only 3Gbps so I'm screwed. Maybe someone can chime in and the documentation on the drive aspect is wrong.
 
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PnoT

Active Member
Mar 1, 2015
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I'm happy to report that @PigLover has turned me onto the Intel H2312WPJR (2U / 4Nodes) and have it running with some of the E5-2670 deals that have been going around lately. I must say I thought it would be louder than my C6100 because of the smaller fans per blade but so far it's not bad. I haven't powered on all of the blades yet except for one so maybe I'm in for a rude awakening :D

I also picked up a pair of 10GB mezz cards for 2 of the nodes really cheap as well so things are moving a long nicely.
 

JustinH

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Jan 21, 2015
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I have the 2216 (2.5" variant) and it's pretty quiet. Make sure all the sleds are properly inserted, and from memory, you even need to make sure each node is functional (with CPU at least) otherwise the Fans ramp up.

There is also a acoustic option in the BIOS for these guys. I think Nodes 1 & 3 control the Chassis Fans
 

darkconz

Member
Jun 6, 2013
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When you update the firmware, make sure you update for all nodes. Otherwise without matching firmwares, the FCB will not be working properly.