Splitting up the AIO

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jahsoul

Active Member
Dec 13, 2013
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War Eagle Country
Build’s Name #1: Main Server/Backup Storage
Operating System/ Storage Platform: Proxmox 5.4
CPU: Intel Xeon Gold 6138 (20C/40T 2.0ghz, 125w TDP)
Motherboard:ASUS Z11PA-U12
Chassis:
Chenbro RM43200 with 2x Rosewill RSV-SATA-Cage-34
Drives: 2xPM851 256GB (boot), 1xPM953 480GB (Primary DS), 2xPM983 SSD (future buys)
RAM: 192GB (SK Hynix 6 x 32GB DDR4 ECC 2666mhz)
Add-in Cards: Lenovo 430-8e, Intel X520-DA2, Mellanox MCX354A-FCBT (HP OEM), Silverstone ECM22
Power Supply: Seasonic Focus Plus 550W

Usage Profile: Server for all of my home services

Other information… This will run all of the services in my home (I run a lot of random tech stuff at home..lol). I am also going to be utilizing this as backup storage for my main storage server.



Build’s Name #2: Storage/Backup AD
Operating System/ Storage Platform: ESXi 6.7
CPU: E5-2650Lv3 or E5-2630Lv4 (still debating)
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SRi
Chassis: Chenbro RM43200 with 2x Rosewill RSV-SATA-Cage-34
Drives: Current- 2x 180GB Intel 520 SSD (boot); 6x10TB WD white drives
Future Buys-2x8TB WD white drives
RAM: 32GB (SK Hynix 2 x 16GB DDR4 ECC 2666mhz)
Add-in Cards: Intel X520-DA2, Mellanox MCX354A-FCBT (HP OEM),
Power Supply: Corsair SF450

Usage Profile: Storage and backup AD for DNS

Other information… Simple storage setup in my home environment. Don't know what I will be running but will be deciding as things get built out.


Build’s Name #3: Lab Server
Operating System/ Storage Platform: Proxmox 5.4
CPU: 2x E5-2658v2 (10c/20t, 2.4ghz, 95W TDP)
Motherboard: Supermicro X9DR7-LN4F
Chassis: Silverstone Grandia GD07
Drives: 2x 180GB Intel 520 SSD (boot), 4x960GB Cloudspeed Eco SSD (Future Buy)
RAM: 192GB (SK Hynix 4 x 32GB & 4x16GB DDR3 ECC 1066mhz)
Add-in Cards: Intel X520-DA2, Mellanox MCX354A-FCBT (HP OEM)
Power Supply: EVGA 650 GQ
Other Bits:

Usage Profile: Lab server for various things that I'm studying and testing for work
Other information… So having an all in one with your lab setup can get really messy. lol. With me needing to study and test more things, the need for a standalone server became apparent. I'm going to repurpose some of my old gear and use for this lab box. Will use this for IE and SANS studies and a test bed for work related stuff.
 
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jahsoul

Active Member
Dec 13, 2013
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War Eagle Country
Finally got around to start building this thing out and ran into the first issue. I should have done a little more research on the Icy Dock MB453IPF. For some reason, I thought that it had a 3-pin and I was so wrong..lol. The fan is connected to a notched latch that clips into the bay. Since I already bought fans for it, I just said screw it and clipped off the hooks, tossed the fan, and slid the fan in there. Just have to plug it up directly to the board now. I'm trying to make this as streamless as possibe, since I'm also planning on having a standalone AD.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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Why not do the home services, and storage/media in one? Are you really going to be utilizing 3x E5s for storage and media? Then do a sep. one for your lab (I learned that too with trying AIO).
 

jahsoul

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Dec 13, 2013
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Why not do the home services, and storage/media in one? Are you really going to be utilizing 3x E5s for storage and media? Then do a sep. one for your lab (I learned that too with trying AIO).
I really wanted to separate as much as I could and everything I had ended up being cheaper than expected. I had it planned out to get get an E3 for storage, have media on the main server, but got the E5-2630Lv4 from ShepsCrook for only $50 more than I would have getting the E3-1265Lv4 that I was eyeing.

Although I'm separating most things out, a main motivator was to really start using the stuff that I have to clear up space around the house.

When I move, I'm probably going to do everything over again. *eyeballing this SC846 in my closet collecting dust*
 

nk215

Active Member
Oct 6, 2015
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One of the main points of AOI setup is:

+ Fast 10G internal network speed between your computing VMs and storage VM.

+ Save electricity, save space/noise.

If you don't need or want the above 2 points then go separate.

There are certain VMs that shouldn't be part of the AOI (but many ppl do). Firewall, VPN, anything that controls your connection to the outside.
 

Nnyan

Active Member
Mar 5, 2012
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I went from having an AIO for a few years then started dividing things up a bit. Got tired of the family complaining that something or other was down when I had to reboot for an unrelated VM.
 
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jahsoul

Active Member
Dec 13, 2013
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Plans are scrapped for now but I'm happy with the direction it's going. The X10DRL-CT threw me off because it only has 3 PCIe slots and didn't support bifurcation, so that has been delegated to lab server duties. I picked up a Datto D1541D4U off eBay for $325, so this is what I'm going to be using for my storage, media, and secondary DNS server. I'm trying to source a U-Nas 810A stateside before paying that crazy shipping. I'm also moving to a Xeon Gold 6138 single CPU build with 192GB or 256GB of RAM (still debating). Everything will still be separated but I'm going with a "smaller" footprint for everything. Upgrading my AP but downsizing my switch (48 port + 2 SFP+ to 14 port + 2 SFP+ fanless) and changing my Sophos router hardware. I should be getting everything within the next 2 weeks and will finally get everything in place. Just finding the U-Nas case and decided on with motherboard I want to use.
 

jahsoul

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Dec 13, 2013
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War Eagle Country
So I basically went back to the drawing board to determine what I'm going to do and finally ending with what I have in the original post. I will be putting everything together over the next few weeks as they come in. Next is seeing if I want to by a CPU cooler today or wait a bit and get a Mellanox switch to play with.
 

jahsoul

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Dec 13, 2013
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War Eagle Country
So, parts have begun to trickle in. Motherboard got here on Saturday and CPU Cooler got here yesterday. I thought about adding a 3rd fan to the cooler because I had a spare 90mm laying around but then realized that Noctua are using NF-A9 HF fans for this cooler. Will try to take pictures as I go.

Decided that I wasn't going to go for 384GB of RAM since I tapped out and was needed to get a few last things, such as a Quadro P2000 and a few SSDs for the lab box, so I am tossing them up for sale.
 

jahsoul

Active Member
Dec 13, 2013
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War Eagle Country
Yet more changes. I've finally got a time to get some things done and nearly finish with one of the servers. After a lot of debate, I moved from the Silverstone GD09 and went with the Chenbro 42300. If it wasn't for the Rosewill hotswap bays, it would have been super easy to work on but I decided to not wait another year longer for Silverstone to finally release the CS381, I moved to the Chenbro for both my main and storage server, killing the need for a dedicated backup server since I'll just set up an array in Proxmox and passthrough my Lenovo 530-8e to a host that I can use for tape backup.

Right now, it is mostly completed but cable management is a mess right now. I cut my hand so many times trying to manuver, I just said screw it and going with this to test everything out. I still plan on buying 2 2.5" NVME SSDs for datastores, but the 480GB I have now work fine.

unfinished.jpg
 

aim1126

New Member
Jun 10, 2020
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I have the same case and looking to get a 3950x, unsure on what cooler to go with, which cooler are you running on the picture above?
 

Rand__

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Mar 6, 2014
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@jahsoul Anything good or bad to say about the ASUS Z11PA-U12 ? Is iKVM included in the basic model or is that an add-on buy?

Found a cheap one and consider getting this over another Supermicro...
 

jahsoul

Active Member
Dec 13, 2013
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War Eagle Country
@aim1126 The cooler that I'm running is the NH-D9 DX-3647 4U. Fits perfectly and even though the fans are the HS variant, I can't barely hear them.

@Rand__ If I had to give it a con, it would be the fact that it doesn't support bifurcation and the M.2 is x2 but other than that, I love this motherboard. I didn't need a lot of IO for this particular server, so it works out. I can add 6 more sticks of ram if I need it, running 2 NVMEs off the oculink, and to answer your last question, iKVM is onboard and pretty awesome. If I ever got another Xeon Gold or Platinum CPU, I would get this motherboard everytime.
 
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