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  1. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    Performance seems to be good. I say "seems" because I am unable to test the Brocade BR-1020 CNA with the Mikrotik switch. Apparently the BR-1020 does not support Mikrotik transceivers and as soon as I connect one the event logs get populated with "unsupported SFP module" messages. At the moment...
  2. VR Bitman

    ESXi 5.5 boot issues with an IBM x3650 M2 2U server

    flynnibus, my post wasn't very detailed, but I did mention all of my steps. Again, I had disabled legacy video support in the BIOS setup menu. This will prevent the error you mentioned, which is the exact same error I mentioned in my first post.
  3. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    Well, I finally got my NAS system up and running. I'm using Windows Server 2012 R2 as operating system and the components I have mentioned above. This is how the array looks like: These are the results of my initial tests: I'm no storage expert, but the numbers seem OK to me. As I...
  4. VR Bitman

    ESXi 5.5 boot issues with an IBM x3650 M2 2U server

    I'm sorry, I didn't have time to post all the details. It was a long afternoon. I'll write a detailed post on my blog soon. But yes, I had to update the firmware before ESXi 5.5 would boot off USB. Note that IBM isn't officially supporting ESXi 5.5 on older servers; it seems to work fine but...
  5. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    After some bad luck with the Q1900M motherboard, I have decided to switch to another model instead of asking for a replacement Q1900M. I went with the ASRock H81M. Among other advantages, this model requires less modifications / adapters as it has two x16 (mechanical) slots. Given that the CPU...
  6. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    I have switched to an ASRock H81M motherboard. Also, I will not be posting in this thread anymore. I will continue here: https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/help-me-build-a-vmware-home-lab.3828/page-3
  7. VR Bitman

    ESXi 5.5 boot issues with an IBM x3650 M2 2U server

    Solved. I disabled legacy video support in the BIOS setup menu, created a new bootable ISO with a text-based UI using the Bootable Media Creator, and mounted it forcefully via the IMM. I was then able to update both the IMM and UEFI firmwares with success. Now the server boots correctly off...
  8. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    I've contacted the seller again and we seem to agree that there is a good chance of a faulty batch. They are graciously looking into the matter and will let me know soon. If and when I will get a fully functional Q1900M motherboard I will report back with details on whether the M5014 is...
  9. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    And what would this motherboard be incompatible with? Any standard video cable? Unless I'm missing something, these boards are DOA. For the record, I've tested it on my workbench "as is". For my first tests I hadn't even connected a mouse or keyboard, as absurd as it is to think that standard...
  10. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    It seems I'm having some very bad luck with this product. It produces no video signal no matter the output (D-sub, DVI, HDMI). I tested the board with multiple monitors, cables and PSUs; even with a PCI-E video card. No signal. I then opened an RMA request with the seller and even received...
  11. VR Bitman

    ESXi 5.5 boot issues with an IBM x3650 M2 2U server

    As a part of a home laboratory, I am building a 3-node ESXi cluster. One of these nodes is an IBM x3650 M2 2U server with 8GB RAM (for now) and 2x Intel Xeon E5504. As the title says, this server seems to be very picky about what to boot from and how. My goal is to install ESXi 5.5 onto an...
  12. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    Thanks for reporting Rowan. If I'll run into fatal issues with Bay Trail my first choice is the H97 platform for sure.
  13. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    I have decided to try building it with the ASRock motherboard, so I went ahead and ordered everything except the case, which I won't be needing for my initial tests. I've replaced the SilverStone PSU with a cheaper Enermax unit (but not of lower quality). I've also replaced the Fractal Design...
  14. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    Interesting... what CPU are you using and what kind of performance numbers are you seeing?
  15. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    Thank you everyone, your feedback is much appreciated. This in particular is exactly what I hoped to hear. I think I will go ahead and order the ASRock Q1900M, and in case of bad luck I will try this modification. That's a very informative thread. I remember coming across it a few years...
  16. VR Bitman

    Which consumer motherboards can the IBM M5014 be paired with?

    As the title says, I have the popular M5014 RAID controller. I want to pair it with a low cost motherboard to create a storage server. Cost is a priority. Initially I planned to use the ASRock Q1900M, which at the price of around 60€ offers a pretty good value with the integrated Intel Celeron...
  17. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    I did a search and indeed the Mellanox cards are also cheap, but I haven't found anything cheaper than the Brocade product (not in Europe anyway). OK the new configuration is starting to look like this: - motherboard ? - CPU ? - 2x 4GB or 1x 8GB DDR3 - around 35€ - IBM M5014 (LSI 9260-8i) -...
  18. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    I wanted to keep costs as low as possible. My original plan did include 10G, but then I shelved the idea fearing that finding an affordable 10G card would be an impossible task. I have now discovered the Brocade 1020, so I'm including that in the project. What CPU and motherboard would you guys...
  19. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    The laboratory is finally starting to take shape with the rack cabinet that I picked up yesterday. Here it is with the Mikrotik mounted: The challenge is now to build the storage solution. What I have in mind is a Micro-ATX system that will cost precisely 300€. These are the components I was...
  20. VR Bitman

    Help me build a VMware home lab

    Today I received the third and final server, and IBM System x3650 M2. As I mentioned before total cost shipping included was 315€, and here are the specifications: - 2U, 2-socket server - 1x 675W PSU - 4x PCI-E slots - 4x 1GbE NICs (Broadcom BCM5709 onboard) - IBM IMM standard management...