1U Supermicro Server 6x 10GBE RJ45 X10SLH-LN6TF LGA 1150 H3 X10SLH-N6-ST031

[EasyRhino]

except for BIOS linked in this long thread, I don't think there's an official way to get a BIOS for this board. my version is 3.2.

A google search turned up a PDF of a manual in... romania? The part number is ever so slightly different but it's worked with the board. It's too big to attach to this post but the filename is X10SLH-LN6TF.pdf

For a case, you want one where it can take a micro atx board but allows a few inches of extra length. ironically some new 'gamer' cases might be suitable for this if they leave space in front for liquid cooler radiators or cable management grommets.

my bootleg old case above had a removable motherboard try. Since this board stretched over it I put down a layer of electical tape on the edge of the tray just to avoid shorts.

 

[josh]

Been looking for a cheap thin client for PfSense for a couple of months now. Might just get the bare board. Will have to find a smaller case. 1U server is overkill for PfSense. Don't need the 4x3.5" bays for sure.

 

[BlueFox]

The BIOS I posted earlier is the only one. I figured I might as well host the manual too: https://drunkencat.net/misc/X10SLH-LN6TF.pdf

Been looking for a cheap thin client for PfSense for a couple of months now. Might just get the bare board. Will have to find a smaller case. 1U server is overkill for PfSense. Don't need the 4x3.5" bays for sure.

You should be aware of how much power this board uses on account of the PLX chip and 3 x Intel X540 NICs, even at idle. It's orders of magnitude more than a thin client or the likes. Expect 50W+ when idle.

 

[josh]

The BIOS I posted earlier is the only one. I figured I might as well host the manual too: https://drunkencat.net/misc/X10SLH-LN6TF.pdf


You should be aware of how much power this board uses on account of the PLX chip and 3 x Intel X540 NICs, even at idle. It's orders of magnitude more than a thin client or the likes. Expect 50W+ when idle.

Well I haven't been able to find a reasonably priced thin client for some months now.

 

[EasyRhino]

I'd like to get this into a sort of a case like the one above my post, but don't know where to look..

Something like a fractal node 804 would be a stylish new micro ATX case.

Can it handle the extra length of this board? Dunno.

Node 804

www.fractal-design.com

 

[duckAsylum]

Something like a fractal node 804 would be a stylish new micro ATX case.

Can it handle the extra length of this board? Dunno.

Node 804

www.fractal-design.com

I actually ordered a Node 202 for the same purpose. I will need to do some high level Dremel-FU though (need to cut some of the internals to make a clearance for the motherboard and maybe to holes for some extra 40mm fans to get the air moving).
I will also try to add a x540-sr2 with a riser to get some SPF+ cages to connect some fiber. No idea how to manage the PSU situation. Not sure if I can even fit a Flex ATX in there. Was thinking maybe I can go with the 160w picoPSU with 200w peak - my "questimation" is that the system will not exceed 140w with all the bells and whistles at max.

Node 202 — Fractal Design

 

[EasyRhino]

oh a fractal focus mini G is on sale now too:

Robot or human?

Again, I think you would have to remove these optical drive bay's too in order to fit the motherboard. And again I can't tell if that's possible.

 

[duckAsylum]

oh a fractal focus mini G is on sale now too:

Robot or human?

Again, I think you would have to remove these optical drive bay's too in order to fit the motherboard. And again I can't tell if that's possible.

I don't think you can get away without some dremeling, It looks like the motherboard sits in a mATX sized depression so it is possible that the extra 30mm of the motherboard PCB will come in contact with the metal parts of the case. Looks like you might need to cut off parts of the optical drive cage and a piece of the motherboard "tray".

 

[Enigma86]

Hey guys, just got finished reading through this entire thread. I actually found this server first and from looking for more information on it found the thread. Wanted to get an idea of how well this will work for my plan for my overpowered home network.

Currently have a Brocade 6610 switch and a HP 380 server that I'm planning on slowly increasing the vms on over time. The brocade has 8 sfp+ ports and I swapped the 380 to have a 2 port sfp+ card on it as well. Right now the ISP supplied router goes straight to the switch.

Would it be possible to swap that NIC out with a sfp+ card so that I can run it like so. ISP router --> supermicro with pfsense --> switch --> segregated vlans for DMZ, internal network, development network... etc? This would make it to where all traffic would go on one (or two) links between the supermicro and the switch for firewalling over the sfp+.

My main goal here is to setup more than one client VPN connection out of the house to the internet, and I want to setup more than one VPN server for remote access back into the house depending on which network I'm accessing. (I want certain people I'm going to give access to to end up in certain segregated networks) I want all internal traffic at 10Gbps and I want the VPN connections to be able to handle over gig internet speed, not all at one time.

From ya'lls experience, will this machine do what I need? And can I even swap that NIC for sfp+? Oh and how much RAM do I need to do that?

 

[EasyRhino]

I don't think you can get away without some dremeling,

Fractal rep on reddit confirmed that case would be a badarch for this board. The node 804 is still a contender though.

And can I even swap that NIC for sfp+?

Nope the 10gb-t is integrated in the motherboard.

There is a pcie x16 slot so you could add a sfp nic... But the board doesn't make much sense if you don't want copper.

 

[ullbeking]

Ragebone/nr64_supermicro_x10sle-f

Ragebone/nr64_supermicro_x10sle-f

What is this "Ragebone" project or system?

Is it a community effort or OSS project to offer a tool to help to restore their SM system to working order with the aid of something akin to stock firmware?

 

[apsbainc]

Anyone know the depth dimension of the Supermicro 1u box this board typically comes in? Can't seem to locate the specs online, hoping it will fit a 600mm rack..

 

[Enigma86]

Nope the 10gb-t is integrated in the motherboard.

There is a pcie x16 slot so you could add a sfp nic... But the board doesn't make much sense if you don't want copper.

Thank you for the reply. So my background is a computer science degree and I work in cybersecurity, mainly more software oriented, and while I understand the specs of hardware I'm not super knowledgeable about what's out there. The reason I was looking at this was even if I get that and put a sfp+ nic is that I see nothing else for that price that gets me that kind of power for firewalling. Firewalls that would be anywhere near it seem to be 500+. I can build this exactly how I want it for about 300. Do you have any suggestions as to where I should look to satisfy what I was looking for but where it would make more sense? Just another 1u server with the same chip but a sfp+ nic? Definitely willing to build something out but haven't done any hardware modification before as far as cases and installation goes. I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[BlueFox]

If you have no intention of utilizing the 6 x 10GbE NICs in this motherboard, it's a terrible choice. You can get far more compute power for less money and stick your NIC of choice in. Example: Supermicro CSE-815-5 X9SRW-F REV 1.02 1x E5-1620 @ 3.6GHz 16GB RAM 1x SAS NO HD | eBay

 

[Enigma86]

If you have no intention of utilizing the 6 x 10GbE NICs in this motherboard, it's a terrible choice. You can get far more compute power for less money and stick your NIC of choice in. Example: Supermicro CSE-815-5 X9SRW-F REV 1.02 1x E5-1620 @ 3.6GHz 16GB RAM 1x SAS NO HD | eBay

Awesome! Thanks! Quick question then... What is the main usage of the 6x10GbE? I guess I'm not seeing what makes this unit more valuable. Is it just having that level of accessablility directly on the unit without having to go to a switch? Also. When y'all are saying 10gbe, everything I saw shows those are 1000base-t? Or did I read that wrong? Each port is only gigabit?

 

[BlueFox]

Copper 10GbE is expensive, while SFP+ is not, hence the value. You would buy a 10GbE NIC for that system, or any other for that matter. The integrated NICs don't really matter when you can just put in an expansion card.

 

[Kuz]

Are either of the regular 1gb nics on board (addressable/usable) by a hypervisor? I tried ESXI and it doesn't see either. I assume 1 is management and I might have to adjust the bios to share that one but I was expecting the other to be a regular intel gigabit nic.

Thanks!

 

[EasyRhino]

There is only one gigabit port. It's reserved for the aspeed bmc..

Then the 6 10g ports.

If there's another rj45... I don't know because I'm on my phone. But if so it would be a serial connection.

 

[Kuz]

Thanks! Are these boards picky with memory? I have tried a few sets of dimms and can only ever get the board to boot with 1 stick in it. Any dual channel and I get post code 55

 

[EasyRhino]

I am running mine with four mismatched sodimm with dimm adapters. That is inherently a sketchy setup and sometimes has compatibility problems. A couple of sodiums wouldn't work, but I eventually found four that worked well together.