Decent Deal: Supermicro SC826 barebones with SAS2

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stupidcomputers

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May 27, 2013
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Long time lurker and finally decided to share. Ebay seller garlandcomputers has several Supermicro SC826 systems with X8DTN+ motherboard and BPN-SAS2-826EL1 backplanes for only $165.

Supermicro 2U Server X8DTN BAREBONES HW RAID Add CPU RAM HD | eBay

I know the westmere architechure is getting long in the tooth, but decent deal for SAS2 backplane. I like it better than the SC846 chassis since it is much smaller and easier to move around.

800 watt power supply is loud, but doesn't bother me in the garage.

I bought 3 to setup a hyper-convereged cluster :)
 

Dajinn

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Jun 2, 2015
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Long time lurker and finally decided to share. Ebay seller garlandcomputers has several Supermicro SC826 systems with X8DTN+ motherboard and BPN-SAS2-826EL1 backplanes for only $165.

Supermicro 2U Server X8DTN BAREBONES HW RAID Add CPU RAM HD | eBay

I know the westmere architechure is getting long in the tooth, but decent deal for SAS2 backplane. I like it better than the SC846 chassis since it is much smaller and easier to move around.

800 watt power supply is loud, but doesn't bother me in the garage.

I bought 3 to setup a hyper-convereged cluster :)
The price could stand to be even better if you just wanted the chassis and not that doo doo PCI-X motherboard. But yeah it's rather slick.

OP, what platform/vendor are you going to use for your cluster?
 

JayG30

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Feb 23, 2015
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I think I use this same backplane and chassis in another storage server (SuperMicro CSE-826E16-R1200LPB). Difference being the PSU's. Correct? Are there different revisions of this chassis that only take certain boards? I have an E3-1200v3 in mine and I've seen them with E5's as well.

For $165 it's a good deal for that chassis and backplane, just swap the internals.
Wonder if he would remove the internals for reduced price or swap in some different PSU's.
 

canta

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Nov 26, 2014
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Long time lurker and finally decided to share. Ebay seller garlandcomputers has several Supermicro SC826 systems with X8DTN+ motherboard and BPN-SAS2-826EL1 backplanes for only $165.

Supermicro 2U Server X8DTN BAREBONES HW RAID Add CPU RAM HD | eBay

I know the westmere architechure is getting long in the tooth, but decent deal for SAS2 backplane. I like it better than the SC846 chassis since it is much smaller and easier to move around.

800 watt power supply is loud, but doesn't bother me in the garage.

I bought 3 to setup a hyper-convereged cluster :)
could you verify all fans are PWM (4 pins) or non-PWM (3 pins)?

thanks...
 

PnoT

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Mar 1, 2015
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I called this morning and was told to send an email requesting information on the following:

PWM fans
Additional Power Supply options if any
Price on just the chassis + SAS2 backplane

*UPDATE*
I was told the backplane is NOT SAS2 and the old SAS so I've emailed them back asking for verification as maybe he mistyped the model in the email.
The fans are PWM 4pin
They offer 1000 w PSU for an additional $10 per
 
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stupidcomputers

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I can also confirm the fans are PWM 4pin. The server fans are nice and quiet on the low power bios settings. The 800 watt power supplies are definitely the loudest part of the system. Since I will have 3, I plan on just running one power supply per system to cut noise and power.

Maybe I got lucky and received the last servers with SAS2 backplanes?

These 3 systems will be setup with vsphere6 + EMC scaleio storage with a bunch of 3TB drives. Not sold on vmware's vsan yet and scaleio is free :)

Steve
 

JayG30

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Feb 23, 2015
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Yea, the model provided in the description is just the motherboard, not the case or backplane specifics.
Unfortunately (or in some cases fortunately) a lot of sellers don't understand the importance of the case and backplane.
The one pictured in this thread is defenitely a SAS2 (model BPN-SAS2-826EL1) but since it isn't listed in the specifications you could end up with someone else without asking.
 

Dajinn

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Jun 2, 2015
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I can also confirm the fans are PWM 4pin. The server fans are nice and quiet on the low power bios settings. The 800 watt power supplies are definitely the loudest part of the system. Since I will have 3, I plan on just running one power supply per system to cut noise and power.

Maybe I got lucky and received the last servers with SAS2 backplanes?

These 3 systems will be setup with vsphere6 + EMC scaleio storage with a bunch of 3TB drives. Not sold on vmware's vsan yet and scaleio is free :)

Steve
I'm getting confused with all of these IT buzzwords lately in the field lol, how is the methodology of "converging" any different than say just having multiple nodes setup for "clustering" (which I assume means the nodes have replication and failover/redundancy) all attached to one primary storage server with some software on it that provides a SAN either via iSCSI or some other technology(StarWind vSAN and ScaleIO). I'm just not sure I'm getting the bigger picture here, there seems to be a lot of different ways all these products are describing the same things? Sorry to hijack the thread but it's hurting my head a little.

If you have 3 of these chassis loaded with drives and have ScaleIO set up on each to create your pools how is that functionally different than just having 3 nodes connected to one storage server either directly or via a network? How is ScaleIO any different from StarWind Virtual SAN? Sorry if I seem overly inquisitive I am genuinely interested in the knowledge. You can PM me outside of the thread if you want.
 

stupidcomputers

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I'm getting confused with all of these IT buzzwords lately in the field lol, how is the methodology of "converging" any different than say just having multiple nodes setup for "clustering" (which I assume means the nodes have replication and failover/redundancy) all attached to one primary storage server with some software on it that provides a SAN either via iSCSI or some other technology(StarWind vSAN and ScaleIO). I'm just not sure I'm getting the bigger picture here, there seems to be a lot of different ways all these products are describing the same things? Sorry to hijack the thread but it's hurting my head a little.

If you have 3 of these chassis loaded with drives and have ScaleIO set up on each to create your pools how is that functionally different than just having 3 nodes connected to one storage server either directly or via a network? How is ScaleIO any different from StarWind Virtual SAN? Sorry if I seem overly inquisitive I am genuinely interested in the knowledge. You can PM me outside of the thread if you want.
The design of scaleio, vsan, and other competing cluster storage technologies is you don't have a single point of failure. My goal is to be able to unplug a single running host and have the other 2 keep everything running without missing a beat. All of my data will be present on at least 2 hosts at all times so a single failure of any one of them won't leave me without my stuff.

Scaleio also has special integration with vmware where the storage client driver can automatically handle multipathing. I am sure its similar to iscsi, but with EMC's magic sauce on top.

Would anyone be interested in a build log of this setup?
 
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Dajinn

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Jun 2, 2015
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The design of scaleio, vsan, and other competing cluster storage technologies is you don't have a single point of failure. My goal is to be able to unplug a single running host and have the other 2 keep everything running without missing a beat. All of my data will be present on at least 2 hosts at all times so a single failure of any one of them won't leave me without my stuff.

Scaleio also has special integration with vmware where the storage client driver can automatically handle multipathing. I am sure its similar to iscsi, but with EMC's magic sauce on top.

Would anyone be interested in a build log of this setup?
I would be interested. Would love to see it all racked up too :D

Nevermind, I see now why they require 3 servers for a minimum setup, in their user guide they state:

Meta Data Manager—MDM Configures and monitors the ScaleIO system. The MDM can be configured in redundant Cluster Mode, with three members on three servers, or in Single Mode on a single server. It is not recommended to use Single Mode in production systems, except in temporary situations. The MDM contains all the metadata required for system operation. Single Mode has no protection, and exposes the system to a single point of failure.
 

Marsh

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May 12, 2013
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Since we are off topic, start talking about ScaleIO.

You could spend about 1 hr to deploy a POC of ScaleIO lab with your home vmware workstation lab for a quick taste sampling.

Hyper-v guy blog site have 3 parts on ScaleIO. Part 1 is Hyper-V with Scale-IO, Part 2 is deploying vSpeher ScaleIO VM,
Part 3 is deploying ScaleIO on CentOS linux.

After the initial setup of labuildr software, downloading various pieces either manually or automatic download, the fire and forget process takes about 1hr to 90min.

I play with the POC version of ScaleIO before deploying it to baremetal machines.

EMC Community Network - ECN:
The Hyper-V Guy's Blog
 

PnoT

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Mar 1, 2015
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I just ordered one of these with the SAS2 backplane and plan on putting in a pair of L5640 or X5675 depending on what I decide to utilize it for. Here's hoping everything pans out with that backplane.
 

PnoT

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Mar 1, 2015
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Well I got my server this afternoon and there's some initial damage.

1. The front left ear is really jacked up but it doesn't look like the chassis in that area is bad so a replacement should bolt right on.
2. The front right ear is ripped at the bottom and could also be replaced quite easily.
3. The lid is bent to the point I almost couldn't get it off but the top of the chassis seems good so another top would work out.
4. Top power supply handle and release lever were bent but I managed to move them back into place and it looks fine and I'm good with that as long as the PSU works properly.
5. 1/4 pins were bent on the front fan header near where the SAS cables run to meet the backplane but bending it back, gently, did the trick.
6. 2/3 fans were not in their trays properly.

I'll contact them in the morning and see what they say about the damage.

I did get a SAS2 backplane so that's good news.

My buddy bought one as well and he's reported no damage to his unit and that it was really clean inside.
 

Dajinn

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I don't get how these server chassis can sustain these kinds of damages somehow. All I know is if I worked in a data center that deployed these I would rack them up while they're empty then put components in, then they would stay there until decommission...what the hell happens in between all that? Hope they get you taken care of.

Do you guys think these are more effective chassis than SC846 for ScaleIO applications?

Assuming they take 35 bucks or so off the price for removing the mobo you can get the same effective amount of capacity but with twice the compute resources for 10 bucks more than one 846 chassis. Just means you have to buy more components.
 

PnoT

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Mar 1, 2015
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All you have to do is add in the comment, when purchasing, you want the SAS2 backplane and they'll make sure to give you one.

I also talked to them today about my damage and they're going to send me out some replacement parts so I should be golden then.
 

Dajinn

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Jun 2, 2015
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Well I messaged them on ebay just for confirmation, I'm not going to risk getting one and adding the message and not getting a confirmation and then it arriving, not being SAS2, and then having to deal with an ebay case or the possibility of not being able to return it.
 

PnoT

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Mar 1, 2015
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Well I messaged them on ebay just for confirmation, I'm not going to risk getting one and adding the message and not getting a confirmation and then it arriving, not being SAS2, and then having to deal with an ebay case or the possibility of not being able to return it.
That's probably a good idea as I got confirmation myself via email before ordering.