Dell C6100 XS23-TY3 2U 4-Node (8 CPU) Cloud Server

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
B

brianmat

Member
Dec 11, 2013
58
9
8
Those are pretty much the ones in my watch list now. That's still not a terrible price considering the density I can save by consolidating some space since we only have 1 rack and moving to a double rack would be a colossal PITA since our DC is near capacity not to speak of the downtime involved with the move.

Things will probably look a bit better once I rid myself of the current MD3000i and MD1000 in the racks. Hopefully after the start of the year we'll see more off lease stuff showing up.
 
Jeggs101

Jeggs101

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2010
1,529
241
63
Almost always is cheaper to buy a full barebones over a set of single nodes. And with processors over no processors
 
A

alan

New Member
Oct 24, 2013
20
0
0
I'm having a strange problem. When configuring the server, I used DHCP for the IPMI port. Before shipping it to my co-location company, I set it up for static IP. I set the IP address, the mask and the router address. Node 1 works, the other 3 don't. They aren't saving the network mask or the router address. The colocation company set up remote KVM on node 2 and it has the same bios firmware (1.70) and BMC firmware (1.32).

Does anyone know what could be wrong or how I can fix it? Would using the shared port instead of the dedicated port make a difference?
 
N

nickveldrin

New Member
Sep 4, 2013
23
3
3
RimBlock said:
There is BuyFromTaobao: We buy and ship items from taobao.com to you which offers a proxy service (freight forwarders) in English but I have not personally tried them so have no idea of their quality or charges.

I can possibly act as a proxy for people wanting one of these. If there is enough interest then I will make a thread in the appropriate section of the forums.

Things to note though...
  • You will most likely get no guarantee from the seller (or me as I am just forwarding for you).
  • There is no guarantee what C6100 gen board you will get or its firmware levels (MegaRAC BMC or Dell branded, brickable if you try to flash etc).
  • They are likely to be 'just enough to get it working' rather than being fairly robust and of good quality. The picture of the power on switch connector is a fine example where the jumper has been cut to stretch it over the two pins rather than using the correct connector.

RB
Click to expand...
I'm personally interested in getting a few of the cases to convert the stock c6100 from 2u rack to workstation form like some of the pics. With a baby on the way, having this server and all of the rest of my gear running in the basement gets way too loud. With enough room in the cases, im sure the decibel rating will go down substancially.

RB or anyone that is a little more familiar with these Chinese offerings - do we know what something like this will cost even in ballpark low/high ranges?
 
R

RimBlock

Active Member
Sep 18, 2011
837
28
28
Singapore
Chuckleb said:
The vendor that I bought mine from still has systems available at a good price, $830 for the L5520 chip model:

DELL POWEREDGE C6100 SERVERS | The Server Store | The Server Store
Click to expand...
Have you had confirmation they still had stock. I have had around 20 units from then and was told the last three that arrived last week were the last they had. They are also not advertising them on EBay any more.

I suspect their website has not been updated but it would be great to hear they have got some more in.
 
A

alan

New Member
Oct 24, 2013
20
0
0
alan said:
I'm having a strange problem. When configuring the server, I used DHCP for the IPMI port. Before shipping it to my co-location company, I set it up for static IP. I set the IP address, the mask and the router address. Node 1 works, the other 3 don't. They aren't saving the network mask or the router address. The colocation company set up remote KVM on node 2 and it has the same bios firmware (1.70) and BMC firmware (1.32).

Does anyone know what could be wrong or how I can fix it? Would using the shared port instead of the dedicated port make a difference?
Click to expand...
I got further into tis. The IPMI in nodes 1, 3, and 4 all work, the IPMI in node 2 doesn't. I setting the network mask and the gateway address, neither work. Not when I hit f2 and edit it on boot, not when I use ipmitool. Anyone know how I fix this?
 
A

alan

New Member
Oct 24, 2013
20
0
0
I thought I solved it, now it's worse.

I downloaded the firmware update for Linux, chmod it so it would run, tried to run it, and it timed out.

Here's the output

Executing update...
WARNING: DO NOT STOP THIS PROCESS OR INSTALL OTHER DELL PRODUCTS WHILE UPDATE
IS IN PROGRESS.
THESE ACTIONS MAY CAUSE YOUR SYSTEM TO BECOME UNSTABLE!
.................................
Update Failure.BMC Ready to Programming Timeout
Click to expand...
now when I try again I get an error

Update Failure.BMC is in Firmware Update Mode

How do I fix this?
 
s0lid

s0lid

Active Member
Feb 25, 2013
259
35
28
Tampere, Finland
Right, if you've ever wondered do these motherboards have header for reset button, there is.

It's at the system configuration jumpers, labeled as SYS_RES. Tested, works as it should.
 
C

c6100

Member
Oct 22, 2013
163
1
18
USA
brianmat said:
It seems that I am seeing a lot of datacenter builds on eBay right now. I am really looking for a bare bones C6100 that has cutouts for the mezzanine cards. Is there an non-Ebay seller which is reasonable for these? I found a seller with good prices on the bare modules, so if I could just get a good price on a chassis then that would really get me going in the right direction. Am I just a bit too late to this party?
Click to expand...
I have some bare bones, are you still looking?
 
s0lid

s0lid

Active Member
Feb 25, 2013
259
35
28
Tampere, Finland
RB by any chance can you measure the pinout of the mezzanine port?
That looks like 4 layer PCB and the bottom side of pci-e connector is silkscreened, photo helps a bit but not much.
 
R

RimBlock

Active Member
Sep 18, 2011
837
28
28
Singapore
Electrical or physical size measurement ?.

If electrical, I do not currently have a multimeter (but should really get one). Will maybe pick one up today.
 
R

RimBlock

Active Member
Sep 18, 2011
837
28
28
Singapore
s0lid said:
Electrical, cheap multimeter should do.
Click to expand...
Well I picked one up yesterday and I am either hopelessly inept with it (it has been around 30 years since I last used one) or it is not working...

Setting to 20v direct and touching the probe ends together gives a reading of 0.00. I would have expected a number based on the 9v battery in the unit. Maybe it has a bad fuse :(.
 
D

Dino

New Member
Dec 23, 2013
4
0
0
England
Dino said:
Thanks again for feedback :)
I have been scouring UK eBay and other sites for servers but there doesn't seem to be anything comparable for the price. Trying to get 3 or 4 equivalent G6's way more expensive, even for some lesser then DL360 e.g. DL160. If I lived in the USA things would be different!
It is for a home lab, so wont be stressing it particularly, 24Gb RAM would probably be enough for me as it happens, but will have to have think about the RAM layout if want to go higher.
The noise is an issue though, and replacing the fan arrangement with something quieter would have to be first job if I decide to keep it. Not having any Dell manuals or being able to update any f/w is a bind. I could probably live without the hotplug as once set up doubt will be changing very often.
Will let you know feedback from supplier when call them at end of the week.
Click to expand...

Just a quick update... supplier has agreed to take back the C6100 and refund me. Shame really but it was so far away from a standard C6100 :(
On the plus side have bought 2 x DL360G6 instead for my home lab - not the 4 nodes I was hoping for but will make do along with my Microserver and Cisco 3560 switch :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom