Hi,
This is intended as much as a log of issues encountered as much as it is a request of suggestions. Hopefully it will list out any issues encountered so others may be aware before trying this combo as there seems to be very little documented testing on an E3 v2 with a S1200BTL (not the BTLR) past the initial "will it / wont it" questions.
Brief Overview.
I am currently in the process of building a 24 bay vSphere Essentials server for a SMB customer. They are consolidating a number of low use "servers" on to one machine using proper server grade hardware (for the most part).
The originally planned hardware;
Intel E3-1230 v2
Intel S1200BTL motherboard (BTLR is not readily available from local distributors)
3x M1015 SAS controllers (Customers insistence). These are new sourced from the local distributor.
2x Intel ET dual port network controller.
Various hard drives.
Supermicro SC846A-R1200 24bay chassis with redundant PSU.
32GB ECC ram (Kingston and Intel certified)
So first things first, flashing the S1200BTL to the latest BIOS in order to support the V2 E3. I pulled an old i3-2100 off the shelf and put it in with the ram and heatsink (the CPU still had some thermal paste on it from when I had previously used it). Turned the server on and it spun up for a few second and then turned off. I cycled like this in a consent loop with no audible sign as to what was wrong.
Trouble shooting;
Checked the motherboard seating and connections - all ok.
Checked the ram in various combinations - no change.
Swapped the ram with non ECC ram - Three beeps repeated over and over.
Replaced the supported ram and checked the status lights on the back of the board - 01011001 was the code.
Checked the code in the tech specs document - not listed.
Finally took the CPU out in order to change for my own machines E3-1230 v1 when I thought of removing the thermal paste and checking it.... it was an i5-2500 and not an i3.
Resultant learning experience;
Unsupported memory gives 3 beeps
Unsupported processor give power cycling and a status code of 01011001 on the diagnostic LEDs at the rear of the board.
Check the CPU even if you need to clean off the thermal paste before using it
Putting in the i3-2120T from my HTPC and the system booted fine. I updated the BIOS (pretty easy process) and then installed the E3-1230v2 which booted fine.
As expected the system would not boot past the M1015 initialization screen.
I flashed the M1015 and after a lot of playing around ended up with the current LSI 9211-IR set of firmware (P14) and was able to boot and enter the 9211 IR config screen but only 1 controller was listed. The SAS controllers were seated in slots 4, 5 and 6. The ultimate goal is to flash to the LSI 9240 firmware as this allows the addition of new drives without being required to configure them in the SAS cards BIOS before they become available to any OS. I have, however, stuck with the 9211 IR firmware for now whilst I troubleshoot.
After swapping the controllers in and out trying different combinations I have found that only PCIe slot 6 and 3 are usable and using any other slots results in the motherboard not seeing the controllers. I have also found that using slots 3 and 6 for the LSI 9211 controllers also results in the Intel ET network card not being seen if placed in slot 4. I have not yet tried the network card in slot 5.
Now for a bit more for a dig in the technical specifications.... It seems that PCIe slot 3 is controlled by the PCH (C204), PCIe slot 6 is a dedicated x8, but PCIe slots 4 & 5 have a shared x4 and the final x4 lanes are for the dedicated SAS module (optional add-on). This sort of explains why I may have trouble using the SAS controllers in slots 4 and 5 at the same time but not why the network card is not picked up if used in slot 4 and nothing is in slot 5.
My concern is that although the E3 v2 will work on the board, there is some issues with the PCIe lanes if you wish to fully populate. Various reports mention the addition of a couple of resistors to the BTLR boards in order to make them E3 v2 compatible and if that is not just Intel smoke then maybe it was to rectify this issue.
I have the option to try with my E3-1230 v1 and see if I have any issues in this board so I will probably try that tonight. My own unit is fully populated with SAS controllers and network cards taking up all available slots. I have not had an issue with it so I am pretty surprised.
If I can get the Network card seen in either slots 4 or 5 then I can get the Intel AXXRMS2LL040 SAS module and use the motherboard sata for the remaining 4 drives (this was the original plan). If I cannot then I have to try the E3-1230v1 and see if that corrects the issue and then probably source a S1200BTLR which is not preferred as I will be bound to a 5 unit minimum by the distributor, or confirm with the customer that it would be ok to swap out for a Supermicro board, again, not preferred as I already have a full price M1015 I can no longer use for this build and so do not require a S1200BTL as well.
Any other constructive suggestions welcome.
Thanks
RB
This is intended as much as a log of issues encountered as much as it is a request of suggestions. Hopefully it will list out any issues encountered so others may be aware before trying this combo as there seems to be very little documented testing on an E3 v2 with a S1200BTL (not the BTLR) past the initial "will it / wont it" questions.
Brief Overview.
I am currently in the process of building a 24 bay vSphere Essentials server for a SMB customer. They are consolidating a number of low use "servers" on to one machine using proper server grade hardware (for the most part).
The originally planned hardware;
Intel E3-1230 v2
Intel S1200BTL motherboard (BTLR is not readily available from local distributors)
3x M1015 SAS controllers (Customers insistence). These are new sourced from the local distributor.
2x Intel ET dual port network controller.
Various hard drives.
Supermicro SC846A-R1200 24bay chassis with redundant PSU.
32GB ECC ram (Kingston and Intel certified)
So first things first, flashing the S1200BTL to the latest BIOS in order to support the V2 E3. I pulled an old i3-2100 off the shelf and put it in with the ram and heatsink (the CPU still had some thermal paste on it from when I had previously used it). Turned the server on and it spun up for a few second and then turned off. I cycled like this in a consent loop with no audible sign as to what was wrong.
Trouble shooting;
Checked the motherboard seating and connections - all ok.
Checked the ram in various combinations - no change.
Swapped the ram with non ECC ram - Three beeps repeated over and over.
Replaced the supported ram and checked the status lights on the back of the board - 01011001 was the code.
Checked the code in the tech specs document - not listed.
Finally took the CPU out in order to change for my own machines E3-1230 v1 when I thought of removing the thermal paste and checking it.... it was an i5-2500 and not an i3.
Resultant learning experience;
Unsupported memory gives 3 beeps
Unsupported processor give power cycling and a status code of 01011001 on the diagnostic LEDs at the rear of the board.
Check the CPU even if you need to clean off the thermal paste before using it
Putting in the i3-2120T from my HTPC and the system booted fine. I updated the BIOS (pretty easy process) and then installed the E3-1230v2 which booted fine.
As expected the system would not boot past the M1015 initialization screen.
I flashed the M1015 and after a lot of playing around ended up with the current LSI 9211-IR set of firmware (P14) and was able to boot and enter the 9211 IR config screen but only 1 controller was listed. The SAS controllers were seated in slots 4, 5 and 6. The ultimate goal is to flash to the LSI 9240 firmware as this allows the addition of new drives without being required to configure them in the SAS cards BIOS before they become available to any OS. I have, however, stuck with the 9211 IR firmware for now whilst I troubleshoot.
After swapping the controllers in and out trying different combinations I have found that only PCIe slot 6 and 3 are usable and using any other slots results in the motherboard not seeing the controllers. I have also found that using slots 3 and 6 for the LSI 9211 controllers also results in the Intel ET network card not being seen if placed in slot 4. I have not yet tried the network card in slot 5.
Now for a bit more for a dig in the technical specifications.... It seems that PCIe slot 3 is controlled by the PCH (C204), PCIe slot 6 is a dedicated x8, but PCIe slots 4 & 5 have a shared x4 and the final x4 lanes are for the dedicated SAS module (optional add-on). This sort of explains why I may have trouble using the SAS controllers in slots 4 and 5 at the same time but not why the network card is not picked up if used in slot 4 and nothing is in slot 5.
My concern is that although the E3 v2 will work on the board, there is some issues with the PCIe lanes if you wish to fully populate. Various reports mention the addition of a couple of resistors to the BTLR boards in order to make them E3 v2 compatible and if that is not just Intel smoke then maybe it was to rectify this issue.
I have the option to try with my E3-1230 v1 and see if I have any issues in this board so I will probably try that tonight. My own unit is fully populated with SAS controllers and network cards taking up all available slots. I have not had an issue with it so I am pretty surprised.
If I can get the Network card seen in either slots 4 or 5 then I can get the Intel AXXRMS2LL040 SAS module and use the motherboard sata for the remaining 4 drives (this was the original plan). If I cannot then I have to try the E3-1230v1 and see if that corrects the issue and then probably source a S1200BTLR which is not preferred as I will be bound to a 5 unit minimum by the distributor
, or confirm with the customer that it would be ok to swap out for a Supermicro board, again, not preferred as I already have a full price M1015 I can no longer use for this build and so do not require a S1200BTL as well.Any other constructive suggestions welcome.
Thanks
RB