Just want to share my build that is not too special but since I spent a bunch of time on it...
I wanted a proxmox machine that I can use as a pfsense box and run some lightweight services. After looking through all the stuff that I can find, I realize if I want it to be 10Gbps capable, I have to spend something bizarre and have a box that is too big for my tiny (not too tiny) in wall networking enclosure. There are some models that is probably okay in either cost or size, but I don't trust them being well maintained, and they either have Celeron or Xeon CPU.
Expect one thing - Lenovo's ThinkCentre Tiny. It is small enough, capable of PCIe 3.0 x4 with space for many HHHL cards, comes with low voltage Core CPU, going to have great support, and affordable. And the newest, most advanced, and affordable 10Gbps multi port Ethernet card that fits is X550-T2, which is not officially supported, but upon checking the dimensions it definitely will fit.
I picked up a used ThinkCentre M920q from eBay for a very reasonable price, comes with i5-8500T, 512GB SSD and 8GB RAM. Then I found Lenovo has FRU 00MM860 an Intel X550-T2 card, and on eBay it is about $300. From enCompass I got the 01AJ940 PCIe adapter card (01AJ929 works too). And put them together - they work well! The whole build at this stage costs about $600. And it is a monster - small even counting the power brick, powerful with 2x 10Gbps and 1x 1Gbps Ethernet, and a CPU that is way better than any "industrial computer". And backed by Lenovo ThinkStation warranty and service.
Ok now here comes the only hard part - we don't have a bracket for the X550 card. It really does not need to be anything fancy as I don't use it for anything other than home environment, so I decided to 3D print it. Well that was a troublesome decision - but probably still easier than everything else. My design is uploaded to Thingiverse here: Bracket for Lenovo Intel X550-T2 on Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny M920q/M720q (Gen Tiny4) by ccl13
Current version (version 8.0) of the bracket is not designed to really fix down the card, but rather make sure it is not going to become loose during usage and cause trouble. It does not include screw holes or anything like that, but fits the mechanically complicated chassis and card well.
I am going to experiment pfsense on it later and see if I can replace my current router with this. Also note that this one comes with WiFi - so I might be able to replace one AP with it too. We will see about that!
A few quick FAQ:
Q: Is this the final design of the bracket?
A: No. At best this can be said to be working. There's still issues with the design, but none of which I consider a blocker. I will probably improve it later and publish on Thingiverse.
Q: Does the bracket fit other ThinkCentre Tiny computers?
A: Not all. It technically fits design generation Tiny4 - that is M920q/M720/M720q. Not too sure about M920x/P330 but it should fit. Older and newer generation will require a different design, although not too different.
Q: Does this bracket fit all X550-T2?
A: Well, probably at least original design ones. This card by Lenovo looks exactly the same as Intel original, so that should fit. But there are fake cards and other designs (some of them won't upgrade NVM properly), those I cannot be sure.
Q: Why there's no structure above the two Ethernet ports?
A: By spec, the ports almost take up the full height of the opening. I tried to add a think piece but it will be so think and weak it does not do anything without breaking immediately.
Q: Can I use your bracket design?
A: Feel free - I put it on Thingiverse as CC Non-commercial.
Q: Why not just use Intel i350-T4, which is officially supported on Tiny4?
A: Well, I did give it a thought but at year 2021 I want to be future proof. Also I am trying to build my network with a daisy-chained 10Gbps backhaul, so it would be beneficial to have a dual 10Gbps on router.
Q: Why not using something with SFP and cheaper?
A: I generally have no way to add fiber to my house and in my experience all SFP/SFP+/SFP28 RJ45 module are very, very hot. I do want to keep it cooler since I want to use it in my data cabinet.
Q: Why not using Intel X540?
A: It runs hotter than X550. However much cheaper at the same time. I wanted to keep it as cool as possible so I spent money on it.
Q: Why not using Intel X710?
A: I cannot source one at the time of this build (at a reasonable price, that is). Also I've seen reports on it not working properly, probably due to its too new.
I wanted a proxmox machine that I can use as a pfsense box and run some lightweight services. After looking through all the stuff that I can find, I realize if I want it to be 10Gbps capable, I have to spend something bizarre and have a box that is too big for my tiny (not too tiny) in wall networking enclosure. There are some models that is probably okay in either cost or size, but I don't trust them being well maintained, and they either have Celeron or Xeon CPU.
Expect one thing - Lenovo's ThinkCentre Tiny. It is small enough, capable of PCIe 3.0 x4 with space for many HHHL cards, comes with low voltage Core CPU, going to have great support, and affordable. And the newest, most advanced, and affordable 10Gbps multi port Ethernet card that fits is X550-T2, which is not officially supported, but upon checking the dimensions it definitely will fit.
I picked up a used ThinkCentre M920q from eBay for a very reasonable price, comes with i5-8500T, 512GB SSD and 8GB RAM. Then I found Lenovo has FRU 00MM860 an Intel X550-T2 card, and on eBay it is about $300. From enCompass I got the 01AJ940 PCIe adapter card (01AJ929 works too). And put them together - they work well! The whole build at this stage costs about $600. And it is a monster - small even counting the power brick, powerful with 2x 10Gbps and 1x 1Gbps Ethernet, and a CPU that is way better than any "industrial computer". And backed by Lenovo ThinkStation warranty and service.
Ok now here comes the only hard part - we don't have a bracket for the X550 card. It really does not need to be anything fancy as I don't use it for anything other than home environment, so I decided to 3D print it. Well that was a troublesome decision - but probably still easier than everything else. My design is uploaded to Thingiverse here: Bracket for Lenovo Intel X550-T2 on Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny M920q/M720q (Gen Tiny4) by ccl13
Current version (version 8.0) of the bracket is not designed to really fix down the card, but rather make sure it is not going to become loose during usage and cause trouble. It does not include screw holes or anything like that, but fits the mechanically complicated chassis and card well.
I am going to experiment pfsense on it later and see if I can replace my current router with this. Also note that this one comes with WiFi - so I might be able to replace one AP with it too. We will see about that!
A few quick FAQ:
Q: Is this the final design of the bracket?
A: No. At best this can be said to be working. There's still issues with the design, but none of which I consider a blocker. I will probably improve it later and publish on Thingiverse.
Q: Does the bracket fit other ThinkCentre Tiny computers?
A: Not all. It technically fits design generation Tiny4 - that is M920q/M720/M720q. Not too sure about M920x/P330 but it should fit. Older and newer generation will require a different design, although not too different.
Q: Does this bracket fit all X550-T2?
A: Well, probably at least original design ones. This card by Lenovo looks exactly the same as Intel original, so that should fit. But there are fake cards and other designs (some of them won't upgrade NVM properly), those I cannot be sure.
Q: Why there's no structure above the two Ethernet ports?
A: By spec, the ports almost take up the full height of the opening. I tried to add a think piece but it will be so think and weak it does not do anything without breaking immediately.
Q: Can I use your bracket design?
A: Feel free - I put it on Thingiverse as CC Non-commercial.
Q: Why not just use Intel i350-T4, which is officially supported on Tiny4?
A: Well, I did give it a thought but at year 2021 I want to be future proof. Also I am trying to build my network with a daisy-chained 10Gbps backhaul, so it would be beneficial to have a dual 10Gbps on router.
Q: Why not using something with SFP and cheaper?
A: I generally have no way to add fiber to my house and in my experience all SFP/SFP+/SFP28 RJ45 module are very, very hot. I do want to keep it cooler since I want to use it in my data cabinet.
Q: Why not using Intel X540?
A: It runs hotter than X550. However much cheaper at the same time. I wanted to keep it as cool as possible so I spent money on it.
Q: Why not using Intel X710?
A: I cannot source one at the time of this build (at a reasonable price, that is). Also I've seen reports on it not working properly, probably due to its too new.
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