LITTLEJOHN (Norco 4220 WHS 2011 Supermicro X8SI6-F)

[BigP]

CPU: Intel Xeon X3470 Lynnfield 2.93GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Procesor
Motherboard: Supermicro X8SI6-F v1.02 (w/RAID5 SuperMicro Adder mini-card)
Memory: 4x4GB kits of Kingston ECC RDIM 1066MHz DDR3 KVR1066D3Q8R7S/4G (Quad-Channel)
Case: Norco RPC-4220 (w/Norco 120MM fan partition +3 Noctura)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750 Silencer
DVD/R: Sony Optiarc SATA AD-7701H-01 Slim (Intel ICH)
OS Drives: (2) WD Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT 320GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s (Raid1 on Intel ICH)
RAID Controller: onboard only
SAS Expander: Intel RAID Expander RES2SV240 to LSI-SAS2008 and backplanes
Storage Drives: (4) Hitachi Deskstar 7200 RPM 2TB SATA 6.0GB/s 3.5" HDS723020BLA642;
OS: Windows Home Server 2011

The Mission: A home media/file server prepared for the release of Windows Home Server 2011 replacing an over-taxed, underpowered WHSv1pp3 HP EX485 (despite upgraded memory and processor). I am trying to consolidate hardware into an enclosure prepared for simple expansion as well as upgrade to an OS environment requiring little maintenance after initial installation and setup.

This build is initially a balance between achieving the ability for simple expansion and RAID capability while balancing investment expense. I consciously have left out a RAID controller (at this time) and realize the HP SAS expander is a 3.0GB/s device, creating a bottleneck in my otherwise 6.0GB/s system. Initially I can't justify the expense of two 16port Intel SAS expanders and 2 additional cables to upgrade to end-to-end 6.0GB/s.

UPDATE: No HP SAS expander - added Intel RAID Expander RES2SV240

 

[nitrobass24]

Do you already own all of the gear above or are you going to go purchase it? If you are going to purchase i have some suggestions Overall it looks like a good build tho cant wait for some pics

Also the HP is a 6.0gbps device just wont negotiate 6gpbs with SATA drives currently.

 

[BigP]

Do you already own all of the gear above or are you going to go purchase it? If you are going to purchase i have some suggestions Overall it looks like a good build tho cant wait for some pics

Also the HP is a 6.0gbps device just wont negotiate 6gpbs with SATA drives currently.

notrobass24, I have purchased the above...waiting for cables to arrive and considering returning or reselling the quad-channel memory. Thanks, I'm also interested in suggestions as I was planning to recommend that Pactrick start an "Ideal Norco 4220/4224 build" tab on main-site that evolves as new hardware comes out...something that he updates but lists everything necessary for a build.

 

[Patrick]

notrobass24, I have purchased the above...waiting for cables to arrive and considering returning or reselling the quad-channel memory. Thanks, I'm also interested in suggestions as I was planning to recommend that Pactrick start an "Ideal Norco 4220/4224 build" tab on main-site that evolves as new hardware comes out...something that he updates but lists everything necessary for a build.

Article suggestion forum time

Interesting thought on the ideal build. Maybe I'll make pages for the current thinking on the Buyer's guide series I did in December 2010 (probably should update that.) Honestly, I'm a bit beat this week so it may be a next week thing. Finished today's article around 11:30PM last night, then posted the C202, C204 and C206 Motherboards research. A bit rough since I wake up every morning at 4:30AM and this is the fourth night in a row that I got to bed after midnight. This weekend is the only weekend in April that I will not be on the road so I need to get myself a bit more efficient

On the build above, three thoughts. First, I would love to know how often you use the physical DVD drive versus the IPMI 2.0 mount. Second, you should benchmark those Hitachi's and make a post. Finally, the memory is a bit tough. You get the advantage of being able to occupy fifth and sixth slots on one hand, but the newer Bromolow platform does not seem to support RDIMMs. Then again, with a X3470, odds are you will be skipping at least that generation so that probably is not a factor. I would weigh the cost of restocking and shipping versus the price of new ECC UDIMMs.

 

[odditory]

I consciously have left out a RAID controller (at this time) and realize the HP SAS expander is a 3.0GB/s device, creating a bottleneck in my otherwise 6.0GB/s system. Initially I can't justify the expense of two 16port Intel SAS expanders and 2 additional cables to upgrade to end-to-end 6.0GB/s.

kind of a non-issue since those Hitachi drives max out at around 150-160MB/s sequential I/O anyway, even SATA-II still has plenty of headroom (~250MB/s). at the moment the only way you really notice a difference with SATA 6G is with SSD's, especially multiple drives in raid. of course there's an argument for keeping everything 6G *if* you're mixing spinning disks with SSD's on the same expander, but thats a separate discussion.

I would also strongly consider Hitachi 5K3000 drives for further expansion - assuming you're mostly just archiving sequential type data (videos, etc) since they run significantly cooler than the 7K3000's, and have sequential performance on par with the previous gen 7K2000 disks.

 

[BigP]

Odditory - I just picked up the last 4 Hitachi 5K3000 drives - first 4 are great (thanks for the recommendation).

...dropped them in the last 4 bays of the 4220, and booted. Suddenly got a stop message "exceeded the maximum count of 16 drives" on the X8SI6-F LSI SAS 2008. Why didn't I ever see/hear of this before in any research/forum etc.? Does this board truly tap-out at 16 drives with an expander? I am using the Intel RAID Expander RES2SV240, with SAS Ports 0-3 to the expander. This should leave me with 5x4 SAS ports for a total of 20 drives, plus LSI ports 4-7 remaining, no?

What are my next steps here...not much mentioned about this state.

UPDATE: Using the out-of-the-box IR flash...hasn't been flashed to IT. I'm betting this is the limiting factor.

 

[Patrick]

Wow! That is crazy. I have had a machine running for the past year with the X8SI6-F and two HP SAS Expanders with 30+ drives. I have not upgraded the firmware recently (the box hasn't been down in over eight months.)