M.2 drive for SM X10SDV-F

[JimPhreak]

Looking to for a small (around 64GB) M.2 drive that is compatible with the new SuperMicro X10SDV-F board. I'm just going to use it as my ESXi (or possibly Hyper-V) boot drive. I realize 64GB is way overkill for ESXi but I'm going for that size in case I do wind up making the switch to Hyper-V.

I'm seeing M.2 drives with a few different connectors and lengths and I just want to be sure I get one that is compatible.

 

[T_Minus]

supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/D/X10SDV-F.cfm
(Forum wouldn't let me post with HTTP -- sorry links not live)

Right column has "Approved" list of items for your motherboard. Not sure if M2 is listed, but this is the best resource + Contact SM for their board compatibility if that's an issue for you.

 

[neo]

The key type and length will be listed in the manual.

 

[JimPhreak]

supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/D/X10SDV-F.cfm
(Forum wouldn't let me post with HTTP -- sorry links not live)

Right column has "Approved" list of items for your motherboard. Not sure if M2 is listed, but this is the best resource + Contact SM for their board compatibility if that's an issue for you.

Not seeing this approved list that you refer to. I also looked at the manual but didn't see anything in there about M.2 drives.

 

[T_Minus]

I'm not sure they have M2 on any list or in the manual, but for things that "work" those lists are where I start.

If I can't find it, like in your case then e-mail: support@supermicro.com and ask them your question they reply back rather rapidly

 

[JimPhreak]

I'm not sure they have M2 on any list or in the manual, but for things that "work" those lists are where I start.

If I can't find it, like in your case then e-mail: support@supermicro.com and ask them your question they reply back rather rapidly

Will do. Thanks!

 

[T_Minus]

Be sure to let us all know I'm sure others will ask.

 

[neo]

It uses m.2 drives that are M keyed in either 2242 or 2280 form factors.

 

[JimPhreak]

It uses m.2 drives that are M keyed in either 2242 or 2280 form factors.

What the heck? I even did a search in the manual for "m.2" and nothing came up. So strange.

Anyways, great find! Thanks!

 

[JimPhreak]

Hmm, these M Key m.2 drives must be new. I don't see many at all and all the ones I've found are on the larger size 256-512GB.

 

[Patriot]

Hmm, these M Key m.2 drives must be new. I don't see many at all and all the ones I've found are on the larger size 256-512GB.

According to the manual... all three are supported.

I will soon have a spare Plextor M6e 128gb 2280 if that interests you.

 

[JimPhreak]

According to the manual... all three are supported.

I will soon have a spare Plextor M6e 128gb 2280 if that interests you.

Ahh, so I can use an M + B key. Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate the offer but that's probably more than I need. Something like this is more than enough for me.

 

[neo]

Just some m.2 knowledge for you. The M Key pins are for PCIe ×4 and SATA while the B Key pins are for PCIe ×2, SATA, USB 2.0 and 3.0, Audio, PCM, IUM, SSIC and I2C. This is due to m.2 replacing mSATA.

 

[Patrick]

Do you already have the motherboard? If not - Computex is in 2 weeks and I would suspect more drive options.

 

[JimPhreak]

Do you already have the motherboard? If not - Computex is in 2 weeks and I would suspect more drive options.

I did yes. I bought the SuperMicro SYS-5028D-TN4T because I needed a server that has a very small physical footprint. I haven't taken delivery yet but it should be on it's way at this point. What additional drive options could we expect to see?

 

[Patrick]

PCIe storage is going to be the rage at Computex. So Intel and Samsung were first, there will be more very soon.

Personally I have XP941 256GB and 512GB drives in mine.

 

[JimPhreak]

PCIe storage is going to be the rage at Computex. So Intel and Samsung were first, there will be more very soon.

Personally I have XP941 256GB and 512GB drives in mine.

Specs on that drive looks great. However seems way overkill for my needs. I basically have room for 3 SSDs (two 2.5" SSDs + one M.2 SSD) in the SYS-5028D-TN4T. Between those 3 I need to store my VMs locally, have cache for my unRAID VM, and hypervisor boot drive. Not running any databases or VMs that need super fast storage as far as I can tell.

 

[JimPhreak]

This may be a stupid question but will any M.2 drive work with ESXi 5.5 or do I need to be looking at specific ones?

 

[dimension6]

I went with a Supermicro 16GB SATA DOM for the ESXi boot drive and 512GB XP941 for primary high-speed VM storage. File server storage and some Linux VMs will be on a 3x2TB 2.5" drive RAID array on an LSI adapter. It's my first time using a SATA DOM so I'm curious to see how it will work as a vSphere boot drive.

 

[dimension6]

This may be a stupid question but will any M.2 drive work with ESXi 5.5 or do I need to be looking at specific ones?

My understanding is that if the controller is supported, then any drive that works with the controller will work. Any M.2 drive should work with this board, but PCIe drives wouldn't work with older mSATA only motherboards.