M1015 OK in 2U chassis?

[soundscribe]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to pull the trigger on a cheap eBay 2U Supermicro server, to be used to run esxi passing through the disk controller to Open Indiana/ZFS VM.

I'd prefer an M1015 as it seems to be known to work in this configuration, but I've read it's a tight fit in a 2U chassis. With the appropriate cables, is it OK? And for this machine what cables would those be?

If not, what other choices for a suitable HBA are there?

eBay machine of interest is:

Supermicro 2U Server X8DTN 2X Xeon L5520 2 26GHz Quad Core 24GB Add Your HD | eBay

Thanks for the advice!

 

[PigLover]

M1015 is tough in a 2U chassis because the connectors are on the top of the card and you have a tough bend to fit under the lid. You also need long cables because most 2U are full-depth and the connectors end up all the way to the back.

You can usually find used 9201-8i or 9211-8i cards at about the same price point as the M1015. When flashed to IT mode these are all thee equiv. The LSI cards have the 8087 connectors on the end rather the top which makes them much easier to use in a 2U chassis.

 

[britinpdx]

The M1015 has "vertical" connectors which make cabling a little more challenging in a 2U chassis. I've used Monoprice SFF-8087 to SATA cables and relieved (removed) the heat shrink at the SFF-8087 connector to allow the cable to bend easier.

Perhaps a better choice would be to implement HBA's based on the same SAS2008 chipset but with "horizontal" connectors, such as the Dell H310 or the LSI 9211.

Don't forget to check the extensive list of RAID controllers and HBA's on this forum for other options.

 

[soundscribe]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'll probably go with some LSI variant then.

 

[canta]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'll probably go with some LSI variant then.

I have 2u with M1015. cabling is a bit tight, but OK...

I am using SM minisas cable that came from the server case (bought on ebay, the deal was posted on great deals)

would add picture later

 

[RyC]

You could also try cables with 90º SAS connectors like this one 1m 28AWG Internal Mini SAS 36pin (SFF-8087) Male (90 Degree) to SATA 7pin Female w/ Latch (x4) Forward Breakout Cable - Black - Monoprice.com

It would probably still be a tight fit if you had adjacent slots filled though

 

[Scott Laird]

FWIW, I have 4 of that exact server, from the same eBay vendor, all with M1015s with low-profile brackets. The cables are a bit tight, but everything fits.

 

[soundscribe]

So I ordered the server, an additional 16GB of ram, an M1015 with a low profile bracket and a couple of 90 degree cables.

If the M1015 doesn't fit for some reason, I'll have another home for it.

 

[canta]

here is the crappy screenshot:

 

[Rhinox]

You could also try cables with 90º SAS connectors like this one 1m 28AWG Internal Mini SAS 36pin (SFF-8087) Male (90 Degree) to SATA 7pin Female w/ Latch (x4) Forward Breakout Cable - Black - Monoprice.com

It would probably still be a tight fit if you had adjacent slots filled though

Buying this cable would be the same mistake I made. It is angled cable, but unfortunatelly, in wrong direction! You can not attach it to vertically placed SFF8087-ports at all (unless you cut piece of PCB off)...

 

[RyC]

Whoops, nice catch!

 

[canta]

Buying this cable would be the same mistake I made. It is angled cable, but unfortunatelly, in wrong direction! You can not attach it to vertically placed SFF8087-ports at all (unless you cut piece of PCB off)...

ha!..
I remember bought that cables from ebay and did not fit om M10105
oh well, wasted total $6 including shipping for those two cables...

 

[soundscribe]

Buying this cable would be the same mistake I made. It is angled cable, but unfortunatelly, in wrong direction! You can not attach it to vertically placed SFF8087-ports at all (unless you cut piece of PCB off)...

Thanks for the heads-up. I ordered some straight cables as well.

Server is scheduled to arrive next Wednesday. Got the $15 Father's day ebay promo code and another vendor-provided 5% for buying more than $250. Almost paid for the shipping.

 

[canta]

Thanks for the heads-up. I ordered some straight cables as well.

Server is scheduled to arrive next Wednesday. Got the $15 Father's day ebay promo code and another vendor-provided 5% for buying more than $250. Almost paid for the shipping.

have fun with your project..
Make sure you buy a good cable since cables are needed to bend a bit ..
longest cables are the safe bet to reach to all backplane connectors.

 

[soundscribe]

Server and card arrived. It was necessary to remove the heat shrink from the card end of the breakout cable. Definitely a tight fit, but the lid is on successfully.

 

[Dajinn]

Hey man how are you liking that server? That thing looks like a really good value for the money compared to the sc846 considering you get a full build. Two of those servers is just a bit more than 1 sc846 but each rig gets you 2 cpus and 24gb of ram. Hard to beat!

Also do you have a backplane part number for that chassis?

I wonder is that chassis this one here?

Supermicro | Products | Chassis | 2U | SC826TQ-R800LPV / SC826TQ-R800LPB

The page lists the 826tq as being the backplane with sas6gb capability. However on the left it says it passed sas2 compliance testing. I wonder if it would have any issue with drives over 2TB.

 

[soundscribe]

I'm liking this server quite a bit. It does have some downsides - noisy and power hungry - about 200 watts at idle. But, I knew both of those downsides going in. The noise is only bothersome now while it's in the same room with me, but shortly it will move into my rack in the garage and it can be as noisy as it wants. Still setting it up...

I don't see a chassis part number, but I'm about to shut it down to install another 8087 cable to the backplane. When I open it up, I'll see if the backplane has a part number.

As for drive size, I popped in 2 WD Red 4TB drives on the M1015 controller without issue. The machine boots ESXI and I pass the M1015 directly to Omnios for ZFS purposes. That part is working as expected.

 

[Dajinn]

How many devices can the M1015 support when it's in HBA/IT mode?

 

[soundscribe]

It will support 8 - four on each port. The server chassis has 12 drive bays, so the remaining four will be used with the 6 SATA ports on the motherboard.