Proposed X9SCM-F build for WHS11

[teetime]

I'm a noobie to DIY server builds so I'd appreciate another set of eyes on this proposed build as I move from WHSv1 to WHS11. I have two specific questions:

1. I want to operate the server headless. I know this MB supports IPMI, but I'm not sure if it is fully supported with the I3 CPU. Will I be able to mount a CD/DVD on one of my network PCs and install software on the server via IPMI?

2. Is there anything I've missed in my configuration?

Build’s Name: WHS11
Operating System/ Storage Platform: Windows Home Server 2011
CPU: Intel Core I3-2100 Sandy Bridge
Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCM-F
Case: Coolermaster HAF 922
Drives: WDRE4 250GB 7200RPM Enterprise Drive for System, existing 2TB Drives for data, 2 existing 5.25->3.5 drive caddies where I will swap out backup drives between the server and off-site storage.
RAM: Kingston 4GB (2-2GB) 240pin DDR3 1333 ECC Unbuffered
Add-in Cards: None
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 620W 80 Plus Bronze Certified
Other Bits: None

Usage Profile: This WHS server will be used to backup 3 other PC's on the home network, contain about 2-3 GB shared music and photos, and about 1 GB shared HD video. I currently have this data on my WHSv1 which is an aging Pentium 4, 3Ghz. On the WHSv1 I use TVersity to stream my video to my DLNA compliant Bluray player, and I access my music via Logitec Squeezebox. I do not transcode video on the server. I plan to use WHS11's DLNA capabilities instead of TVersity on the new server. My goals for this build: high reliability, reasonable power efficiency, quite and headless operation.

 

[Philmatic]

1. I want to operate the server headless. I know this MB supports IPMI, but I'm not sure if it is fully supported with the I3 CPU. Will I be able to mount a CD/DVD on one of my network PCs and install software on the server via IPMI?

I have this exact same setup (Core i3 2100 and X9SCM-F), and IPMI works perfectly fine, IPMI is not a funciton of the CPU as much as it is a function of the motherboard.

2. Is there anything I've missed in my configuration?

It looks great, the only thing is I would splurge on another 4GB stick if you can afford it. RAM is the cheapest it's been in years, I'd take advantage of it.

 

[sotech]

If this is meant to be a 24/7 server I'd look at something like the Seasonic X-560 80+ Gold series PSU - the more power efficiency the better and it'll save you money in the long run.

I agree with Philmatic - go with two 4GB sticks rather than two 2GB sticks - for the small price premium it's worth it to have the headroom, imho - particularly if you decide to do anything like virtualizing down the track.

What's your plan if the system HDD dies? Have you considered mirroring your system drive?

 

[Speedyme]

Umm.. looks like a good application for an HP microserver? They are certified for WHS11 now.

Part 658553-001 with Turion N40L is less than $350..

they also have Part 615095-B21 remote access card, if you need remote mgmt for $75

the 250 gb drive that comes with could mirror the system drive you have...

 

[teetime]

Thanks for the good suggestions. I had only seen Philmatic's when I ordered my components. The suggestion from all regarding the memory is a good one that I should have followed, but I guess my thinking was I had already gone way over budget on this system. So, if in the future I repurpose this server for something other than WHS I'll have to get additional or new memory sticks.

Regarding the HP Microserver - I seriously considered this early in my investigation and I think it would be a great WHS solution. In the end I opted for the specified build for these reasons:
1. I wanted IPMI so I could have full headless operation and management, and
2. I wanted the ability to have several removable drives for rotating offsite backups, and
3. I wanted at least an i3 processor in case I do decide later on that I want to transcode video on the fly, and
4. I wanted a components (e.g. case, PSU) that could be used for another video editing workstation if need be down the road, and
5. Probably the biggest reason - I've never built my own and I think (hope) this will be a fun project ;-).

Thanks again for your excellent feedback and suggestions.

Jerry

 

[Philmatic]

Congrats! And keep us updated with the build!

 

[Patrick]

We need pictures too!!!

 

[teetime]

Alright, I am taking pictures as I go.

I've run into a problem and I would appreciate any insight you can offer. The HAF 922 case comes with 3-pin fans. The I3 cooler is 4-pin. The Supermicro X9scm-f has five fan headers, 3 of which can accept 3-pin. However, the manual says not to mix 3-pin and 4-pin fans - it has to be all one or the other. I think this is because you specify in the bios which type you have so it will know how to control the fan speeds, but you can specify this on a header-by-header basis. I'm guessing on that because I haven't actually gotten far enough along to see the bios. At any rate, I believe I could connect all the 3-pin case fans directly to the PSU, but then I would lose the ability for them to be speed controlled, right? And recall, I want this build to be as quite as is possible.

I've sent a note to CoolerMaster to see if there are 4-pin replacement fans. What would you do in this situation? I've got to believe this isn't an uncommon problem but I didn't have much luck with Google searchs.

 

[PigLover]

You can mix fan types, but the 3-pin fan will have no speed control. The MB will attempt to use PCM for the speed control but since your 3 pin fan doesn't have any PCM then it will just run full speed. If it is too loud doing that just get an aftermarket speed control for it. Or get a Molex to 3-pin fan adapter and run it straight off the
PSU. If you need to slow it down just mod the adapter to run it from the 5-volt lead (or split it between the 5 and 12 to get 7 volts for the fan, which is often the right choice for big fans like this one).

That big slow 200mm fan in that case will probably run quiet enough that you won't care.

 

[mobilenvidia]

Noctua fan speed controllers are just a resistor soldered inline, this will work and is very cheap. (ie buy a resistor or even a variable pot)
I would recommend a higher wattage type as they get rather hot.
Ofcourse you need to heat shrink or tape the soldered/clamped ends.

On my Satellite receiver I have a 200mm big boy fan.
Great fan, blows a cyclone of air and unless you stick your ear by it inaudible

There are a mountain of fans you can buy for every occasion
I got a few to setup my Cooler Master Scout case.
I removed the Noctua CPU cooler fan from the heatsink and put this behind the HDD bay
I got a Scythe 120mm fan high volume fan plonked this on the Noctua Heatsink.
So the CPU runs cool, and no noise coming from the very front of case
Basically you can do what you like with fans.

Important rule
Quiet = low RPM
Volume and Quiet = large diameter and low RPM

 

[teetime]

We need pictures too!!!

I appreciate the tips and suggestions from you guys. The build went smoothly but the installation of Windows Home Server 2011 was an odyssey. My original plan was to have my old WHSv1 server and my new WHS2011 server both running on the network to facilitate migrating the shares over. However, before I got that far I started getting ethernet controller errors on the WHSv1 box, then a RAID errror flashed on the screen and I didn't even have RAID enabled on the server. I had already turned duplication off on the old server so I decided to just mount the WHSv1 drives one at a time into WHS2011 and copy the (hidden) shares over to my new larger drives. This was going well until one of the drives showed up as a "foreign" disk. I think I must have inadvertantly set it up as a dynamic disk way back when. At any rate, after some study I successfully converted that drive to a basic disk using TestDisk and retrieved the rest of my shares. I won't go into all the issues with setting up WHS2011 backups (still working through some of that) because none of the issues are related to the hardware. Suffice it to say that WHS2011 could have benefitted from a bit more design work and testing.

The Server Build
As I mentioned before, this was my first computer build. I've always been comfortable with doing my own hadware upgrades but just never did a build from scratch. So I moved fairly deliberately, going to google, or this forum for answers. My most nervous moment was when I was installing the I3 processor on the board, thinking this could be a $300+ mistake if I screw this up. But in the end it all came together nicely. The cynic in me was most pleasantly surprised by IPMI. Using the supplied IPMIView I was able to mount the OS ISO on my laptop and install it on the headless server, and I mounted the driver CD in my laptop's drive and installed them. I also booted into the bios and made the required changes there. So far, IPMI for this board is working exactly as I hoped it would.

The Cooler Master HAF 922 case is a dream. I'm coming from an old Dell XPS Pentium 4 so I'm probably easy to impress, but now in a matter of a minute or two I can have the sides off and change out a drive in this guy. I really appreciate how cool and quite it is, and how much room there is inside. It is a fairly large mid-tower, certainly more than is needed for this MB but it is worth it to me to get all that space inside. I am definitely impressed you can get such a well designed case for $89 (NewEgg). My only disappointment is that it comes with non-wpm fans. I took the advice from this forum and just attached the case's non-wpm fans to the board. The run all the time and at some point I may look for a way to speed control the fans, but this is working ok for now.

My final build has 7TB permanent storage and two hot swap bays I will use for archive disks and rotating offsite backups. Now if WHS2011 will cooperate with its backups I'll be very happy with this setup.

Here are some pics.

 

[Patrick]

Great writeup and pictures!

 

[teetime]

Newbie question: This server has two NICS: Lan1 is Intel 92574L and Lan2 is 82579LM. I have only used Lan1, using it both for the initial IPMI connection and now for connection to my network. Am I correct in assuming that I COULD use the Lan2 connection for IPMI while the server is on the network through Lan1? If this is not the case, when would I use the second NIC?

Jerry