Topton 'NAS' motherboard.

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sambaum

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Jan 24, 2023
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black88mx6 said:
2x32GB Samsung working fine. Unable to get M.2 port to work as SATA port even though another website had a SATA M.2 drive working. Currently in M.2 slot over memory chips.
Click to expand...
I've just tested the same thing. I've successfully booted into TrueNAS from a disk attached to a SATA port via M.2. I've used the M.2 slot next to the network interfaces, together with the following card: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004060508487.html
 
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black88mx6

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Jan 19, 2023
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sambaum said:
I've just tested the same thing. I've successfully booted into TrueNAS from a disk attached to a SATA port via M.2. I've used the M.2 slot next to the network interfaces, together with the following card: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004060508487.html
Click to expand...
I have the same 5 port SATA card in your link in my "other" m.2 slot and it is working fine. In my first M.2 slot I was trying to get a SATA M.2 link this one working but no luck: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-500GB-SATA-Internal-MZ-N6E500BW/dp/B078218TWQ
 
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black88mx6

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Jan 19, 2023
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(FIXED) Using Previous versions of TrueNAS Scale TrueNAS-SCALE-22.02.4 (Kernel 5.10) that doesn't have the 5.15 Kernel issues with the i915.

TrueNAS-SCALE-22.12.0
Feb 18 12:19:47 nas4 kernel: Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/ROOT/22.12.0@/boot/vmlinuz-5.15.79+truenas root=ZFS=boot-pool/ROOT/22.12.0 ro libata.allow_tpm=1 amd_iommu=on iommu=pt kvm_amd.npt=1 kvm_amd.avic=1 intel_iommu=on zfsforce=1 nvme_core.multipath=N i915.force_probe=4e71, i915.enable_guc=2
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] VT-d active for gfx access
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: deactivate vga console
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: changed VGA decodes: olddecodes=io+mem,decodes=io+mem:eek:wns=io+mem
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: Direct firmware load for i915/ehl_guc_62.0.0.bin failed with error -2
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GuC firmware i915/ehl_guc_62.0.0.bin: fetch failed with error -2
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GuC firmware(s) can be downloaded from i915 - kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git - Repository of firmware blobs for use with the Linux kernel
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/icl_dmc_ver1_09.bin (v1.9)
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GuC is uninitialized
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: [drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20201103 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: bound 0000:00:02.0 (ops i915_audio_component_bind_ops [i915])
Feb 18 12:19:48 nas4 kernel: mei_hdcp 0000:00:16.0-b638ab7e-94e2-4ea2-a552-d1c54b627f04: bound 0000:00:02.0 (ops i915_hdcp_component_ops [i915])
Feb 18 12:19:50 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes
Feb 18 12:19:51 nas4 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes

In my case my /dev/dri files seems to be available; I am able to select the graphics card 1 in the TrueNAS plex applicaiton

GPU Configuration
GPU Resource (gpu.intel.com/i915)
help_outline
Allocate 1 gpu.intel.com/i915 GPU

root@nas4[/dev/dri]# ls -l
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 80 Feb 18 13:55 by-path
crw-rw---- 1 root video 226, 0 Feb 18 13:55 card0
crw-rw---- 1 root render 226, 128 Feb 18 13:55 renderD128


TrueNAS Scale the latest release as of this date; the i915 is not yet working for Plex trancode. Unfortunately the kernel is still based on Debian 5.15 long term. Options: add my own drivers?
 
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black88mx6

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Jan 19, 2023
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TrueNAS Scale TrueNAS-SCALE-22.02.4 (Anglefin with kernel 5.10) works with CWWK/Topton Jasper Lake, i915 GPU Plex hardware transcode. The latest Bluefin release 22.12.0 will not because it uses a version of the kernel (5.15) that breaks the i915. TrueNAS does not support any kernel upgrades due to this product being considered an appliance. Future versions of TrueNAS Scale should work again once they move beyond the 5.15 kernel.

Here are the changes required after loading Anglefin to enable HW transcode;

Review results of i915 driver boot details from kernel log after the below changes /var/log/kern.log;
less /var/log/kern.log|grep i915

Add option to force enable i915 during boot;
midclt call system.advanced.update '{"kernel_extra_options": "i915.force_probe=4e71"}'
(Clear above setting if necessary) midclt call system.advanced.update '{"kernel_extra_options": " "}'

Create file for enabling i915 GUC;
nano /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf
options i915 enable_guc=2
 
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flobert

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Sep 3, 2019
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sjoerd said:
Seems to be possible with a few "hacks" - just found this (it's a debian/ubuntu hack/fix)
Shamelessly copied from the internet:
Open/create /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf and add the line:
options i915 enable_guc=2
Then run this command:
sudo update-initramfs -u

I think this trick might work on more linux-flavors.

(Still not happy with the board as I cannot find a stable unraid config.. Depresses me greatly. Currently have this board with 32G. Hopefull I can free an old ssd so I play around again. I don't want this purchase to be a waste.)
Click to expand...
Any news here how it works with unRAID?
 
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sjoerd

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Dec 29, 2022
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flobert said:
Any news here how it works with unRAID?
Click to expand...
No news I'm afraid - used a couple of kernel boot param - some will boot the system and work for a while but under load it crashes. Going to use the board for an other project.. Posted a new thread on the unraid forums, but had no reply yet.
 
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morini

New Member
Feb 24, 2023
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I'm in the UK and bought one of these boards from aliexpress from the Kingnovy store to (primarily) replace an old expired athlon opnsense box. Running a bare metal router on this hardware is a waste of resources though (IMO), so I've decided to take the virtualisation route and do a dual NAS / router.

Very impressed with the speed of delivery from China, ordered on 22 Feb 2023 and arrived at my door 3rd Mar 2023. No VAT or import taxes either, so if it works properly then I'd say it is good value. While waiting for delivery I bought a WD blue 500Gb nmve SSD and 2 x 16GB crucial DDR from amazon locally in the uk. So far the experience has been great, but I am aware of the long thread in the network section of this forum with people having difficulty with virtualisation on the jasper lake / i226 mini PCs. Currently I have it running proxmox 7.3.6 with VM's for opnsense 23.1.1_2, TrueNAS-SCALE-22.12.1 and fedora 37 (for plex). Early days, but I'm yet to experience any of the issues other people are reporting with VM freeze / crashes.
 
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black88mx6

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Jan 19, 2023
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morini said:
I'm in the UK and bought one of these boards from aliexpress from the Kingnovy store to (primarily) replace an old expired athlon opnsense box. Running a bare metal router on this hardware is a waste of resources though (IMO), so I've decided to take the virtualisation route and do a dual NAS / router.

Very impressed with the speed of delivery from China, ordered on 22 Feb 2023 and arrived at my door 3rd Mar 2023. No VAT or import taxes either, so if it works properly then I'd say it is good value. While waiting for delivery I bought a WD blue 500Gb nmve SSD and 2 x 16GB crucial DDR from amazon locally in the uk. So far the experience has been great, but I am aware of the long thread in the network section of this forum with people having difficulty with virtualisation on the jasper lake / i226 mini PCs. Currently I have it running proxmox 7.3.6 with VM's for opnsense 23.1.1_2, TrueNAS-SCALE-22.12.1 and fedora 37 (for plex). Early days, but I'm yet to experience any of the issues other people are reporting with VM freeze / crashes.
Click to expand...
TrueNAS-SCALE-22.12.1 works great for all but hardware transcode. Will need to wait until the next kernel for fix.
 
M

morini

New Member
Feb 24, 2023
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black88mx6 said:
TrueNAS-SCALE-22.12.1 works great for all but hardware transcode. Will need to wait until the next kernel for fix.
Click to expand...
I'm not running plex under truenas, I have it in it's own Fedora VM. Having said that, I am not having much luck passing the iGPU through as the gvt stuff doesn't work with this generation. I've read some threads on the proxmox forum claiming it works, but the solution given looks very kludgey,
 
J

JuanT

New Member
Mar 18, 2023
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I'm another sad owner of this board. Lot's of promise, but the moment I start adding any real workloads it's just seconds until the screen get's garbled and the system freezes. Installed proxmox 7.3, although my workloads are docker containers running on bare metal.

I'd be very interested in any hints on how to get some estability from the system, even if at reduced performance so that it's not a full loss.
My system is a N5905 with a single 16GB ram module which passes memtest with no issues.
 
N

newabc

Active Member
Jan 20, 2019
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Looks like a 4-bay sata NAS is able to reach the acceptable speed of 4 sata drives with only a PCIe x1 slot
(Below is not relative to CWWK or Topton NAS boards):

The tear-down pictures of Terramaster F4-423(this page is in Chinese language):
post.smzdm.com

铁威马F4-423开个箱我就拆机了，不妨来看看这台价值3000元的NAS内部硬件结构吧_NAS存储_什么值得买

前言公司有一台服务器要下架，上面的四块3.5英寸硬盘需要保留。硬盘数据已经清理过了，这次是领导想继续用之前服务器下架后的硬盘，所以还是需要买个NAS
post.smzdm.com post.smzdm.com

Google translate: link

Another source of the similar pictures on F4-423:
www.guru3d.com

TerraMaster F4-423 NAS Review (Page 5)

Today, we will analyze the Terra MasterF4-423 four-bay NAS. TerraMaster is a supplier of network storage solutions. At the heart of this NAS, you will find an Intel Jasper Lake Intel Celeron N5105/509...
www.guru3d.com www.guru3d.com
 
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blof

New Member
Mar 13, 2023
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Was planning to replace my old Synology DS416j with a homemade NAS, and chose this mb after reading this forum and various other reviews.
I ordered it on Aliexpress and finally got my motherboard installed and entire system setup. I've been playing with it for a week. It's been working fine for me until now with Unraid (Plex + Immich phone photos+videos backup are my main use cases). I was looking for the smallest form factor possible, as I have space restrictions on my desk, so the search for the smallest case took a bit of time.
Here's the full build details and links I bought from:
  • Topton 4x Intel i226-V NAS Motherboard N6005 2.5G Nics Dual M.2 NVMe Six SATA3.0 2*DDR4 HDMI2.0 DP - LINK
  • Toploong home storage hot-swap NAS Storage Server chassis - LINK
  • faspeed SSD M2 NVME 256GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 2280 - LINK
  • Flex 400W PSU Small 1U (Flex ITX) - LINK
  • Crucial CT4G4SFS624A 2x8GB Memory - LINK
  • Case Fan replacement: Noctua NF-P12 redux-900 Ultra Quiet Silent Fan, 3-Pin, 900 RPM (120 mm, Grey) - LINK
  • Samsung Flash Drive Bar Plus 32GB - LINK
  • Seagate IronWolf Pro 16TB Internal 7200RPM 3.5" (ST16000NE000) HDD - LINK
I'm planning to get all data transferred from the Synology onto it now.

I've also ordered the following for better cable management, waiting for delivery:
  • ATX 24Pin to 14Pin Power Supply Cable Cord - LINK
  • ATX Molex Micro Fit Connector 4Pin Male to Male Power cord Cable 60cm - LINK
  • Elbow SATA 3.0 Cable ST-LEFT; UP-LEFT; ST-DOWN - LINK
Case is great, but I had to replace the case fan as it was too loud for my taste. The Noctua running at 900 rpm is much more silent, and the mb and cpu run at about the same temps.
Also had to get elbow SATA cables to get all 4 cables connected properly (you can connect 3 SATA cables without any problem, but the case is slightly bothering the 2nd row of SATA connector, so I will try 1 elbow SATA and see if I can fit all 4).

Was able to get Unraid installed without any issue on a temp USB drive to test out, then on the Samsung 32 GB.

1679323498422.png 1679323534037.png
 
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newabc

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Jan 20, 2019
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vamega said:
I'm really hoping they release a board based with the Alder Lake mobile chips next.
A 1235u version of this board would be a great replacement for my Xeon-1521D server.
Click to expand...
I think CWWK is catching up with applying pentium 8505 and i5/i7 12th gen laptop CPUs to the regular multi-port boards(link) and then also the NAS boards. But passive cooling is an increasing cost issue for these CPUs.
 
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vamega

Member
Nov 8, 2022
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The Mini-ITX boards don't have passive cooling, so I like to think it's easier to put the laptop chips in that form factor vs. the fanless router boards.

The AliExpress anniversary sale seems to be on right now.
This listing for the NAS board, combined with the HBD20 coupon code seems to bring the price to around $190 for the N6005 (~187 if you've got those AliExpress coins). I think that's the lowest I've seen this sell for.

If I wasn't waiting out for a more powerful CPU, I'd probably get this.
 
S

sjoerd

New Member
Dec 29, 2022
28
15
3
blof said:
Was planning to replace my old Synology DS416j with a homemade NAS, and chose this mb after reading this forum and various other reviews.
I ordered it on Aliexpress and finally got my motherboard installed and entire system setup. I've been playing with it for a week. It's been working fine for me until now with Unraid (Plex + Immich phone photos+videos backup are my main use cases). I was looking for the smallest form factor possible, as I have space restrictions on my desk, so the search for the smallest case took a bit of time.
Here's the full build details and links I bought from:
  • Topton 4x Intel i226-V NAS Motherboard N6005 2.5G Nics Dual M.2 NVMe Six SATA3.0 2*DDR4 HDMI2.0 DP - LINK
  • Toploong home storage hot-swap NAS Storage Server chassis - LINK
  • faspeed SSD M2 NVME 256GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 2280 - LINK
  • Flex 400W PSU Small 1U (Flex ITX) - LINK
  • Crucial CT4G4SFS624A 2x8GB Memory - LINK
  • Case Fan replacement: Noctua NF-P12 redux-900 Ultra Quiet Silent Fan, 3-Pin, 900 RPM (120 mm, Grey) - LINK
  • Samsung Flash Drive Bar Plus 32GB - LINK
  • Seagate IronWolf Pro 16TB Internal 7200RPM 3.5" (ST16000NE000) HDD - LINK
I'm planning to get all data transferred from the Synology onto it now.

I've also ordered the following for better cable management, waiting for delivery:
  • ATX 24Pin to 14Pin Power Supply Cable Cord - LINK
  • ATX Molex Micro Fit Connector 4Pin Male to Male Power cord Cable 60cm - LINK
  • Elbow SATA 3.0 Cable ST-LEFT; UP-LEFT; ST-DOWN - LINK
Case is great, but I had to replace the case fan as it was too loud for my taste. The Noctua running at 900 rpm is much more silent, and the mb and cpu run at about the same temps.
Also had to get elbow SATA cables to get all 4 cables connected properly (you can connect 3 SATA cables without any problem, but the case is slightly bothering the 2nd row of SATA connector, so I will try 1 elbow SATA and see if I can fit all 4).

Was able to get Unraid installed without any issue on a temp USB drive to test out, then on the Samsung 32 GB.

View attachment 27995 View attachment 27996
Click to expand...
unraid just started without any tinkering with boot params ?
Wonder if you van find a board version/revision and firmware/bios version/date?

nevermind - all in the screenshots :) we got the same board
 
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