Upgrade paths from a Supermicro C2758

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voltagex

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Aug 5, 2020
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Specifically, I have 5028A-TN4 | Mini-ITX | SuperServers | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc. but I wouldn't mind getting my hands on something with 6 drive slots (+1 for SSD cache).

I know the C2758 was a weird little product and definitely punched above its weight for a while. Where do I go from here? A second 5028A chassis with 14TB drives (instead of 8) would probably be the most sensible step (and would let me shift my ZFS pools around), but I've never really been sensible.

Musts:
* 2.5GBe+ or enough PCIe slots that it won't be a problem
* No more than 2x the size of the 5028A and it is a tiny thing.
* Quiet - the drives are the noisiest thing in my current setup
* 6 drive bays, but I would go for 4x14TB drives if really pressed

Nice to have:
* IPMI - I can do most of what I want by being clever about booting Linux via iPXE and using a wifi power switch, seriously.
(if not IPMI, I'd probably want a serial port + the wifi power switch)

* 8 cores - 4 is enough, I guess.

* Extra PCIe slots for USB cards and ultra fast SD readers

* Low power usage. I've never actually checked how much power my current system uses, but I'd be running both the old and the new for a few years at least.


What are my options? I'm not going to go for rackmount in my current residence, and Supermicro gear is mostly eye-wateringly expensive in Australia
 

amalurk

Active Member
Dec 16, 2016
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Build something in a Node 304 case for 6x 3.5
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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I'm building my new \ upgraded NAS too... I had the 4-Core Atom, and then also an Intel E3 V3 system. BUt I wanted it tiny again, so back to DS380B, and if i could run an Intel E3 V3 I would have, since i had the motherboard\cpu\ram, but I wasn't going to spend $$ on a new board for this old setup, and that's why I went with the below. Low power, low heat, quiet case with replaced fans and the right PSU. It will sit on the desk next to me about 3ft from me, and be quiet... I run WD RED so they're not too loud, but mechanical drive do make some sound :D


- Case: DS380B (8 Drive capacity + SSD for OS)
- 8x Hot Swap Drives
- ITX Motherboard - Supermicro X11SCL-IF-O
- 4C\4T CPU That blows your posted ones away i3-9100F

WAY more powerful than the ones you've suggested, RAM should be cheaper and more easily found etc...
TINY foot print its nearly identical to the one you listed (I have that case too).
 
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zer0sum

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Mar 8, 2013
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I just rebuilt my UnRAID server and was trying to keep to a low budget and this is what I ended up with :)

I had an old Silerstone TJ08 lying around, and even after I searched hard for a better mATX case I still ended up using it.
I think it's less than 2x the size of those SM ITX chassis you linked - 8.27" (W) x 14.72" (H) x 15.16" (D), 30.2 liters

I added the following parts:
  • Icydock dual 5.25" to triple 3.5" cage
  • Super Micro X11SSM-F - $114 (Amazon open box)
  • Xeon E3-1270v5 , 4 core / 8 thread, 3.6-4Ghz - $125 (Ebay)
  • Mellanox ConnectX-3 - $20 (Ebay)
It has 4 x PCIe slots so you have some really good flexibility in a pretty small case.
That gives you a relatively speedy little box that has IPMI and can take 64G of ECC memory, and has a dual port NIC that can do 10/40/56 GbE :D

I filled the other 3 x PCIe slots with a M1215 SAS card ($70), an Nvidia P400 ($80) for hardware transcoding, and an AOC-SLG3-2M2 ($45) for 2 x nvme drives in the top slot using bifurcation