Upgrading NAS to Xeon, thoughts?

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Solkku

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Jul 31, 2015
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Damn it! Back to the drawing board... I thought I scored finding those memory modules as cheap as I did. :) I'll try to return them to the seller.

Thanks for pointing this out @CreoleLakerFan. I thought "Registered" is just a term they use for all ECC memory.
 

Solkku

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Luckily the seller agreed to take the memory modules back. :)

Looking at the unbuffered memory prices, it seems I have to start with 2 x 8GB modules and expand later on.
 

Solkku

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A small update regarding the motherboard... I got some very attractive prices from a friend at a local distributor on some Supermicro mATX boards. I made a spreadsheet about the models and their main differences + memory support.

Do you guys think it's worth contemplating the C224 models at all or should I just go straight for the newest C226 board with so little price differences?
 

Solkku

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Update #2: Parts have started dropping in already, now I'm just waiting for the Supermicro X10SLH-F motherboard, which should arrive next week. Also today I ordered some SAS->SATA breakout cables for the M1015 card, which should arrive at the same time as the mobo.

The spinners are still in the soon-to-be old NAS.

nas-osat1.jpg nas-osat2.jpg
 

archangel.dmitry

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X10SLH-F is a great card with multiple options, including but not limited ATA password and IPMI 2.0. Too bad on-board LAN adapters create a little bit of overhead for a hypervisor.
 

Deslok

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Jul 15, 2015
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That's suprising i've had good luck enabling that on integrated network adapters before and older than the 210(some 8xxxx chipsets) but i've never tried it on an i210(never got one in anything)
 

Solkku

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Thanks for pointing this out @archangel.dmitry, indeed it states on the i210's datasheet that:

1.7.3 Virtualization
SR-IOV and VMDq is not supported in hardware by the I210. The I210 can still be used in virtualized
systems where the VM switching is done in software.

Well, to be honest it is noticeable only with many VMs using same network adapters.
You say "many", but could you be more specific to a beginner? :) Just so I know about it beforehand if encounter some difficulties in the future when running VMs...

Also, quick question about the IPMI-feature: Does it need a Cat6 cable and GbE speed to work, or will my spare Cat5 10m cable suffice (probably only runs at 10/100 speed)?
 

Solkku

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Oh, I don't think I'll ever be running that many VMs at the same time. :)

Also, thanks for the info on the IPMI. Just wanted to make sure since the dedicated IPMI LAN-port is a Realtek RTL8211E, which is a gigabit chip.
 

archangel.dmitry

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Many is likely a high 2 digit if not a 3 digit number I run about 15 vms on a server at home on a single nic and haven't bothered to enable SR-IOV on hyper-v, as far as the cat5 should be fine my understanding is most IPMI is limited to 10/100 anyway
Yes, I agree here on both counts.
 

Solkku

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The breakout cables arrived today so I decided to scavenge my closet for other things I could use. Managed to find two identical old Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB drives, so I'll be testing pass-through with those first before moving the WD Reds to the new server. :)
 

RTM

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Jan 26, 2014
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It is mostly related to support of PCI-SIG SR-IOV. And as far as I know Intel® i210AT does not support such technology.
To be fair you don't need SR-IOV to support VMDQ, an example of that is the i340-t4 card.
Also, thanks for the info on the IPMI. Just wanted to make sure since the dedicated IPMI LAN-port is a Realtek RTL8211E, which is a gigabit chip.
The IPMI LAN on that board will negotiate gigabit if available, so I would suggest that you consider getting a better cable, if only because cat5e/6 cables are not that expensive. Of course it will probably work fine at Fast Ethernet speed anyway.
That's suprising i've had good luck enabling that on integrated network adapters before and older than the 210(some 8xxxx chipsets) but i've never tried it on an i210(never got one in anything)
The i210AT has replaced the old 82574L chip on many motherboards, to which it is a significant update.
But it is true that some of the older "high end" chips like the 82576EB (found in the Intel Dual Port ET) do support SR-IOV and VMDQ.

If SR-IOV and VMDQ is important to you, you could look at some of the older NICs or if you are feeling adventuros chinese quad port i350 cards.
 
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Solkku

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Thank you for clearing things up @RTM. I guess I can just buy a dual/quad port PCIe NIC off eBay with the appropriate chip if I get stuck. But with the amount of workload this server will do I don't think that'll be necessary.

I guess I'll start using IPMI with the network cable that I have and upgrade it if need be.

On another note, just got an email with the tracking number for the motherboard. Should be here on Thursday, so I get to tinker with the server during the weekend, once assembled. :)
 

archangel.dmitry

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I've got Intel i350-t4 off Ebay for $60 from China. If you would buy same card in US, it is around $100 and higher.

IPMI is great, makes remote management much easier.
 

Zathras

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Sep 15, 2015
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First time I built a system using a board with IPMI (X10SLL-F) I spent the first 2 days wondering how I ever lived without it. Just being able to boot, configure and install everything over the network was so easy, and the internal event log of the BMC was a life saver when the system crashed during the OS install (it noted a power supply issue that I hadn't known about).

I ran a couple of VMs, but through the i217-LM instead of the i210-AT. No issues, but it was barely any network load.
 
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canta

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I've got Intel i350-t4 off Ebay for $60 from China. If you would buy same card in US, it is around $100 and higher.

IPMI is great, makes remote management much easier.
you need to mark when you install the counterfeit card and the card give you troubles :D

get i340 or i350 OEM that guarantee is not counterfeit and give us a smooth sailing.

I bought IBM model of i340 dual port $28 ( 2 nics) total with free shipping.