XEON-D Hold Me OVER!

[T_Minus]

I'm really bummed that my 8 Core ATOM system can't utilize Vt-d so I can run ESXi+Napp-IT for backup w/VMs ... so I'm going to sell that (Thread coming soon or PM me if you want now), sell what i'm building now and then get a Xeon-D.

Right now the 8C atom is my 'off-line' raidz3 archive storage, way way over kill for that.

So this is being built with parts I have sitting around as my ultra-low-power 'on line' backup system that will run 1 VM or 2 just for the fun of it and then I'll sell this as well and between this + the 8C atom I should have the funds to build a Xeon-D.

- Motherboard: SuperMicro X9scmf
- CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220L V2
- RAM: 8GB x 2 DDR3 ECC UDIMM
- USB: Sandisk 32GB running ESXi 6.0 u2
(The above with a huge PSU is currently IDLING at 24w at the wall.)
- HBA: M1015
- Backup Storage: 4x 3TB WD ??? (Ideally RED or something low-power -- might have to use some others until I sell/trade them.)
- SSD: 4x Intel 320 300GB (for VMs)
- Onboard: Intel 320 40GB (For Napp-IT VM)

Sadly I'll easily consume >50% from the HBA alone!! Oh-well, my goal is 50w or less loaded up which should be doable as long as I'm not going to run WD RE HDD, which I may for now.

I'll be building it up over the next couple days... I have it on my bench right now running ESXI already, so just gotta put all the pieces together, load-up my napp-it AIO VM, and get it rolling.

 

[T_Minus]

Just installed it all minus drives into a:
SilverStone Temjin Series TJ08B-E

Wow, the 180MM intake fan moves some air!
The case is very "Bare Bones" and installing the PSU was a # of screws to get access... overall though it should yield a clean build. It could use more drive storage options, but for my usage (4x 3.5") and a handful of 2.5" SSD it will have plenty.

For those curious about power usage... I went from an 850w Gold Seasonic to a 480w (iirc) Bronze Seasonic and power usage was EXACTLY the same at idle even with the addition of the case fan... idle bounces 24w <-> 25w.

I setup ESXI Power to "low" which may impact performance, and need to tell BIOS to allow OS to manage power, and we'll see if it makes any difference at Idle. The BIOS is also a couple years old but I want to keep testing before updating so I can see if/any changes affect power/etc.

Build went rather quick, and now I think I'm going to throw in this "odd" icy dock I really wasn't sure what I was going to use it for.. 6x 2.5" 7mm capacity... perfect for 4x SSD off the HBA, and 2x SSD off the motherboard.

 

[Evan]

That's a nice low idle for a decent system. Not bad at all, a Xeon-D system idles around the same and it's heaps newer SOC and smaller/ more efficient PSU

 

[T_Minus]

Thanks @Evan

I'm looking at the

x10sdv-7tp4f - 8C / 16SAS 2x PCIE - m.2 - 10Gig Xeon-D seutp

curious if anyone is running ZFS with the LSI 2116 passed-through in ESXI? If so, working fine? @gea @whitey Anyone know

Seems like the ultimate file server board + basic VM usage with room to expand!!

 

[gea]

I have ordered the 25W version of the board, X10SDV-2C-7TP4 and hope to get it withing a week or two.
Will report then. Hope the Illumos drivers for the Intel X550 and X710 are coming soon as well.