nia

OK - a bent contact in the CPU bay caused all my troubles with RAM. SuperMicro support in NL was most helpful in identifying that Bent it back, and the server is rolling fine with 16GB. So now I just need to find a machine to reflash my M1015 after unsuccessfully using my own pool of machines (anyone here in the Copenhagen, Denmark area?), and migration can begin. And a fresh beta 13 to test as well. This is a day of good progress

Such a welcome update. I have a test box being established (to become production soon), details in my Pleiades thread , and will test this asap. I'm still in a build phase, so for my IBM M1015 cards, are there chance (i.e. should I test) the LSI 9240-8i is supported by the new kernel? I have some disks and can do targeted testing on ESXi as well as native if something is relevant for somebody?

Talked to a very helpful service engineer at Supermicro NL, and my problem is solved SM had two different possibilities that could lead to the problem. a) There was a very similar problem identified with another processor. Problem was addressed by the BIOS version 1.1A b) As the memory controller is on the CPU, a bent contact could be the issue After close inspection, one of the processor contacts was actually slightly bent. I could bend it back again, and the board now boots fine with all memory banks populated, and also faster due to the new BIOS version, which doesn't dwell so long with the BIOS status screen.

Yes - but you need to set aside one or two for datastore for ESXi.

Just tried to do the reflash using kkm's method. Step 1-4 went fine on Supermicro X9SCM-F. At step 5 (the actual reflash), I got the dreaded PAL error on the following two systems: Supermicro X9SCM-F AsRock P45R2000 My A8N-SLI Premium unfortunately does not even power the card at all. LED stays off and flash util does not detect card. So I'm out of systems with PCI-E, and out of luck... :'(

I don't want to push limetech to do updates on a weekly basis or in other ways interfere with his decisions to comment or communicate, BUT... This quote below keeps me checking if/when there is a version 5 coming that is recommended for production. Currently the choice is either to stay with a system that has a serious known issue that - as I read it - could lead to data loss (the term "Critical" don't sit well in my stomach) upgrade to a version that is not recommended for production I'll probably end up attempting to upgrade to a 5-version as I upgrade my Hardware, and hope not to have any issues. But IMO it is a valid point from the more impatient in here to either get an update attempting to adress the issues, or maybe limetech/someone looking at all the fragmented reporting of observations and make a summary post like: "This is what you get and these are the known issues for 5.0.b12a". Preferrably from limetech, which would also indicate what the issues are that are being considered, and their severity. At least that would be a help and indicate where the stumbling blocks are (including the kernel-related out-of-limetech-control ones). Hey - maybe someone could even offer dedicated help towards specific issues if this was known (as opposed to guessed upon). Anyway, this keeps me checking Announcements daily, hoping for news of progress. It was certainly nicer when limetech were posting more frequently... By updating to 5.0-beta8 or [red]4.7.1 (which isn't out yet)[/red]. Barring that, yes, with a data rebuild in progress, don't write. With a "upgrade existing disk to larger one" operation, it's potentially unavoidable. Something interesting about this bug: it has existed since day 1 Two months later, and still no 4.7.1. Any idea how much longer for this fix? "Unavoidable" data corruption, if using unRaid's "stable" release... that doesn't look good.

gtaylor: It is actually a new one (purchased by the previous owner in May) that just was sent to Supermicro because there was problems with BIOS update at the time (according to previous owner as per his accounts of the events I got today - syncs up nicely with the RMA report). He claims he had the board running with full banks, and has no real motive to lie about that. But the board is probably still just marginal, and the stress of what it has been thoriugh ended up being too much. Belly up - new board (poor assembly quality to blame). Johnm: Battery out several(!) times (good thing that the clip is suitably designed to allow for that without triggering a stress breakage). I have even hard reset CMOS settings by shorting the JBT1... An RMA process was initiated today. I think there is nothing more we can do. I'm trying to convince them to let me keep my board so I can keep on working with it in 8GB configuration while they send me a replacement. I have time set aside for this work now, and kind of a deadline to finish as well. I'll let you know how it all ends up. Thanks for your help so far.

If it is unRAID 4.x, you simply make sure to assign the parity and data disks to their appropriate slots. In particular you do not want to assign a data disk as Parity! In version 5 it is automatic. That's about it. And when you have verified that you can access data on your disks, a parity check should be performed.

Thank you for your input on this. I already tried with both one and two modules in Bank A, blue (Bank 2 A/B) populated, black (Bank 1 A/B) populated. Bank B + one in ether or both Bank A. Essentially, all mathematical combinations. If just one of the slots in Bank A is populated, the board never gets to BIOS. I still can control it through the IPMI though. During initial testing, I had the board populated from the edge inwards, which is as per your assumption Bank B, then Bank A. It still worked with one module in Bank A until i swapped in the E3-1230, which is when this was apparently triggered. I have swapped back since to E3-1260, but problem remains. Only RAM in Bank B is allowing the board to boot. I have also tested with no RAM, and I do get the correct beep sequence for missing RAM. I do not get that when sticks are in A...

Johnm: I have reset the bios several times. I have also tried disabling "everything" in the BIOS and forcing the memory speed down. gtaylor: I can in fact not boot the board if RAM is located in either of the slots in bank A. That does sound like a board issue to me :'(

Sorry for not detailing - I forgot that the information is only in my build thread http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15871.0 It's Kingston 4GB 240-Pin SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9. Purchased in a kit of 3 and subsequent one (the 2 piece kits are currently unavailable here). I can boot with any combination of 2 sticks (so none of the sticks are malfunctioning). And I did succeed in booting with 12GB until I put in the E3-1230 /see other thread). I'm really at a dead end in what to try...

I'm about to reflash mine also. What exact firmware and version are You intending to use?

Unfortunately, the 4'th RAM block did not help the problem quoted below. The board still only boots with 8GB RAM Seeking help in the X9SCM mobo thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15046.0

I have now recieved my 4'th 4GB stick, but I cant't boot the board with anything higher than 8GB. I have cross-swapped the modules and banks, and all the modules are working in <= 8GB configuration. I have tried removing disks and my M1015 card from the MoBo, and also tried BIOS reset. Have anyone else seen similar issues or have any suggestions to how to make it work?

Just stumbled upon a reasonable offer on a SeaSonic X-560. Completely modular, highly efficient and apparently at least one level up on all parameters. According to eXtreme Power Supply Calculator it has plenty of power. Methinks me likealot Any experience with this one? Am I simply in shopaholic mode or does it make sense ?

OK - got some stuff done. Power supply decision The battle between SeaSonic M12II-620 Bronze and Corsair TX 650W M ended up with a victory (albeit a narrow one) to SeaSonic for the following reasons: Power draw 3-4W less at 65 watts 5-6W less at 85 watts. Guess the margin will increase with load More modular. The Corsair has a strand of SATA connectors fixed in the bundle - the SeaSonic only has the MoBo+Graphics card cables fixed and one more native SATA connector Corsair almost silent - SeaSonic completely quiet CPU testing Well that threw a spanner in the works. My first round of testing was primarily aimed aty power consumption in idle and under load. I have been running with a 12GB configuration for some days with E3-1220 and E3-1260L. But when I dropped in the E3-1230, the rig would not boot at all. It never presented the boot BIOS. After some removing/reinserting BIOS resetting etc., the conclusion is: a) The E3-1230 somehow triggered the board to no longer being able to boot with 12GB RAM b) This behaviour is now also the case for the E3-1260L (haven't tried the 1220) [glow=yellow,2,300]Why did this happen, and why has this been contageous to previously functioning setups?[/glow] I have another 4GB block incoming, so I guess I'll see if 16GB works. Still quite odd. Software Got unRAID visible. The "Flexible" network card that a VM defaults with did not work. Configured an E1000, and all is good Still need to fix the permanent PLOP config so I don't have to choose in PLOP menu every time. And the unRAID boot time is terrible. The windows VM's look promising. Preparing them for their future tasks. Really fast performing - a pleasure Next up: Get nPVR and Weather-Display up and running while waiting for the remaining parts that will enable migration...

Like siamsquare said - Registered unbuffered ECC. Both Johnm and I are successfully running the Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered 1333 (PC3 10600) Model KVR1333D3E9S They are available in kits of 2 and 3 as wee, which adds K2/8G or K3/12G to the end of the model number. Still same sticks. I believe there are some equivalent Corsair modules available (not here in Denmark so I haven't looked further on those). Otherwise look at the compatibility list on the SuperMicro site.

I got the X9SCM-F. It has been sent to SuperMicro by the previous owner and returned form the NL European factory validated to work with the current BIOS/Firmware. And so far it does work. I have on it an AMI BIOS 10624 and a SuperMicro BIOS ver 1.0c. Both are form 2011-06-30. What BIOS & firmware are you guys running on the board with? I can see that there are newer versions on the website, but there is no changelog, which I find really weird (quite frankly: seriously dissapointing )for a product that is presumeably professional. Does anyone know if it's worth the upgrade, and what is contained? BIOS boot screen attached (gotta love IPMI )

I'm still missing some parts, and others I have in excess. But it's powered up and testing has begun. So far - it's progressing nicely I had some 'fun' trying to upgrade the OCZ Agility3 60GB to firmware 2.15, but succeeded in the end (in the third PC I tried). Temp. fix was also applied, so now it displays 0 degrees in stead of 128. I guess that's better in some ways. OCZ: How about trying to display the correct temperature... Currently considering to return it and in stead get one of that are cheaper per GB, and potentially (?) not error prone like the Agility 3. - OCZ Vertex Plus Series Solid State Disk 120GB - Kingston SSDNow V100 128 GB Anyway. I have done a successful preclear of one of the 5900 rpm 2TB's with my test unRAID stick on bare metal. That was a walk in the park - unRAID booted and worked immediately. Logs attached. Took close to 24 hours though. That's about the time I rememeber from last I did it. Then I installed ESXi 5. Got the vSphere client and the off to the real stuff. I have now successfully installed W7Ultimate in a VM from an ISO. It took literally 6 minutes from I initiated the install on a fresh datastore until I was at the final prompted choices. A couple of tweaks, and now I have a perfect model machine that I have copied to new datastore folders. To achieve the aforementioned, I used Tip# 1 and #2 in the Atlas thread. Thanks again. I also have my unRAID test booting from PLOP. I currently have (at least) two things to figure out. a) Why can't I access the unRAID server on its IP address like I could when it ran on bare metal? b) Why can't I save the PLOP setting - it tells me it doesn't up front, and... (oh wait - maybe it doesn't have a proper place to store it yet - gotta check that...) Next thing to test on my very prototype style test bench is power consumption. Most importantly, the idle and full load power use from the 3 CPUs I have available here now. - E3-1220 (currently mounted) - E3-1230 - E3-1260L And then I also need to test the SeaSonic M12II 600 vs the currently mounted Corsair TX650M. [glow=yellow,2,300]Any suggestions for a good (USB-)bootable testapp that can bring a relevant full load test on the CPUs?[/glow] This is my testbed as it sits right now in the middle of my home office - a mess but it works... syslog-2011-10-21_1.zip

They claim to have fixed the temp app? I used the bootable Linux update CD, and it had a "Fix temp." that reported to have run successfully?! Just checked now. In 4.7 the drive reports 0 (zero) degrees. This is running directly on SuperMicro X9SCM-F. Maybe it's just a temporary fix - but a cool one ...

My Chenbro case (ST-103 / 10303) is essentially an industrialised version of your idea. It is a double wide midi server height case with wheels. I absolutely love it. The way I have it is the Mobo in the left half and the HDD's and the PSU in the right half. Cables reach fine in this configuration. PSU is in the bottom, and SATA and power cables cross mainly mid bottom of the middle wall (where the MoBo sits. I will take some pictures soon, when i get to pull out the old MoBo out in favor of my Pleiades ESXi build. Keep an eye on this thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15871.0

woops - Johnm beat me to it - writing too slow

I just got one as part of my ESXi build for datastore purposes. Not at your überdiscounted US prices unfortunately I had to go through 3 different machines in order to successfully flash it to the VERY IMPORTANT 2.15 firmware update. That is an update from this week, that apparently finally fixes a problem of losing the drive under yet unclear circumstances. So if you buy it, be sure to go to the OCZ forums to get the update and read the experiences with the latest FW. Currently it looks like the fix makes the drive as good as it was ment to be

Cr*p. :'( This one just arrived today. I was intending to use it as the ESXi datastore (i.e. not a candidate for BSOD) in my Pleiades build with the SuperMicro X9SCM-F , but are the problems relevant for this use?

Thank you both . Controller passthrough for unRAID makes perfect sense. That's really valuable input. I wasn't really thinking that I would have the whole 2 controllers saturated with unRAID, so I was/am thinking controller 2 could be individually assigned. To start I think I will use the local SATA ports for all the rest, and the controllers for unRAID. 'Interesting' observation regarding Preclear. But I also have the option to use other hardware for Preclearing, so I will be OK for now. Regarding Power Supply, I do not intend to go up to a 16+ build. Still, I was not thinking that there were PSU calculators out there. I will find a couple and put in some margin and see how it comes out. It'll be fun to start playing when the rest of my stuff arrives allowing me to start playing and come up with more stupid questions