Upgrading server - Looking for feedback on plan


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Decided to upgrade my server and reuse most of the current part to make a gaming system, not having much luck with hardware passthrough and wanted to put in a HBA. Currently looking into it but as a new user to server component, I thought I would check online for validation.

 

Couple questions/worries I just want to clear

  1. Does Unraid play nice with dual CPU motherboards in general?
  2. What's the impact of only having 2 DIMMs in Quad Channel? Thinking of getting only 2x16GB DIMM to start with for each CPU. If I recall correctly speed will be impacted but that's it.
  3. Do I need to match RAM quantity for both CPUs?
  4. Are the passive cooler for socket R good enough with a normal airflow or would active cooling be recommended?
  5. Any recommendation on NVME controler for 2-4 drive that should play nice with Unraid?
  6. I'm looking at getting either the Supermicro MBD-X10DRI or the MBD-X10DRI-T wich has 2 10Gbps port instead of 1Gbps, dual/quad 10Gbps NIC recommendation would also be welcome to see if the price difference with the MBD-X10DRI-T is worth it.

 

Thanks for any help and feedback, if you need more info from me feel free to ask.


The machine is currently used for

  • File storage
  • Plex (Jellyfin really)
  • Ingesting media (DvDs/BluRays)

Things I'm looking to do in the near future

  • VMs for hosting Foundry (Virtual Tabletop for RPGs)
  • PFSense
  • Cloud hosting/streaming
  • Steam Cache

 

Current Unraid Server, Parts kept

  • Corsair 750D
  • GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER
  • ASUS BW-16D1HT
  • 2x8TB + 4x4TB HDDs
  • 1 500GB PCIe 3.0 NVME
  • LSI 9207-4i4e SAS HBA
  • 750W PSU from Corsair

 

New Parts Plan

  • CPU: 2 Xeon e5-2660v3, these seems to have good enough performance at ~100$ CAD each
  • MB: Supermicro MBD-X10DRI or the MBD-X10DRI-T if I can find one for not that much more
  • RAM: 1 kit of 4x16GB ECC DDR4 split 2 for each CPU
  • NVME Controller: looking
  • Dual/Quad 10Gbps NIC: looking
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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a X10DRi with 2 Xeon E5-2680v4 and 128GB ECC DDR4 ( 4 x 32GB). I have 2 DIMMs per socket and they are fast enough in dual channel mode for most of the work (a bunch of Windows Server VMs and Ubuntu for software development and testing). For NUMA and memory configuration you can take a look at this article: https://frankdenneman.nl/2016/07/13/numa-deep-dive-4-local-memory-optimization/

 

Recently I purchased an used 10Gbps NIC (Supermicro AOC-STG-i2T) and I am passing through the two ports for the VMs.

  • Thanks 1
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/20/2021 at 5:00 PM, aarontry said:

I have a X10DRi with 2 Xeon E5-2680v4 and 128GB ECC DDR4 ( 4 x 32GB). I have 2 DIMMs per socket and they are fast enough in dual channel mode for most of the work (a bunch of Windows Server VMs and Ubuntu for software development and testing). For NUMA and memory configuration you can take a look at this article: https://frankdenneman.nl/2016/07/13/numa-deep-dive-4-local-memory-optimization/

 

Recently I purchased an used 10Gbps NIC (Supermicro AOC-STG-i2T) and I am passing through the two ports for the VMs.

 

is it stable if u dont restart the VMs manually? and in general how is the stability of it?

also would you say that ECC is a must for VMs that would be running for days?

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