ATLAS My Virtualized unRAID server

[dikkiedirk]

 

Did those M1015 come with PCI brackets? I need a couple of Full Height brackets. Do you know where to get them from?

 

Just look at any other old PCI/PCIx ide/raid/sata card. I think you will have 50% chance it will fit.

 

Just ordered a 2nd M1015 and contacted the seller. We agreed that for 5 Euros he would ship 3 Full height brackets with it.

[sloandsteady]

Do you guys just use the Intel-supplied standard cooler for the E3-1240, or an alternative like SNK-P0046A4?

 

Ditto. Is the standard cooler the way to go? If not, which CPU coolers are compatible with the X9CM?

[c3]

Do you guys just use the Intel-supplied standard cooler for the E3-1240, or an alternative like SNK-P0046A4?

 

Ditto. Is the standard cooler the way to go? If not, which CPU coolers are compatible with the X9CM?

I use the Intel provided heatsink and fan. John's pictures indicate the same.

[Johnm]

Do you guys just use the Intel-supplied standard cooler for the E3-1240, or an alternative like SNK-P0046A4?

 

Ditto. Is the standard cooler the way to go? If not, which CPU coolers are compatible with the X9CM?

I use the Intel provided heatsink and fan. John's pictures indicate the same.

 

So far I am using the stock cooler. It is fairly quiet and does the job.

I do know x9scm board will start beeping then shut down at a high temp before CPU damage unless you disable it (If you even can). I have been considering an after market cooler. I just have not put the hammer down on one.

[dikkiedirk]

 

What the heck... A 2 week old Hitachi 7200 3TB drive is a victim of click death...

 

 

Here is the real Kicker.. I got an RMA for the Hitachi... They said it is under warranty as an internal drive. but I decided to call tech support for a an RMA. I called it in as an internal and they said it is an external. if i ship it back they wont fix it.. Live and learn.

it looks like I'm out $110 for a new paperweight.  i did stress test it before i broke it open but it still went tits up in under a week... FML... EPIC FAIL!

 

At least I'm back up and running .. but that was a costly lesson.. hitachi does not honor warranties on busted open externals.. even if the website says it is covered... i took and gamble, i lost.  My first Hitachi failure would be the one I cant returns..

 

The infamous "click of death"?

 

What internal and external model/type drive was it? How many of those drives do you currently have in your server?

 

I guess a diskdrive is just as good as its warranty? In this case pretty lousy.

 

I had a rather bad experience with Western Digital, 3 dead in a year (WD20EARS) but at least I could RMA them.

[pantner]

Here is the real Kicker.. I got an RMA for the Hitachi... They said it is under warranty as an internal drive. but I decided to call tech support for a an RMA. I called it in as an internal and they said it is an external. if i ship it back they wont fix it.. Live and learn.

it looks like I'm out $110 for a new paperweight.  i did stress test it before i broke it open but it still went tits up in under a week... FML... EPIC FAIL!

 

At least I'm back up and running .. but that was a costly lesson.. hitachi does not honor warranties on busted open externals.. even if the website says it is covered... i took and gamble, i lost.  My first Hitachi failure would be the one I cant returns..

 

umm, who would've thought they would? The website says it is covered because it doesn't ask "Have you voided the warranty of our product"...

Do you still have the shell? its possible you could put it back inside that and RMA as an external?

[dikkiedirk]

Here is the real Kicker.. I got an RMA for the Hitachi... They said it is under warranty as an internal drive. but I decided to call tech support for a an RMA. I called it in as an internal and they said it is an external. if i ship it back they wont fix it.. Live and learn.

it looks like I'm out $110 for a new paperweight.  i did stress test it before i broke it open but it still went tits up in under a week... FML... EPIC FAIL!

 

At least I'm back up and running .. but that was a costly lesson.. hitachi does not honor warranties on busted open externals.. even if the website says it is covered... i took and gamble, i lost.  My first Hitachi failure would be the one I cant returns..

 

umm, who would've thought they would? The website says it is covered because it doesn't ask "Have you voided the warranty of our product"...

Do you still have the shell? its possible you could put it back inside that and RMA as an external?

 

I guess there is a seal on the shell. No luck I'm afraid.

[dikkiedirk]

 

 

There seems a preference for Samsung, but what about this:

 

It is a little early in the am right now (still waiting for the coffee to brew).

The Samsung is what is being made for OEM's like Dell and HP. but hynix is making some and so is Kingston. it should be getting easier to find. It should also be dropping in price soon.

it all has lifetime warranties.

I would not say one is better then the other... I usually get Kingston. this time around, I got Samsung.

Just make sure it matches the Specs.

 

Just got a 16GB Kingston kit. It has Hynix chips. I hope it will do.

 

 

[jbrodriguez]

Johnm, what do you think about the Chenbro Micom SAS Expander 28PORT 6G BP PCB A0.

 

it has 28ports and is cheaper than a hp sas expander.

[jbrodriguez]

how can i find out which sas expanders are compatible with unraid

 

hp sas expander (pmc chipset) works

intel RES2SV240 (lsi 2x24 chipset) works

 

i would like to find out what other chipsets work.

 

any help ?

[dikkiedirk]

When virtualizing unraid, will unraid still boot from the usb-stick or from datastore. Where do you put the key, as it is bound to the usb stick? Are all unraid disks RDM'd?

 

Can the unraid disks stay connected to the SATA-ports on the motherboard or do I need a HBA (M1015)

 

 

[BetaQuasi]

Either USB or datastore, depends on what you'd prefer.  The key stays on the stick (the stick is present regardless, all the VM does is load the software base image into RAM quicker.)  Your packages/plugins etc still live on the stick.

 

If you're using motherboard ports, you'll likely have to RDM each drive as passing through the entire controller from the motherboard will likely break things.  A better way to do things is get a HBA and pass that controller through to the VM.

[dikkiedirk]

I have a X9SCM-F motherboard. This has IPMI. Can the server run completely headless, without monitor and keboard/mouse? I have 2 LAN cables connected. 1 for IPMI LAN and one for unraid. Can the motherboard be completely configured (BIOS, HBAs, SATA-controllers etc.) over LAN? Will there immediately be IPMI-LAN connection?

[graywolf]

I have a X9SCM-F motherboard. This has IPMI. Can the server run completely headless, without monitor and keboard/mouse? I have 2 LAN cables connected. 1 for IPMI LAN and one for unraid. Can the motherboard be completely configured (BIOS, HBAs, SATA-controllers etc.) over LAN? Will there immediately be IPMI-LAN connection?

 

1st question - yes, I run mine completely headless using IPMI

2nd question - Not sure, when I did the initial configuration/work for ESXi I did connect a monitor/keyboard.

[BetaQuasi]

2nd question - yes, the IPMI port is set to DHCP by default.  Just take a look in your router or whatever else assigns DHCP for the lease and away you go.  I just use the browser-based interface rather than loading the Supermicro IPMI tool (whack the IP address into a browser and login, default user/pass is ADMIN/ADMIN)

[dikkiedirk]

2nd question - yes, the IPMI port is set to DHCP by default.  Just take a look in your router or whatever else assigns DHCP for the lease and away you go.  I just use the browser-based interface rather than loading the Supermicro IPMI tool (whack the IP address into a browser and login, default user/pass is ADMIN/ADMIN)

 

Thanks all. I hope to get the parts soon, maybe today. I plan on making a test setup fist with an arc1200 card and an M1015. The arc1200 goes in a PCIe x4 port, the M1015 in a x8 port.

 

 

Is an 8-pin 12V connector for the motherboard an absolute neccessity?

 

In the manual of the X9SCM I read:

 

2. To provide adequate power to SATA devices, please connect the SATA DOM PWR connector (JWF1) to the power supply.

 

Have you all connected this connector? If yes, what cable/connector do you use for it?

[brian89gp]

how can i find out which sas expanders are compatible with unraid

 

hp sas expander (pmc chipset) works

intel RES2SV240 (lsi 2x24 chipset) works

 

i would like to find out what other chipsets work.

 

any help ?

 

I do believe that SAS expanders are invisible, as long as your SAS card and expander chipset work together then at the OS level the only difference you see is your SAS card has more SAS ports on it.

 

That aside, I prefer the 6gb LSI sas expander chipsets (includes the Intel RES2SV240)

[brian89gp]

When virtualizing unraid, will unraid still boot from the usb-stick or from datastore.

Either.  Datastore is much much faster.

 

Where do you put the key, as it is bound to the usb stick?

Always stays on the USB stick.

 

Are all unraid disks RDM'd?

Any disk you present to unRAID will work, wether you do a vmdk file on a datastore, RDM, or pass through an entire card.

 

Can the unraid disks stay connected to the SATA-ports on the motherboard or do I need a HBA (M1015)

Yes.  You would have to either pass through the entire SATA controller (make sure your ESXi datastore is on a different controller) or RDM the individual disks.

 

For the price though, the M1015 is a small price to pay for the performance it gets you and the simplicity of passing through just one card.

 

[c3]

Is an 8-pin 12V connector for the motherboard an absolute neccessity? YES, see page 1-7 connectors 46, 47 (REQUIRED)

 

 

In the manual of the X9SCM I read:

 

2. To provide adequate power to SATA devices, please connect the SATA DOM PWR connector (JWF1) to the power supply.

Page 2-30, this is to power solid state Disk On Module (DOM) storage device connected to SATA ports. DOM is not SSD. http://www.memorydepot.com/ssd/listcat.asp?catid=satadomD150SV

 

 

Have you all connected this connector? If yes, what cable/connector do you use for it? NO

[dikkiedirk]

Is an 8-pin 12V connector for the motherboard an absolute neccessity? YES, see page 1-7 connectors 46, 47 (REQUIRED)

 

 

In the manual of the X9SCM I read:

 

2. To provide adequate power to SATA devices, please connect the SATA DOM PWR connector (JWF1) to the power supply.

Page 2-30, this is to power solid state Disk On Module (DOM) storage device connected to SATA ports. DOM is not SSD. http://www.memorydepot.com/ssd/listcat.asp?catid=satadomD150SV

 

 

Have you all connected this connector? If yes, what cable/connector do you use for it? NO

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I should start to RTFM :-[

[jbrodriguez]

how can i find out which sas expanders are compatible with unraid

 

hp sas expander (pmc chipset) works

intel RES2SV240 (lsi 2x24 chipset) works

 

i would like to find out what other chipsets work.

 

any help ?

 

thanks i plan to run two DAS ... each one running a sas expander and a "head" server with two m1015s ... so any compatible sas expander should to the trick right ? i will investigate a bit further.

I do believe that SAS expanders are invisible, as long as your SAS card and expander chipset work together then at the OS level the only difference you see is your SAS card has more SAS ports on it.

 

That aside, I prefer the 6gb LSI sas expander chipsets (includes the Intel RES2SV240)

[Johnm]

Is an 8-pin 12V connector for the motherboard an absolute neccessity?

Yes.

In Fact, you need an EPS 12V power supply. you cant use a cheapo PSU with any brand of the C202 or C204 chipset server boards. they will not boot.

[Johnm]

how can i find out which sas expanders are compatible with unraid

 

hp sas expander (pmc chipset) works

intel RES2SV240 (lsi 2x24 chipset) works

 

i would like to find out what other chipsets work.

 

any help ?

 

thanks i plan to run two DAS ... each one running a sas expander and a "head" server with two m1015s ... so any compatible sas expander should to the trick right ? i will investigate a bit further.

I do believe that SAS expanders are invisible, as long as your SAS card and expander chipset work together then at the OS level the only difference you see is your SAS card has more SAS ports on it.

 

That aside, I prefer the 6gb LSI sas expander chipsets (includes the Intel RES2SV240)

 

Johnm, what do you think about the Chenbro Micom SAS Expander 28PORT 6G BP PCB A0.

 

it has 28ports and is cheaper than a hp sas expander.

 

the expander is transparent as long as the HBA/Raid card chipset is compatible with the expander.

 

I like the Intel Expander. it is my new go to expander. unfortunately it is going up in price.

the Molex plug means you do not need a PCIe slot.

 

The Chenbro Expandershave their pluses and minuses.. the nice feature is the external port for a DAS box.

the down side is there are in and out plugs on the card. the one you linked has a misleading description, it can only connect 16 internal drives..

you need the 36 port version.

 

The HP Expanders had their day. now they are just not worth it. they need a Flash to bring up to 6GB/s  for that, you a genuine HP raid card.

If you can get one flashed for cheap, then they are not that bad (till you need another flash?)

 

 

I have wanted to go the DAS option for a while.

Almost every time I play with my ESXi box, I want to put both my ESXi servers into 2x Norco 4224 DAS's and a use a 3216 or a 3rd 4224 for the head.

 

I Would put a hardware raid in the head. most likely leave my parity and cache drives in the head. possibly as VDMK's on the raid array.

I have also considered a 1U with a 4 drive RAID in the head, but I am concerned about the noise levels and the fact I would have no where to put my WHS2011 server drives.

 

My ideal head would be 3+ raid arrays.

#1) 4 drive raid5 for data store.

#2) 4+ drive raid5 cache drive for my main unraid to make it a hybrid server (half hardware raid and half unRAID)

#3) 3+ drive RAID5 for my WHS2011 server.

 

Heck I could even move my raid 16x 2TB RAID6 to the head.

what has stopped me is the number of PCIe slots... I would need a differant mobo.. (MBD-X8DTH-6F-O? or a new 602 board)

If I use 2 for the DAS boxes... i could only add 2 hardware raid cards with my X9SCM

[jbrodriguez]

Johnm,

 

the expander is transparent as long as the HBA/Raid card chipset is compatible with the expander.

This thread has someone running a chenbro ck23601 (thanks for pointing out the error, had i chosen the ck22803) alongside a Supermicro AOC-USAS2-L8i. this card has an lsi sas2008 chipset, which is the same as the ibm m1015, so both of them should work.

 

I like the Intel Expander. it is my new go to expander. unfortunately it is going up in price.

the Molex plug means you do not need a PCIe slot.

i'd like this card too, but besides not having the external port, there are two things stopping me

1 - seems to go eol in 4Q '12

2 - i still dont understand how to make it support 24 drivers, when i have to use one of the ports to connect with an external hba

 

thanks as always for your insights.

[jbrodriguez]

i've just found out about the intel RES2CV360 (webpage, pdf manual, provantage link)

 

it includes six cables, so the price (around $330) is a bit misleading.

 

i imagine screwing it down to the chassis, having a sff-8087 to sff-8088 cable run through an open slot and not even needing a motherboard on the das ... even after using one of the ports as an outbound port, it would still leave me with 8 inbound ports (32 drives) !