March 7, 201214 yr One more edit: Can these be placed on their short side, on a shelf for example? I don't have room for it to sit on the long side. I would avoid that as the amount of weigh distributed will bust a table in two like that. These are 100+ lb machines fully loaded, the more evenly you spread out this bulk the better. Thanks. Here's my shelf: That's a 2x3 frame, attached at the studs with 3" screws in five locations. Then a 3/4 melamine covered MDF sheet to distribute the load.
March 7, 201214 yr No way this thing is going to fit in there, you'll have to cut holes for power, networking, etc. I'd be very worried that this monster would come crashing down through everything.
March 8, 201214 yr These used servers are a great deal, but they're simply not going to fit in my server closet, they're likely too loud for my office and I'm already listening to two machines. The idea of something that will hold everything for at least a few more years it really nice, so it's a bummer they don't work with my house. I think I'll just expand the backup server (AZZA Helios 910) to fifteen disks as space demands it.
March 8, 201214 yr For those of you looking to trick out your server you can pick up a 6core opteron for this server for $9.99/each http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260968681233#ht_1789wt_1149 Just bought 2 of them. 12 Core File Server If the information about this CPU is true it's a 1.8GHZ cpu that uses 40W of power on Average. Compare that to 60W of Power for the Dual core CPU that is in this machine, for Approximately 50% more Avg Power I get 800% performance and less power on idle overall. Helluva deal. Need to find another HSF combo. In order for you to use these CPUs you'll need to update the bios from here: http://www.supermicro.com/about/policies/disclaimer.cfm?url=/support/resources/getfile.aspx?ID=772 This is a .zip utility that creates a boot disk and flashes the motherboard. Make sure you do this FIRST! as the CPU will not be recognized until you do. Here is the AOC-SIM1U KVM card: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260969581922&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123 $75 shipped is the best price around for this thing. Just bought one myself.
March 8, 201214 yr Author For those of you looking to trick out your server you can pick up a 6core opteron for this server for $9.99/each http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260968681233#ht_1789wt_1149 Nice. Ordered one up myself. Thats a no brainer at 15.00 shipped. Thanks for the heads up!
March 8, 201214 yr Just bought 2 of them. 12 Core File Server If the information about this CPU is true it's a 1.8GHZ cpu that uses 40W of power on Average. Compare that to 60W of Power for the Dual core CPU that is in this machine, for Approximately 50% more Avg Power I get 800% performance and less power on idle overall. Helluva deal. Need to find another HSF combo. i hate to be a bit stupid, but you can't really install two of these can you? i assume there's only room for one cpu? i bought one of these used servers but have not received yet, but i think you're just kidding? also, i guess you have to install a floppy drive first, unless you can put the floppy disk image onto the usb somehow? can anyone post back when they've successfully installed this cpu?
March 8, 201214 yr i hate to be a bit stupid, but you can't really install two of these can you? i assume there's only room for one cpu? i bought one of these used servers but have not received yet, but i think you're just kidding? also, i guess you have to install a floppy drive first, unless you can put the floppy disk image onto the usb somehow? can anyone post back when they've successfully installed this cpu? Did you read the manual on this motherboard? Did you read the bios update in the link I posted where it talks about the cpu's that it WILL accept? CPU • Single or dual AMD Opteron 2000 Series Socket F type processor You can boot to a USB drive to flash the bios or do it through Windows. Yes, install windows once on this server to update the Bios if the usb/floppy route doesn't work. Also if you are getting the KVM module for this server then you can 'mimic' the floppy drive (or CD/DVD drive) and point the server to an image file.. Best part of this server grade motherboard are the options that are available to it. This motherboard is supposed to be in a cabinet somewhere that doesn't have access to a monitor/kb, therefore that remote control ability is vital.
March 8, 201214 yr Author Just bought 2 of them. 12 Core File Server If the information about this CPU is true it's a 1.8GHZ cpu that uses 40W of power on Average. Compare that to 60W of Power for the Dual core CPU that is in this machine, for Approximately 50% more Avg Power I get 800% performance and less power on idle overall. Helluva deal. Need to find another HSF combo. i hate to be a bit stupid, but you can't really install two of these can you? i assume there's only room for one cpu? i bought one of these used servers but have not received yet, but i think you're just kidding? also, i guess you have to install a floppy drive first, unless you can put the floppy disk image onto the usb somehow? can anyone post back when they've successfully installed this cpu? I have mine already and can indeed confirm that there are two CPU sockets on this motherboard. I have opted to stay with a single CPU personally. Im just going to swap the current 2212 with the 2419 from Ebay. Four more cores for 15 bucks is a heck of a deal IMO.
March 8, 201214 yr i hate to be a bit stupid, but you can't really install two of these can you? i assume there's only room for one cpu? i bought one of these used servers but have not received yet, but i think you're just kidding? also, i guess you have to install a floppy drive first, unless you can put the floppy disk image onto the usb somehow? can anyone post back when they've successfully installed this cpu? Did you read the manual on this motherboard? Did you read the bios update in the link I posted where it talks about the cpu's that it WILL accept? CPU • Single or dual AMD Opteron 2000 Series Socket F type processor You can boot to a USB drive to flash the bios or do it through Windows. Yes, install windows once on this server to update the Bios if the usb/floppy route doesn't work. Also if you are getting the KVM module for this server then you can 'mimic' the floppy drive (or CD/DVD drive) and point the server to an image file.. Best part of this server grade motherboard are the options that are available to it. This motherboard is supposed to be in a cabinet somewhere that doesn't have access to a monitor/kb, therefore that remote control ability is vital. oops sorry i missed your mobo post... i do see it has two sockets! didn't realize this before even though i bought one (has not arrived yet). i did read the readme but obviously not carefully enough... i now see for the zip file it can be placed on a usb drive... so i guess even though there are two cpu's the mobo only needs to be flashed once (ie not once for each cpu, just once in total). if so i think i will order the two cpu's! thanks for the info and posting the links. you are right, we are really souping up these $200 servers... even though it hasn't arrived, i've already order two new hard drives, a usb internal adapter, new fans, a battery backup system, and soon to be 2 new cpu's! i will be very sad if the server arrives damaged and now i've got all this other equipment! i still haven't decided whether i want the kvm card... i might have to research this more. i assume since it's a network port there will be two network cables running to the server, one to the unraid, and one to this card?
March 8, 201214 yr i still haven't decided whether i want the kvm card... i might have to research this more. i assume since it's a network port there will be two network cables running to the server, one to the unraid, and one to this card? No problem on the links. I've been doing a TON of research on thing and I, like you, am praying this server isn't damaged. If so I'll have to ship back the CPUs. There are 2 network ports existing on this server. You can use the extra port for the existing, but limited, KVM capability this card has. the card I mention has it's own dedicated network connection which provides a dedicated network connection. In the end if you go with the AOC-SIM1U card you'll have: 2 Onboard 10/100/1000 network connections 1 Dedciated 10/100 KVM/Remote Access Connection. Also, with the 2CPUs, you will need to split the RAM in half for each CPU. The RAM has to be evenly distributed amongst the CPU sockets in order for both CPUs to work. If you have 1CPU you can only support 16GB of RAM which it states in the manual. I plan on putting 16GB of RAM on this server eventually so I'll fill up 8GB on CPU1 and 8GB on CPU2.
March 9, 201214 yr Ok thanks. I guess I'll need an additional CPU cooler for this second cpu. I see in the pics that it comes with one but I'll need two It's been a while since I mounted a CPU cooler to a chip but I think I have some arctic silver somewhere! As for ram I hope I can just split the 8 gigs and mount 4 by each CPU. I'll have to read the mono manual to understand which slots should be used
March 9, 201214 yr hi gang... the folks in this thread have been very helpful so thank you for that as i previously posted, i have one of these units on order and hope to set it up soon... i have also bought a lot of extra 'parts' to soup this server up including new cpu's, internal usb adapter (to hold flash drive), replacement fans, etc here is my plan of attack for when i receive it: 1. confirm unit works and set to usb: unpackage, visually inspect plug in power cords remove ide hard drive? don't really plan to use it so thought i'd remove it? plug in monitor keyboard boot up, enter bios, set to boot from usb power down 2. flash mobo to accept new cpu's: install 4 pin to internal usb adapter prepare motherboard flash usb, insert into usb adapter boot up motherboard should automatically flash to accept new dual cpus power down remove cpu cooler, replace cpu, replace cooler install other cpu, add new cpu cooler reallocate the 8gb ram to be 4 and 4 supporting each cpu boot up, confirm motherboard recognizes new cpu's through bios? 3. begin to setup unraid!!! does my approach sound okay? missing anything important? i'm a bit of a newb to this, i've built my own pc once before which went very well... so i'm hoping this will go okay! if you have any suggestions or see any steps out of order your feedback is very welcome!!!
March 9, 201214 yr Grither your plan is the same as mine so I give you a hearty ThumbsUp! That's the right approach and you'll be up and running in no time! KINK in the CPU Plans!!! In order for us to use the new 6 core CPUs we will need a later PCB revision! CRAP http://www.supermicro.com/support/faqs/faq.cfm?faq=11437 Sorry, I am afraid not due to your H8DME-2 motherboard release with PCB version 1.2. It required with latest PCB rev 2.01a above. I'll know in a few hours what the revision of this motherboard is or not and if that CPU will work. RRRRRRR That puts a huge dent in my upgrade plans!
March 9, 201214 yr I should have my replacement on Tuesday. If anyone is as unlucky as me and theirs is damaged during shipping, the seller said that they had several that wasn't listed on the auction as "backups". He did tell me that the drive caddies on my replacement wasn't the same style as the ones in the picture. I'll post pics as soon as it comes in. One thing I would suggest for y'all is to burn-in these things for at least 8-12 hours on memtest after you get cpu's swapped out. That way you are testing memory and memory controllers in the cpus. You might be saying "But Burr I want to play with it now, i don't want to wait on a memtest!". Trust me when I say it's better to spend 8-24 hours waiting on a memtest than spending days troubleshooting flaky problems and parity rebuilds.
March 9, 201214 yr Burr can you go in and verify the version number of your motherboard? Is it 2.0a or higher? My post above shows we might be screwed in our quest for 12 cores on this system!
March 9, 201214 yr Burr can you go in and verify the version number of your motherboard? Is it 2.0a or higher? I will check as soon as i get it and let you know.
March 9, 201214 yr One more update, found the firmware for these cards here: ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/Firmware/AOC-SAT2-MV8/ Might be worth flashing to the latest on these as well, considering that these are from 2008 Looking at the pictures it appears that there are no mounting brackets for the 2nd CPU for this monster based on the pictures offered. http://www.biggerbids.com/auction-image-gallery.php?auction_id=441384&image_id=2634151# So we'll need mounting brackets and have to unseat this motherboard to take EVERYTHING out to get at it. This might be more work than I want to deal with. Probably not
March 9, 201214 yr Author One more thing regarding the bios upgrade. The files do not automatically create a bootable USB flash. I created a 98 boot disk flash drive and then copied over the bios files. It flashed with no issues. If you need instructions on making a bootable USB flash look here - http://www.bay-wolf.com/usbmemstick.htm. You are also correct on there not being CPU mount on the second CPU slot. Although from looking Im not sure its necessary to remove the board as there are two threaded posts that it looks like you just screw the bracket into from the top.
March 9, 201214 yr Thank you Tragik for that photo and eliminating my concern. Much appreciated. The reason I speculated about the mobo removal was the photos didn't give me a good shot of the socket having places to screw in the mounting brackets for the HSF units. If there are already places to screw the units into then no need to remove the mobos. I'll use that link you sent over to make that USB drive bootable.
March 9, 201214 yr A heatsink like this one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835114078, should just screw into the mobo. I don't know if I would get that exact one, but you can use it to compare with others.
March 9, 201214 yr Looking at the picture(looks same as mine) I done a quick google search & came up with this from the SuperMicro website: For H8DME-2 PCB Revision; I heard that it needs to be Rev 2.01A to support Six-Core processors. But someone told me that Rev 2.01 is okay with Six-core cpus. Which one is right, 2.01A or just 2.01 to support Six core processors? For AMD six core support, the motherboard must be PCB revision 2.01a. If the motherboard with PCB revision 2.01 then it will not support. :( :( :(
March 9, 201214 yr Author Looking at the picture(looks same as mine) I done a quick google search & came up with this from the SuperMicro website: For H8DME-2 PCB Revision; I heard that it needs to be Rev 2.01A to support Six-Core processors. But someone told me that Rev 2.01 is okay with Six-core cpus. Which one is right, 2.01A or just 2.01 to support Six core processors? For AMD six core support, the motherboard must be PCB revision 2.01a. If the motherboard with PCB revision 2.01 then it will not support. :( :( :( That is a bummer. I guess there goes my plans of attempting to run unRAID under Esxi. I have installed 5.0 right now but it will not do hardware passthrough (posting from my first VM now) and I was hoping that changing to the new processor might fix that as I believe "istanbul" core is capable of AMD-Vi. It also might be that the motherboard can't do it but my Googlefu is failing me on that. Either way... Yeah.
March 9, 201214 yr I've seen conflicting reports of passthrough on that mobo. I was planning on loading it out and using it as a hyper-v server in another case and use the included case with my esxi capable hardware.
March 9, 201214 yr Looks like we are maxing out at quad core cpus. They are still very cheap (not 10$ cheap but 20-30)and we lose 4 cores in this deal. Bummer but im fine with learning all this now vs later after i tore my hair out why these cpus wont work. Time to hunt down some barcelona or shanghai cpus. All of these chips support amd-v so virtualization is a go.
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