fastmodena Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I like others have the SERVER bug in me. My goals for this build: As budget friendly as possible. Meaning if something costs a little more and saves upgrading sooner then it's in the discussion. unRAID for serving media to my HTPC. This is the main purpose. To create a super router/firewall using pFsense. I am an IT student at the moment and will run other VM's like windows server, linux, other things for my own learning. Of course Sickbeard, Couchpotato, etc. Any other things that come up, like maybe setting up a NewzNab server. Proposed Build: CPU: Xeon E3-1230 Sandy Bridge $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115083 Xeon E3-1230 Ivy Bridge $230 http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=XE1230V2BX Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCM-IIF-O $191 http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SMII RAM:Hynix DDR3-1333 8GB ECC CL9 $140 https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D38GE1333H Controllers: 1x IBM M1015, ebay, currently $90. Flashed to IT mode. Cables: 2x 0.75m 30AWG Internal Mini SAS forward breakout $8.80 http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10254&cs_id=1025406&p_id=8187&seq=1&format=2 Case: Fractal Design Define XL $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352029 Zalman MS800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235039 Power Supply: Seasonic SS-660XP http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-ATX12V-EPS12V-Supply-SS-660XP/dp/B009VV56U8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363370459&sr=8-1&keywords=SeaSonic+SS-660XP Corsair AX750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016&Tpk=ax750&IsVirtualParent=1 Flash: Already have a 4gb for unRAID and 8gb for ESXi Parity Drive: 3tb WD Red Data Drives: 3tb WD Red, 2tb WD20EARX, 2x 750gb WD7500AACS, Cache Drive: Not sure yet but will have a cache drive I just ordered the WD red drives. The others are existing. I will add 3tb drives as I go. The reason for the Fractal Design case instead of a Norco is that I don't have nearly enough data to justify the cost right now. The fractal gives me up to ten drives out of the box. In time if I need a Norco I will address it at that point. For another ~100 I could get up to 15 drives in this case. Going to use ESXi 5.1. Future: More drives = More M1015's or an Intel SAS expander. Upgrade ram to 32GB. What cables do I need for this setup and going forward? Your likes, dislikes, opinions, comments, and questions? Quote Link to comment
prostuff1 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 If this were me: substitute in the Intel E-1240 (it has hyperthreading) substitute the Kingston RAM for this cheaper Hynix stuff substitute the case for he Zalman MS800. With 5-in-3 cages you should be able to get 16 drives in it. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Changing the power supply as well. Looks like this model could have coil whine issues. So looking for something different rather than the SS-660XP. Quote Link to comment
BobPhoenix Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 substitute in the Intel E-1240 (it has hyperthreading)The E3-1230 (Sandy) has hyperthreading - I have one. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 substitute the Kingston RAM for this cheaper Hynix stuff substitute the case for he Zalman MS800. With 5-in-3 cages you should be able to get 16 drives in it. I was looking for some cheaper ram so that Hynix ram will do. Not sure why I couldn't find it earlier. With the Zalman how many HD's does it hold stock? I am looking at reviews but nobody seems to point it out. The Fractal Design is 10 out of the box and can accomodate one 5n3 for a total of 15. So that saves me $100 on the 5n3 right now cause I am nowhere near close to 10 drives. Quote Link to comment
prostuff1 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 substitute the Kingston RAM for this cheaper Hynix stuff substitute the case for he Zalman MS800. With 5-in-3 cages you should be able to get 16 drives in it. I was looking for some cheaper ram so that Hynix ram will do. Not sure why I couldn't find it earlier. With the Zalman how many HD's does it hold stock? I am looking at reviews but nobody seems to point it out. The Fractal Design is 10 out of the box and can accomodate one 5n3 for a total of 15. So that saves me $100 on the 5n3 right now cause I am nowhere near close to 10 drives. It will only hold 4 drives out of the box. I have 4 extra ones if you want/need them. Should not cost much to ship them out and you can have them all for not much money. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Added cables. These will work with the m1015 correct? Thinking about switching to Zalman MS800 per prostuff1. Looks like the Fractal Design case I listed is a 2nd version which only has 8 drives out of the box and can only accomodate 1 5n3 getting me to only 13 drives. The Zalman is cheaper and can get me to more drives later. Looking for a power supply too. Not sure which way I want to go but I am thinking an 80 plus gold since the server is on 24/7. Looks like the ram is out of stock or no longer available as well. Quote Link to comment
BetaQuasi Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yes those cables are correct to connect M1015 directly to multiple SATA drives (4 in total). Quote Link to comment
mrow Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Why Sandy Bridge? I'm running an Ivy Bridge E3-1230 v2 without issue. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 Why Sandy Bridge? I'm running an Ivy Bridge E3-1230 v2 without issue. Almost everything I have read suggests IVY BRIDGE may have compatibility issues with ESXi and multiple M1015's. While I am only using a single 1015 now cause I don't have that many drives, eventually I will add more and don't want to run into incompatible stuff. I would love an IVY BRIDGE since they are 60w instead of 80w, and newer, but would rather have hardware that works. Anyone else want to chime in? Maybe something newer (than reader the forums) has been discovered that would sway me to IVY! Quote Link to comment
cj0r Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I was not aware of the compatibility issues between the 1230v2 and multiple M1015. Worse, I just overhauled my rig with a X9SCM-F and 1230 v2 combo along with 2x M1015's.... I can safely say that I have been running great with 1 week of 100% uptime without issue so far. I don't plan on going to 3x M1015's. if that need were to arrive I would just buy an expander card and sell one of the 2 M1015's I already have. Quote Link to comment
mrow Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm currently running with a M1015 and a SASLP-MV8 with no problems. Once I need more drives than 16 disks I will likely do what drealit mentioned and just grab an expander. Another user on the forums mentioned that the performance hit of running one M1015 with with an expander is barely noticeable. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Maybe I should go with IVY then. My plan is only one m1015 now until I get to 8 drives. Then maybe another 1015 to get to 16. Either way I won't ever go more than 2 1015's and then like you guys I would go the expander route. Quote Link to comment
prostuff1 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Maybe I should go with IVY then. My plan is only one m1015 now until I get to 8 drives. Then maybe another 1015 to get to 16. Either way I won't ever go more than 2 1015's and then like you guys I would go the expander route. I am building 3 machine right now for customers that are ESXi boxes with 2 M1015's and an Intel RAID Expander. So far everything is working well. Quote Link to comment
BobPhoenix Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I have a problem with Ivy and a AVer Media Duet Tuner card. Matter of fact I have a problem with 2.0a bios on a X9SCM-F and that tuner card. With bios 2.0a (required if using Ivy) the Duet no longer shows up for pass through or even in a standalone Windows install. I had 1.0c bios installed and a working system with the Duet in pass through. Did the bios upgrade and rebooted and the duet was no longer visible. Same story with the Ivy compatible bios on a Tyan MB of same class as the X9SCM and an IBM DH77EB MB with Ivy CPU. Intel fixed the issue with other MB like mine and supposedly with mine as well but I haven't had time to test it out yet. So if SuperMicro and/or Tyan have upgraded there bios to work with a Duet I could see getting an Ivy. I believe it is a timings problem with PCIe v1 cards (some at least) and support for PCIe v3. RockDawg had a problem with 3 M1015s and pass through to unRAID VM when I tried the same with Sandy CPU there was no problem. I even sent him MY X9SCM to test with and the only solution was to go to a Sandy Bridge CPU. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 I have a problem with Ivy and a AVer Media Duet Tuner card. Matter of fact I have a problem with 2.0a bios on a X9SCM-F and that tuner card. With bios 2.0a (required if using Ivy) the Duet no longer shows up for pass through or even in a standalone Windows install. I had 1.0c bios installed and a working system with the Duet in pass through. Did the bios upgrade and rebooted and the duet was no longer visible. Same story with the Ivy compatible bios on a Tyan MB of same class as the X9SCM and an IBM DH77EB MB with Ivy CPU. Intel fixed the issue with other MB like mine and supposedly with mine as well but I haven't had time to test it out yet. So if SuperMicro and/or Tyan have upgraded there bios to work with a Duet I could see getting an Ivy. I believe it is a timings problem with PCIe v1 cards (some at least) and support for PCIe v3. RockDawg had a problem with 3 M1015s and pass through to unRAID VM when I tried the same with Sandy CPU there was no problem. I even sent him MY X9SCM to test with and the only solution was to go to a Sandy Bridge CPU. So you would recommend the IVY if I don't use that tuner card or 3 M1015's? Quote Link to comment
mrow Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Maybe I should go with IVY then. My plan is only one m1015 now until I get to 8 drives. Then maybe another 1015 to get to 16. Either way I won't ever go more than 2 1015's and then like you guys I would go the expander route. Once you max out the M1015 instead of buying another and maxing that out and then getting the expander after that you'd be better off just buying the expander after the first M1015. One M1015 and something like an Intel RES2SV240 will give you support for 24 drives (20 off the expander plus 4 more off the other SAS port on the M1015), which is Unraid's limit at the moment. The only reason I have 2 controller cards at the moment is because I bought the SASLP-MV8 before the M1015 was even known about. My next step will likely be to remove the SASLP-MV8, sell it, and get that Intel expander. Quote Link to comment
fastmodena Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 UPDATES TO PARTS: Added Xeon Ivy Bridge E3-1230V2 Corsair AX750 (Same as Seasonic but on sale right now) Zalman MS800 case. Added 2 cables. Just received the 3tb WD Red's. Quote Link to comment
mrow Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 If you're going to go for the Ivy Bridge, get some DDR3-1600 RAM since it supports it. I'm using 2 sticks of this right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239370 Quote Link to comment
BobPhoenix Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I have a problem with Ivy and a AVer Media Duet Tuner card. Matter of fact I have a problem with 2.0a bios on a X9SCM-F and that tuner card. With bios 2.0a (required if using Ivy) the Duet no longer shows up for pass through or even in a standalone Windows install. I had 1.0c bios installed and a working system with the Duet in pass through. Did the bios upgrade and rebooted and the duet was no longer visible. Same story with the Ivy compatible bios on a Tyan MB of same class as the X9SCM and an IBM DH77EB MB with Ivy CPU. Intel fixed the issue with other MB like mine and supposedly with mine as well but I haven't had time to test it out yet. So if SuperMicro and/or Tyan have upgraded there bios to work with a Duet I could see getting an Ivy. I believe it is a timings problem with PCIe v1 cards (some at least) and support for PCIe v3. RockDawg had a problem with 3 M1015s and pass through to unRAID VM when I tried the same with Sandy CPU there was no problem. I even sent him MY X9SCM to test with and the only solution was to go to a Sandy Bridge CPU. So you would recommend the IVY if I don't use that tuner card or 3 M1015's? Just pointing out the problems I have had with Ivy compatible bios because it was suggested there were NO problems - there are. But they are limited and fixable so yes get the Ivy if you have problems then switch only if you have to - but you are not likely to need to. Since I use the Duet (because it is better at multi path than the Hauppauge HVR-2250 which does work) I have to stay at Sandy. Quote Link to comment
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