Recommended Motherboards for UnRAID 6 (XEN)


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So I got my tax return today, couple weeks before I was expecting it, so now I'm looking for a good motherboard to use for my UnRAID box with VM's for XBMC & others so I'll need to be able to pass through video cards - so known to support IOMMU is a must.

 

Ideally, it would have a large number of PCIe slots.

 

Any recommendations?

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If you want a desktop-class motherboard with plenty of PCIe slots and IOMMU support, the Asus Z87-Pro is a good choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131979

 

[7 PCIe slots -- 3 in x16 slots, 4 in x1 slots]

 

The only problem with ASUS (who is my preferred MB manufacturer) is they don't guarantee vt-d support. I ended up with the ASrock Z87 Extreme6:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371

 

3xPCIE x16 slots, 1 PCIE x1 and 2 PCI slots.

 

I can confirm pass-through works great with Xen on it.

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I'm a big fan of Asus boards, but their IOMMU support is iffy at best.  Perhaps someone can verify that particular board works?  I'm not saying it won't work, but if it doesn't good luck getting any formal support out of Asus specifically regarding VT-d.

 

If you want a desktop-class board with VT-d I'd agree with mattkhan.  ASRock boards seem to be the best when it comes to VT-d support.

 

EDIT: ninja'd by bkastner.  LOL.

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371

 

3xPCIE x16 slots, 1 PCIE x1 and 2 PCI slots.

 

I can confirm pass-through works great with Xen on it.

 

It looks good but the PCI slots is causing a roadblock in my brain. Kinda like not being able to buy a DVD when there's a Blu-Ray available of the same movie.

 

Agreed, but they come in handy for extra NIC cards if you need, or they are spaced in-between the PCIE x16 slots so if you have cards that are thicker than a single slot you don't sacrifice any of the PCIE spaces.

 

I was only looking at installing 3x RADEON 6450 cards for XBMC VMs on Citrix XenServer (I decided to not use the machine for UnRAID), but am happy with it. There may be better motherboard options, but if you want hardware pass-through/vt-d then ASrock (or SuperMicro) is likely where you want to focus your attention to minimize the likelihood of issues.

 

 

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My current server is a Supermicro X9SCM-F with an Intel Core i3 2120T.

From what i can find, the X9SCM-F supports VT-d, but the Core i3 does not.

If i would replace the Core i3 with a Xeon e3-1220L (17W!) that supports all VT-x extensions as far as i can tell, would that be ok for unraid 6?

I have no intentions to run a lot of high-performance vm's, but would like to run e.g. IronicBadger's minimalistic Arch vm's, maybe just a few, or even one that runs all apps? Would the e3-1220L suffice?

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My current server is a Supermicro X9SCM-F with an Intel Core i3 2120T.

From what i can find, the X9SCM-F supports VT-d, but the Core i3 does not.

If i would replace the Core i3 with a Xeon e3-1220L (17W!) that supports all VT-x extensions as far as i can tell, would that be ok for unraid 6?

I have no intentions to run a lot of high-performance vm's, but would like to run e.g. IronicBadger's minimalistic Arch vm's, maybe just a few, or even one that runs all apps? Would the e3-1220L suffice?

 

The Core i3-2120T that you already have has VT-x and can run VM's just fine.  It will run badger's Arch VM appliance just fine.  What it does not have is VT-d.  VT-d is not necessary unless you are planning on doing pci passthrough, for example to pass a video card through to an XBMC VM.  If you have no plans to do device passthrough, upgrading your CPU is not necessary.

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... Perhaps someone can verify that particular board works?

 

I'm not using it for anything that uses pass-through (it's in one of my HTPCs) ... but I can confirm that the BIOS has a setting to enable or disable Vt-d.  It seems a reasonable assumption that this means it's supported  :)

 

Reasonable assumption and as I stated it may work.  There are a number of Asus boards that "support" VT-d in the BIOS.  The problem is Asus themselves do not guarantee support, nor do the guarantee it will work.  The option is in the BIOS and if it works, great.  If it doesn't, you're on your own.

 

So, if you already have an Asus board and want to try VT-d, great.  But I personally wouldn't point someone to an Asus board on the assumption that it will work, since Asus themselves don't even guarantee it will.

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My current server is a Supermicro X9SCM-F with an Intel Core i3 2120T.

From what i can find, the X9SCM-F supports VT-d, but the Core i3 does not.

If i would replace the Core i3 with a Xeon e3-1220L (17W!) that supports all VT-x extensions as far as i can tell, would that be ok for unraid 6?

I have no intentions to run a lot of high-performance vm's, but would like to run e.g. IronicBadger's minimalistic Arch vm's, maybe just a few, or even one that runs all apps? Would the e3-1220L suffice?

The Core i3-2120T that you already have has VT-x and can run VM's just fine.  It will run badger's Arch VM appliance just fine.  What it does not have is VT-d.  VT-d is not necessary unless you are planning on doing pci passthrough, for example to pass a video card through to an XBMC VM.  If you have no plans to do device passthrough, upgrading your CPU is not necessary.

Thanks! i almost ordered a xeon... 8)

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If you want a desktop-class motherboard with plenty of PCIe slots and IOMMU support, the Asus Z87-Pro is a good choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131979

 

[7 PCIe slots -- 3 in x16 slots, 4 in x1 slots]

 

The only problem with ASUS (who is my preferred MB manufacturer) is they don't guarantee vt-d support. I ended up with the ASrock Z87 Extreme6:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371

 

3xPCIE x16 slots, 1 PCIE x1 and 2 PCI slots.

 

I can confirm pass-through works great with Xen on it.

 

With this mobo, I've noticed that there is an internal usb port. Have you tried using that for unraid and setting up rear USB ports for passthrough? I've been looking around at boards that I can keep the external USB ports for VM usage.

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If you want a desktop-class motherboard with plenty of PCIe slots and IOMMU support, the Asus Z87-Pro is a good choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131979

 

[7 PCIe slots -- 3 in x16 slots, 4 in x1 slots]

 

The only problem with ASUS (who is my preferred MB manufacturer) is they don't guarantee vt-d support. I ended up with the ASrock Z87 Extreme6:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371

 

3xPCIE x16 slots, 1 PCIE x1 and 2 PCI slots.

 

I can confirm pass-through works great with Xen on it.

 

With this mobo, I've noticed that there is an internal usb port. Have you tried using that for unraid and setting up rear USB ports for passthrough? I've been looking around at boards that I can keep the external USB ports for VM usage.

 

Good question. No, I haven't tried that, but I will. I actually decided to use this board for a pure XenServer/XBMC server, not for UnRAID, but I do have a spare UnRAID key I can try this with. I will see if I can do this later today and will post the results.

 

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If you want a desktop-class motherboard with plenty of PCIe slots and IOMMU support, the Asus Z87-Pro is a good choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131979

 

[7 PCIe slots -- 3 in x16 slots, 4 in x1 slots]

 

The only problem with ASUS (who is my preferred MB manufacturer) is they don't guarantee vt-d support. I ended up with the ASrock Z87 Extreme6:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371

 

3xPCIE x16 slots, 1 PCIE x1 and 2 PCI slots.

 

I can confirm pass-through works great with Xen on it.

 

With this mobo, I've noticed that there is an internal usb port. Have you tried using that for unraid and setting up rear USB ports for passthrough? I've been looking around at boards that I can keep the external USB ports for VM usage.

 

I confirmed I was able to boot UnRAID off the internal USB connector, and Xen does show multiple USB controllers, so what you are asking should be doable, however as I mentioned I am not using this server for UnRAID (I was going to originally but changed my mind), so I can't confirm 100% that the USB passthrough will work properly in UnRAID.

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