I'm working on a design for my first unraid. I've gotten quite a few suggestions that I should select hardware that would be Xen compatible but no advice on possible selections. I didn't really have any plans originally for virtualization. This server was just going to be entirely for media. But I can see advantages to virtualizing and wanted to go ahead and allow for it now. I doubt if I would use passthrough in the near future since I'm only using one htpc currently and it's a fairly new setup. But would like to keep that option open if it's not going to cost me too much. It's possible that I may setup a VM to do on the fly transcoding for streaming video to mobile devices. Might also set one up for a home automation server. Don't presently use SB or CP or any of that sort of thing but those would also be future options I guess.

 

My current design plans are listed here. I'm fairly sure the CPU/MoBo listed would not support Xen.

 

After a fair amount of searching I have also found these. But since I'm a total noob at this I'm really not sure if they are a good fit for my needs?

CPU-

MoBo- http://m.rakuten.com/product/251711817?listingid=-1&adid=18162]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=COOPz93u2r0CFeRlOgodwj8ADw&Item=N82E16819116906&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Processors+-+Servers-_-N82E16819116906&ef_id=Sk1i80NIYWYAABZ3CkcAAASA:20140412114044:s

 

MoBo- http://m.rakuten.com/product/251711817?listingid=-1&adid=18162

 

Would be nice to have a few more SATA port on the motherboard but that can be fixed by changing the controller. The price is also a little high but doable if there aren't any other good alternatives.

 

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated and is very much needed. 

the only real requirement for any not only Xen virtualization is the hardware ability to support it. I.E. the MotherBoard AND CPU MUST support VT-D for Intel AND/OR IOMMU for AMD.

the real challenge is figure out which MB/CPU have full and real support for it  implemented and not just tacked in as an after-though  to have the right to include the current buzzword in the description.

 

there are a lot of different ways a mfg can and do implementation of virtualization capabilities and many of them are done as just a gimmick. it works but just barely so they are able to say "well you asked for it, and we have it, so we did not lie to you..."

 

search this forum in hardware section, there are many users who are using real hardware that works. search the mfg sites and forums. maybe even contact the mfg and ask the question "does your product X supports  VT-D/IOMMU fully"

remember, Intel uses VT-D and AMD uses IOMMU.

 

be carefuller, as some products, especially MB may have generic description of an SKU saying that they support things but a specific product SKU may have some features disabled or even removed and not even update to the BIOS will restore the use of them.  I have 3 MB that should support the IOMMU and none of them actually do, I tried. one is very old MSI, it was designed to support IOMMU as a future option added via BIOS update, problem is they never release the bios update for it. another is Asus  with the same issue. it has virtualization extencion enabled but not 100% supported. the Xen and even KVM can run on it but not full functionality is available(hint: I can do PCI pass-through or run windows VM in KVM).

so, do yout research...

 

it seams that MB/CPU you found both support the VT-d tech just fine.

 

I have seen that a lot of people are using the i5-4570. Looks like the 4570 and the 4570S both have the same price. The only real difference I can see is that the power consumption is a lot lower for the S version. Any reason not to go with the "S"?

vm1969 makes some good points on the motherboards. Since you've picked an Intel server board you should be fine, but nothing is guaranteed. ASrock also makes consumer boards that have VT-D enabled, but most of the other manufacturers are spotty at best. I don't see it specifically mentioned, but some server boards will want ECC RAM, and only high end CPUs will support it (the i5-4570 does not). You can always check http://ark.intel.com to see the specifics of any CPU you are considering to make sure you are lining everything up correctly.

 

When comparing CPU to determine price/performance it's worth checking out cpubenchmark.net. Looking at the 2 i5 CPUs you mention you see:

 

i5-4570: 7,081

i5-4570S: 6,854

 

The S model has a TDW of 65 vs 84 for the straight 4570, so it looks like a minimal performance loss for a good power savings.

 

I would just go line by line on the ark.intel.com site to make sure those are the only differences.

 

 

For the motherboard, I suggest those from Supermicro:

 

X10SLL-F - if you will use it with xen/unraid

X10SLL+-F - if you will use it with ESXi

 

You will have one PCie less, but will gain the IPMI support.

FYI, Newegg currently has some decent combo discounts on supermicro boards and xeons which may help sway you:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCombos.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819&SubCategory=302&SortField=0&PageSize=25&page=1

 

$332 X10SLL & E3-1220v3 $332 (discounted $43)

$385 X10SLL & E3-1230v3 $385 (discounted $35)

 

There are other SM board combos too if you search but none of the + models.

vm1969 makes some good points on the motherboards. Since you've picked an Intel server board you should be fine, but nothing is guaranteed. ASrock also makes consumer boards that have VT-D enabled, but most of the other manufacturers are spotty at best. I don't see it specifically mentioned, but some server boards will want ECC RAM, and only high end CPUs will support it (the i5-4570 does not). You can always check http://ark.intel.com to see the specifics of any CPU you are considering to make sure you are lining everything up correctly.

 

When comparing CPU to determine price/performance it's worth checking out cpubenchmark.net. Looking at the 2 i5 CPUs you mention you see:

 

i5-4570: 7,081

i5-4570S: 6,854

 

The S model has a TDW of 65 vs 84 for the straight 4570, so it looks like a minimal performance loss for a good power savings.

 

I would just go line by line on the ark.intel.com site to make sure those are the only differences.

 

 

Thanks, actually I did the line by line on ark.intel.com before posting here. Just wanted to see if anyone had any first hand experience with the "S" bad or good. I'm still up in the air about the ECC though. If I go with the Xeon cpu and Intel mobo that I linked in the first post (VT-d support verified by Intel tech support) I would get ECC ram, but at a cost in dollars and power. Is ECC an advantage? I know many people recommend it and the extra $80 wouldn't break the bank. I'm just not sure if it offers any real world benefit.

---

For the motherboard, I suggest those from Supermicro:

 

X10SLL-F - if you will use it with xen/unraid

X10SLL+-F - if you will use it with ESXi

 

You will have one PCie less, but will gain the IPMI support.

IPMI support? I've been looking for VT-d support and ECC support. Not sure what IPMI is?

---

FYI, Newegg currently has some decent combo discounts on supermicro boards and xeons which may help sway you:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCombos.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819&SubCategory=302&SortField=0&PageSize=25&page=1

 

$332 X10SLL & E3-1220v3 $332 (discounted $43)

$385 X10SLL & E3-1230v3 $385 (discounted $35)

 

There are other SM board combos too if you search but none of the + models.

Thanks for the links. Do you know if these SM boards support ECC? I know the E3's do, but I haven't been able to find a site other than ark.intel.com that offers complete detailed specs. Newegg typically doesn't show this.

IPMI support? I've been looking for VT-d support and ECC support. Not sure what IPMI is?

IPMI allows you to manage and monitor your computer remotely across your lan.  You would be able to watch and configure your bios from a remote computer.  For instance I have three ESXi computers in my basement and by using IPMI I can shut it down, reboot, monitor temperatures & voltages from my livingroom laptop.  When they boot up I can watch the bios displays and enter the bios and change settings from my laptop in the livingroom.  The only time I actually have to go down to the basement is to change the hardware on one of them.  Also I can remotely boot from an image of a CD/DVD that is located on my laptop to trouble shoot the PCs in my basement from my laptop.

Did you ever take the plunge?

 

The SuperMicro mbs are usually well documented, I'd go their website and look:

 

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/

 

They are good about listing all cpus compatible, memory, etc, even on old generation MBs.

 

Also, regarding the S vs non S processors, they are lower power, but thats only at full throttle/speed. If the cpu is going to sit around idle most of the time (which would be common for a file server) then there is really no savings, since its idle watts is probably exactly the same. Now, if you are planning on doing something like plex, and will often have multiple streams going at a time, then you'll be using that cpu a fair amount, so that might be worthwhile.

 

All of this is pointless though, if you've already bought stuff

Did you ever take the plunge?

 

The SuperMicro mbs are usually well documented, I'd go their website and look:

 

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/

 

They are good about listing all cpus compatible, memory, etc, even on old generation MBs.

 

Also, regarding the S vs non S processors, they are lower power, but thats only at full throttle/speed. If the cpu is going to sit around idle most of the time (which would be common for a file server) then there is really no savings, since its idle watts is probably exactly the same. Now, if you are planning on doing something like plex, and will often have multiple streams going at a time, then you'll be using that cpu a fair amount, so that might be worthwhile.

 

All of this is pointless though, if you've already bought stuff

Actually I just got it up and running yesterday. Went with the supermicro board and Xeon e3 Haswell. See the link in the sig. Not all setup yet. Just getting started transferring media. Still a long way to go.