September 22, 201510 yr NOTE: This server uses backplane SAS836TQ. I am trying to track down some information of drive size compatibility. Just know that this could be an issue. This is the same board I use (see my sig) except you would get a full blown 16 bay server. This is a fantastic deal as the MB alone goes for ~$350 - $400 on Ebay. Hell, it even comes with rails! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro-SuperChassis-Server-X8DTH-IF-B-6GB-RAM-E5540-16-Bay-SAS-SATA-Storage-/321649733260?hash=item4ae3d16e8c Includes: 30 Day Warranty - All Equipment Is Tested, Clean, and Working! Supermicro SuperChassis Server PN: X8DTH-IF-BM003 6GB RAM Installed 1x E5540 2.53Ghz Quad Core Processor 2x 1200W Power Supplies 16 Bay SAS / SATA Drives can be installed 16x Trays Included Backplane: SAS836TQ Rail Kit Just add drives and Raid Controller In Stock, Ships Same or Next Day!! I would definitely add the 2nd Xeon and more memory. BTW, the E5540 fully supports vt-d: Advanced Technologies Intel® Turbo Boost Technology ‡ 1.0 Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ‡ Yes Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) ‡ Yes Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) ‡ Yes Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT) ‡ Yes Intel® 64 ‡ Yes Idle States Yes Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology Yes Intel® Demand Based Switching Yes FYI...this is not mine and I do NOT know the seller (although they have 100% feedback). John
September 22, 201510 yr I feel like the cost savings would go kaput within a year based on power efficiency alone. These are 6 and a half year old processors doing 1/3 of what todays processors do in benchmarks...
September 22, 201510 yr Author I feel like the cost savings would go kaput within a year based on power efficiency alone. These are 6 and a half year old processors doing 1/3 of what todays processors do in benchmarks... Power consumption has never been a concern of mine but I can understand if it is for others. As far as the CPUs, I have 2x E5530 and my utilization hovers between 2% and 6% with 3 OE VMs and 12 Docker containers. The highest I have seen it go is ~25% when the server comes online and a reboot and everything is starting.
September 22, 201510 yr I feel like the cost savings would go kaput within a year based on power efficiency alone. These are 6 and a half year old processors doing 1/3 of what todays processors do in benchmarks... 80w TDP processors. Using the CPU speed management built into the kernel I'm not so sure the energy costs will outweigh the savings all that much. I have i7's that are rated a 3.6ghz and with CPU speed dropping them to 1.6ghz it draws very little power until I need it. It all depends on how low the E5540 will clock. If a person was doing something constantly and churning numbers, I would say yea, get a more efficient CPU. For NAS work, I don't think it'll be that much of an energy hog. Now add in the power supply efficiency, noise and heat.. that's another story.
September 22, 201510 yr Author Now add in the power supply [/size][/font]efficiency, noise and heat.. that's another story. Yeah...2x 1200W PSUs. I emailed SM about the backplane to see if I could get some specs. If this server had the -6f version of that MB (onboard SAS), I would have bought one already.
September 22, 201510 yr Author Got a reply from SM about the backplane... Hi John, Thank you for contacting Supermicro tech support. BPN-SAS-836TQ backplane is a pass through backplane. The limitation is on the motherboard and the controller connect to it. Thank you. DH Technical Support Supermicro
September 26, 201510 yr If my 825 supermicro chassis is anything to go by the biggest issue will be noise. Mine wails like a banshee.
September 29, 201510 yr If my 825 supermicro chassis is anything to go by the biggest issue will be noise. Mine wails like a banshee. And this is precisely why I can't use this server. If I had a basement with sound dampening, not a problem.
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