I'm picking parts for a E5-2683V3 X99 based system with initial plans to add two M.2 SM951 NVME 256GB drives to create a cache pool.  But, I'm struggling to find a X99 mobo that has either:

 

- 4x PCIe x16 slots and 1x M.2 so I can install the 2nd M.2 drive in a x4 card and 3x GPUs in the others

- 3x PCIe x16 slots and 2x M.2 slots

 

So far I think I've got the https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X99A-SLI-PLUS.html#hero-overview for the 1x M.2 slot scenario, but I'm not 100% certain I can install 3 graphics cards if the 4th slot has a x4 card in it and I'm waiting for MSI to get back to me.

 

For the x2 M.2 slot scenario so far I've got the fatal1ty x99 professional gaming i7, but that costs £100 more and has a lot of game features I will never be using. 

 

I was wondering if the community could help with the following please:

 

1a. is there a way for me to keep my VMs etc on 1 cache drive and COPY not MOVE them to the array so I don't need a 2nd drive to create a cache pool for redundancy, then that'd be helpful as it save me money as I can buy a cheaper mobo and only 1 M.2 drive.

1b. Or should I buy an external USB and keep an offline backup of the cache drive?  Is this even possible?  Or create a folder on the array and create a backup job for the cache drive?

2. If 1 isn't possible, does anyone know a X99 mobo that has 4 PCIe slots where the fourth supports at least x4 for the M.2 card?  I don't need x16 in the other 3 as the VMs I'm creating won't be used for gaming.

 

Thanks in advance.

Asus X99-E WS (and its sister versions) should work based on the spec sheet.

 

Having a 2nd disk for a cache pool is an option not a requirement. You can certainly just use 1 M.2 disk for the cache. In term of back-up, it should be possible to rsync the vdisk share onto another SSD mounted through Unassigned Device.

Asus X99-E WS (and its sister versions) should work based on the spec sheet.

 

Having a 2nd disk for a cache pool is an option not a requirement. You can certainly just use 1 M.2 disk for the cache. In term of back-up, it should be possible to rsync the vdisk share onto another SSD mounted through Unassigned Device.

 

Thanks - the Asus WS is too expensive for me.  I've found the Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI which is much more reasonable and won't require me messing with rsync.

resurrecting this thread as I'm trying to reduce costs by not initially buying 2x M.2 drives.

 

Is there an easy way to backup the cache drive (VMs, dockers etc) to the array on a schedule?  I've been searching the forum and I've found a script for plugins, but not an all-in-one way or 'simple' to backup the cache drive.

resurrecting this thread as I'm trying to reduce costs by not initially buying 2x M.2 drives.

 

Is there an easy way to backup the cache drive (VMs, dockers etc) to the array on a schedule?  I've been searching the forum and I've found a script for plugins, but not an all-in-one way or 'simple' to backup the cache drive.

Docker appdata (and flashdrive and VM XML's) use CA's Backup Module (within settings tab)

VM's themselves, danioj's script here http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=47986.0, which you can also add in to the CA's backup custom scripts section to run it automatically.  (or as a user script with the user.scripts plugin)

resurrecting this thread as I'm trying to reduce costs by not initially buying 2x M.2 drives.

 

Is there an easy way to backup the cache drive (VMs, dockers etc) to the array on a schedule?  I've been searching the forum and I've found a script for plugins, but not an all-in-one way or 'simple' to backup the cache drive.

 

Posting what I've found to save anyone reading this the afternoon I spent searching ;-)

 

Appdata backup:  http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=40262.msg467501#msg467501

VM backup: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=47986.0

resurrecting this thread as I'm trying to reduce costs by not initially buying 2x M.2 drives.

 

Is there an easy way to backup the cache drive (VMs, dockers etc) to the array on a schedule?  I've been searching the forum and I've found a script for plugins, but not an all-in-one way or 'simple' to backup the cache drive.

Docker appdata (and flashdrive and VM XML's) use CA's Backup Module (within settings tab)

VM's themselves, danioj's script here http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=47986.0, which you can also add in to the CA's backup custom scripts section to run it automatically.  (or as a user script with the user.scripts plugin)

 

lol I didn't see your post, 90 mins before mine - would have saved myself some research time lol.  Thanks!