optiman Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 My old supermicro board is having issues and I'd like to replace it. I didn't realize it would be so hard to select a new board, so I'm asking this group of unraid experts. What I need: -13+ internal Sata3 6gb ports - for my drives. I would rather this be builtin the motherboard. Second option is to add Sata3 6gb controller cards that has enough ports (pci x16, as I want full speed). -If the sata3 ports are not on the motherboard, I need a Sata3 6gb addon card to support all of my drives. -1 eSata3 6gb port - I use this for preclearing drives before I add to my array. -Dual gig lan ports for Teaming / bonding. I run teaming now with an intel nic, but it seems I only get failover or backup, and not double the bandwidth (2gb link). Most boards with dual nics have one Intel and one other chipset?? If Teaming doesn't work well with two nics with different chipsets, then I'll need yet another addon card for this, and the MB will need the pci slot for it. -Onboard video would bbe nice, or I will need a pci x16 slot for a video card. -USB 3.x ports - for my boot usb stick -PWM fan connector - for case fans I have a full case, so either ATX or Ext ATX is cool. My server doesn't need top of the line CPU, but Intel Gen 4 or newer would be nice, 1150 or 2011 v3 perhaps I will buy new memory, so that doesn't matter to me. I will run at least 16gb. I'm running 12 now and have no memory issues. Most important, reliability and compatibility with Unraid. There are a lot of boards out there, some very old and some brand new (not tested with unraid), so this is much harder than I expected. Thanks for your assistance! Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 No personal experience, but I bookmarked this motherboard someone recently posted that looked like a good one for my purposes anyway. YMMV https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182995 It is 1151 package, and support various CPUs. 8 SATA ports. You could add another 8 on an x8 controller card (like LSI SAS9201-8i) and have 16 fast ports. You do not need an x16 card. PCIe 2.0 x8 is very much capable of producing full speed for 8 drives (500 MB/sec for each drive). It could even support 16 ports quite nicely, so you could step up to the LSI SAS9201-16i card for 16 ports (250 MB/sec would not be limiting for anything spinning). A cheaper option (maybe cheaper than the -8i card above) is the LSI SAS9201-16e. It supports 16 drives, but cables plug into external side of the card, so cables must be routed into the case for internal drives. If this slight annoyance is not a problem, a PCI 2.0 x8 card supporting 16 drives for < $50 is a great deal if you need support for that many drives. (The -16i card costs 4x as much!) Good luck with your hunt! Quote Link to comment
JorgeB Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 8 hours ago, bjp999 said: but I bookmarked this motherboard someone recently posted that looked like a good one for my purposes anyway You may want to consider this one also: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813183013 Similar but a little cheaper, difference is that replaces the NVMe slot with an extra pcie x4 slot, have some of these and very happy with them, also very power efficient. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 Thanks guys! I appreciate your suggestions - both look very good. I'll review in detail and let reply back with the one I selected. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 (edited) On 5/23/2017 at 5:25 PM, bjp999 said: No personal experience, but I bookmarked this motherboard someone recently posted that looked like a good one for my purposes anyway. YMMV https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182995 It is 1151 package, and support various CPUs. 8 SATA ports. You could add another 8 on an x8 controller card (like LSI SAS9201-8i) and have 16 fast ports. You do not need an x16 card. PCIe 2.0 x8 is very much capable of producing full speed for 8 drives (500 MB/sec for each drive). It could even support 16 ports quite nicely, so you could step up to the LSI SAS9201-16i card for 16 ports (250 MB/sec would not be limiting for anything spinning). A cheaper option (maybe cheaper than the -8i card above) is the LSI SAS9201-16e. It supports 16 drives, but cables plug into external side of the card, so cables must be routed into the case for internal drives. If this slight annoyance is not a problem, a PCI 2.0 x8 card supporting 16 drives for < $50 is a great deal if you need support for that many drives. (The -16i card costs 4x as much!) Good luck with your hunt! I cannot find the LSI SAS9201-8i, except used on ebay. It looks like it has 2 x SFF-mini-SAS internal connectors and not sata III connectors, which I prefer. I did find LSI 9300-8i, but it doesn't have the internal sata connectors either but at least it is for sale as new. So you have to use the breakout cables to connect sata III drives with this one too. I ordered the X11SSM-F-O motherboard and Intel Xeon E3-1275 v6 Kaby Lake 3.8 GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1151 73W BX80677E31275V6. For memory I went with 2x Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 RAM (Server Memory) ECC DIMM (288-Pin) KVR24E17S8/8 (16gb for now, but can get two more for 32gb later). Because the cpu has integrated graphics and dual nics, I only need to add more sata III ports and good to go. Thanks! Edited May 28, 2017 by Switchblade Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 I do believe that the LSI SAS9201-8i is SATA 3 (6Gb/sec). See this eBay add that lists the specs. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LSI-Logic-SAS9201-8i-6GB-PCIe-Express-2-0-RAID-Card-LP-/142124889344 Quote Link to comment
JorgeB Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 7 hours ago, bjp999 said: I do believe that the LSI SAS9201-8i is SATA 3 (6Gb/sec). See this eBay add that lists the specs. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LSI-Logic-SAS9201-8i-6GB-PCIe-Express-2-0-RAID-Card-LP-/142124889344 It is, if you want to buy new you can get the LSI 9207-8i, similar but PCIe 3.0, but note that performance with HDDs will be the as the 9201/9211. Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 13 hours ago, Switchblade said: I cannot find the LSI SAS9201-8i, except used on ebay. It looks like it has 2 x SFF-mini-SAS internal connectors and not sata III connectors, which I prefer. I did find LSI 9300-8i, but it doesn't have the internal sata connectors either but at least it is for sale as new. So you have to use the breakout cables to connect sata III drives with this one too. I ordered the X11SSM-F-O motherboard and Intel Xeon E3-1275 v6 Kaby Lake 3.8 GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1151 73W BX80677E31275V6. For memory I went with 2x Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 RAM (Server Memory) ECC DIMM (288-Pin) KVR24E17S8/8 (16gb for now, but can get two more for 32gb later). Because the cpu has integrated graphics and dual nics, I only need to add more sata III ports and good to go. Thanks! BTW - looks like an awesome build! First I've seen with Kaby Xeon, which has special features for handling 10 bit HEVC. Will be watching your build with interest! Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 29, 2017 Author Share Posted May 29, 2017 6 hours ago, johnnie.black said: It is, if you want to buy new you can get the LSI 9207-8i, similar but PCIe 3.0, but note that performance with HDDs will be the as the 9201/9211. The 9207 is about the same cost as the new 9300, so I'd be inclined to buy the newer model. Looking at the specs, they seem to be the same, except the 9300 will support 12/Gps drives for future. Anyone running the 9300 with unraid? Quote Link to comment
JorgeB Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 The 9300 will only link at 12Gbps with SAS3 disks, SATA disks are still 6gbps max, but as long as someone can confirm it works with unRAID buy that one, I know the 9207 works as I have one. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 29, 2017 Author Share Posted May 29, 2017 @ bjp999 - thanks, I'm really looking forward to building this one. I was surprised that the X11SSM with the new bios update supports the Kaby Lake processors, running at 73w. I almost went with the Skylake v5, same money but a little slower speed and runs at 80w. With all of my drives being sata 3, performance should be very good. Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Good choice. I think that the HEVC 10 bit support will be more valuable than the tiny amount of extra speed from the Skylake. Have you thought about how you'll update the BIOS? Used to be, you'd need an older generation CPU in place to update the BIOS before installing the newer generation. Perhaps with IPMI it can be done even without a CPU. Would hate the toys to arrive and be stuck at the starting line! Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 29, 2017 Author Share Posted May 29, 2017 My hope is that the mb comes with at least 2.0, which supports the new v6 processors. They released 2.0a two months ago. Otherwise, I'll have to borrow a cpu from work. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 29, 2017 Author Share Posted May 29, 2017 52 minutes ago, johnnie.black said: The 9300 will only link at 12Gbps with SAS3 disks, SATA disks are still 6gbps max, but as long as someone can confirm it works with unRAID buy that one, I know the 9207 works as I have one. I stand corrected. The 9207 is $99. on newegg, https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAD5G5JG6318&ignorebbr=1 Along with being cheaper than the 9300, I'll go with the tested and proven card so no issues. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Check this out as a BIOS upgrade option - may work with no CPU, as my understanding is that IPMI does not use the system CPU or RAM. https://www.virtuallifestyle.nl/2016/08/better-way-update-supermicro-bios-via-ipmi/ Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 If I got a PCIe 3.0 x8 card, I'd want it to support more than 8 drives. Wonder why they don't make a -16i? or -32i! More than enough bandwidth. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 29, 2017 Author Share Posted May 29, 2017 16 minutes ago, bjp999 said: Check this out as a BIOS upgrade option - may work with no CPU, as my understanding is that IPMI does not use the system CPU or RAM. https://www.virtuallifestyle.nl/2016/08/better-way-update-supermicro-bios-via-ipmi/ Thanks! That is a cool option. I have not yet played with IPMI, but it looks easy. I'll let you know how it goes. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 I have been exchanging email with Supermicro tech support and I found out today that this mb does not support the use of cpu integrated graphics. The VGA port is useless and because of this, they recommend that I go with Intel Xeon E3-1270 v5 SkyLake 3.6 GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1151 80W BX80662E31270V5. They said the v6 kaby lake processors will work, but I can get the E3 12270 v5 for less than $200 from a friend who works at Intel. My buddy cannot get me the v6 at all, so those are full price. I'm on the fence to cancel my E3-1275 v6 Kaby Lake order and just buy the 1270 v5. Without the use the integrated video, there is not all that much to gain by getting the 1275 v6 cpu, so I might as well save the $200 and get the v5. would you agree? Quote Link to comment
SSD Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Is the VGA on the motherboard a separate chip? Why would it not work even if not tied to the CPUs VGA ability. (There is probably a good reason.) With IPMI you can access the BIOS screen from a remote computer. In essence, you don't need a monitor / keyboard. (That being said, I still like having the local monitor/keyboard for when I am working on the server. ) I understand that yoiu'd be able to get a sizable savings with the other chip. I am not 100% clear the advantage of the Kaby Lake in the server. I do expect it could transode `10-bit HEVC into 1080p very much better than the SkyLake. Do your research and determine if that is true, and how much that ability is worth to you in dollars and convenience. If this transcode isn't a big deal, I believe that the CPU speeds are virtually the same. No wrong decision - its what works best for you. Cheers! Quote Link to comment
JonathanM Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 2 hours ago, Switchblade said: this mb does not support the use of cpu integrated graphics. The VGA port is useless I don't understand why you say this. The VGA port is run by the same chip that is used for IPMI, the aspeed controller. It's very much NOT useless. Quote Link to comment
optiman Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 VGA useless means I still have to add a video card to attach a monitor for console. The vga port cannot do this and does not support cpu integrated graphics = useless to me Here is what the tech said, On X11SSM-F, the VGA port is only connected to ASPEED AST 2400 GPU for Video output The X11SSM-F can support Kaby Lake (v6) processors by updating the BIOS to 2.0 or above. As for using internal graphics integrated in some of the E3-1200 CPU, this X11SSM-F does not have the hardware needed to support it. To be able to use iGPU motherboards would require additional external power to the graphic core in CPU. Quote Link to comment
JorgeB Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 2 hours ago, Switchblade said: VGA useless means I still have to add a video card to attach a monitor for console. Incorrect, included VGA works for the console, it won't work for VM passthrough. Quote Link to comment
Diggewuff Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I just built a server on a E3-1245v6 and a X11 SSi-LN4F can't use the internal graphics but bought the processor nevertheless because it was only 5€ extra. I'm not sure if it helps on transcoding...? But a transcoded 4K HVEC stream on plex don't bothers the cpu very much. I have full console access including bios over ipmi in the web browser over HTML5 (no crappy java like on the asus board i had before) and also have access to console using vga powered by the on board Aspeed 2400 chip. A problem of the SM Boards is the Fancontoll of low rpm fans. Buy fans that spin at least on 500RPM on 50% PWM value!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
burtjr Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 3 hours ago, johnnie.black said: Incorrect, included VGA works for the console, it won't work for VM passthrough. +1 Quote Link to comment
JorgeB Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Also, with IPMI you don't really need the VGA port, I bough one of my X11SSM-F half price from an ebay auction because the VGA out isn't working, I always use IPMI and if some reason I need to attach a monitor I can temporarily use a pcie GPU. Quote Link to comment
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