Best mobo for Norco 4220?

[tritium6]

I'm planning my first unRAID server. I've decided on the Norco 4220 case and I'm trying to plan out the internals. Which motherboards do you all recommend? How about in the sub-$200 range?

 

I'd like to be able to support the maximum number of drives - should I be trying to get as many onboard SATA ports as possible?

 

Many of the boards listed as supported and tested seem quite old - is it better to get an older (used) motherboard or should I get a new board?

 

Thanks for the advice! Can't wait to get started on my build.

[DocBlock]

The AOC-SASLP-MV8 expansion cards are popular at the moment, and their prices are right, too. That case supports a total of 20 3.5" disks and 2 2.5" disks, along with a slim CD drive slot. Assuming all SATA, that's 23 ports. The SASLP cards provide 8 each, meaning you'd need 7 SATA to fully "deck out" that chassis.

 

Mind you, CD's aren't supported in unRAID, so that drops it to 22. And unRAID only supports 20 disks in the array, so you may not need the extra 2.5 drive bay slots either, bringing the necessary onboard ports down to 4. You will need two PCIe x4 slots for the SASLP controllers, so that's really what you end up with:

 

2 PCIe x4

4 onboard SATA

 

Anything else is whatever you like. I picked up a DFI LanParty board with 3 PCIe x16 slots as an open box for $90 and added a cheap celeron E3300 to it. Things to consider are onboard video and onboard gigabit ethernet that's supported under unRAID.

 

I just went through this same thing. There are plenty of boards out there, and not all of them are a fortune.

 

I too would like to see some more modern choices in the hardware list. While I have the above board, it hasn't been transplanted yet. I'm currently using a very old Asus A8N-SLI with no problems at all, and very good (>50MB/s) performance. So don't be afraid to consider something a bit older.

[Chris Pollard]

might want a cache disk too.

[squirrellydw]

I'm interested in what you decide on. I have the same case and looking for system to put in it.  I would like to have the ability to support all 20 drives but not right away.  Would love to see some suggestions between $300 to $400.

[tritium6]

After a bit more research, I think I want a board that has 6 SATA ports, at least 3 PCI x4 or greater, and onboard video. Stability is the #1 factor. Price is #2. IPMI would be a big bonus. Intel GigE would be a small bonus (I'll probably put an Intel NIC in one of the PCI x4).

 

Regarding IPMI, does it require motherboard support as well as an add on card? Just motherboard support? Or can you put an IPMI card on any mobo?

 

Any mobo suggestions that match these specs would be very welcome!

[Rajahal]

I'm using the ASUS P5BV-M in my Norco 4220, currently priced at about $150.  It has two PCIe x8 slots, so it can support two SuperMicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 cards (+ the 4 onboard SATA) for a total of 20 SATA ports, perfectly matching the 20 bays in the 4220.  It also has onboard video and dual gigabit LAN ports (which unRAID currently can't use).  No IPMI, though.

 

I don't use the extra 2.5" bays, but if I wanted to I would just buy two cheapo PCI cards and use one card for each 2.5" drive (assuming speed matters - if it doesn't, a single PCI card would be fine).

 

As I said in my post about it, the mobo came as a free gift with the 4220.  If I were going to spend that much on a motherboard, I would probably go for SuperMicro and find one with IPMI.  However, now that the price on this ASUS has dropped a bit (it was $175 last time I checked), it may be a decent 'budget' option.

 

Why would you want 6 SATA + 3 x PCIe x4?  That would allow you (6 + 8 + 8 + 8=) 30 SATA ports.  It will most likely be quite a while before a case comes along that can hold 30 drives, or unRAID's drive limit is expanded past 30 (the next step is supposed to be 24).

[BRiT]

I don't use the extra 2.5" bays, but if I wanted to I would just buy two cheapo PCI cards and use one card for each 2.5" drive (assuming speed matters - if it doesn't, a single PCI card would be fine).

 

All devices on the PCI Bus share bandwidth, so 2 single SATA PCI Cards offers the same throughput as 1 dual SATA PCI Card.

[WeeboTech]

After a bit more research, I think I want a board that has 6 SATA ports, at least 3 PCI x4 or greater, and onboard video. Stability is the #1 factor. Price is #2. IPMI would be a big bonus. Intel GigE would be a small bonus (I'll probably put an Intel NIC in one of the PCI x4).

 

Regarding IPMI, does it require motherboard support as well as an add on card? Just motherboard support? Or can you put an IPMI card on any mobo?

 

Any mobo suggestions that match these specs would be very welcome!

 

This is interesting.

 

-> Stability is the #1 factor.

-> IPMI would be a big bonus.

-> Intel GigE would be a small bonus (I'll probably put an Intel NIC in one of the PCI x4).

 

These 3 factors point to an X7SBE or something in that family. Which diminishes acceptance at. -> Price is #2.

 

Now before there is balking on this, Please consider the cost of the PCI x4 NIC's.

Then consider it will take up 1 of the 3 required x4 PCI slots.

 

The X7SBE provides dual built in intel NICS.

Plus the KVM over IP IPMI card has it's own NIC port.

You will have 1 x8 and one x4 PCIe slot.

Yet the AOC-SAT2-MV8's provide dam good performance for the price point.

So you can go with 2 AOC-SASLP cards and/or up to 4 AOC-SAT2-MV8's

Plus there are 6 on board ports.

That's allot of ports and possible growth (grin) Probably more then you will need for a long time.

[Rajahal]

I don't use the extra 2.5" bays, but if I wanted to I would just buy two cheapo PCI cards and use one card for each 2.5" drive (assuming speed matters - if it doesn't, a single PCI card would be fine).

 

All devices on the PCI Bus share bandwidth, so 2 single SATA PCI Cards offers the same throughput as 1 dual SATA PCI Card.

 

Interesting, I didn't realize that - thanks.

[tritium6]

I went with the X8SIA-F with integrated IPMI. http://www.supermicro.com/xeon_3400/Motherboard/X8SIA.cfm?IPMI=Y

 

So can anyone tell me how to use the IPMI? I can't find documentation.

 

My best guess is to plug in the dedicated IPMI 8P8C connector, connect it to my switch, and run some sort of client software. Is that right? Can anyone tell me where to find the client software?