New server build NEED HELP

[tfran1990]

I would like to build in a fractal define r5. spending around 600-700$ for bord cpu and ram

I want to be able to run truenas scale so i can use tailscale for remote backup of my TN Core box.Not sure about pool size yet.

After looking at the Hardware 2021 R2a PDF i see recommendations for

X11SSM-F-O​

X11SCL-F-O​

X11SSL-cF has the sas 3008 built in (cant find where to buy it)

I also see MBD-X12STL-F-O while browsing newegg.

Being able to have more then 64 gigs of ram is a plus. I would like to have a good amount of processing power(plex, docker, tailscale maybe some VM's)will need IPMI. The amount of Sata ports is not to important because i can use an LSI 9211/9208.Can someone sort of point me in the direction? Is there something I am overlooking or not thinking about?

 

[Whattteva]

This one is probably out of your budget, but feel free to check out the system in my signature (NAS1).

 

[tfran1990]

This one is probably out of your budget, but feel free to check out the system in my signature (NAS1).

How much did that setup cost you? Where you able to save by not having to buy UDIMM ECC?
I see it has 2 10g ethernet ports which would be overkill for me.

I See alot of talk about the 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors and the list is huge. That mobo is big$ but the performance you could get from one of the used processors on e bay might offset the cost.

At first i wanted to do a miniITX or microATX but after hearing about problems with cooling drives im just going to go with an ATX.

​

 

[sfatula]

Regarding the need for speed, just be sure you actually need it (unless money is no concern of course). I am running 16 apps including Emby (recording many live tv shows, playback for a bunch of people, etc), database for many other machines to share and log and capture history and all sorts of things, wireguard, handbrake, etc. and 2 vms including HomeAssistant all the time with 2 more here and there such as a virtual Mac I sometimes need, and have a bunch of file serving needs for various purposes including storing backups for a lot of stuff. The Scale machine is doing something probably 22 hours a day. Over the course of a month, I average just over 2% cpu with an old E5-2698v3 (for those who have read this before I have expanded my use). For my use case at least, this was massive overkill. But the decent number of cores didn't hurt I am sure, less cores would probably perform worse for my use with so many things going on simultaneously.

 

[Whattteva]

How much did that setup cost you?

About $1500 USD when all set and done. All used off eBay (yes even the HDD's) with the exception of the case (couldn't find that used).

Where you able to save by not having to buy UDIMM ECC?

Oh yeah, plenty. 64 GB sticks cost me only around $85, 32 GB around $30 at the time. You can probably find them even cheaper now. A quick search shows you can get a 64 GB stick as low as $50 now.

I see it has 2 10g ethernet ports which would be overkill for me

Yeah, it is overkill for me also, but I got it really more for the 8 DIMM slots and the fact that the seller also bundled the Xeon Silver with it complete with the heatsink/fan and an 8 GB stick (lulz, I don't use the 8 GB stick, I feel like it was a bit of a joke, but hey not gonna refuse free stuff).

I See alot of talk about the 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors and the list is huge. That mobo is big$ but the performance you could get from one of the used processors on e bay might offset the cost.

Performance is great. I don't have a GPU and most of my devices can play my videos natively, but 4k can be a problem for some older devices. In those cases, I just brute-force transcode it. The CPU has enough raw power to live-transcode at least 1x 4k stream (haven't tried more than one).

At first i wanted to do a miniITX or microATX but after hearing about problems with cooling drives im just going to go with an ATX.

My first NAS is a miniITX (retired in my signature). Unless you plan on moving this thing around a lot, go with ATX (or Full ATX in my case).
I have no regrets, I have plenty of room for expansion, I can install anything I want in there and since I have so much room, I have the option of installing bigger fans at low rpm's (6x 140mm) and it's whisper quiet (I can run it in the bedroom). So, I have a system that's powerful and super quiet and can run a lot of VM's cause I have 224 GB of RAM (and I still have 4 empty DIMM slots if I need more RAM).

 

[tfran1990]

Regarding the need for speed, just be sure you actually need it (unless money is no concern of course). I am running 16 apps including Emby (recording many live tv shows, playback for a bunch of people, etc), database for many other machines to share and log and capture history and all sorts of things, wireguard, handbrake, etc. and 2 vms including HomeAssistant all the time with 2 more here and there such as a virtual Mac I sometimes need, and have a bunch of file serving needs for various purposes including storing backups for a lot of stuff. The Scale machine is doing something probably 22 hours a day. Over the course of a month, I average just over 2% cpu with an old E5-2698v3 (for those who have read this before I have expanded my use). For my use case at least, this was massive overkill. But the decent number of cores didn't hurt I am sure, less cores would probably perform worse for my use with so many things going on simultaneously.

Ya..... i dont need that much power. Like @Whattteva said, its great for getting past UDIMM usage and having lots of ram for scale requirements.

Can you recommend a build using a scalable Bronze 3206R (or something more reasonable for my needs)

 

[Etorix]

Assuming you want so much CPU power and/or RAM as to warrant using a Xeon Scalable rather than a Core/Xeon E3v6/Xeon E-2000, which should have lower idle power, you should go for 1st generation Gold—or 2nd gen. if the price is right.
There's no reason to go for Bronze, which has low core count and low clock, unless you want PCIe lanes and nothing else.

If you're set on Xeon Scalable, go and look first for C621 motherboards (or C622, although you're not interested in 10GbE at this point).
You may also look for complete workstations based on Xeon Scalable or Xeon W-2000: If the chassis can accomodate enough drives for your NAS, buying a refurbished system may be cheaper than a build from refurbished parts.

Edit: Added W-2000 workstations as possible option. If building from parts, suitable (server!) motherboards would be Supermicro X11SRL-F and X11SRM-F/VF.

 

[tfran1990]

Assuming you want so much CPU power and/or RAM as to warrant using a Xeon Scalable rather than a Core/Xeon E3v6/Xeon E-2000, which should have lower idle power, you should go for 1st generation Gold—or 2nd gen. if the price is right.
There's no reason to go for Bronze, which has low core count and low clock, unless you want PCIe lanes and nothing else.

If you're set on Xeon Scalable, go and look first for C621 motherboards (or C622, although you're not interested in 10GbE at this point).
You may also look for complete workstations based on Xeon Scalable or Xeon W-2000: If the chassis can accomodate enough drives for your NAS, buying a refurbished system may be cheaper than a build from refurbished parts.

Edit: Added W-2000 workstations as possible option. If building from parts, suitable (server!) motherboards would be Supermicro X11SRL-F and X11SRM-F/VF.

can you give me an example of a board that will use Xeon E-2000( this supports LRDIMM i think)?

X11SSM-F uses E3 V6, I could just max out the memory and get a E3-1285v6
X11SSM-F is 119$ on ebay
xeon E31285 v6 150$ ebay
4x16g eccddr4 ram 180$
Define R5 160$
corsair RM or AX(no sure)
I guess i was not thinking about it but im going to need a CPU cooler for socket 1151 as well. Noctua will be around 85-100$

 

[tfran1990]

Actually i found a MBD-X11SCH-F for 300$ that would get me past the 64g ram cap and gets me to the E-2100/E2200

 

[Etorix]

Xeon E3 / E-2000 : UDIMM. These are Core CPUs with ECC (and support for 128 GB RAM, contrary to Core i3).
Xeon W-2000 : RDIMM.

 

[tfran1990]

Xeon E3 / E-2000 : UDIMM. These are Core CPUs with ECC (and support for 128 GB RAM, contrary to Core i3).
Xeon W-2000 : RDIMM.

Im looking on ebay and i see cpu's marked with "intel confidential" or QQm6/SRFDE.
What is your experience with buying them, good/bad? A lot of E-waste gets recycled and prolly ends up in china so most may actually be legit,Right?

 

[Etorix]

"Intel Confidential" (and low price) indicates that it is a sample, not the final ("retail") product.
Qualification Sample (QS) should be similar to the final product…
Engineering Sample (ES) might have some bugs, run at lower frequency and/or require a special BIOS version in qualified motherboards to run. Do NOT enter this rabbit hole for a NAS whose purpose is to keep your data safe.