Help me decide on a new build

[GiuseppeChillemi]

Hi,
I have a x-case 24 slots, I need IPMI and 64GB ECC DDR4 and I have to attach more than 10 sata drives.
Also, I whish to use a XEON E3-1230v5 or a E3-12xxL family.

Which Supermicro board let me attach a SATA/SAS expander ? And which SAS/SATA expander is compatible with Supermicro boards ?

Regards,
Giuseppe Chillemi

 

[Ericloewe]

Which Supermicro board let me attach a SATA/SAS expander ? And which SAS/SATA expander is compatible with Supermicro boards ?

Expanders have absolutely nothing to do with the motherboard.

E3-12xxL

No you don't.

I have a x-case 24 slots, I need IPMI and 64GB ECC DDR4 and I have to attach more than 10 sata drives.

How many drives? 24?

X11SSH-CTF plus an expander is an option, but if you're starting at 64GB of memory, a Xeon E5 might make more sense.

Also, because this is unrelated to the thread, I've asked the mods to move this to a new thread.

 

[GiuseppeChillemi]

Expanders have absolutely nothing to do with the motherboard.

I know expander they depends from the controller.
My knowledge ends here. Could any SATA controller work together to any expander ?

How many drives? 24?

18 Drives

(Note: I have an IBM m1015 controller too. But If I can rely on motherboard controller to connect to an expander I would save it)

X11SSH-CTF plus an expander is an option, but if you're starting at 64GB of memory, a Xeon E5 might make more sense.

I think I will start at 16 or 32, later I'll expand to 64.

Also, because this is unrelated to the thread, I've asked the mods to move this to a new thread.

Every place is a good place to talk into.

Regards,
Giuseppe Chillemi

 

[Ericloewe]

Could any SATA controller work together to any expander ?

No, not at all.

SATA controllers do not work with SAS expanders. Some SATA controllers work with SATA port multipliers, but those are universally crap.

jgreco has written an excellent guide that will cover the basics of SATA and SAS.

As for suggestions, since you already have an M1015, here's what I'd do:

• Get a motherboard without an integrated LSI SAS controller. Say, X11SSM-F, for instance. Besides that, you'd need an SAS expander to go along with your M1015. Intel's 24-port expander would be perfect for your case.
• A slightly less neat option would be to get a second LSI SAS controller (M1015/other PCI-e card or integrated in the motherboard) and wire the drives without expanders. Two LSI SAS controllers give you 16 ports, so you'd need two SATA ports from the motherboard, leaving you 4-6 available for boot devices or whatever. This option may be cheaper.

 

[Dice]

Intel's 24-port expander would be perfect for your case.

I found this: Intel RAID Expander RES2CV360 36 Port SAS/SATA ..except it is 36port, is it the same 'series' that you're referring to?

 

[GiuseppeChillemi]

No, not at all.

SATA controllers do not work with SAS expanders. Some SATA controllers work with SATA port multipliers, but those are universally crap.

I supposed this.

jgreco has written an excellent guide that will cover the basics of SATA and SAS.

I'll give it a deep read

As for suggestions, since you already have an M1015, here's what I'd do:

• Get a motherboard without an integrated LSI SAS controller. Say, X11SSM-F, for instance. Besides that, you'd need an SAS expander to go along with your M1015. Intel's 24-port expander would be perfect for your case.
• A slightly less neat option would be to get a second LSI SAS controller (M1015/other PCI-e card or integrated in the motherboard) and wire the drives without expanders. Two LSI SAS controllers give you 16 ports, so you'd need two SATA ports from the motherboard, leaving you 4-6 available for boot devices or whatever. This option may be cheaper.

Supermicro 1151 boards are very rare here in italy and they cost 1,5 as much as USA.
I am now searching for a replacement with IPMI support and ECC but I cannot find one.

As for IBM M1015 .. yes, I have TWO of them but X-Case backplane accept only sas female connetors

 

[GiuseppeChillemi]

I found this: Intel RAID Expander RES2CV360 36 Port SAS/SATA ..except it is 36port, is it the same 'series' that you're referring to?

It seems too much as I have "only" 24 bays.

I have found an HP 24 Bays SAS Expander 487738-001) which costs only 80USD.

However the main problem persists: I don't know which motherboard to buy.

Recentrly I have found this one: Supermicro X11SAE-F. My fear is that IBM M1015 and HP SAS would occupy both PCIe slots and there would be no space for an high end graphic card to passthru to a virtual machine as I whish to build a whitebox.

 

[Ericloewe]

I found this: Intel RAID Expander RES2CV360 36 Port SAS/SATA ..except it is 36port, is it the same 'series' that you're referring to?

Yeah, same thing, IIRC, but instead of using LSI's 24-port chip, it uses the 36-port one.

 

[Dice]

It seems too much as I have "only" 24 bays.

I said that too when I bought my first 8 port controller x)

Yeah, same thing, IIRC, but instead of using LSI's 24-port chip, it uses the 36-port one.

thnx.