Last Minute Hardware Check

[backdoc]

I have been researching the hell out of this and ready to pull the trigger. But, I'd like ask the forum to see if you can spot anything I'm missing or just plain wrong.

I will be installing Scale (maybe Core) to replace my aging FreeNAS server running on an HP N40L. I want to be able to use 8 3.5" drives, 4 4TB Reds and 4 2TB Blacks. So, I settled on a motherboard with with 8 onboard SATA ports. I think I have 2 main concerns about the hardware I have in my shopping carts. The motherboard specs say that a SATA port is shared with the M.1 slot. So, I'm down to 7 ports. From reading on the TrueNAS forums, it seems the solution to that is buy an LSI HBA in IT mode.

The other question is regarding the power supply. I read up on that on the forums some, too. I'm no engineer. So, I don't trust myself to come up with an accurate assessment. I have built a few PC's over the years and just always picked a 750W PS to ensure I had headroom for additional hardware. I've never run into any problems. But, I understand that's not the best approach. The estimated wattage on pcpartpicker.com is 298W (not includding the LSI card). So, with that in mind, I put a Seasonic 650W Platinum PS in my cart. I can go with the 550W if that's better.

Thanks for taking the time to check over my selection. Here's the complete list I plan to pull the trigger on.

EDIT: Motherboard was no longer available. So, I switched it to the Supermicro. Had to switch memory to match. I hope it all works together. I did verify the ethernet is Intel. I just pulled the trigger. I'd still appreciate any comments while there's still time to make changes to orders.

• Node 804
• AsRock Rack E3C246D4U Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246
• SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCH-LN4F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246
• Intel Xeon E-2146G Coffee Lake 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 80W BX80684E2146G Server Processor Intel UHD Graphics P630
• Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe M.2 2280 500GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS500G2B0C (boot drive - I know this is probably a little large for a boot drive, but it's only $49)
• Genuine LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9201-8i (=9211-8i) P20 IT Mode ZFS FreeNAS unRAID
• (decided on the 550W) Either the Seasonic Focus Platinum 550W OR Seasonic Focus Platinum 650W
• (2 for 64G total) M391A4G43MB1-CTD - Samsung 1x 32GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM PC4-21300V-E Dual Rank x8 Module
• (2 for 64G total) MEM-DR432L-SL01-EU26 - Supermicro 1x 32GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM PC4-21300V-E Dual Rank x8 Replacement
• 4 WD Red Plus 4TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s, CMR, 128MB Cache, 3.5 Inch - WD40EFZX - OEM
• 4 WD Black 2TB (no link, these are existing drives)

 

[JohnK]

I think technically that will work, but I'm sure much more knowledgeable people here would tell you if it wouldn't. Just some thoughts.
1. you will need breakout cables SAS to SATA
2. Note these HBA cards can have connectors on the top or at the back. Normally not a problem until you try to install into 836. (3U)
3. I love the Fractal Design cases. I started with R5 until I lost my first disk. It was a pain trying to figure out which disk was dead and then to replace
4. Been running the Seasonic platinums for years and never had an issue.
5. Don't believe you need a processor with lots of graphics, but probably depends on your long term plans

 

[backdoc]

I think technically that will work, but I'm sure much more knowledgeable people here would tell you if it wouldn't. Just some thoughts.
1. you will need breakout cables SAS to SATA
2. Note these HBA cards can have connectors on the top or at the back. Normally not a problem until you try to install into 836. (3U)
3. I love the Fractal Design cases. I started with R5 until I lost my first disk. It was a pain trying to figure out which disk was dead and then to replace
4. Been running the Seasonic platinums for years and never had an issue.
5. Don't believe you need a processor with lots of graphics, but probably depends on your long term plans

Thank you so much for your reply.

1. I didn't know about the SAS to SATA. Thanks for pointing that out.
3. I just bought a Fractal Design 7 for the PC I'm typing on (nice Ryzen 9)
4. Do you have an opinion on wattage?
5. I do intend to run my Plex server on there. And, I'm tired of not being able to transcode, although, in most cases I think I use Direct Play.

 

[NugentS]

*The M.2 slot (M2_1) is shared with the SATA_0 connector. When M2_1 is populated with a M.2 SATA3/ PCIE3.0(x4 or x2) module, SATA_0 is disabled.

Its the usual gobbledegook - but doesn't that mean if you put a SATA drive in the M.2 then SATA0 is disabled. If you use an M.2 NVME then you still have SATA0?

 

[NugentS]

Based on that I would hold off buying the LSI card and just try the 8 SATA ports and the M.2 NVME in the slot. You will know very quickly if its gonna work and you can then order the LSI and breakout cables.

 

[backdoc]

Based on that I would hold off buying the LSI card and just try the 8 SATA ports and the M.2 NVME in the slot. You will know very quickly if its gonna work and you can then order the LSI and breakout cables.

Okay. It sounded like I'd lose sata 0. But, it would worth trying without the LSI. Honestly, I could live with 7 HDD's. I know I have 3 good 2T WD Blacks in my current NAS (the fourth one is degraded). I *think* I have another spare to use as my 8th drive. But, if not, I'll just figure out some kind of RAID for a 3 disk setup.

 

[JohnK]

Thank you so much for your reply.

1. I didn't know about the SAS to SATA. Thanks for pointing that out.
3. I just bought a Fractal Design 7 for the PC I'm typing on (nice Ryzen 9)
4. Do you have an opinion on wattage?
5. I do intend to run my Plex server on there. And, I'm tired of not being able to transcode, although, in most cases I think I use Direct Play.

1. I bought these, but you need to determine the length you need.

Amazon.com

Personally I run everything on ESXI so there being able to pass through the card is a must
3. I find these cases often catering for radiators etc, all things you probably will not use. Having hot swappable drives, once you had it, you never want to go back.
4. I used 650 when I started, but since went with I believe 800w duel power supplies in both my servers
5. Ok, this seems like new features being able to use GPU. At the time I built mine, that was just at a start. Still, I use a much older CPU and have no problem with transcoding. I even ran my server on a i3 and could easily transcode anything I threw at it.

 

[backdoc]

1. I bought these, but you need to determine the length you need.

Amazon.com

Personally I run everything on ESXI so there being able to pass through the card is a must
3. I find these cases often catering for radiators etc, all things you probably will not use. Having hot swappable drives, once you had it, you never want to go back.
4. I used 650 when I started, but since went with I believe 800w duel power supplies in both my servers
5. Ok, this seems like new features being able to use GPU. At the time I built mine, that was just at a start. Still, I use a much older CPU and have no problem with transcoding. I even ran my server on a i3 and could easily transcode anything I threw at it.

I really like the idea of hot swappable. But, my current NAS isn't. It has a door on the front and the drives pop out like they are hot swap but supposedly they aren't. I've never popped one out to see what happened. What case do you have?

I haven't totally decided what I'm going to throw at it. I was worried that CPU might be too slow. I don't have a good concept of Xeon speeds. I just know that I want it to have Quick Sync, AES NI and Virtualization. I have 2 mac minis running Linux that I'm thinking I might replace with VM's on the new NAS. That's why I'm thinking Scale. One of my mac minis is a VPN gateway. But, it is a huge bottleneck in my network. So, I don't use it for that. I want to replace it with a VM or docker on my new server. I just want to be sure I have enough CPU to do normal NAS stuff like Samba, Time Machine backup, Plex, some Docker Apps and VMs.

 

[JohnK]

I really like the idea of hot swappable. But, my current NAS isn't. It has a door on the front and the drives pop out like they are hot swap but supposedly they aren't. I've never popped one out to see what happened. What case do you have?

I haven't totally decided what I'm going to throw at it. I was worried that CPU might be too slow. I don't have a good concept of Xeon speeds. I just know that I want it to have Quick Sync, AES NI and Virtualization. I have 2 mac minis running Linux that I'm thinking I might replace with VM's on the new NAS. That's why I'm thinking Scale. One of my mac minis is a VPN gateway. But, it is a huge bottleneck in my network. So, I don't use it for that. I want to replace it with a VM or docker on my new server. I just want to be sure I have enough CPU to do normal NAS stuff like Samba, Time Machine backup, Plex, some Docker Apps and VMs.

I use two Supermicro chassis, bought on Ebay. These things are great if you have a server rack in your basement. Less nice when you just moved down to Florida and have no basement. Still after looking at all kind of new hardware, I will keep these as they are just so convenient and run really cool. And yes, I run them standing up vertically.

SC836BA-R920B | 3U | Chassis | Products | Supermicro

836BA-R920B

www.supermicro.com

My processor is older and runs FreeNas (soon to be TrueNAS), Plex, Nextcloud and a few Win 7s at around 40% consumed CPU and 28GB ram.

 

[backdoc]

I use two Supermicro chassis, bought on Ebay. These things are great if you have a server rack in your basement. Less nice when you just moved down to Florida and have no basement. Still after looking at all kind of new hardware, I will keep these as they are just so convenient and run really cool. And yes, I run them standing up vertically.

SC836BA-R920B | 3U | Chassis | Products | Supermicro

836BA-R920B

www.supermicro.com

My processor is older and runs FreeNas (soon to be TrueNAS), Plex, Nextcloud and a few Win 7s at around 40% consumed CPU and 28GB ram.

Oh man.. I should be good on CPU and RAM then. I've had a few suggest that I get a used rack. I would love to spend half the money and get one. But, I don't want to put a rack in my spare bedroom/office. I want something quiet and inconspicuous. Florida! Nice. I'm in Mississippi. It's not the greatest state, but it's not bad . It's home and I think it's better than some others.

 

[backdoc]

Well, as luck would have it, my motherboard sold out while it was in my cart. Do you think the Supermicro X11SCH-LN4F would work equally well? I had a hard time finding memory I thought would work. But, I chatted with the folks at memory.net and they say MEM-DR432L-SL01-EU26 will work. It's not an exact match on Supermicro's tested memory list. But, they don't have much to pick from on their list.

It's a done deal. All ordered. Thanks for the help.

 

[JohnK]

Well, as luck would have it, my motherboard sold out while it was in my cart. Do you think the Supermicro X11SCH-LN4F would work equally well? I had a hard time finding memory I thought would work. But, I chatted with the folks at memory.net and they say MEM-DR432L-SL01-EU26 will work. It's not an exact match on Supermicro's tested memory list. But, they don't have much to pick from on their list.

It's a done deal. All ordered. Thanks for the help.

you gain two NICs but loose a PCI-E 3.0 x8. Other than that, those two boards look very similar.

 

[Etorix]

doesn't that mean if you put a SATA drive in the M.2 then SATA0 is disabled. If you use an M.2 NVME then you still have SATA0?

Correct! 8 SATA ports, so HBA and cables are not needed if there are no further drives.
Fine part list; switching ECC UDIMMs for other ECC UDIMMS (to match the QVL of each board I suppose?) was really abundance of caution…

 

[backdoc]

Correct! 8 SATA ports, so HBA and cables are not needed if there are no further drives.
Fine part list; switching ECC UDIMMs for other ECC UDIMMS (to match the QVL of each board I suppose?) was really abundance of caution…

Not sure if you noticed. But, I had to swap the motherboard and memory because the motherboard was sold while I was doing final checks had it in my cart. I updated the original post with the final hardware so others could use it as a guide for compatible parts (assuming my parts work out okay).

I had gone back and forth between these two boards anyway. So, other than being a few dollars more expensive, it wasn't a big deal to me. For memory, hardly Supermicro lists any specific memory options. So, to hedge my bets on getting compatible memory, I asked for help on memory.net. They were responsive via chat and said the memory would work. So, I guess I just have to cross my fingers. And, I feel like they will stand behind it, if there's an issue.

 

[backdoc]

I have been researching the hell out of this and ready to pull the trigger. But, I'd like ask the forum to see if you can spot anything I'm missing or just plain wrong.

I will be installing Scale (maybe Core) to replace my aging FreeNAS server running on an HP N40L. I want to be able to use 8 3.5" drives, 4 4TB Reds and 4 2TB Blacks. So, I settled on a motherboard with with 8 onboard SATA ports. I think I have 2 main concerns about the hardware I have in my shopping carts. The motherboard specs say that a SATA port is shared with the M.1 slot. So, I'm down to 7 ports. From reading on the TrueNAS forums, it seems the solution to that is buy an LSI HBA in IT mode.

The other question is regarding the power supply. I read up on that on the forums some, too. I'm no engineer. So, I don't trust myself to come up with an accurate assessment. I have built a few PC's over the years and just always picked a 750W PS to ensure I had headroom for additional hardware. I've never run into any problems. But, I understand that's not the best approach. The estimated wattage on pcpartpicker.com is 298W (not includding the LSI card). So, with that in mind, I put a Seasonic 650W Platinum PS in my cart. I can go with the 550W if that's better.

Thanks for taking the time to check over my selection. Here's the complete list I plan to pull the trigger on.

EDIT: Motherboard was no longer available. So, I switched it to the Supermicro. Had to switch memory to match. I hope it all works together. I did verify the ethernet is Intel. I just pulled the trigger. I'd still appreciate any comments while there's still time to make changes to orders.

• Node 804
• AsRock Rack E3C246D4U Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246
• SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCH-LN4F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246
• Intel Xeon E-2146G Coffee Lake 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 80W BX80684E2146G Server Processor Intel UHD Graphics P630
• Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe M.2 2280 500GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS500G2B0C (boot drive - I know this is probably a little large for a boot drive, but it's only $49)
• Genuine LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9201-8i (=9211-8i) P20 IT Mode ZFS FreeNAS unRAID
• (decided on the 550W) Either the Seasonic Focus Platinum 550W OR Seasonic Focus Platinum 650W
• (2 for 64G total) M391A4G43MB1-CTD - Samsung 1x 32GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM PC4-21300V-E Dual Rank x8 Module
• (2 for 64G total) MEM-DR432L-SL01-EU26 - Supermicro 1x 32GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM PC4-21300V-E Dual Rank x8 Replacement
• 4 WD Red Plus 4TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s, CMR, 128MB Cache, 3.5 Inch - WD40EFZX - OEM
• 4 WD Black 2TB (no link, these are existing drives)

I just want to report back that I can confirm these parts do work. I finished putting it all together about 2 weeks ago. But, I've been doing backups of my existing FreeNAS server and haven't really made any progress setting up the new box. I also decided to add an additional 2 WD Red Plus 4TB drives because I figured RAIDZ2 would only take a 1/3 of my space as opposed to 1/2. I will add that I was surprised at how large the 804 is. I was expecting something a little more compact. I guess I could have looked closer at the specs and I'd have known.

BTW, this is my first IPMI motherboard and it is very cool. Plus, it has 4 onboard NICs.

I'm still trying to decide how I want to set everything up.