BUILD MiniITX + DAS build ?

[tfh]

Hi,
I would like to update my current NAS (built in 2007 in a tower case, RAIDZ1 on plain freebsd 5*2tb -> 8tb usable) I am thinking going rackmount but since it will be hosted in my appartment I need it to be "smallish" and "silent" (desktop noise levels) :

I'm planning on putting one of the Avoton mini itx board in a small form factor 1u case with a HBA with external SFF plugs to connect to the Lenovo DAS (seems the DAS is also half length rack case)

The software will be FreeNAS and I intend to run vdevs of mirrors (raid10) to give me more flexibility in upgrading the disks when larger one become available / existing ones die.

• 2x Kingston Technology ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L PC3-12800 ECC CL11 1.35V SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR16LSE11/8 $51.99 2 0 (only 16gb RAM to begin with hoping for 16gb sodimm ecc to come out soonish ? )
  
  
• 1x SAS9200-8E 8PORT Ext 6GB Sata+sas Pcie 2.0 Offered by Electronics Deals LLC. $34.35 1 0
  
  
• 1x Lenovo 70F10000UX THINKSERVER SA120 DIRECT ATTACHED STORAGE,1 I/O MODULE,12 X 3.5IN HOT-SWAP SAS D Offered by IT Store Room, LLC. $197.95 1 0
  
  
• 1x Supermicro Mini ITX A1SAI-2750F-O Eight Core DDR3 1333 MHz Motherboard and CPU Combo Offered by Daytona Web. $378.99 1 0
  
  
• 1x Supermicro Rack Mount Server Chassis CSE-505-203B Offered by MITXPC. $125.99 1 0
  
  
• 1x Supermicro RSC-RR1U-E8 1U Riser Card Offered by Daytona Web. $16.25 1 0
  
  
• 1x Supermicro MCP-120-00063-0N Riser card bracket for slot-7 in SC504 Offered by Daytona Web. $24.57 1 0
  

This solution seems quite elegant to me because should I need any more bays in the future I supposedly can daisy chain another Lenovo DAS and get 12 more bays.

Will this HBA DAS combination allow to use drives larger than 2tb ?
Are there any known problem with using that Lenovo DAS with freebsd/freenas (I'm thinking about SMART info not being passed through for example).
It should be possible to control the fans from freenas to keep the noise down.

Does this configuration make sense?
Any known incompatibilities with FreeNAS ?
I'm also not familiar with installing a PCIe card in that 1u form factor did I get all the "risers" needed ? Will it fit ?
Are there any other major caveats.

I also posted this to reddit/r/datahoarder but since I am going to go with freenas I would probably get more advices regarding freenas compatibility here.

Thanks

 

[nojohnny101]

I am thinking going rackmount but since it will be hosted in my appartment I need it to be "smallish" and "silent" (desktop noise levels) :

that my friend, is a contradiction if i have ever seen one, through and through. i will have to admit i do not have personal experience with any rackmout equipment, but just from reading this forum, it certainly seems "rackmount" and "smallish/silent" do not go in the same sentence. someone else will correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[MrToddsFriends]

• 2x Kingston Technology ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L PC3-12800 ECC CL11 1.35V SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR16LSE11/8 $51.99 2 0 (only 16gb RAM to begin with hoping for 16gb sodimm ecc to come out soonish ? )

The A1SAi-2750F with it's somewhat exotic RAM requirements (unbuffered ECC DDR3(L) SODIMMs) wouldn't be my preferred platform when aiming for more than 32 GB RAM. I don't expect the market will see new and reasonable priced 16 GB modules (but I may be wrong).

 

[tfh]

that my friend, is a contradiction if i have ever seen one, through and through. i will have to admit i do not have personal experience with any rackmout equipment, but just from reading this forum, it certainly seems "rackmount" and "smallish/silent" do not go in the same sentence. someone else will correct me if i'm wrong.

Yeah it definitely used to be but with recent rangeley/avoton board it's starting to be viable to run "small" homelab racks without having a dedicated room or 4 post racks and it should still be cleaner cabling and organisation wise than having everything on shelf /desk.
When you think about it for a decent home network / lab you need :
- router
- switch
- nas
- server
Having all those as desktop or regular tower gets quite messy and takes up a lot of space on shelves or desk but could all fit nicely in a simple 2 post rack like :
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U14MO8/?tag=ozlp-20

Basically this is what I had in mind .

The A1SAi-2750F with it's somewhat exotic RAM requirements (unbuffered ECC DDR3(L) SODIMMs) wouldn't be my preferred platform when aiming for more than 32 GB RAM. I don't expect the market will see new and reasonable priced 16 GB modules (but I may be wrong).

Clearly this is the main drawback but the only other motherboard that I could find that would accept 64gb now is the :
ASRock Rack > C2750D4I .

Which is an option too but has only dual gigabit and is I suppose less proven than supermicro. Then again if iX went with that for the mini it must be quite compatible.

I'm not sure which would be more useful in a NAS only (no virtualisation or extra jails) setup :
More RAM vs 2Gbit port and supermicro build quality

Or am I missing another option in mini-itx ?

Thanks for the input

 

[Stux]

For more than 32GB in Mini itx look into Xeon D.

Check out the cost to upgrade an Avoton to 64GB. the exotic ram is crazy expensive.

The big problem with Xeon D is poor single thread speed.

 

[tfh]

Just wondering if anyone had any input on this question :

Will this HBA DAS combination allow to use drives larger than 2tb ?
Are there any known problem with using that Lenovo DAS with freebsd/freenas (I'm thinking about SMART info not being passed through for example).

LSI-SAS9200-8E <-> Lenovo SA120

Any issues on that front would make the build impossible.

regards,

 

[tfh]

For the sake of google and anyone finding this thread in the future.
I built the following :

- Supermicro 1U Rackmount Server Barebone System Components SYS-5018A-TN4
- 2x Kingston Technology ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L PC3-12800 ECC CL11 1.35V SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR16LSE11/8
- 1x SAS9200-8E 8PORT Ext 6GB Sata+sas Pcie 2.0
- 1x Lenovo 70F10000UX THINKSERVER SA120 DIRECT ATTACHED STORAGE,

With the script to control fan speed of the DAS : https://github.com/AndrewX192/lenovo-sa120-fanspeed-utility
the setup is as quiet as a desktop.
Currently running with 6 disks in and no temperature issues.

With freenas on a usb stick my system has been solid for the last 3months. We will see how it holds up.


regards

 

[Stux]

Keep an eye on the avoton early-death issues.

 

[tfh]

Wow thanks for the heads up, is that a risk for the supermicro too or only the asrock boards ?

Thanks a lot.

Regards,

 

[MrToddsFriends]

Wow thanks for the heads up, is that a risk for the supermicro too or only the asrock boards ?

As for as I know, the whole Atom C2000 series (B0 revision) is affected from the LPC clock problem. However, the impact on specific systems might vary. Boards having the boot ROM connected to the LPC bus will no longer be able to boot in case of the dreaded LPC clock failure.

The Supermicro A1SAi-2x50F/A1SRi-2x58F boards don't use a LPC boot ROM, but have the AST2400 BMC and the TPM HDR connected to the LPC (see System Block Diagram in the mainboard manual). I'm not aware of an official Supermicro statement about the impact of an LPC clock failure on these boards so far.

Moreover, good cooling should help to avoid early degradation.

Some further reading:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11110/semi-critical-intel-atom-c2000-flaw-discovered

 

[Ericloewe]

The Supermicro A1SAi-2x50F/A1SRi-2x58F boards don't use a LPC boot ROM, but have the AST2400 BMC and the TPM HDR connected to the LPC (see System Block Diagram in the mainboard manual). I'm not aware of an official Supermicro statement about the impact of an LPC clock failure on these boards so far.

If what you say is correct, the end result is the same. The CPU will refuse to boot if the BMC does not respond correctly.

 

[tfh]

After 3 years of working exactly as expected (fanless half depth 1u with DAS) sadly my avoton based board died an early death, it won't boot at all now.
I should probably have RMAed it back in 2017 when the bug was known.What are people recommending as is a possible upgrade path from the A1SAi-2750F which is now more than 6y old is it c3000 socs or is it xeond again for a NAS only (no virtualisation no plugin) system.
It seems ix system is still using avoton (atom c2750 ) in half their freenas mini.

 

[Glorious1]

After 3 years of working exactly as expected (fanless half depth 1u with DAS) sadly my avoton based board died an early death, it won't boot at all now.
I should probably have RMAed it back in 2017 when the bug was known.What are people recommending as is a possible upgrade path from the A1SAi-2750Fwhich is now more than 6y old is it c3000 socs or is it xeond again for a NAS only (no virtualisation no plugin) system.
It seems ix system is still using avoton (atom c2750 ) in half their freenas mini.

I suggest you try to RMA it. I just had mine fixed and I bought it in 2014.