BUILD Newbie Build - Suggestions/Critiques Welcome

[DJ9]

The only difference I can see is one has a 24 pin + 8 pin power connector, while the other is 24 pin +4 pin.

Thus the $10 extra for the 8 pin? ;)

 

[jnas]

Thanks for the clarification. So here is my proposed build. Any comments or suggestions?

• SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLL-F-O ($170)
• Fractal Design Define Mini Black Micro ATX ($100)
• 2 x Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($100)
• CORSAIR CSM Series CS450M 450W GOLD Modular ($55)
• 4 x WD Red 3TB (raidz2) ($480)
• Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 54W ($120)
• SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 ($6)

This is my first freenas build and 6TB usable will cover me for a long time. But I like having the option of six drives if I do find that I need extra storage in a few years. Also, it's my understanding that I can replace each of the drives, one at a time in the raidz2, and that after all the rebuilds it will expand to the size of the new drives.

 

[indy]

2x i210 vs i210+i217 as far as I can tell.

 

[Ericloewe]

I'm looking to do basically the exact same build. I had a question about that motherboard. It seems like SuperMicro has two, with almost exactly the same model number:

• http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182853
• http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819

One is called X10SLL-F-O and one is X10SLL+-F-O. Despite looking various places, including the SuperMicro site, I can't see what the difference is– other than one costs about $10 more. Can anyone clarify the difference for me?

The + version uses two dedicated Intel i210 Gigabit Ethernet controllers, instead of an i210 + a PHY for the PCH's internal GbE controller.

 

[Ericloewe]

Thanks for the clarification. So here is my proposed build. Any comments or suggestions?

• SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLL-F-O ($170)
• Fractal Design Define Mini Black Micro ATX ($100)
• 2 x Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($100)
• CORSAIR CSM Series CS450M 450W GOLD Modular ($55)
• 4 x WD Red 3TB (raidz2) ($480)
• Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 54W ($120)
• SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 ($6)

This is my first freenas build and 6TB usable will cover me for a long time. But I like having the option of six drives if I do find that I need extra storage in a few years. Also, it's my understanding that I can replace each of the drives, one at a time in the raidz2, and that after all the rebuilds it will expand to the size of the new drives.

If it's not out of your budget, it's a better idea to go with a Seasonic G-450. Low-end Corsairs aren't quite as good as Seasonics. Personally, I like being able to initially not consider PSU problems when troubleshooting some mysterious issue.

 

[jnas]

Thanks for the suggestion on the Seasonic. I've swapped it in place of the CS450M. I'm also planning to add a third fan (two total on the front), an Antec TrueQuiet 120mm. This brings me to one more question. Any thoughts on WD Red drives vs. Seagate NAS? The price is basically the same. I'm looking at 3TB drives.

Here is the revised build:

• SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLL-F-O ($170)
• Fractal Design Define Mini Black Micro ATX ($100)
• 2 x Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($100)
• SeaSonic G Series 550-Watt SSR-550RM ($80) - only $5 more than 450W
• 4 x WD Red 3TB (raidz2) ($480)
• [or possibly] 4 x Seagate NAS HDD 3TB (raidz2) ($460)
• Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 54W ($120)
• SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 ($6)
• Antec TrueQuiet 120mm ($10)

 

[Ericloewe]

Thanks for the suggestion on the Seasonic. I've swapped it in place of the CS450M. I'm also planning to add a third fan (two total on the front), an Antec TrueQuiet 120mm. This brings me to one more question. Any thoughts on WD Red drives vs. Seagate NAS? The price is basically the same. I'm looking at 3TB drives.

Here is the revised build:

• SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLL-F-O ($170)
• Fractal Design Define Mini Black Micro ATX ($100)
• 2 x Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($100)
• SeaSonic G Series 550-Watt SSR-550RM ($80) - only $5 more than 450W
• 4 x WD Red 3TB (raidz2) ($480)
• [or possibly] 4 x Seagate NAS HDD 3TB (raidz2) ($460)
• Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 54W ($120)
• SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 ($6)
• Antec TrueQuiet 120mm ($10)

If you're adding a fan do some research before choosing one. A lot of fans are exceptionally craptastic.

WD Red vs. Seagate NAS is a matter of preference.

 

[jnas]

Thanks folks. One last question before I buy all this stuff– with the C222-based SuperMicro board and the Core i3-4150 do I get ECC functionality? I just ask because ark.intel makes it sounds like C222 requires Xeon, though SuperMicro lists the i3 as compatible. The original poster did go Xeon because he wanted the extra horsepower. I don't see a need for it in my case, but I do want to make sure I have ECC with the cheaper CPU.

 

[cyberjock]

Thanks folks. One last question before I buy all this stuff– with the C222-based SuperMicro board and the Core i3-4150 do I get ECC functionality? I just ask because ark.intel makes it sounds like C222 requires Xeon, though SuperMicro lists the i3 as compatible. The original poster did go Xeon because he wanted the extra horsepower. I don't see a need for it in my case, but I do want to make sure I have ECC with the cheaper CPU.

Yes, you will get ECC functionality.

 

[Ericloewe]

Thanks folks. One last question before I buy all this stuff– with the C222-based SuperMicro board and the Core i3-4150 do I get ECC functionality? I just ask because ark.intel makes it sounds like C222 requires Xeon, though SuperMicro lists the i3 as compatible. The original poster did go Xeon because he wanted the extra horsepower. I don't see a need for it in my case, but I do want to make sure I have ECC with the cheaper CPU.

When in doubt, check ark.intel.com.

 

[jnas]

Almost forgot about the UPS. I'm looking for a brand-name (e.g. APC) which can power just this box long enough to cleanly power it down in the event of a power event. This requires USB connectivity, right? Any suggestions on suitable options?

 

[MrMcLargeHuge]

I'm looking to do basically the exact same build. I had a question about that motherboard. It seems like SuperMicro has two, with almost exactly the same model number:

• http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182853
• http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819

One is called X10SLL-F-O and one is X10SLL+-F-O. Despite looking various places, including the SuperMicro site, I can't see what the difference is– other than one costs about $10 more. Can anyone clarify the difference for me?

SuperMicro Product Naming Convention. Looks like the "+" means "Extra DIMMs".

 

[MrMcLargeHuge]

Almost forgot about the UPS. I'm looking for a brand-name (e.g. APC) which can power just this box long enough to cleanly power it down in the event of a power event. This requires USB connectivity, right? Any suggestions on suitable options?

I use the CyperPower CP850PFCLCD. Driver support is bundled with FreeNAS, so there's no setup required other than turning on the UPS service. I have it set to power down immediately once it detects it's running on battery, but the LCD tells me it could last for up to 45 minutes. Definitely don't forgo the UPS, it's already saved my butt twice when there were some tornado producing storms in the area a few weeks ago.

 

[danb35]

MrMcLargeHuge, is your first name "Big"? a/k/a Gristle McThornbody? I concur with the CyberPower advice, though mine is a 1500. It works fine with the driver included with FreeNAS, has handled a couple of outages for me without incident, and I like the information on the LCD. It's also the best price I could find for a sine wave output UPS.

 

[Ericloewe]

SuperMicro Product Naming Convention. Looks like the "+" means "Extra DIMMs".

Not in this case. In this case, it's a secon Intel i210 GbE controller replacing the PCH's PHY (i217?)

 

[jnas]

I finally got around to starting this build this afternoon. I've got the CPU, heatsink/fan, power supply, 2 sticks of DDR3, and a few things cabled up (no hard drives yet). I just wanted to see the thing post before proceeding further. I'm not hearing any bad diagnostic beeps from the motherboard but I'm not getting VGA output either. So I'm momentarily stuck. Can anyone give me some diagnostic tips on where to go from here. There are some LEDs on the motherboard which look normal:

LED1 BMC Heartbeat LED Green: Blinking BMC Normal
LED4 System Standby Power LED Orange: Solid on Power On

LED1 is blinking green and LED4 is solid orange, which seems good. Without the VGA output it's hard for me to make progress. I may try the BMC interface later but that's new to me.

Thanks for any help you can offer ;)

 

[jnas]

OK, following up myself. The VGA may not be working, but IPMI is:


ipmitool -P ADMIN -U ADMIN -H 192.168.1.3 chassis status
System Power : on
Power Overload : false
Power Interlock : inactive
Main Power Fault : false
Power Control Fault : false
Power Restore Policy : always-off
Last Power Event :
Chassis Intrusion : inactive
Front-Panel Lockout : inactive
Drive Fault : false
Cooling/Fan Fault : false

​

Front Panel Light : off
Is it possible for me to just do all the configuration over IPMI?

 

[danb35]

Sure is. You can do BIOS settings using the network KVM, and can remotely mount the install ISO if you want.

 

[jnas]

Really stumped here... IPMI seems to work (e.g. can power cycle and such), but sensor readings are all "n/a" and Java iKVM says "No Signal", VGA not working. This case has no speaker so I can't be sure there are no diagnostic beeps. But I think the motherboard itself has a buzzer mounted on it and it isn't making a peep. CPU fan is spinning slowly. Going to give it a try again tomorrow... appreciate any thoughts on troubleshooting.

 

[danb35]

Are the sensor readings n/a with power on? Because everything you're describing sounds like you aren't actually powering on the board.