Supermicro ebay rackmount

[dasein37]

Hello everyone,

I've been a long time FreeNAS fan and have built several Supermicro based desktop FreeNAS servers but now need to move to a rackmounted enterprise grade NAS solution. Rather than buying a Synology or QNAP product, I thought I would use my past experience to build FreeNAS solution.

I noticed that this eBay posting has very reasonable specs and I wanted to hear any feedback about these specs:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2U-Supermi...686591?hash=item1edc0a60ff:g:Q2wAAOSwc2FaAOxU

Supermicro 2U 12x 3.5" Drive Bays
Server Chassis/ Case: CSE-826E16-R1200LPB
Motherboard: X8DTN+
Backplane: BPN-SAS-826EL1 SAS2 Expander 6GB/S
2x Intel Xeon E5645 Hex (6) Core 2.4GHz
24GB DDR3
1x LSI 9210-8i HBA JBOD FREENAS UNRAID

A few specific questions.

1. I read a lot of previous posts warning about making sure to get a SAS2 backplane otherwise it will not recognize higher capacity drives. I'm a bit confused by the SKU here. When I search for BPN-SAS-826EL1, Google results seem to indicate that this is not SAS2 but the eBay listing specifically has SAS2. I thought that the SKU for the SAS2 backplane was BPN-SAS2-826EL1. I suppose I should ask the seller.

2. The LSI RAID card seems to have been flashed already.

3. I didn't see a BBU for the RAID card listed. Is this typical?

4. Has anyone had any experience with this eBay seller? They seem to be tailoring products towards the FreeNAS crowd on eBay.

Thanks!

 

[Chris Moore]

You don't have a backup battery on a SAS HBA we don't use hardware RAID with FreeNAS.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[dasein37]

You don't have a backup battery on a SAS HBA we don't use hardware RAID with FreeNAS.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

Ah of course. That makes perfect sense.

 

[Chris Moore]

Motherboard: X8DTN+

I would suggest slightly newer hardware to get better (lower) power consumption.

Something like this:

Supermicro 4U X9DRI-LN4F+ 2x Xeon E5-2650 v2 2.6ghz 8-Core 128gb 24-Bay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...-2-6ghz-8-Core-128gb-24-Bay-JBOD/372245227928

 

[southwow]

Just a suggestion, I was able to grab an old opteron server with 846 case and TQ backplane for chump change ($175.00). I stripped it out, added my x10 board, and added 1200w gold PSU's and an intel 360 expander for about this same price. I also picked up the 846b dual 2.5" hot swap bays for the rear window and nibbled out the smaller 846 opening to match.

With thin SAS breakout cables, I'm pretty happy with the airflow and completely satisfied with this setup. If you want to see some pictures, just let me know!

Even with your originally proposed setup, you'll have a nice system. Just as @Chris Moore suggested, I'd go with newer components. Even if the controller isn't flashed, that's a small matter. It takes approximately 10 minutes to write down the address and flash to IT mode with UEFI or legacy. If you're just intimidated by flashing, get in touch with me. I can help walk you through it or I have several m1015 and H310 adapters laying around and would be glad to swap for a flashed one for an even exchange.

 

[Chris Moore]

With thin SAS breakout cables, I'm pretty happy with the airflow and completely satisfied with this setup. If you want to see some pictures, just let me know!

It is always nice to see a build report, especially one with lots of good photos. Many people come seeking advice on how they can build on the cheap and even if they don't ask, they will search through the old posts looking for ideas. I hope you will make a post of your own and tell us all that you can about your build with as many photos as you like. I look forward to seeing it and you can drop the link in like this when you are ready:

Build Report: Node 304 + X10SDV-TLN4F [ESXi/FreeNAS AIO]
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...node-304-x10sdv-tln4f-esxi-freenas-aio.57116/