UPS and X11 motherboard

[ponas]

Finally got the all hardware together. Ran memtest86+ for a few days, installed FreeNAS 9.3 on the new SSD and now running badblocks (still 2-3 days left i think). Since I have a little while until badblock completes I resumed my search for a suitable UPS (I know I should have gotten that from the start but budget was a bit tight). I read through the forums and using the NUT compatibility list, I came up with a couple UPS that seem suitable (and also available where I live). What is your opinion on those UPS ? anyone has experience using these ? any other recommendations ? brands I should avoid ?

• Eaton USV 5SC500I 500VA/350W
• APC Smart UPS SMT750I 750VA

More importantly though, I'm a bit at a loss as to the proper size of the UPS I would need. I don't need my server to be running non-stop and really want the UPS just in case of power loss to allow FreeNAS to shut down properly (usually how long does that take ?). My configuration is the following:

• Xeon 1230 v5
• Supermicro X11SSH-F
• 8x WD Red 4To
• Seasonic platinum 660W

From what I understand, the UPS communicates through USB with the server. However, since the X11 boards only support xHCI and FreeNAS 9.3 doesn't have the drivers for it, will it still be recognized ? should I use a serial connection ?

Finally, is pure sine wave output very important or is it OK to get a UPS that outputs a stepped sine wave (since they tend to be much cheaper) ?

Bonus noob question: what happens if my PSU fails ? am I correct in thinking that the only way to prevent bad things happening from this would be to have a redundant power supply ?

As always thanks a lot for your answers! this community has been extremely helpful and I'm very grateful to everybody who has taken time to answer all my noob questions.

 

[BigDave]

From what I understand, the UPS communicates through USB with the server. However, since the X11 boards only support xHCI and FreeNAS 9.3 doesn't have the drivers for it, will it still be recognized ? should I use a serial connection ?

I'm not gonna tell you which model to buy, but I'll tell you my thoughts behind UPSs.
You have a large investment in hardware and a high quality PSU to provide it with clean/stable power. The Seasonic is an
Active Power Factor Correction model so a Pure Sine Wave UPS will work the best with the newer type PSUs.
You have chosen well up to this point, don't start scrimping when you go to plug all this into the wall!!!

I would think a serial connection to one of the new X11 skylake boards would be an excellent idea, but usually the only UPSs
that would have both are (the more expensive) pure sine wave models ;) and of course many older UPS model have serial.

I have one (CP1000PFCLCD) in use now, but FreeNAS disconnects from this 1000VA model without reason or explanation.
Because of this issue, my UPS is mastered through my pfSense box which for some reason, does not suffer from the disconnects.
For this reason, my FreeNAS is set up in slave configuration and is gracefully shut down during outages (proven several times).

In my use case, a soon to be added, second FreeNAS box will mean an upgrade to
the larger capacity CP1500PFCLCD, it has both USB & Serial interface ports
I'll be using serial when that new server is added to the network.

Bonus noob question: what happens if my PSU fails ? am I correct in thinking that the only way to prevent bad things happening from this would be to have a redundant power supply ?

Your thinking is correct!

 

[m0nkey_]

From what I understand, the UPS communicates through USB with the server. However, since the X11 boards only support xHCI and FreeNAS 9.3 doesn't have the drivers for it, will it still be recognized ? should I use a serial connection ?

USB 3.0 ports are backwards compatible, you just need to turn off the USB 3.0 support in the BIOS then all ports will work as USB 2.0.

I have one of these plugged into a USB 3.0 port and it works fine. No disconnections, etc. https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/ups/pfc-sinewave/cp1350pfclcd

 

[DrKK]

USB 3.0 ports are backwards compatible, you just need to turn off the USB 3.0 support in the BIOS then all ports will work as USB 2.0.

I don't think that's correct sir.

If that were true, people would be able to boot from USB devices on X11 boards, and they have reported that they cannot.

 

[ponas]

I'm not gonna tell you which model to buy, but I'll tell you my thoughts behind UPSs.
You have a large investment in hardware and a high quality PSU to provide it with clean/stable power. The Seasonic is an
Active Power Factor Correction model so a Pure Sine Wave UPS will work the best with the newer type PSUs.
You have chosen well up to this point, don't start scrimping when you go to plug all this into the wall!!!

That makes sense ;)

In my use case, a soon to be added, second FreeNAS box will mean an upgrade to
the larger capacity CP1500PFCLCD, it has both USB & Serial interface ports
I'll be using serial when that new server is added to the network.

I wish I could get some Cyberpower UPS too but it seems that they only make them with country specific plugs :((APC and Eaton have modular models with IEC 60320 C13 connectors)

I don't think that's correct sir.

That's what I feared.

The 2 UPS I listed seem to have COM ports too though (but it looks like I will need an RJ45->RS232 adapter)

However, I'm still not sure about the PSU capacity I should get. Does anyone have a ballpark figure for the kind of PSU size I should go with ?

 

[m0nkey_]

I don't think that's correct sir.

On SuperMicro boards, modifying the BIOS option 'XHCI Mode' to OFF or Disabled causes USB 3.0 port to run as USB 2.0, even if you load a XHCI kernel module (which is disabled by default in FN 9.3).

 

[Ericloewe]

I don't think that's correct sir.

If that were true, people would be able to boot from USB devices on X11 boards, and they have reported that they cannot.

On SuperMicro boards, modifying the BIOS option 'XHCI Mode' to OFF or Disabled causes USB 3.0 port to run as USB 2.0, even if you load a XHCI kernel module (which is disabled by default in FN 9.3).

Problem is, the Skylake platform's PCHs (including Supermicro X11), C232 and C236, only support XHCI. They do not work with EHCI at all.

 

[Steve Brown]

If that were true, people would be able to boot from USB devices on X11 boards, and they have reported that they cannot.

Before I moved to a SSD I had the SuperMicro X10 board and used the USB3.0 internal to boot from USB without issues. I dont recall what my bios settings were but it worked without issues. But the X11 could very well have different hardware (havent checked).

 

[Tenek]

Bonus noob question: what happens if my PSU fails ? am I correct in thinking that the only way to prevent bad things happening from this would be to have a redundant power supply ?

Please clarify this for me. Ideally you would have two UPS units for each PSU. If you don't (like me), you have two choices: connect both PSUs to UPS or one PSU to UPS and another into wall power.
Unprotected power feels bad and scary. I would rather put both PSUs into single UPS. UPS failures are only somewhat less common than mains power failures.

 

[ponas]

Please clarify this for me. Ideally you would have two UPS units for each PSU. If you don't (like me), you have two choices: connect both PSUs to UPS or one PSU to UPS and another into wall power.

What I meant was that with one PSU and one UPS, if the PSU fails, my server might be toast since UPS only protect against loss of mains power. So from what I understand, the only way to protect against this is to have a second PSU (whether it's connected to another UPS or not I guess does not change a lot since the odds of both your mains and PSU failing at the same time are hopefully small enough)

But the X11 could very well have different hardware (havent checked).

I believe that is what @Ericloewe means by

Problem is, the Skylake platform's PCHs (including Supermicro X11), C232 and C236, only support XHCI. They do not work with EHCI at all.

Now does anybody have recommendations for the size of the UPS ?
I'm a bit at a loss here

 

[BigDave]

A term refered to as Run Time (Runtime refers to the amount of time that the UPS
will be able to support connected equipment from battery for a given load level)
is what you should pay attention to for proper sizing.
You must know what the LOAD is for all equipment plugged into the UPS and use
the manufacturer's "sizing tool" to get the run time you need for your use case.

Here's one from APC.