X11SCM-F - 2x M.2 and 6x SATA

[Gremlin]

Hi all,

Struggling to find specifics, wondering if anyone has used the Supermicro X11SCM-F? https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/X11SCM-F

From it's specs (and I've read this: https://www.ixsystems.com/community...-supermicro-x11-xeon-e-coffee-lake-board.107/), I should be able to use the M.2 ports (x2) for my boot SSDs, then the full 6x SATA ports for storage drives (RaidZ2 has a nice number for 6 disks).

My main question is, does anyone know if use of both M.2 slots eliminate the use of any of the SATA ports? Seems you get a SATA lane with the first M.2 port, and I can't be losing any of the 6 SATA ports.

I know the guide suggests the board is cost reduced etc, but we really have only one half way decent Supermicro supplier in New Zealand, and their range is severly limited. Trying to get 8 sata ports plus IPMI at any semi decent price is hard... I've stopped using USB sticks after constant issues on the first build (all Sandisks). This is my third build. My last build was an X11SSL-CF which had the LSI3008, so I could get around it - of course, that's not in stock any more.

Last option would be an X11SCL-F (cheapest IPMI) then add an AOC-S3008L-L8e to get enough SATA. Actually one of the advantages of the SCM-F means raid'd boot on motherboard, so I only need space for 6 disks, not 8.

 

[Johnnie Black]

My main question is, does anyone know if use of both M.2 slots eliminate the use of any of the SATA ports?

While I don't have that board pretty sure it doesn't lose a SATA port, the C246 chipset supports up to 8 SATA ports, and according to the diagram the m.2 uses SATA6, onboard SATA connectors are SATA0-5.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

I should be able to use the M.2 ports (x2) for my boot SSDs, then the full 6x SATA ports for storage drives (RaidZ2 has a nice number for 6 disks).

I see this reasoning a lot and I generally advise against it. Your boot SSDs are not going to benefit from the >1k read wrote speed of an M.2 NVMe drive. Those slots are. est used for something that. Needs that speed such as a SLOG or Cache. To be fair it wont HURT anything except that your sorta wasting bus bandwidth. What I generally suggest is folks grab a cheap used HBA to get more ports for those SSDs and save those slots or switch to a board that routes those PCIe lanes to PCIe slots which are bit more versatile.

My main question is, does anyone know if use of both M.2 slots eliminate the use of any of the SATA ports? Seems you get a SATA lane with the first M.2 port, and I can't be losing any of the 6 SATA ports.

you typically see this when using the M.2 slot with a SATA drive. In this case I think there is no such worry. It isnt mentioned in the manual that I see and that chipset supports 8 SATA ports usually. Rather than giving you the option of which plug type to use, SATA ir M.2, it looks like Supermicro isnforcing you you use an HBA or M.2 form factor sata drive if you want to use more than 6. You can confirm via the manual linked directly from that page.

Struggling to find specifics, wondering if anyone has used the Supermicro X11SCM-F? https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/X11SCM-F

What specs do you want? Almost all of them are on that page. 6 SATA, 1x PCIe x16, etc. That single PCIe slot may be a bottleneck as well. Most add on cards will use an x4 or x8 slot. Putting all 16 lanes in 1 slot means you can add only a single card and the rest are left unused (bearing complicated and annoying use if splitter cables, bifurcation, etc).

Take a look at the X11SSM-F. It has 8 SATA, 2x PCIE x4 and 2x PCIex8 slots. You can even use an add on card to turn 1 of those x8 slots into two M.2 slots.

Actually one of the advantages of the SCM-F means raid'd boot on motherboard, so I only need space for 6 disks, not 8.

I dont follow here but if you're booting into ZFS you can get Mirrored boot devices and get reliability that way. No need for potentially finicky motherboard RAID.

Regarding HBAs, can you get them off ebay? Super slow international shipping shouldn't be too bad.

Anyway, hope this helps. A lot of the above is just my opinion on how to balance features on a board. Totally fair if you dont see it the same way or if the parts are just not as available.

Typed on my phone, forgive typos please.

 

[Gremlin]

I see this reasoning a lot and I generally advise against it. Your boot SSDs are not going to benefit from the >1k read wrote speed of an M.2 NVMe drive. Those slots are. est used for something that. Needs that speed such as a SLOG or Cache. To be fair it won't HURT anything except that your sorta wasting bus bandwidth.

True, but I don't need the SLOG or cache

I don't follow here but if you're booting into ZFS you can get Mirrored boot devices and get reliability that way. No need for potentially finicky motherboard RAID.

Regarding HBAs, can you get them off ebay? Super slow international shipping shouldn't be too bad.

Sorry, I meant, I don't need mounting points for 8x drives, just 6x, as 2 are mounted on the motherboard. Never use hardware RAID with FreeNAS! :) I absolutely run mirrored boot devices for safety. Overseas shipping, it's the cost, time, support if something goes wrong. Buying in NZ also gives me additional consumer protection manufacturers never think about, but gives them 0 wiggle room (thinking of stuff like shipped BIOS version etc - which I ran into in the last build)

Take a look at the X11SSM-F. It has 8 SATA, 2x PCIE x4 and 2x PCIex8 slots. You can even use an add on card to turn 1 of those x8 slots into two M.2 slots.

Would have loved to... no stock :( I actually looked tonight, I only had the X11SCL-F and X11SCM-F to choose from (since I wanted IPMI), and only 1 unit of the SCM-F left... so it's mine, along with an E-2234 and 32GB of unbuffered ECC memory.

Thanks guys, we'll see how this goes. Never actually used the M.2 slots on builds before...