Xeon E3 v5 (Skylake) Asrock C236 boards (ECC support)

Status
Not open for further replies.

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
Hello all,

I'm looking up parts incase my server is dying (it's very unfortunately possible, I'll know end of day)
I've done some googling and AsRock has some Intel C236 chipsets which look quite nice, supporting Xeon / ECC

There does appear to be at least one confusing issue though, see this review.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/SingleProductReview.aspx?ReviewID=4603674
I'm using this board with a Xeon E3-1245v5 and 32 GB of ECC RAM for a home NAS/media server machine with FreeNAS. Note that it does not support the more common registered ECC DIMMs; NewEgg did not offer DDR4 unbuffered ECC DIMMs in 16 GB density at the time I purchased, so I had to do a little extra searching to complete the build. If you're also contemplating a FreeNAS 9 setup, beware that installation requires a little extra work since the Skylake platform no longer supports EHCI mode for USB.

Does anyone know exactly what that means? Can I not boot from USB sticks as I do now and run FreeNAS from a stick? (I realise some people said it's not recommended, it's why I ended up going for 2 sticks, - 6 or 7 months on, at least and it's been dandy for me, to be honest)


As for the technical details, for others considering a new FreeNAS build, as follows.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=Intel_C236_asrock-_-13-599-009-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813599005
(Difference appears to be IPMI support, more NICs, less SATA and classed as a server vs workstation)
Both under $250 US
Here's a supported CPU list.
http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C236 WSI#CPU
http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=E3C236D2I#CPU
(appears one of the boards requires the Intel CPUs with built in graphics)

This appears to be your list of CPU's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...l+E3+v5+xeon&N=100008494 601116092&isNodeId=1


Finally I did a lot of research for memory, here's a list of modules.
MTA9ASF1G72AZ 8GB
MTA18ASF2G72AZ-2G3 16GB
MTA18ASF2G72AZ-2G1A1 (according to intel datasheet)
TS1GLH72V1H 8GB
TS2GLH72V1B 16GB
KVR21E15D8/8 8GB
KVR21S15D8/16 16GB
(More here: )
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...ry/ddr4-2133-ecc-udimm-validation-results.pdf


I hope this information helps others considering building their own machine. This is tailored to miniITX, since that is what I'd personally be going for. Besides rarity of unbuffered ECC DDR4 unfortunately, it's otherwise mostly quite cheap, modern hardware. Which I could only assume would be supported by FreeBSD 10/11 and onwards, presumably.
 

religiouslyconfused

Contributor
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
184
I would go with the Server board and you can now use a USB boot device on Skylake with v9.10 that just came out today.
 

religiouslyconfused

Contributor
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
184
Server board has extra stuff you really don't need, but both are ok I guess. FreeNAS 9.10 is actually FreeNAS 9.3 built on top of FreeBSD 10.3 so everything is all supported.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
Wait what?
What's FreeNAS 9.10? I would assume it's some old, out of date version?
I'm currently running it from USB 9.3 latest

I don't need the extra NICs or IPMI (sounds nice tho) - plus the WSI has more SATA ports. My primary issue is the NIC support under FreeNAS, upon further reading, it could be an issue sadly.
I do NOT want to deviate from the standard build regular users have now. No interest in FN10 for at least 6 months after launch.


Here's a forum topic covering the stuff, I just found it after making my thread, seems the USB support may be improved.
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/skylake-caveats.39669/
 

religiouslyconfused

Contributor
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
184
Yes FreeNAS 9.10 is the latest version now and it was originally 9.3.2 but it does work with skylake and is stable.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
I've done a little more reading and frankly 9.10 terrifies me. I have AMD specific hardware which was rumoured to have FreeNAS10 issues. If this has FreeBSD 10 core, I'm extremely hesitant to consider using this until it's a little more fleshed out.
 

eengineer

Cadet
Joined
Mar 30, 2016
Messages
2
Hello all,

I'm looking up parts incase my server is dying (it's very unfortunately possible, I'll know end of day)
I've done some googling and AsRock has some Intel C236 chipsets which look quite nice, supporting Xeon / ECC

There does appear to be at least one confusing issue though, see this review.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/SingleProductReview.aspx?ReviewID=4603674


Does anyone know exactly what that means? Can I not boot from USB sticks as I do now and run FreeNAS from a stick? (I realise some people said it's not recommended, it's why I ended up going for 2 sticks, - 6 or 7 months on, at least and it's been dandy for me, to be honest)


As for the technical details, for others considering a new FreeNAS build, as follows.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=Intel_C236_asrock-_-13-599-009-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813599005
(Difference appears to be IPMI support, more NICs, less SATA and classed as a server vs workstation)
Both under $250 US
Here's a supported CPU list.
http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C236 WSI#CPU
http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=E3C236D2I#CPU
(appears one of the boards requires the Intel CPUs with built in graphics)

This appears to be your list of CPU's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Intel+E3+v5+xeon&N=100008494 601116092&isNodeId=1


Finally I did a lot of research for memory, here's a list of modules.
MTA9ASF1G72AZ 8GB
MTA18ASF2G72AZ-2G3 16GB
MTA18ASF2G72AZ-2G1A1 (according to intel datasheet)
TS1GLH72V1H 8GB
TS2GLH72V1B 16GB
KVR21E15D8/8 8GB
KVR21S15D8/16 16GB
(More here: )
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...ry/ddr4-2133-ecc-udimm-validation-results.pdf


I hope this information helps others considering building their own machine. This is tailored to miniITX, since that is what I'd personally be going for. Besides rarity of unbuffered ECC DDR4 unfortunately, it's otherwise mostly quite cheap, modern hardware. Which I could only assume would be supported by FreeBSD 10/11 and onwards, presumably.





Take a look at Crucial memory.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory-info?cm_re=top-nav-_-flyout-memory-_-us-memory

I have used it for years in our businesses computers. They have good prices and service.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
I ended up finding the exact component I need actually.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017UGK94S/?tag=ozlp-20
That's ECC, Unbuffferred, reasonable price. Sadly no international shipping (sigh) but considering 32GB for about $250 US once I figure out how to get it to Australia - pretty good.

Overall, looks like you could build a 6 bay NAS (with 2 more sata ports for SSD?) for a .. semi reasonable price and be far, far more powerful than a synology. Only concern is the support for the hardware in FreeNAS 10 going forward. (Being Intel gear, I suspect it'll be fine)

Honestly, I think for very heavy, home NAS users, I've priced up some of the best stuff you can get for the next 3 or 4 years, until we do the big switch to SSD NAS.
 

religiouslyconfused

Contributor
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
184
Crucial RAM is also Supermicro approved for X11 boards.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
Yeah they are also good, though pricey compared to the Asrock, which is a surprisingly well priced board for the features. It really does seem the perfect NAS machine.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
For what it's worth to others, that Crucial ram on Amazon is now down to $90 a stick for it, so a saving of $60 off this machine.
 

eyeofmaat

Dabbler
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
26
Sorry, couldn't find a way to send a PM :(
How did you go with this?
I'm also from AUS and having problem getting my hands on Asrock Rack boards. Nobody seems to stock them, and Newegg wont sent to AUS (I didn't even realise until recently that Newegg even sells to AUS)
the WSI board looks to be a good choice.

Any others recommended these days? its almost a year later
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
I actually never ended up buying one, due to $$$ issues.

There's a new CPU from Intel coming out, soldered on board, with 2/4/8/16 Atom cores, called the Denverton. My understanding is, it should be half decent for FreeNAS and fairly cheap. We might see board and CPU for under $600 US
As for getting it here, you know what this idiot country is like. Although I do have contacts in California who can hook me up.

Considering Ryzen reviews in 24 hours, plus Denverton launch in next couple of months, I'm happy to wait and see what the best option is.
 

Stux

MVP
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
4,367
Another good option for small form factor FreeNAS is a Xeon D system.

DDR4 ram has dropped down a lot in price in recent times, and crucial ship to AU for $25 iirc

There is no longer any issue install FreeNAS 9.10.x on skylake systems.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
Is the Xeon D the 'also soldered on a board' job? It's like a cheap version Xeon right?
We can actually buy DDR4 on Amazon, sometimes....

If it is that Xeon, it's still quite expensive vs the Deventon CPU (nearly twice the cost?) and I imagine many peoples needs might be ok with the Deventon.
 

Ericloewe

Server Wrangler
Moderator
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
20,176
Is the Xeon D the 'also soldered on a board' job? It's like a cheap version Xeon right?
Kinda. It's not meant to be cheap, it's meant to sip power.
 

Beardsmite

Cadet
Joined
Mar 8, 2017
Messages
1
the WSI board looks to be a good choice.

Any others recommended these days? its almost a year later
I would recommend the ASRock C236 WSI board - it is running well for me. I like that it has 8 SATA ports, which seems to be less common in this form factor.

RAM compatibility seems to be limited. I am using 2x16 GB sticks of Crucial CT16G4WFD8213 without issue.
 

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
Having now learnt a lot more about this kind of hardware, I wouldn't use a 'regular' Xeon or the C236 WSI personally. The Xeon D and the Denverton 3000 Intel chips (very soon) all will use less power and of course cost less.
You still get ECC support with both.

Depending on the performance, I'd consider an 8 core Denverton or 8 core Xeon D now, pre-soldered board from a reputable company with 3 year warranty and pref a max 55W (board included) if not even lower.
 

Ericloewe

Server Wrangler
Moderator
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
20,176

diskdiddler

Wizard
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
2,374
My, aren't you the optimist. :D

Well I bloody hope so! One option lets you pick and choose whatever CPU and cooler you like, the other it's all soldered in.
Never thought I'd want that, but those C2750 boards (if it weren't for the failures) seem semi-reasonably priced, low power and half decent performance.

I've been googling around, there's an issue with "VC1" decoding using FFMPeg which Plex uses, it is only single core, so an 8, 16, 2000 core weaker Atom CPU might still be terrible for plex sadly, due to this. I'm hoping someone out there buys the new C3xxx chips released in the next 6 months, installs FreeNAS and a Plex docker and confirms it's right up to scratch.....

I really want to keep the cost of my server under $750 US (without disks)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top