aiden Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Due to popular request, this thread is for discussions about the new Supermicro X7SPA series boards. Brief specifications: Intel® Atom™ D510 (Pineview-D) (DMI) (Also applicable to the newer D525) Intel® ICH9R Chipset Up to 4GB single channel unbuffered, non-ECC DDR2 667MHz SO-DIMM 2x Intel 82574L Gigabit LAN 6x SATA (3.0Gbps) Ports 1 (x4) PCI-E (in x16 slot) 2 rear USB ports + 3 headers (5 ports) + 1 Type A connector Integrated Matrox G200eW Video Integrated IPMI 2.0 Power Measurements (thanks Limetech) Here are some preliminary numbers for the X7SPA/HF with 4GB DDR2-667 RAM (2 sticks of 2GB). All measurements taken with Kill A Watt EZ. Power supply is PC Power & Cooling Silencer 470 ATX - this is only a 73% efficient PSU, better numbers should be obtained using an 80+ PSU. With only the motherboard connected to the PSU: 27W - During linux boot. 25W - At linux console 28-30W - Running memtest (reading bounces around depending on test). With motherboard and Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 controller plugged in the PCI-E x4 slot: 36W - During linux boot. 34W - At linux console. With above configuration & 12 hard drives (see below for hdd types): 137W - Idle (drives spinning but no I/O taking place) 160W - Parity sync in process 53W - All drives spun down 304W - Highest observed reading during spinup of all drives Drive types (note: these are not "green" drives): Hitachi HDS72101 x8 Seagate ST31500341AS x2 Seagate ST31000340AS x2 Update (4.16.2010) I finally got around to doing a Level 1 test on the HF version. I would think this drive combination covers the most common mechanical drive speeds for unRAID users. Parity - Hitachi 7200 rpm 2TB SATA 3.0 (Model: HD32000 IDK/7K) Timing cached reads: 1666 MB in 2.00 seconds = 833.68 MB/sec Timing buffered disk reads: 390 MB in 3.01 seconds = 129.77 MB/sec Disk 1 - Hitachi 7200 rpm 2TB SATA 3.0 (Model: HD32000 IDK/7K) Timing cached reads: 1688 MB in 2.00 seconds = 844.37 MB/sec Timing buffered disk reads: 366 MB in 3.01 seconds = 121.50 MB/sec Disk 2 - Samsung 5400 rpm 2TB SATA 3.0 (Model: F3EG HD203WI) Timing cached reads: 1660 MB in 2.00 seconds = 830.31 MB/sec Timing buffered disk reads: 306 MB in 3.02 seconds = 101.49 MB/sec Parity Check Results Time = 7:03:54 Rate = 76,807 K/sec Update (2.25.2011) Starcat has a 6 disk build thread based on this motherboard. It includes fan control scripts for PWM fans and sleep/WOL scripts. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11310.msg107526 I have made some modifications to Starcat's script to include variable speed timing based on incremental temperature changes, and standby detection for sleeping drives: fan_speed.sh syslog-2010-04-16.txt Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Please let us know how it works out after you receive and test it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 Np. I was hoping it would be here Friday, but FedEx is saying Monday. I cheaped out and did the free ground shipping. Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I cheaped out and did the free ground shipping. I would have also. Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 That's a nice little package and the power consumption is going to be great. That price is really salty for an Atom solution, though. I'm guessing that they have given up what little power consumption benefit this board has over existing Atom 330 boards ($75) through the additional integrated devices. Look forward to seeing your test results. I think the price has to do with the fact it is a serverboard and not a normal ATOM board. Headless boot, IPMI 2.0, Dual 2x Intel GigE, etc. It's got everything _I_ am looking for in a board, down to the NICs. Funny, I just thought, what you save on power over, you spend on engineering. My LV(Low Voltage) XEONS and mobile CPU's had a premium price too. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 I think people forget you're getting the CPU with the board. When you consider that fact, I don't think the price is outrageous. Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I think people forget you're getting the CPU with the board. When you consider that fact, I don't think the price is outrageous. I agree, I also find that some of the low power CPU's cost more. Still with this particular board, you are getting CPU, 6 SATA's and IPMI Wish they went with full sized RAM instead of the SO-DIMM's. I'm probably going to switch my firewall/proxy over to this board. Specifically for the IPMI integrated functionality. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 Wish they went with full sized RAM instead of the SO-DIMM's. I absolutely agree. I just happen to have 2 GB of SO-DIMMs laying around, so I didn't have to buy any, but most ppl have tons of normal RAM on their benches, not laptop memory. Not really sure what Supermicro was doing there, as it looks like there is room on the board for normal DIMMS. Oh well. Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Wish they went with full sized RAM instead of the SO-DIMM's. I absolutely agree. I just happen to have 2 GB of SO-DIMMs laying around, so I didn't have to buy any, but most ppl have tons of normal RAM on their benches, not laptop memory. Not really sure what Supermicro was doing there, as it looks like there is room on the board for normal DIMMS. Oh well. A number of the smaller atom boards are using the laptop memory these days. My ASROCK uses it also. The only reason I bought that unit was because of it's very compact size and embedded IR receiver. Fortunate for me it came all in one with everything in it for a decent price. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 So, I got the board today, installed it, and LOVE it. I didn't realize it has an onboard USB port right next to the SATA ports, so I just slapped my unRAID thumbdrive right on the board. Everything booted just fine on the first try. Below is the CPU Info and Ethernet Info. Syslog is attached. I want to do a Level 1 test on it, but I only have 2 drives. Parity rebuild is running ~58MB/sec. CPU Info (from /proc/cpuinfo) processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 28 model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D510 @ 1.66GHz stepping : 10 cpu MHz : 1666.581 cache size : 512 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 0 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 0 initial apicid : 0 fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 10 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm movbe lahf_lm bogomips : 3333.16 clflush size : 64 power management: processor : 1 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 28 model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D510 @ 1.66GHz stepping : 10 cpu MHz : 1666.581 cache size : 512 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 1 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 2 initial apicid : 2 fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 10 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm movbe lahf_lm bogomips : 3333.36 clflush size : 64 power management: processor : 2 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 28 model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D510 @ 1.66GHz stepping : 10 cpu MHz : 1666.581 cache size : 512 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 0 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 1 initial apicid : 1 fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 10 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm movbe lahf_lm bogomips : 3333.34 clflush size : 64 power management: processor : 3 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 28 model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D510 @ 1.66GHz stepping : 10 cpu MHz : 1666.581 cache size : 512 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 1 cpu cores : 2 apicid : 3 initial apicid : 3 fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 10 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm movbe lahf_lm bogomips : 3333.36 clflush size : 64 power management: Sensor info (from /usr/bin/sensors) w83627dhg-isa-0ca0 Adapter: ISA adapter VCore: +1.11 V (min = +0.72 V, max = +1.39 V) in1: +6.86 V (min = +6.23 V, max = +7.66 V) AVCC: +3.34 V (min = +2.96 V, max = +3.63 V) 3VCC: +3.34 V (min = +3.15 V, max = +0.26 V) ALARM in4: +1.83 V (min = +1.62 V, max = +1.98 V) in5: +1.25 V (min = +1.13 V, max = +1.38 V) in6: +2.38 V (min = +2.15 V, max = +2.66 V) VSB: +3.31 V (min = +2.96 V, max = +3.63 V) VBAT: +3.02 V (min = +2.96 V, max = +3.63 V) Case Fan: 0 RPM (min = 715 RPM, div = 32) ALARM CPU Fan: 0 RPM (min = 715 RPM, div = 32) ALARM Aux Fan: 0 RPM (min = 715 RPM, div = 32) ALARM fan4: 0 RPM (min = 715 RPM, div = 32) ALARM fan5: 0 RPM (min = 715 RPM, div = 32) ALARM Sys Temp: +34.0 C (high = +75.0 C, hyst = +70.0 C) sensor = thermistor CPU Temp: +12.5 C (high = +90.0 C, hyst = +87.0 C) sensor = diode AUX Temp: +15.0 C (high = +80.0 C, hyst = +75.0 C) sensor = diode cpu0_vid: +0.000 V NIC info (from ethtool) Settings for eth0: Supported ports: [ TP ] Supported link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 1000baseT/Full Supports auto-negotiation: Yes Advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 1000baseT/Full Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes Speed: 1000Mb/s Duplex: Full Port: Twisted Pair PHYAD: 1 Transceiver: internal Auto-negotiation: on Supports Wake-on: pumbag Wake-on: g Current message level: 0x00000001 (1) Link detected: yes NIC driver info (from ethtool -i) driver: e1000e version: 1.0.2-k2 firmware-version: 1.9-0 bus-info: 0000:02:00.0 Ethernet config info (from ifconfig) eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:11:11:c0:d2:0c inet addr:192.168.10.10 Bcast:192.168.10.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:787 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:351 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:120632 (117.8 KiB) TX bytes:169781 (165.8 KiB) Memory:fe9e0000-fea00000 syslog.txt Quote Link to comment
MurrayW Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 So, I got the board today, installed it, and LOVE it. I didn't realize it has an onboard USB port right next to the SATA ports, so I just slapped my unRAID thumbdrive right on the board. Everything booted just fine on the first try. Below is the CPU Info and Ethernet Info. Syslog is attached. I want to do a Level 1 test on it, but I only have 2 drives. Parity rebuild is running ~58MB/sec. What case are you using? Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 A case that has no business housing a micro-ATX board. I bought an AZZA Solano 1000R mainly because of it's impressive drive capacity, and because I wanted to get something a little different from the Antec. With all the bays filled, I can get 12 drives in this mid-tower. All the drives are cooled with 120mm fans, and it just looks gorgeous. I bought this Atom board because I want to minimize power consumption for a 24/7 server, and a 4 core Atom is plenty. Quote Link to comment
purko Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 aiden just built the smartest unRAID server. Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I plan to use the Minibox M300LCD. http://www.mini-box.com/M300-LCD-Enclosure It;s not for unRAID. It's for my firewall/dhcp/bootp/http/nagios/proxy server Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 aiden just built the smartest unRAID server. Thanks Purko. WeeboTech - Isn't it amazing how the smaller cases cost so much compared to full sized cases? Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 aiden just built the smartest unRAID server. Thanks Purko. WeeboTech - Isn't it amazing how the smaller cases cost so much compared to full sized cases? Yeah. Sheesh!!!! Guess the effort goes into engineering and saving the environment from the extra metal that is not used. Quote Link to comment
sosdk Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 This board/CPU looks very nice - now we just need a 16 port SATA controller, so you could run 22 disk of this little board Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 I'm sure that's not too far in the future. In my case I can only hold 12 drives, so an 8 port card is fine with me. Quote Link to comment
agw Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 What about power usage? Do you have a Kill-A-Watt or similar to monitor power consumption? Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 I'm borrowing one today. Quote Link to comment
sosdk Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Just read about the ZOTAC NM10-DTX which also has 6*SATA but also has PCI Express x16 (single lane) expansion PCI Express x1 expansion Mini PCI Express x1 Which could use 2 8 Port SATA controller which would be cheaper than 1 16 port controller Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Just read about the ZOTAC NM10-DTX which also has 6*SATA but also has PCI Express x16 (single lane) expansion PCI Express x1 expansion Mini PCI Express x1 Which could use 2 8 Port SATA controller which would be cheaper than 1 16 port controller That's a nice board, but I have not seen a x1 8 port sata adapter that works reliably with unRAID at the moment. I think the most expansion you can get out of this board would be another 8-10 ports total (with the right hardware). Still that's respectable because there are 6 internal SATA ports and 1 eSATA port. I don't see the reason to build a mini-itx unRAID array if you are going for that many drives. Housing 9 drives alone requires a fairly sized case and power supply. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 Just read about the ZOTAC NM10-DTX which also has 6*SATA but also has PCI Express x16 (single lane) expansion PCI Express x1 expansion Mini PCI Express x1 Which could use 2 8 Port SATA controller which would be cheaper than 1 16 port controller My mission requires a server class motherboard manufactured by a company who specializes in such applications. I have to have IPMI, headless boot, and reliability. None of the gaming/desktop board manufacturers meet those criteria. If I wanted to do a 24 drive system, I wouldn't be using an atom board, because frankly, power consumption is out the window. My case will hold 12 drives, and that's what I designed the system around. An 8 port board running on the x4 PCI-E slot nets me about 125 MB/s throughput if I used all the ports, but since I won't go past 12 drives, I will actually get something like 166MB/s available. Sometimes, the x16 port is "reserved" for a video card, and the BIOS doesn't allow for a different type of card. I have seen those unpublished limitations in the past. And shoving 8 drives onto a x1 250 MB/s port is a bad idea, because each disk would only get about 31 MB/s maximum throughput. Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I was very interested in the Zotac but the IPMI in the Supermicro is the deciding factor. I like Atom for the "all onbaord and small footprint". The concept of buying a case, board, ram and PSU and i have essential an entire server is attractive. Also 14 drive limit means that approx 100W usage at idle with Eco Greens and potentially a super cheap 80+ 350W will do. I am deep in research but its looking promising EXCEPT Supermicro boards are rare as hens teeth in the EU Quote Link to comment
sosdk Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Mine reason for looking at the Zotac is that Supermicro boards are almost impossible to get in Denmark. Could use ShopUSA.com but then the boards wouldnt be cheap.... Quote Link to comment
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