Came across an excellent 1U server deal

[Dark]

*I'm not affiliated with this site nor can I vouch for them until I receive my order.*

 

Found this while searching around for E5 v1/v2 bare bones servers and it's certainly the cheapest I've seen in awhile.  The site has a few other great deals as well (24 bay bare bones server) and options with cpu/mem.

 

Comes with rails and has onboard SFP+

 

Ordered one to check out first hand and see how loud it is at idle.  Roughly ~$150 shipped

 

https://natex.us/quanta-qssc-2ml-foxconn-reworked-da0s2mmb8b0-motherboard/

 

Quanta QSSC-2ML 1U Server:

• AcBel FS9020 500w Power Supply
• Foxconn Reworked DA0S2MMB8B0 motherboard
• Intel C602 Chipset
• 16 DIMM slots supporting quad channel
• Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (Intel® RSTe) 4 ports SATA R0,1,10,5 or Intel® Embedded Server RAID Technology 2 (LSI*) 4 ports SATA R0,1,10 (Intel's RAID upgrade key white paper)
• 2x 6gbps SATA (2 connected to HDD back plane)
• 4x 3gbps SATA (2 connected to HDD back plane)
• 1 PCI-e 16x Port (riser available, full size one slot card. Plenty of room for a 11.5" card, 12.5" would fit with a little care.)
• 2 x LGA2011 v1 Sockets Supporting Intel's Xeon E5-2600 v1 series CPU's
• RJ-45 Port is IPMI/BMC only and not a network port.
• mounting slid rails with push back lock.

[brwainer]

there are some rather odd choices in this... like the only networking being a single SFP+, and a drive bay style backplane but for internal drives. Speaking of those internet drives, if the chassis doens't come with the proper standoff screws, I don't see how you are going to mount any in this. Also, I hope you already have or are willing to get 1U CPU coolers because I doubt they are included

[Dark]

It is a bit odd that there's no dedicated copper NIC but (at least for my sake) I'll be using it on a 10gb SFP+ switch.  Adding a NIC wouldn't be too bad either.  Also, apparently you can use an SFP rj45 module on the SFP+ port.

 

I was told it includes heatsinks and rails.  If the drive adapters aren't included then they're ~$7/ea: https://natex.us/quanta-2ml-2mk-98l-hard-disk-drive-tray-caddy/

 

Yet still, the next cheapest dual lga 2011 server I found was a Tyan 1U (paid roughly $230 for it bare bones).  I doubt there's anything close to this one in price for what you get.

 

I'll gladly update the thread once I receive my order.

[brwainer]

That does sound like a compelling deal then, and their prices on complete systems don’t seem too bad either. I’llbe looking forward to the update

[Mikensan]

I don't normally mind refurbished for the right price (assuming that's what is meant by reworked) - only concern is the reworked component is a foxconn motherboard. Definitely a good price for a 2011 based system, I'll also be following to see your results.

 

Also the IPMI port often can be configured in bios to be both IPMI and used for normal network traffic - just be aware of the risks. Although often they're only 100mb ports, good enough to access maybe a web front end.

[brwainer]

12 minutes ago, Mikensan said:

I don't normally mind refurbished for the right price (assuming that's what is meant by reworked) - only concern is the reworked component is a foxconn motherboard. Definitely a good price for a 2011 based system, I'll also be following to see your results.

 

Also the IPMI port often can be configured in bios to be both IPMI and used for normal network traffic - just be aware of the risks. Although often they're only 100mb ports, good enough to access maybe a web front end.

Usually I see that the other way around - one of the traffic ports can be configured to also carry IPMI, if it isn’t that way from the beginning (supermicro workstation oriented boards for example don’t always have a dedicated IPMI, just a shared). Its still worth inspecting but I doubt it will be that way.

 

I also find the “reworked” wording interesting, but the system bundles they sell that include CPU and RAM appear to be based on the same base system.

[Dark]

ETA is 2/9.  I should have enough time to install the cpus/memory and get a quick functionality test in.

[Mikensan]

10 minutes ago, brwainer said:

Usually I see that the other way around - one of the traffic ports can be configured to also carry IPMI, if it isn’t that way from the beginning (supermicro workstation oriented boards for example don’t always have a dedicated IPMI, just a shared). Its still worth inspecting but I doubt it will be that way.

 

I also find the “reworked” wording interesting, but the system bundles they sell that include CPU and RAM appear to be based on the same base system.

My supermicro and r610 have dedicated ipmi ports and I have the option to share them. I logged into my R610 to double check, and the option is there. Logged into my supermicro as well, and don't see it from the webgui, but when I configured it at boot the option was there to share. However they're both only 100mb lol.

 

Although I also see the option you mentioned, to use one of my LAN ports for IPMI, it's currently set for failover.

[Dark]

Found a thread on another forum where an employee from Natex is responding.  It's a couple years old but it seems to confirm a few things (heatsinks included, drive 'caddies' are not).  

 

"75 - 80 dB when first turning on / fans at full, and 55 - 60 dB at idle"

 

"CPU0 Temp Normal 55 ° C
CPU1 Temp Normal 56 ° C
CPU0 DIMM Temp Normal 35 ° C
CPU1 DIMM Temp Normal 38 ° C
SSB Temp Normal 43 ° C
IBMC Temp Normal 41 ° C
LAN NIC Temp Normal 38 ° C
CPU1 VRD Temp Normal 37 ° C
EDGE Temp Normal 28 ° C
HDD BP Temp Normal 24 ° C
FP Temp Normal 24 ° C"

 

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/quanta-2ml-render-farm-rack-10-dual-e5-2670-and-10gb-switch-3850.9926/page-2

[AshleyAshes]

So, can it also run Ivy Bridge server chips or just Sandy Bridge?  They're socket compatible, like x79, the consumer C60X intel shipset, can run Ivy with a firmware update.  I'm saying this since Ivy Bridge introduced a lot more cores in it's Xeon CPUs.  Sandy Bridge topped out at 8 cores where as Ivy Bridge went up to 15, and the 10 and 12 core models aren't that hard to source on the used market.

[Dark]

4 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

So, can it also run Ivy Bridge server chips or just Sandy Bridge?  They're socket compatible, like x79, the consumer C60X intel shipset, can run Ivy with a firmware update.  I'm saying this since Ivy Bridge introduced a lot more cores in it's Xeon CPUs.  Sandy Bridge topped out at 8 cores where as Ivy Bridge went up to 15, and the 10 and 12 core models aren't that hard to source on the used market.

IIRC, E5 v2 chips stop at 12c/24t

 

It's dependent on finding the bios update and successfully updating.

 

I do not recall seeing anyone having successfully found and flashed a bios that supports v2 chips for this motherboard.

[AshleyAshes]

4 hours ago, Dark said:

IIRC, E5 v2 chips stop at 12c/24t

 

It's dependent on finding the bios update and successfully updating.

 

I do not recall seeing anyone having successfully found and flashed a bios that supports v2 chips for this motherboard.

Yeah I made a mistake, the 15 cores are for Socket 2011-1, not Socket 2011, despite all being Ivy Bridge.

[Dark]

I've had some time to spend with the Quanta QSSC-2ML server (most of my time right now is absorbed setting up an Azure dev stack).

 

First impressions...it looks like a well used server 

 

Everything appears to be functioning normally; both sockets are working and all dimms are reporting.  

 

Rack rails, 4 drive mounting brackets, heatsinks, and an airflow shroud (not pictured) was all included.

 

IPMI on my unit does not appear to offer virtual kvm, bummer.

 

Noise is fairly quiet for a 1U, do-able in a home office for shorter periods of time but I wouldn't want it in here 24/7.  Can't hear it at all once it's down in the basement with the rest of the equipment.

 

I installed ESXi 6.5U1 on it but haven't had the time to add it to the cluster. 

 

For ~$145 I would likely buy more for compute hosts.