Low Power Server Build

[HyTuRtLe]

Help I need to build a low power server for a nas 

I need to have at least 3 sas connections for the hard drive backplane

and one spare PCIe to later upgrade to 10gbe

I need ideas on what CPU to use mainly that will accommodate 10gbe while still being low power under 150-200w total power 

[Mark77]

Do you have a motherboard in mind?  NAS sorts of applications really don't need much of a CPU at all typically.  Even a cheap $20 Ivy Bridge Celeron would be perfectly okay. 

 

Once you figure out the motherboard, you should be able to get away with literally the cheapest chip on a given platform.  Although, in a given family, because of how well Intel handles power throttling, there's really not a lot of difference between the 'low-power' chips and their full-TDP cousins in actual use. 

[Mark77]

BTW, for 10gig-E, you probably should be going with a platform that supports PCI-E 3.0 at this point.  So that means Ivy Bridge or better. 

 

For a NAS, I'd also tell you to get a mobo that supports either IPMI or Intel AMT. 

 

Supermicro gear is nice. 

[Dark]

You mentioned a backplane. Do you already have a chassis (if so, provide details) or a backplane you are trying to utilize?

[HyTuRtLe]

12 hours ago, Dark said:

You mentioned a backplane. Do you already have a chassis (if so, provide details) or a backplane you are trying to utilize?

im looking to use this case https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/server-cases/rackmount/2u-chassis/2u-server-case-w-12x-35-hot-swappable-satasas-drive-bays-minisas-sc-2312/

 

18 hours ago, Mark77 said:

BTW, for 10gig-E, you probably should be going with a platform that supports PCI-E 3.0 at this point.  So that means Ivy Bridge or better. 

 

For a NAS, I'd also tell you to get a mobo that supports either IPMI or Intel AMT. 

 

Supermicro gear is nice. 

do you have a particular one that is good to use 

[HyTuRtLe]

would an  Intel Pentium G850 be enough or world it need to be more powerful

[Mikensan]

You haven't really stated what this will be used for beyond a NAS. G850 is plenty powerful for a NAS only application, but if you start adding multiple jails/vms you'll want more than 2 cores.

 

A well rounded solution for low low power solutions is the intel atom avoton. Asrock has a very popular itx board. Somewhat pricey compared to the G850.

 

To support the backplane, you could just use 1 HBA card + sas expander. Or you can use a SFF to SATA reverse breakout cable and use the SATA ports on the board.

 

An alternative and more modern CPU compared to the G850 is the intel g4400.

[HyTuRtLe]

1 hour ago, Mikensan said:

You haven't really stated what this will be used for beyond a NAS. G850 is plenty powerful for a NAS only application, but if you start adding multiple jails/vms you'll want more than 2 cores.

 

A well rounded solution for low low power solutions is the intel atom avoton. Asrock has a very popular itx board. Somewhat pricey compared to the G850.

 

To support the backplane, you could just use 1 HBA card + sas expander. Or you can use a SFF to SATA reverse breakout cable and use the SATA ports on the board.

 

An alternative and more modern CPU compared to the G850 is the intel g4400.

 

 

the g4400 looks like a good option as all of the heavy applications will be run on a separate server if I was to need a quad core what would you suggest to use

[Mikensan]

i3's are pretty heavy hitters for that type of workload and won't disappoint you. The newer skylake i3s are something like 50watt TDP, so idle is going to be pretty darn low.

 

Otherwise I still stand behind the avoton based atoms for NASs. 20watts TDP, can be passively cooled and thus quieter. Though assuming both run at max/TDP 24/7, 30watts isn't going to break the bank in most scenarios.

[HyTuRtLe]

5 minutes ago, Mikensan said:

i3's are pretty heavy hitters for that type of workload and won't disappoint you. The newer skylake i3s are something like 50watt TDP, so idle is going to be pretty darn low.

 

Otherwise I still stand behind the avoton based atoms for NASs. 20watts TDP, can be passively cooled and thus quieter. Though assuming both run at max/TDP 24/7, 30watts isn't going to break the bank in most scenarios.

 

ah right thanks for your help what do you think of the i3 3220 and i looked at the avotons but only having one pcie slot would cause issues for me if i wanted to add 10gbe and a sas hba/raid card

[Mikensan]

You could use a breakout cable to go from the onboard SATA ports to the backplane, though there are better options in terms of motherboards to skip such a solution.

 

3220 appears to be an ivy bridge, solid workhorse. Does not support EEC RAM - worth mentioning in case that was something you felt you needed. 55w TDP, sure it'll serve you well.

 

If you're looking at used, the E3-1220 is a workhorse as well.