IPMI iKVM motherboard for Plex server

[JPotze]

Hi,

 

I am looking to build a (free)NAS server for mainly plex use that i can tuck away in the basement, shed in the backyard or some other cool place i dont have to listen to the noise it can make. To control the server i would like to use iKVM using the ipmi protocol. I was looking at the following. ASRock C2750D4i

It is an octa core SoC motherboard with fullsize dimm slots and capable of using ECC unbuffered ram. (usefull for freenas) But that motherboard is not SUPER powerfull, allthough i read that someone used it to transcode 4 streams 1080p at the same time. But the motherboard is 500 euro's in holland (its around 600 bucks u.s.) and that is pretty steap if you ask me.

 

TLDR: I want an ECC capable motherboard with enough power to transcode at least 3 streams 1080p and is manageble by IPMI iKVM protocol.

 

Any suggestions?

[brwainer]

9 minutes ago, JPotze said:

Hi,

 

I am looking to build a (free)NAS server for mainly plex use that i can tuck away in the basement, shed in the backyard or some other cool place i dont have to listen to the noise it can make. To control the server i would like to use iKVM using the ipmi protocol. I was looking at the following. ASRock C2750D4i

It is an octa core SoC motherboard with fullsize dimm slots and capable of using ECC unbuffered ram. (usefull for freenas) But that motherboard is not SUPER powerfull, allthough i read that someone used it to transcode 4 streams 1080p at the same time. But the motherboard is 500 euro's in holland (its around 600 bucks u.s.) and that is pretty steap if you ask me.

 

TLDR: I want an ECC capable motherboard with enough power to transcode at least 3 streams 1080p and is manageble by IPMI iKVM protocol.

 

Any suggestions?

(Almost) Any motherboard made by supermicro will fit these requirements. Except for motherboards that incorporate an Atom or Xeon D (embedded) CPU, the CPU is seperate (socketed). I prefer this way myself - an E3-1230v3 or E3-1230v4 or similar CPU will handle what you are looking for. 

[JPotze]

2 minutes ago, brwainer said:

(Almost) Any motherboard made by supermicro will fit these requirements. Except for motherboards that incorporate an Atom or Xeon D (embedded) CPU, the CPU is seperate (socketed). I prefer this way myself - an E3-1230v3 or E3-1230v4 or similar CPU will handle what you are looking for. 

the problem with that is that a supermicro motherboard + e3-1230v3 or v4 is the same price as a asrock c2750d4i plus the fact that it is way less power efficient. yeah it is more powerfull but in that case i can just buy a c2750 and save on power consumption.

[brwainer]

2 hours ago, JPotze said:

the problem with that is that a supermicro motherboard + e3-1230v3 or v4 is the same price as a asrock c2750d4i plus the fact that it is way less power efficient. yeah it is more powerfull but in that case i can just buy a c2750 and save on power consumption.

And here you see the dilemma - noone offers IPMI for less. HP, Dell, etc have IPMI capable systems that may be cheaper overall compared to building it yourself, but they severly limit their IPMI, mostly around the iKVM, and require you to purchase a license key per server to unlock it.

[harry4742]

The Supermicro Version

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/atom/x10/a1sai-2750f.cfm

[Electronics Wizardy]

7 hours ago, JPotze said:

the problem with that is that a supermicro motherboard + e3-1230v3 or v4 is the same price as a asrock c2750d4i plus the fact that it is way less power efficient. yeah it is more powerfull but in that case i can just buy a c2750 and save on power consumption.

For a freenas server, id just get a basic b150 board and a pentium.  you dont need that much cpu and ecc ram wont help you on freenas with zfs than it doe with any other system.

 

If you do want a cheap server, look used. you can get 1366 servers for about 180 nowhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-FS12-TY-C2100-2X-QC-E5506-2-13GHz-NO-HDD-12xTRAYS-16GB-4x4GB-/252041596944?hash=item3aaed99010:g:S9wAAOSw~gRVr9yF

[brwainer]

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

For a freenas server, id just get a basic b150 board and a pentium.  you dont need that much cpu and ecc ram wont help you on freenas with zfs than it doe with any other system.

 

If you do want a cheap server, look used. you can get 1366 servers for about 180 nowhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-FS12-TY-C2100-2X-QC-E5506-2-13GHz-NO-HDD-12xTRAYS-16GB-4x4GB-/252041596944?hash=item3aaed99010:g:S9wAAOSw~gRVr9yF

I think you are mistaken. While for freenas a basic board and pentium or i3 will suffice, ECC is basically required with ZFS - because it does all its calculations in memory. If the server was to be used for anything other than freenas (unraid, plex, gaming server, web server) then I'd agree that ECC might not be required. But With ZFS it basically is if you care about your data.

 

That being said, there are i3 and lower CPUs that support ECC memory. The reason for this is that the E3 line starts at basically the equivalent of an i5.

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, brwainer said:

I think you are mistaken. While for freenas a basic board and pentium or i3 will suffice, ECC is basically required with ZFS - because it does all its calculations in memory. If the server was to be used for anything other than freenas (unraid, plex, gaming server, web server) then I'd agree that ECC might not be required. But With ZFS it basically is if you care about your data.

 

That being said, there are i3 and lower CPUs that support ECC memory. The reason for this is that the E3 line starts at basically the equivalent of an i5.

ZFS isn't that different from other file systems. Almost every os and file system uses ram as a disk cache for both read and write, so a error would acuse a probablem there. Also, failed checksums won't just wrek your data, it will just test the bad parts later, and find there ok, as it was just a memory problem, so ecc isn't the huge problem on zfs only.

[Mikensan]

Large debate between peoplez over at FreeNAS (namely cyberjock) and one of the original ZFS creators (Matt something) regarding ECC RAM. Both agree, it's better to have it, but as to not having it Matt states it's not that big of a deal than it would be for any other server. A flipped bit is still going to cause issues in any environment.

 

That being said, ECC RAM itself is just barely more expensive (think I paid $2 more for a 8gb stick) so if you have a board/chip that supports it, then why not.

 

That asus board is the same family used in the FreeNAS hardware, Intel Atom Avoton series. I would never pay $600us for it, that's absurd. Maybe $250-$300us. However I do not know the "normal" prices outside of the US, but that's disheartening to see how much it is for you.

 

I would get a Super Micro board, should run you about $170us, then get an Intel Pentium Gxxx chip which should run you around $50us. Examples:

 

$165 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819 Motherboard with IPMI

$59 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1UH3Z96317 Intel Pentium G3250

^^ This chip supports ECC. It only has 2 cores, but that is more than plenty for FreeNAS + Plex.

[Guest]

I've owned one of those ITX Asrock server boards but sold it due to thermal reasons in the chassis I was using.

 

Don't plan on using IPMI to control a server - it's a last resort option to be used for recovey. Most IPMI interfaces are complete garbage to use and their console windows hardly scale correctly.

[Mikensan]

~_~ the java IPMI I use for my C1100, R610, IBM 3650 m3, and my super micro board all work well enough for me. Not spending all day in there, just maybe a bios change here or there, or mounting an ISO. In and out scenarios. Rarely ever use it, but a nice as said, last resort.