Ivy Bridge Xeon Motherboard with Remote Management

[RyanPR]

I'm building a new server to host VMs. I need the server to do three things for me.

1. Support 32GB of RAM
2. Support all current virtualization protocols
3. Allow for remote management (at the very least I need to be able to turn it on remotely, being able to remotely install an OS and what not would also be nice, but isn't required).

I was thinking of the following combination:
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C204 Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard

Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2

The only problem is that this combination is about $440 right now. Searching for motherboards with remote management has proven tricky to get decent (or recent) results. Any suggestions on options? It doesn't need to be a "server" board or a "server" (Xeon) chip.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[flpxjs]

c216 chipset

 

[tweakboy]

No no please don't get a micro mobo. Thats cheapo. Get a solid full sized motherboard.

Super Micro ? Try ASUS and see what they have for XEON and Ivy, btw on the XEON server mobo you can go up to 64GB RAM , 128GB on some occasions. There is plenty of remote software free ones too. Your OS comes with one,, remote management you can try using that.

But I discourage you to by a micro format super micro , for such a quality and expensive CPU your going to put in there , Im guessing 1k processor , 8 core 16 thread ivy, Soo spend hundred or soo more and get full sized mobo and ASUS server,, www.asus.com find the mobo that fits your needs or do a search.

Todays desktop processors can do 32GB RAM, that is max. You can go to 128GB I believe. gl

 

[_Rick_]

Had a thread about this recently.

Can't get much cheaper than that, but the correct mainboard is the (supermicro) X9SAE(-V)
That's C216 and has full vPro support.
For my CPU I was going for the i5 dual core, which is the cheapst chip to support AES, vpro and ECC. If you can cut further performance corners, the i3s also should support ECC.

Alternatively: Intels Q77 board. That's going to be cheaper, and you get full vpro. The other Q77 boards should support it, but I couldn't determine if that's actually the case.

 

[RyanPR]

c216 chipset

Hey, thanks for the reply, I hadn't looked at that chipset. However, I see a few issues. First, that seems to be a workstation chipset instead of a server chipset (i.e., HD Audio Out) which is okay, but unnecessary. Second, I just can't find them. Newegg only lists 1 motherboard with this chipset (ASUS P8C WS).

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[RyanPR]

No no please don't get a micro mobo. Thats cheapo. Get a solid full sized motherboard.

Super Micro ? Try ASUS and see what they have for XEON and Ivy, btw on the XEON server mobo you can go up to 64GB RAM , 128GB on some occasions. There is plenty of remote software free ones too. Your OS comes with one,, remote management you can try using that.

But I discourage you to by a micro format super micro , for such a quality and expensive CPU your going to put in there , Im guessing 1k processor , 8 core 16 thread ivy, Soo spend hundred or soo more and get full sized mobo and ASUS server,, www.asus.com find the mobo that fits your needs or do a search.

Todays desktop processors can do 32GB RAM, that is max. You can go to 128GB I believe. gl

Yeah, I've never built a machine using anything other than a standard ATX motherboard, so that seemed weird to me. I did find one (TYAN S5512GM2NR ATX), but the only advantage I see is 2 PCI Express x8, 2 PCI Express x1, 1 PCI Express x16 and 1 PCI slot vs 4 PCI Express x8 slots. And a cost of $30 more...

The CPU (4c/8t) is currently $240 on newegg, so it's not too crazy. And, it only supports 32GB of RAM, so I don't really need a board that can support more than that. Although a board with 8 slots would allow me to buy cheaper 4GB sticks...

In terms of remote management, I'm not talking about Remote Desktop. I'm talking more like iLO Advanced that HP sells with its servers. The most important aspect for me is to be able to restart the server from a remote location after a prolonged power outage. Being able to install an OS remotely is icing.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Rubycon]

I'm building a new server to host VMs. I need the server to do three things for me.

1. Support 32GB of RAM
2. Support all current virtualization protocols
3. Allow for remote management (at the very least I need to be able to turn it on remotely, being able to remotely install an OS and what not would also be nice, but isn't required).

I was thinking of the following combination:
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C204 Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard

Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2

The only problem is that this combination is about $440 right now. Searching for motherboards with remote management has proven tricky to get decent (or recent) results. Any suggestions on options? It doesn't need to be a "server" board or a "server" (Xeon) chip.

Thanks,
Ryan

Nothing wrong with SuperMicro boards. One if not the best OEMs if you want a "server" platform.

Two issues with this board however.
If it does not have the latest BIOS it will NOT post with Ivy Bridge! You will need a Sandy Bridge CPU to flash it! That's rather inconvenient!

Second is the RAM. This board requires NON REGISTERED ECC memory. To get 32GB requires 8GB modules. 8GB modules in REGISTERED flavor are quite common whereas in NON REGISTERED flavor are nearly impossible to locate.

Just because of the small format does not mean the board is small on features or performance. But do beware of the shortcomings as I mentioned.

 

[dac7nco]

No no please don't get a micro mobo. Thats cheapo. Get a solid full sized motherboard.

Super Micro ? Try ASUS and see what they have for XEON and Ivy, btw on the XEON server mobo you can go up to 64GB RAM , 128GB on some occasions. There is plenty of remote software free ones too. Your OS comes with one,, remote management you can try using that.

But I discourage you to by a micro format super micro , for such a quality and expensive CPU your going to put in there , Im guessing 1k processor , 8 core 16 thread ivy, Soo spend hundred or soo more and get full sized mobo and ASUS server,, www.asus.com find the mobo that fits your needs or do a search.

Todays desktop processors can do 32GB RAM, that is max. You can go to 128GB I believe. gl

Please ignore the above moronic post.

 

[_Rick_]

Hey, thanks for the reply, I hadn't looked at that chipset. However, I see a few issues. First, that seems to be a workstation chipset instead of a server chipset (i.e., HD Audio Out) which is okay, but unnecessary. Second, I just can't find them. Newegg only lists 1 motherboard with this chipset (ASUS P8C WS).

Thanks,
Ryan

That board does not support vPro AMT either, it doesn't have the required NIC onboard.

The X9SAE is hard to get, but over at HardForum the first few guys have received their shipments - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1698515&goto=newpost

8GB unbuffered ECC is also reasonably well available from Kingston, even at 1600MT.

But then you didn't say you absolutely need ECC, in that case just plop an i5 on a Q77 board, and get non-ECC UDIMMs and be happy. The intel boards explicitely support AMT (there were some early BIOS issues - check that they've been resolved) and are damn cheap, compared to C216.

Everything other than that, i.e. C602 is going to be way more expensive and overkill. With Intel's AMT being available now, I wouldn't want to go for a third-party solution, simply because platform integration is not going to be as perfect.

 

[tweakboy]

Yeah, I've never built a machine using anything other than a standard ATX motherboard, so that seemed weird to me. I did find one (TYAN S5512GM2NR ATX), but the only advantage I see is 2 PCI Express x8, 2 PCI Express x1, 1 PCI Express x16 and 1 PCI slot vs 4 PCI Express x8 slots. And a cost of $30 more...

The CPU (4c/8t) is currently $240 on newegg, so it's not too crazy. And, it only supports 32GB of RAM, so I don't really need a board that can support more than that. Although a board with 8 slots would allow me to buy cheaper 4GB sticks...

In terms of remote management, I'm not talking about Remote Desktop. I'm talking more like iLO Advanced that HP sells with its servers. The most important aspect for me is to be able to restart the server from a remote location after a prolonged power outage. Being able to install an OS remotely is icing.

Thanks,
Ryan

I think ASUS has XEON mobo with that remote guru stuff your talking about. gl

 

[mv2devnull]

I think ASUS has XEON mobo with that remote guru stuff your talking about.

Why did you not provide a link or model name then?:whiste:

Asus has three ASMB components that do provide IPMI, but another question is, where do they fit into. (Asus site fails for me just now.)

 

[dclive]

That board does not support vPro AMT either, it doesn't have the required NIC onboard.

The X9SAE is hard to get, but over at HardForum the first few guys have received their shipments - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1698515&goto=newpost

8GB unbuffered ECC is also reasonably well available from Kingston, even at 1600MT.

But then you didn't say you absolutely need ECC, in that case just plop an i5 on a Q77 board, and get non-ECC UDIMMs and be happy. The intel boards explicitely support AMT (there were some early BIOS issues - check that they've been resolved) and are damn cheap, compared to C216.

Everything other than that, i.e. C602 is going to be way more expensive and overkill. With Intel's AMT being available now, I wouldn't want to go for a third-party solution, simply because platform integration is not going to be as perfect.

OK - I'm interested!

I'm familiar with SuperMicro's IPMI features (you can turn the server on from a fully off power state, reboot it, check temperature of the CPU, check fanspeed, etc. -- all from a fully powered off state or from an OS with no "tools" or software installed. In other words, boot from a Windows 2012 DVD, don't install any software at all - just sit at the "Would you like to Install Windows 2012?" screen, and you can see all kinds of temperature readings, you have full poweron/poweroff/reset capability, etc - all remotely over ethernet. Plus you have VGA output over ethernet (you can see what the console shows - 2D only, not 3D, but it's still really good.)

Does AMT do that? Over ethernet? From (unlimited distance) away? That's what SuperMicro's IPMI offers, and that's why I want it, and that's why it's worth spending $180 on SuperMicro's +-F boards with full IPMI, and then getting an Ivy Bridge 1230V2 to slap in there. (By this time, I'd hope most vendors with high turnover, like Amazon/Newegg, have updated BIOSs.)

Add a rackmount case and a decent, efficient PSU and 32GB of admittedly expensive RAM (I spec'd about $240 at NewEgg for the -I series Kingston 1600 mhz RAM) and you have an actual (mini) server. Since I don't use local disks anymore (NFS and iSCSI are far easier, safer, centralized), I might slap in a 500GB SSD, but aside from that no need for local storage/RAID/whatnot given I'm running VMWare.

OP: Full VMWare PCI/PCIe device passthrough is what I read, with the correct CPU/MB combo.

Pricey, at about $700 - $800 for everything all told, but worth it!

 

[dawp]

No no please don't get a micro mobo. Thats cheapo. Get a solid full sized motherboard.

Super Micro ? Try ASUS and see what they have for XEON and Ivy, btw on the XEON server mobo you can go up to 64GB RAM , 128GB on some occasions. There is plenty of remote software free ones too. Your OS comes with one,, remote management you can try using that.

But I discourage you to by a micro format super micro , for such a quality and expensive CPU your going to put in there , Im guessing 1k processor , 8 core 16 thread ivy, Soo spend hundred or soo more and get full sized mobo and ASUS server,, www.asus.com find the mobo that fits your needs or do a search.

Todays desktop processors can do 32GB RAM, that is max. You can go to 128GB I believe. gl

you are aware that supermicro is a board vender that makes workstation and server boards and not a motherboard size, don't you?