Matching OS upgrade with new disk controller hardware for my server replacement

[BonzaiDuck]

People may ask questions like "Why didn't you get a server motherboard and Xeon?" I can answer, but let's not waste the time.

The board is a spare/surplus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 (Ivy Bridge capable), tested and true. Processor is i5-3470. RAM is 16GB 4x4 Corsair XMS -- tested and true. All hardware has been tested in preparation with a spare license to Win 7 SP1 64-bit.

In addition, I settled on a SuperMicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 disk controller card. It worked with Win 7; it was covered under Win 2008 R2 (therefore WHS-2011).

The objective: replace my old Q6600 WHS-2011 server with a Windows 2012 R2 Essentials on more recent hardware.

Searching forum posts around the web quickly turned up one user of the AOC- . . . Super Micro controller who installed it on a Win 2012 R2 system. He indicated that the drivers at SuperMicro included one that works best with 2012 R2, but he didn't say which one! He had to be guided by SuperMicro Tech-support.

So I put in my own ticket. One of the controller driver folders includes "XP, Win 2008, VISTA." The other folder don't seem OS specific. I'm waiting on SM tech-support to give me the answer.

In the meantime, does anyone else know? I take my time; don't like to use a hit-and-miss approach.

The WHS-2011/2008-R2 server must go; MS is terminating support. I shouldn't have much trouble finding LAN and Intel controller drivers for 2012 R2 and the Z68 motherboard. Just need to get this business of the SuperMicro controller nailed down.

It is also possible that there are WHQL drivers for the SuperMicro card in the 2012 R2 -- cannot say now. Anyone know?

 

[Micrornd]

I believe this is the driver referred to - ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/Marvell/MV8/SAS2/Driver/Windows/4.0.0.2022/
And this would be the updated firmware - ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/Marvell/MV8/SAS2/Firmware/4.0.0.1812/
SM has certified them for 2K-2016, which is typical of SM.
They don't optimize for an OS, they make a "compatible" driver.
For future reference, I've found a LSI/Avago/Broadcom cards to be faster and have more optimized and updated drivers.
Is there a reason (other than cost) for not wanting to step up to a 2016 based server?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I believe this is the driver referred to - ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/Marvell/MV8/SAS2/Driver/Windows/4.0.0.2022/
And this would be the updated firmware - ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/Marvell/MV8/SAS2/Firmware/4.0.0.1812/
SM has certified them for 2K-2016, which is typical of SM.
They don't optimize for an OS, they make a "compatible" driver.
For future reference, I've found a LSI/Avago/Broadcom cards to be faster and have more optimized and updated drivers.
Is there a reason (other than cost) for not wanting to step up to a 2016 based server?

To answer your question, I can only say that I started planning this project maybe 18 months ago, and found an "Academic" license for 2012 R2 Essentials for something between $250 and $350. I was hoping to move forward with the project more expeditiously, and clicked the "checkout" button -- it was either offered at Egg or Amazon. I looked into this "academic" OS version for 2012: there was no credential verification requirement; purchasers and users reported that they had no problem with it; there was a consensus that it would be a great replacement for WHS 2011, particularly if you weren't planning to use it for business or profit. If I were planning to use it for business, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the regular licensed install.

So this has been sitting around with the hardware I planned to use, and I revisited the issue with the same question: "Why not get 2016 Essentials?" Again, looking at the restrictions, an academic version of 2016 absolutely positively is restricted, and purchase requires a credential. On the other hand, the pricing for the regular business release is not that much greater, so that's not really an issue.

So I'll go forward with the 2012 R2 Essentials installation. If I have any troubles, I'll take another look at 2016 Essentials and buy the license and discs as necessary.

NOW. AS TO MY INITIAL ISSUE AND PROBLEM, my contact with SM tech-support went forward. They themselves seemed a bit clueless about "which driver" was the right one. Whether it was the link on their website or the RAR file of driver folders Michael the tech-guy sent me, I finally opened up the RAR and inspected the various folders. The folder-name ending in "2020" contained a Readme.txt file which, among other things, stated that the driver in that folder was a certified WHQL driver for 64-bit Windows 2012 R2.

I'm still inspecting my hardware and getting ready to install the OS. Now, I'm looking at the processor, chipset and video driver, since I intend to use the Intel graphics 2500 of the i5-3470 processor. Many times this question was asked in MS and other forums, per that CPU and OS.

It looks as though the OS will simply install its generic "VGA" driver, which is all I really need. The server can function "headless" after I've configured everything. Other forum indications suggest that 2012 R2 will offer up WHQL drivers of its own for other parts of the hardware. Some people seemed surprised that the Device Manager under 2012 R2 showed at most one or two "!" bang nodes about the device or driver, as if the OS had most of what was needed. I'm pretty sure if there is a problem with the NIC driver, I can find a version of it that fits.