ASRock Rack EPYC3451D4I2-2T - Anyone using AMD NAS boards?

[Arwen]

Was looking for my next NAS server, parts or complete system. Because of Mr. Meltdown and the ever elusive Ms. Spectre, I've removed a certain manufacturer off my approved CPU list. (Even though they are the Worlds Leader, in CPU Security Flaws that is.) So, looking at AMD options, some of the embedded Epyc CPUs seemed interesting. ASRock Rack makes a few boards, but only one really meets my needs, EPYC3451D4I2-2T.

ASRock Rack > EPYC3451D4I2-2T

www.asrockrack.com

My needs:

• >5 years of life, (so a real server board, with ECC)
• 10-12 SATA, (or SAS)
• 2.5/5Gbps Ethernet, (as this is more likely than full 10Gbps at home, for me)
• ECC memory
• >= 32GB of memory capacity
• IPMI, (just too dang useful)

The EPYC3451D4I2-2T has:

• CPU with ECC support
• 4 DIMM slots, up to 128GB of memory, (RDIMM), or 64GB U-DIMM
• 16 lane PCIe 3.0 slot
• 14 SATA
• M.2 NVMe slot
• Standard IPMI with Aspeed AST2500 & dedicated network
• Intel X710-AT2: 2 RJ45 (100M & 1/2.5/5/10Gbps) Ethernet

On the lower end embedded Epyc boards, they are limited to 6 SATA, and Intel X550, (no 2.5/5Gpbs). So the expansion card would have to be used for more SATA/SAS or 2.5/5Gps Ethernet, (but not both). The Ryzen server board adds 2 SATA, (for 8), but still Intel X550.

The price is pretty high for the EPYC3451D4I2-2T, so I wish they sold it with the Epyc 3351. Both the 3451 & 3351 have the same over-all features, with the 3351 having fewer cores. (The lower end embedded Epyc CPUs don't include as many SATA ports.) In fact, the 3451 has way too many CPU cores for my needs. I may experiment on disabling some cores, just to see if that keeps things cooler.

The case I am looking at is;

Amazon.com

Anyone else see AMD server boards for NAS use?

While I might like a Threadripper or non-embedded Epyc, those are over-kill. Even the Epyc 3451 is over-kill, but some of the Ryzen boards are not qualified for ECC. And those that are, don't seem to be setup for NAS use.

 

[Evertb1]

Anyone else see AMD server boards for NAS use?

The Asrock Rack X470D4U2-2T with a Ryzen 7 or 9 CPU looks pretty usefull to me. The bios problems the motherboard suffered from are resolved and I have no longer doubts about the ECC support of the Ryzen 3000 series CPU's. Though ECC errors are not reported through IPMI. Anyway it's my intention to use a combination like this for my new ESXi build somewhere coming December or January. Yes I will switch teams

The motherboard has that Intel X550-AT2 lan chip, so no 2.5/5 GBps speed is available. But that is offset with the presence of three PCIe slots, so an extra NIC is not out of the question. The motherboard also has only 6 sata ports but there is room for an extra HBA (nice for my FreeNAS vm).

 

[Arwen]

I was hoping for a Mini-ITX board with support for 2.5/5Gbps Ethernet. But, their are Ryzen boards out their, perhaps I need to look / wait some more.

 

[Evertb1]

I was hoping for a Mini-ITX board

If Mini-ITX is what you want then yes, your choises are a bit limited. I have given up on the Mini-ITX form factor for a server or NAS a long time ago. Motherboards are limited in their possibilites (not counting some superb embedded solutions) and are most of the time more expensive. Cases for Mini-ITX are cramped, harder to work with and harder to keep cool. Anyway succes with you search and let us know what you found. I don't think I will ever build a server or NAS on the Mini-ITX form factor but I (and I think many with me) am interested in any viable solution for an AMD based build.

Edit: By the way: Is your network already up to 2.5/5 GBps speed? More and more (consumer grade) motherboards with 2.5 GBps nics, like the motherboard for my new workstation, are offered but there is not much in the offering yet when it comes to Switches etc. (on the Dutch market anyway). Cat 5e cables are supposed to be sufficient for 2.5 GBps according to the IEEE 802.3bz-2016 standard so it should be an interesting possibility for a lot of people. So yes, I understand your wish.

 

[Arwen]

The main reason for a Mini-ITX board is the smaller case. I simply don't want a huge tower server. Perhaps I need to review cases. I really only need 6 x 3.5" and 2 x 2.5". Though I do want at least one of the 3.5" bays to be externally accessible and hot swapable, (for my backup disks).

No, I do not have any 2.5/5Gbps Ethernet equipment yet, (or >=10Gbps for that mater). However, what I buy today, I hope to keep 5 years. By then, it would be nice to have faster network transfer. I am so over 1Gbps slowness .

Basically when I buy a new DVD / Blu-ray, it needs to be copied from my desktop to my miniature media server. Later, during backups, new video file(s) have to be copied from the media server to the NAS. If the video file is 10GB, then it takes a minimum of 100 seconds to copy at gigabit speeds. At 2.5Gbps, that's only 40 seconds. And at 5Gbps, that is 20 seconds.

 

[haps]

I have a lian-li pc-q08 which is great - 6 side-mounted 3.5" spots on rubber dampers, with a huge fan in front to blow over them, plus a 5.25" bay you could use for hot swap, with room to spare for 2.5" ssds. I put an sfx psu in because I don't need loads of power, but it'll take a full atx psu. I've had that case for probably 8 or 9 years now and have no desire to change (just updated the mobo/psu/cpu about a year and a half ago). It's a bit unconventional and certainly restricts you in ways, but if you can get away with it I prefer having a smaller case.
(edit: I wrote 'sfx fan' for some reason, also too wordy)

 

[Arwen]

@haps, looks like Lian-li pc-q08 is no longer available. It does look nice for a smaller NAS case like I intend.

Checking what else Lian-Li has now, none seem suitable for a NAS case. As far as I am concerned, any case with extra lights, clear panels, and such is not really a server case. (And of course, for a NAS it needs a bit more storage slots, 5/6 3.5" and at least 2 x 2.5"...)

I've been looking at these options for a case;

- iStarUSA - 500
- iStarUSA - 700
- iStarUSA - 917
- iStarUSA - 915
- Ablecomm CS-M55, 5 x 3.5" and 2 x 2.5"
- Silverstonetek - DS380, 8 x 3.5" hot swap + 4 x 2.5" non-hot swap, SFX power supply
- Silverstonetek - CS330, 4 x 3.5" hot swap + 4 x 3.5" non-hot swap

I've not been able to find the Ablecomm CS-M55 available in retail on-line stores.

In the next few weeks I might put together a theoretical build and see how it stands up to my requirements. (The ASRock Rack board is finally available for retail purchase.)

 

[haps]

For motherboard I have the asrockrack 236 which suits me well, but I think your pick packs one heck of a lot of power & features.
I don't have any experience with istarusa, but I have a smaller silverstone case that is decent, but very middle of the road. You can check out mini-itx.com for ideas, they have some products that don't normally show up on an amazon or web search.
I'm quite interested in seeing how the build goes, you won't have to upgrade much along the way (except possibly ram) - quite a different approach from me where I tend to cheap out and then upgrade as used bits get old enough. Yours might be the wiser path, especially if you never have to fiddle with it in the meantime.

 

[banshee28]

May not be "perfectly" what you are asking for, but it has 8 Sata and up to 12 with the adapter it seems like. I am very much considering this MB as it fits everything I need for my NAS build.
A few of the best features for me are the Pcie-4, M.2, and 2-10G Ethernet RJ-45.

ASRock Rack > X570D4U-2L2T

www.asrockrack.com

 

[Arwen]

@banshee28
I'd forgot about that adapter. If I understand it correctly, it transforms the PCIe lanes of the M.2 slot to SATA. (A feature of the CPU, board & BIOS.)

@haps, The board's compute power is less than it appears. It's first gen Zen processor, (if I understand it correctly). So compared to Zen2 or the recently released Zen3, it's a bit slower and wants more electrical power. AMD needed to release a long term available embedded part, so they had to use what was available, then.

Still over-powered for a simple NAS, so perhaps I will play with the new TrueNAS SCALE before I commit it to "home production".

 

[Etorix]

As the owner of a Silverstone DS-380, I would advise you against this case.
First, there is the curse of the many ridiculously tiny screws. (For instance, the six screws holding the HDD cage are smaller than those which hold the HDDs in their—rather flimsy and plasticky—holders.) Then, it is really cramped, even by Mini-ITX standards. After installing the motherboard and attaching all wires, the moment you put back the HDD and SDD cages in place is a real nighmare: Nimble, long and slender fingers required to tuck everything back in place while avoiding to damage the capacitors of the HDD cage, dangling on their long legs along the edge of the cage—right where you'd like to hold it . The case should really be a few centimeters deeper, which may also allow to use a SFX-L PSU (such as the one sold by Sivlverstone!). Poor design.
But the worse is still to come. The HDD cage is so restrictive that, configured as sold, 3.5" drives get no airflow and quickly reach the high-40s. To cool them a bit (high-30s), additional ducts are required—and still bearing with significant fan noise. At this point, it is painfully obvious that the designer never bothered to use his own product and actually build a NAS in it. The case is just too small for what it try to accomodate.
For 2.5" drives, the case works. But don't forget the ducts, and have them before you start buiding because nobody wants to go through the process twice.

If you're looking at consumer cases, the Node range by Fractal Design is very nice. For a small NAS, the Mini-ITX Node 304 fits 6 HDDs. For larger settings, the Micro-ATX Node 804 holds eight 3.5" drives, two 2.5" (plus one further by adapting the slim ODD slot) and two more 2.5"/3.5" drives on the floor of the system compartiment; plenty of cooling possibility, but no barrier against the HDD noise. But neither case allows for hot swap; you'd need to wire some ports as e-SATA for use with an additional hot swap case.

 

[Arwen]

@Etorix Thank you for the feed back. I was aware of the need for an additional air duct. But, with the other issues, I think I may drop that case from my potential parts list.

 

[haps]

Hmm, this is very interesting. It would seem I lucked out with my lian-li. I hear what you're saying about leds and such, though! In fact, I'm looking at mother boards now and contemplating turning my "new" (but suddenly old) c236 mobo into a router only, and sticking a newer board & cpu into the drive case. As a fellow mini-itxer, do you have any small case recommendations?
Also, what's your view on holding out for a few months to see what develops re: 2 or 5 gbps chipsets? I guess 246 is still gigabit, but the x470/570 support 10G?
What would you suggest for wiring? My research led me to conclude that for standard house runs, cat6 is fine (even up to 10G for <150 feet or so).
Sorry if this is thread hijacking, but it's quite timely, I have 1000' roll of cat6 arriving in a few days.

 

[Etorix]

@Arwen You're welcome!
I've been lurking around for quite some time, learning from the "sages". It is my pleasure to now contribute back, and an honour that my first post gets a like from one of my ZFS teachers.

@haps A better description of your hardware and of your needs might help. But I suspect that a newer motherboard will not significantly upgrade your NAS; you may just as well buy a router and keep the C236 NAS as it is.
No chipset is "gigabit" or "10G", it's up to what networking chip the manufacturer teams with the chipset. The trend is clearly to put 2.5G controlers (Intel i225 or Realtek) in consumer boards instead of gigabit. But it may take some time before there are quality drivers for these new controllers in TrueNAS/pfSense/etc. and no revolution is to be expected in server-grade boards.
If small size is what you're looking for, also consider SoC. You pay more but everything is onboard, ready to serve, unchanged, for the next ten years. Compare that with choosing between adding either a new HBA or a new network controller in the only PCIe slot of a miniITX board, whose CPU cannot really be upgraded because socket 1151 was replaced by socket 1151v2, itself replaced by socket 1200, soon to be superseded by socket 1700, whose replacement is certainly already in development… (AMD is much better in this respect, but socket AM4 has been around for so long that it is probably about to hit some technical limitation which will eventually force its replacement.)

 

[Arwen]

@haps, I have not built much recently. Got too much of that at work in the past. But, their are few pre-built small NASes that can both run TrueNAS CORE and have some expansion. Like memory, or >1Gbps Ethernet. So I can't really help much.

My last build was trivial, a small form factor AM4 Ryzen 5 2400G for a desktop. Mostly just plug stuff in. Kinda cute but much bigger that Intel's NUC.