IBM 7158AC1 Motherboard

[dturner71.dt]

Anyone have any experience with IBM Motherboards?

IBM IBM xSeries High Volume Racks x3630 M4: -[7158AC1]- 05

https://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-MOTHERBOARD-FOR-IBM-SYSTEM-X3630-M4-SYSTEM-BOARD-00Y7335-/192216322817

We have a couple of these and could use them with FreeNAS, if it works.

Thanks.

 

[Chris Moore]

Do you have the chassis to put it in or just a bare board? Each of the card slots on the board is intended to support a riser card that I would anticipate (based on my past experience with IBM) to be proprietary. You might be able to use the board with FreeNAS, if you can use the board at all because it will not even finish POST and start to boot if it doesn't detect the correct hardware is installed and working which is going to include 4 to 6 high speed (5000 RPM) fans and it will probably give a failure if fans are connected but running too slowly. Also, the fan connectors on the board are probably proprietary also. IBM was always big on building it different just because they could. I have not bought any IBM hardware since the Lenovo thing happened but I did use a lot of it before.

 

[Chris Moore]

PS. For the purpose of running FreeNAS, you can buy a whole server for less than the cost of that board.

 

[nightshade00013]

If you already have them it's not a huge cost, if you are going to buy them at the cost in the linked auction then just buy a whole Supermicro system and be done.

Specs are better to post than a link to an auction however. https://www.cnet.com/products/ibm-s...on-e5-2420-1-9-ghz-monitor-none-series/specs/

If it came with the SAS controller you will need to buy something different. Not sure if it's built into the board or a PCI-e card but the answer if it is as listed in the specs I found is it will not work https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/ibm-serveraid-m5110e-flash-to-it-mode.35654/

The NIC should work fine though with the igb4 driver https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=igb&sektion=4&manpath=freebsd-release-ports

 

[Chris Moore]

If it came with the SAS controller you will need to buy something different. Not sure if it's built into the board or a PCI-e card but the answer if it is as listed in the specs I found is it will not work https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/ibm-serveraid-m5110e-flash-to-it-mode.35654/

There is a SAS controller integrated on the board illustrated in the auction, but I don't know if there are variations that use a different chip.

 

[dturner71.dt]

I have the whole server. It comes in a 2U case with 8 3.5" cages and a dvd-rom. Old equipment that I may be able to acquire without drives.

Wish I knew about freenas 3 months ago. We have a Supermicro X9DR3-F in a 8 bay 2u case.... Timing is everything.

TX