Intel Server Board S1200BTS + i3-3220

[indyslim]

Hello - A newbie here. I am hoping for some help with troubleshooting my FreeNAS install -

I just received a hand me down server with the details at the bottom -
I was able to install FreeNAS on a 250G SATA HDD. The system booted fine and I was able to access it over the network.
Storage lists all the HDDs in the system - the boot drive and two other 1T SATA HDDs
However, when I tried to create a new pool the only option available to me is the boot disk. The two other 1T disk do not show up.
I spent some time on the forums and it looks like it might be something to do with the SATA controller. I tried connecting the disks in AHCI mode but it did not change the outcome.
Questions:
1. Does anyone have a successful build with this server board?
2. Could the small amount of RAM be an issue? Should I order bigger RAM sticks, or switch out to a Xeon CPU?
3. Any other pointers to dealing with SATA controllers?

thank you


System Details -

• Mother board - Intel Server Board S1200BTS
• CPU - i3-3220
• RAM - 2GB(1 + 1) ECC
• WD Hard drive running Ubuntu v 12.04
• Dual NIC

 

[Spearfoot]

Hello - A newbie here. I am hoping for some help with troubleshooting my FreeNAS install -

I just received a hand me down server with the details at the bottom -
I was able to install FreeNAS on a 250G SATA HDD. The system booted fine and I was able to access it over the network.
Storage lists all the HDDs in the system - the boot drive and two other 1T SATA HDDs
However, when I tried to create a new pool the only option available to me is the boot disk. The two other 1T disk do not show up.
I spent some time on the forums and it looks like it might be something to do with the SATA controller. I tried connecting the disks in AHCI mode but it did not change the outcome.
Questions:
1. Does anyone have a successful build with this server board?
2. Could the small amount of RAM be an issue? Should I order bigger RAM sticks, or switch out to a Xeon CPU?
3. Any other pointers to dealing with SATA controllers?

thank you


System Details -

• Mother board - Intel Server Board S1200BTS
• CPU - i3-3220
• RAM - 2GB(1 + 1) ECC
• WD Hard drive running Ubuntu v 12.04
• Dual NIC

Yes, lack of RAM is your biggest problem. Not sure why your HDDs aren't showing up, but that's a problem, too, of course.

I run 3 FreeNAS servers on this same motherboard at work; all have 32GB of RAM and an LSI HBA. I only use the motherboard SATA ports for booting.

So your motherboard is known to successfully run FreeNAS, but with much more memory and using a HBA instead of the mobo SATA ports.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I suspect that your two 1T HDD's don't show up because they aren't recognized as "empty" by FreeNAS - you did mention the system was secondhand, so perhaps a previous partition table is on them and the FreeNAS middleware is saying "I'm not going to blindly erase those disks; that's on you."

Definitely get more RAM in there ASAP though.

 

[indyslim]

Thank you - It is nuggets like this that I miss while searching the forums. I'll retry with more RAM and fully erased disks.

 

[indyslim]

Yes, lack of RAM is your biggest problem. Not sure why your HDDs aren't showing up, but that's a problem, too, of course.

I run 3 FreeNAS servers on this same motherboard at work; all have 32GB of RAM and an LSI HBA. I only use the motherboard SATA ports for booting.

So your motherboard is known to successfully run FreeNAS, but with much more memory and using a HBA instead of the mobo SATA ports.

Thank you, this is a relief. Can you please let me know the specific LSI card that is working well for you? (9211-8i?)

 

[Spearfoot]

Thank you, this is a relief. Can you please let me know the specific LSI card that is working well for you? (9211-8i?)

Yes, we're using one of the LSI 92xx series, a 9201-16i, I believe. The model with 4 ports suitable for connecting to a 16-drive backplane. Any of the standard LSI 92xx cards will work; which one to use just depends on your needs.

 

[indyslim]

Yes, we're using one of the LSI 92xx series, a 9201-16i, I believe. The model with 4 ports suitable for connecting to a 16-drive backplane. Any of the standard LSI 92xx cards will work; which one to use just depends on your needs.

Thank you, that is very helpful.

 

[indyslim]

I suspect that your two 1T HDD's don't show up because they aren't recognized as "empty" by FreeNAS - you did mention the system was secondhand, so perhaps a previous partition table is on them and the FreeNAS middleware is saying "I'm not going to blindly erase those disks; that's on you."

Definitely get more RAM in there ASAP though.

Reporting back - Full wipe down of the disks, making sure boot drive is on SATA0 and reinstall seems to have fixed everything. Now, i feel safe ordering more RAM to make this NAS more functional.
Thank you for your pointers.