Source for SuperMicro in England?

[Trif55]

So it's been a while since I was on here finding out about hardware (summer?) anyway, I got the message about ECC-RAM and quantity of ram etc, and that Server grade hardware in general was recommended,

So I was browsing around now the winter months are upon us and saw this: "Dell FS12-NV7 32Gb RAM Cloud Server" for under £200, its got 12 hot swap bays and comes with caddies, it looked perfect and since it met the requirements I remembered for FreeNAS I came back to see if anyone else had seen them,

But reading around there is some very specific brand suggestions for most bits of hardware so now I'm a little sad and back to trying to find supermicro equipment but actually can't see much except new stuff for £1000s, does anyone know where I should look beyond "a certain popular on-line auction site" or would the server grade hardware in the Dell be ok?

 

[Ericloewe]

If you provide us more details on the server, we might be able to help you further. It might just be a good deal.

The only problem is if it then refuses to boot FreeNAS, as has happened with several Dell/HP servers. So there is a certain risk involved.

 

[Trif55]

Apologies, I wasn't sure how much I was allowed to link:

Server is here with basic specs:


Some more details from the Dell forums on exactly what they are:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/956/t/19457910

Where they identify this range as the likely motherboard:
http://b2b.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2658#sp

edit: ok, its tried to do a media link to ebay, if that didn't work for you (didn't for me) the specs are:

Processor: 2x Opteron 2373 2.1GHz Quad-Core CPU Installed
Memory: 32GB (8x4GB) RAM Installed
Cards: Perc 6i RAID Controller Installed

And maybe a text url?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-FS12-NV7-32Gb-RAM-Cloud-Server-VMWare-Ready-/351222338116


I'd like to change this thread title to be about the reliability of the Dell server instead of Supermicro rather than make a new thread but I can't find the option? Or should I make another thread?

 

[horse_porcupine]

In answer to your original question (which you might be about to change, I know), you can order Supermicro motherboards from ServerCaseUK and (to a much lesser extent) Scan. I've dealt with both previously and been very happy with them.

 

[Trif55]

Ooh cool, I've actually used scan before a long time ago, I'll check them out, thank you.

What about for supermicro cases? Like the 4u that's recommended?

 

[horse_porcupine]

Eh, there I don't know I'm afraid. I'm very much a small time user so just using a standard ATX PC case. It might be worth contacting Server Case UK though (Scan too, but I suppose they're more geared towards gamer gear) and checking whether they can get something for you. They were very snappy replying to my emails and very helpful too, so I'm sure they could suggest an alternative if they don't have exactly what you're looking for. Happy hunting!

 

[rogerh]

There is also:

https://www.lambda-tek.com

whom I have dealt with once and had no problem apart from a slight delay to a change in mind as where their stock was. They also feel they can opt out of EU consumer law by insisting that a motherboard sale is a business to business transaction: this did not upset me greatly, because the credit card company can't do the same. And they seem to be willing to sell a wide range of Supermicro stuff at reasonable prices.

 

[trionic]

Scan are Supermicro's official distributor in the UK.

From www.scan.co.uk I bought the following items for my build:

Supermicro X9SRH-7F LGA 2011
Supermicro SNK-P0050AP4 LGA 2011 Intel Xeon CPU Cooler
Hynix Server Memory 16GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) - HMT42GR7MFR4C-PB

All server grade stuff. Scan did not carry any of those items in stock but were able to acquire them in a few days.

You can see my build thread here:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...t-welcome-on-my-proposed-freenas-build.20626/

I have a lot more information to add, including photos from the build. In summary: after several operator-induced cock-ups, everything seems to be fine. Just have to sort out UPS connectivity.

 

[marbus90]

AMD isn't best choice for anything *BSD based anyway.

 

[danb35]

What about for supermicro cases? Like the 4u that's recommended?

At least here in the States, new Supermicro chassis are silly expensive. I got mine via eBay for about a third the new price. To be fair, though, it was missing the rail kit (which I didn't need at the time anyway). I see some coming up on ebay.co.uk, though not a whole lot. May still be a good resource for you, though.

 

[Ericloewe]

At least here in the States, new Supermicro chassis are silly expensive. I got mine via eBay for about a third the new price. To be fair, though, it was missing the rail kit (which I didn't need at the time anyway). I see some coming up on ebay.co.uk, though not a whole lot. May still be a good resource for you, though.

That's universal. The few that are available on Amazon regularly hit the 1000€ mark.