X11SPM-TF - Build Check for Virtualized Homelab Solution

[JJDuru]

I need a preliminary build check for the configuration below. The purpose of this build is to have a esxi-virtualized Freenas solution, with 3 VMs running on it: Freenas VM, the backblaze uploader. and a DNC-DHCP docker instance.

The build:
- motherboard: Supermicro X11SPM-TF
- CPU: Intel Xeon 3104 SkyLake 6-Core 1.7 GHz LGA 3647 85W BX806733104
- memory: MEM-DR464L-CL01-ER29 - 1x 64GB DDR4-2933 RDIMM PC4-23466U-R
- 2u chassis: Supermicro CSE-826BE1C-R920LPB 2U 12Bay
- M.2 nvme: 1TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 (existing), for esxi boot, VMDK repository. I have already, I may very well use it.

The chassis comes already with:
- 2 x redundant 920W Redundant Platinum Super Quiet power supply W/PMbus 94% High-efficiency with 80 PLUS Platinum Certified
- Supermicro BPN-SAS3-826EL1 (front) SAS Backplane with single expander

The price of what's listed above is $1,374.45, with some of the shipping included.

There's no suplemental LSI 9300-8i HBA yet. I intend to pass-through the existing SATA controllers to the Freenas VM and use them from there.

Further expansion, in the future, separating the SLOG onto its own dedicated hardware - to be researched at a later time:
- some m.2 nvme PCIe adapter with power loss protection, to pass it through to the Freenas VM
OR
- one of the variants of Intel Optane drives that offers power loss protection.

Thanks in advance for the double check.

 

[JJDuru]

Updated price which includes shipping: $1,410.12

 

[soana]

Nice build, I was looking at something very similar but I'm worried that the motherboard might not support ESXi, hoping someone here can comment on that.

 

[JJDuru]

Any particular reason I shouldn't go with this type of CPU? The price difference is like night and day.

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[rvassar]

Any particular reason I shouldn't go with this type of CPU? The price difference is like night and day.

Intel Xeon Gold 6130 ES Processor 16 Core 1.8ghz QL1M Socket LGA 3647 CPU for sale online | eBay

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The pictured markings are suspect... "Intel Confidential", when it should say "Intel Xeon Gold" or something like that. That is likely a pre-production chip. May be a completely unsupportable stepping, have defects, never get new microcode updates, etc... It's the sort of thing you find floating around R&D labs at the major computer manufacturers. The seller may not even have rights to sell it.

 

[JJDuru]

The pictured markings are suspect... "Intel Confidential", when it should say "Intel Xeon Gold" or something like that. That is likely a pre-production chip. May be a completely unsupportable stepping, have defects, never get new microcode updates, etc... It's the sort of thing you find floating around R&D labs at the major computer manufacturers. The seller may not even have rights to sell it.

Yep, in the mean time I wised up. I'll definitely not go with an engineering sample.

Let me first start to say that the Supermicro's specs page for X11SPM-TF, memory entries, are wrong. As in dead wrong.

The manual makes it clear that for the Intel Xeon Silver 42xx series, the smallest supported memory frequency is 2666MHz:

"DDR4 Memory Support for 82xx/62xx/52xx/42xx/32xx Platform" - page 35.
https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/motherboard/C620/MNL-1939.pdf

If that is correct and this forces me to get "Platinum" level CPU (the first one on the ark intel's page that natively support max 2666MHz), I'm going to be pissed. I really hope that the motherboard knows how to downscale the memory's frequency to 2400MHz and let the CPU and the memory to work at that frequency.

This is the exact memory module type I've ordered:
Supermicro 64GB 288-Pin DDR4 2666 (PC4-21300) Server Memory (MEM-DR464L-HL03-LR26)

I did not place an order for the CPU yet, but I'm eyeing this ebay entry:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon...7-85W-64-Bit-Processor-CPU-SRFBL/324222697903

What am doing wrong here, because this is what it smells like.

 

[JJDuru]

...And the winning semi-final build looks like this:
- motherboard: Supermicro X11SPM-TF
- CPU: Intel Xeon Silver 4114 SR3GK 10-Core 2.20GHz 13.75MB LGA3647
- cooler: Supermicro SNK-P0068APS4 LGA 3647-0 2U&UP X11 Purley Platform CPU Heat Sink (noisy basterd)
- RAM: 64GB Supermicro Certified MEM-DR464L-HL03-LR26 Hynix HMAA8GL7CPR4N-VK DDR4-2666 ECC LRDIMM Memory
- SAS controller: LSI SAS9302-8i ServeRAID N2215 12Gbps SAS HBA P16 IT mode
- PSU: some older ThermalTake 750W
- chassis: an old desktop case with plenty of 3.5 HDD trays - it will have to do for now.
- drives: 4X500GB configured in raid-z2, 1X3TB configured as a standalone pool for Time Machine backups
- hypervisor: VMWare ESXi vCenter 7.0b, no patches
- boot disk: Supermicro 16GB SATA DOM
- datastore: an m.2 Samsung SSD 970 EVO 1TB

It purrs like a kitten by my side as we speak and it hosts:
- freenas, the one and only
- a large docker instance for various projects (eyeing that vyos build...)
- an HA powerdns authoritative DNS - one of the nodes.
- an unifi controller, that in itself controls two unifi AP AC PRO
- an HA DHCP machine, that soon will be consolidated into the powerdns host

With the last dough I have set aside, I am debating between buying another stick of 64GB or start buying SAS drives. I am inclined towards the 64GB stick for now.

Any suggestions, critiques are more than welcome. Thank you.