Powerful Server?

[mishav1]

My question is

I want to put the following together

1 case = http://3btech.net/norpsost4ura1.html

16 hardrives 3TB each = http://www.goharddrive.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=G01-0530&Click=46406

1 (16) port sata III controller card ( raid ) = http://partsarcade.com/lsi-logic-lsi00244-9201-16i-6gbps-16-port-int-pci-e-2.0-x8-sas-sata-controller-card..html

1 motherboard = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182343&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

1 set of ram equaling 64 GB = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231508

2 cpu s = http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H29ECE/ref=asc_df_B007H29ECE2080491?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B007H29ECE&hvpos=1o4&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15122813331166020144&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=

1 Linux 64 bit ubuntu or fedora operating system.

Will all of this work together and if I make a logical volume the size of 48 TB ,which is all the space I will have together with all the drives combined will the operating system see the whole 48 TB and will it boot.

 

[GhislainG]

You provided the wrong link for the RAID controller.

Are you 100% sure that memory kit will work? Server motherboards usually require registered memory modules and an 8GB module costs close to $150.

 

[mishav1]

Thanks for telling me about the wrong link. I fixed it. As far as registered memory. I have no idea what that is. I thought that all DDR3 Ram was the same.

 

[Pinhedd]

You provided the wrong link for the RAID controller.

Are you 100% sure that memory kit will work? Server motherboards usually require registered memory modules and an 8GB module costs close to $150.

Excluding SODIMM, there's only one physical specification for DDR3. All modules use the same formfactor and bus drops regardless of the platform or number of ranks per DIMM. The only restriction is that you cannot mix registered and unregistered modules and you cannot mix ECC and non-ecc modules. Naturally, only the server platforms support ECC.

Theoretically there does exist an FBDIMM implementation of DDR3 like there was for DDR2 but no manufactures have implemented it.

 

[mishav1]

Can I use unregistered memory If I want to, and what are the repercussions.

 

[4745454b]

Does that board support booting from PCI? What in the heck are you doing that you think you need this?

 

[Pinhedd]

Can I use unregistered memory If I want to, and what are the repercussions.

Since all modules on a channel share a common IO bus, each additional module increases the electrical load which in turn degrades the electrical signal. Registered memory adds a high impedance register between the DIMM and the memory controller which reduces the load on the signal but adds latency by virtue of adding an additional pipeline stage. Registered memory is primarily used in systems with more than 2 DIMMs per memory channel and is often accompanied by ECC. Since the Xeon E5 processors have 4 channels per processor and that motherboard probably has one DIMM per channel per processor (check the spec sheet to see how its fanned out) you do not need to use registered memory.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

You WILL need ECC memory....check that motherboards specs.....

And what PSU are you going to use ???

All the best Brett

 

[Pinhedd]

Hi

You WILL need ECC memory....check that motherboards specs.....

All the best Brett

ECC is not necessary, merely supported.

 

[Brett928S2]

ECC is not necessary, merely supported.

Hi

Thats NOT what that mobo page says....

All the best Brett

 

[nigelren]

According to http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/xeon/c600/x9drl-3f.cfm it supports both ECC and non-ECC.

 

[popatim]

No you wont have 48tb total. 3tb is how the manufacturer rates the drives size but in computer speak its only really about 2.7TB usable so about 43.5tb total and thats only if you use it in JBOD mode. If you attempt to raid you loose additional space due to parity. The amount you loose depends on the raid type you use.

Also; and please read this part; those intellipower drives you have selected scream Western Digital Green drives to me and you should not raid those drives in any critical data application. They are not designed for nor support raid and many users have lost all their data when the raid failed and they foundthemselves without a current backup. So please please please throw in some kind of tape backup system for your data as well as select drives designed for raid use. Raid is not a backup; it is not failsafe.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Notice the max difference between Udimm`s AND Ecc ??? 64 gb vs 256 gb....

Running that setup on Udimms instead of Ecc is a bit like driving a car at 200 mph WITHOUT aerodynamics....

We build servers and would ALWAYS use ECC....

It might run without ...but how well and for how long...

All the best Brett

 

[GhislainG]

According to http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/xeon/c600/x9drl-3f.cfm it supports both ECC and non-ECC.

That's correct, but memory size is then limited to 64GB. I wouldn't run 64GB of non-ECC memory on a server unless I had a chance to test it for several weeks to ensure stability.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi All

To be honest, until the OP comes back and says whats hes intending to use this server for, this is all a little pointless....

All the best Brett

 

[popatim]

As for ecc or non-ecc , using non ecc ram means the occasion reboot , sometimes unscheduled reboots due to crashes/lockups caused by bit errors that ecc ram would have caught & corrected. Thats why its used in servers.

 

[Pinhedd]

Hi

Notice the max difference between Udimm`s AND Ecc ??? 64 gb vs 256 gb....

Running that setup on Udimms instead of Ecc is a bit like driving a car at 200 mph WITHOUT aerodynamics....

We build servers and would ALWAYS use ECC....

It might run without ...but how well and for how long...

All the best Brett

Don't confuse UDIMM and ECC. There are UDIMMs with ECC and RDIMMs without ECC. They are just incredibly uncommon because they often go hand in hand. The maximum module capacity of a DDR3 UDIMM is 8GB per module and only supports at most 2 ranks. Thus, 8GB per module * 1 module per channel * 4 channels per processor * 2 processors = 64GB for DDR3 UDIMMs.

RDIMMs theoretically support up to 8 ranks per module but the most common implementations are 2 and 4. Each rank typically has 4 or 8GB which allows for 16GB per module, or less commonly 32GB per module using a quad rank setup. The electrical load of these modules means that they have to be buffered otherwise they can make the whole system unstable. So, 8 of the highest density 32GB modules provides a total of 256GB of memory using RDIMMs. However, these setups are extremely expensive.

 

[mishav1]

That's correct, but memory size is then limited to 64GB. I wouldn't run 64GB of non-ECC memory on a server unless I had a chance to test it for several weeks to ensure stability.

Is there a limit as far as non ecc memory is concerned that can be put in a system?

 

[Pinhedd]

Is there a limit as far as non ecc memory is concerned that can be put in a system?

64GB is the unregistered limit as per my post above. Registered will allow up to 256GB but will cost you an arm, a leg, and half of your left testicle. 64GB of registered SDRAM with ECC will cost a little bit more than unregistered memory of the same density (meaning that 64GB of ECC registered SDRAM is a little bit more expensive than 64GB of non-ECC non-registered SDRAM) but the higher densities are very expensive.

 

[mishav1]

Also can I use green drives if my configuration is JBOD. Will that have any negative effects? Because Im not striving for any sort of backup or raiding. At least now.

 

[Pinhedd]

Also can I use green drives if my configuration is JBOD. Will that have any negative effects? Because Im not striving for any sort of backup or raiding. At least now.

Never use green drives in any sort of array, ever. Low RPM drives are fine but any drive that has any sort of "intellisense", power saving, or dynamic spindle speed control (outside of the drive's nominal control) should never be used in any sort of conjoined volume.

The reason they shouldn't be used is because the power conservation and speed control can confuse the drive's controller which can result in timeouts and other nasty effects.

 

[mishav1]

Are non green drives more expensive?

 

[Pinhedd]

Are non green drives more expensive?

Yes they are

 

[mishav1]

64GB is the unregistered limit as per my post above. Registered will allow up to 256GB but will cost you an arm, a leg, and half of your left testicle. 64GB of registered SDRAM with ECC will cost a little bit more than unregistered memory of the same density (meaning that 64GB of ECC registered SDRAM is a little bit more expensive than 64GB of non-ECC non-registered SDRAM) but the higher densities are very expensive.

If you dont mind me beating a dead horse. Why is 64 GB unregistered the limit? Why does it become unstable after that size?

 

[mishav1]

Also to clarify things for myself, since Im new to this



Does ECC , Registered , Buffered memory all mean the same?

Does non-ecc, unregistered, and unbuffered memory mean the same?

Basically

ECC = Registered, = buffered

Non ecc = unregistered = unbuffered