NVMe and RAID?
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Chatting with Dell, they don't offer any of their Epyc servers with any 40Gbe offerings. They only go up to dual 25Gbe. They offer HDR100 Infiniband and Fibre channel, but these are pretty foreign to me and I don't even know if they can be used.
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@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
They offer HDR100 Infiniband and Fibre channel, but these are pretty foreign to me and I don't even know if they can be used.
They replace Ethernet. FC is the standard SAN connection. InfiniBand can be used anywhere Ethernet can.
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@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
Chatting with Dell, they don't offer any of their Epyc servers with any 40Gbe offerings. They only go up to dual 25Gbe. They offer HDR100 Infiniband and Fibre channel, but these are pretty foreign to me and I don't even know if they can be used.
It's totally random what Dell offers and what they don't.
They have the Intel XL710-T2L which is dual port 10 GbE but not the XL710-QDA2 which is the dual port 10/40 GbE. It's the same driver and everything.
You could of course buy the network card anywhere you'd like and plug it in.
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40 GbE is actually 4x10 GbE internally inside the interface. That's why 10 GbE switches have 40 GbE uplinks ports.
The interface is called QSFP+ as in Quad SFP+ (SFP+ being 10GbE, SFP being 1GbE)
And 25 GbE is the upgrade of the 10 GbE. Interface is called SFP28. Same physical dimensions as SFP+.
And 25 GbE switches have 100 GbE uplinks, because 100GbE is 4x25 GbE internally. And the interface is called QSFP28. -
@Pete-S I'd stay away from the 7xx Intel NICs, I heard lots of bad things on different IT forums how they play up. The Mellanox NICs would be my first choice for anything with RDMA support.
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@taurex said in NVMe and RAID?:
@Pete-S I'd stay away from the 7xx Intel NICs, I heard lots of bad things on different IT forums how they play up. The Mellanox NICs would be my first choice for anything with RDMA support.
I just picked it because that is what Dell sells. It's a simple card, no RDMA, but I don't think RDMA is needed in a fileserver application like this with huge files.
I'm surprised to hear that people have problems with it because it's been around for 5-6 years something now and Intel have newer cards as well. You would kind of assume they've worked out the kinks by now.
Anyway, it more a proof-of-concept at this point. You got to have some numbers to play with to see if it's economically feasible for the customer. What you end up will depend on the budget and what the needs actually are. Switches are also a big cost when it comes to 10GbE and faster.
And yes, Mellanox is good stuff.
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I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
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@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
- ASRock Rack Board
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@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
FleaBay is your best friend.
Is that where people trade their pets?
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@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
I love Asrock Rack products, their support is great, if they can actually fix the damn issues, if not, you're sol. My next server refresh will have this board: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Specifications
- ASRock Rack Board
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@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
I love Asrock Rack products
I'm on an ASRock right now. Got another sitting beside me.
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@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
I love Asrock Rack products, their support is great, if they can actually fix the damn issues, if not, you're sol. My next server refresh will have this board: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Specifications
We just received two ROMED6U-2L2T boards:
https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED6U-2L2T#SpecificationsThey are a perfect board for our cluster storage nodes with two built-in 10GbE ports. An AMD EPYC Rome 7262 processor, 96GB or 192GB of ECC Memory, four NVMe via SlimSAS x8 on board, and up to twelve SATA SSDs or HDDs for capacity and we have a winner.
FYI: We only use EPYC Rome processors with a TDP of 155 watts or higher. Cost wise, there's very little increase while the performance benefits are there.
EDIT: Missed the Slimline x8 beside the MiniSAS HD ports. That's six NVMe drives if we go that route.
- ASRock Rack Board
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@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
I love Asrock Rack products, their support is great, if they can actually fix the damn issues, if not, you're sol. My next server refresh will have this board: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Specifications
We just received two ROMED6U-2L2T boards:
https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED6U-2L2T#SpecificationsThey are a perfect board for our cluster storage nodes with two built-in 10GbE ports. An AMD EPYC Rome 7262 processor, 96GB or 192GB of ECC Memory, four NVMe via SlimSAS x8 on board, and up to twelve SATA SSDs or HDDs for capacity and we have a winner.
FYI: We only use EPYC Rome processors with a TDP of 155 watts or higher. Cost wise, there's very little increase while the performance benefits are there.
EDIT: Missed the Slimline x8 beside the MiniSAS HD ports. That's six NVMe drives if we go that route.
You're probably overpaying with that CPU, here's a deal not many know about, Epyc 7302P for $713
https://www.provantage.com/hpe-p16667-b21~7CMPTCR7.htm - ASRock Rack Board
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@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
I love Asrock Rack products, their support is great, if they can actually fix the damn issues, if not, you're sol. My next server refresh will have this board: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Specifications
We just received two ROMED6U-2L2T boards:
https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED6U-2L2T#SpecificationsThey are a perfect board for our cluster storage nodes with two built-in 10GbE ports. An AMD EPYC Rome 7262 processor, 96GB or 192GB of ECC Memory, four NVMe via SlimSAS x8 on board, and up to twelve SATA SSDs or HDDs for capacity and we have a winner.
FYI: We only use EPYC Rome processors with a TDP of 155 watts or higher. Cost wise, there's very little increase while the performance benefits are there.
EDIT: Missed the Slimline x8 beside the MiniSAS HD ports. That's six NVMe drives if we go that route.
You're probably overpaying with that CPU, here's a deal not many know about, Epyc 7302P for $713
https://www.provantage.com/hpe-p16667-b21~7CMPTCR7.htmWe're in Canada. We overpay for everything up here. :S
- ASRock Rack Board
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@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
I love Asrock Rack products, their support is great, if they can actually fix the damn issues, if not, you're sol. My next server refresh will have this board: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Specifications
We just received two ROMED6U-2L2T boards:
https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED6U-2L2T#SpecificationsThey are a perfect board for our cluster storage nodes with two built-in 10GbE ports. An AMD EPYC Rome 7262 processor, 96GB or 192GB of ECC Memory, four NVMe via SlimSAS x8 on board, and up to twelve SATA SSDs or HDDs for capacity and we have a winner.
FYI: We only use EPYC Rome processors with a TDP of 155 watts or higher. Cost wise, there's very little increase while the performance benefits are there.
EDIT: Missed the Slimline x8 beside the MiniSAS HD ports. That's six NVMe drives if we go that route.
You're probably overpaying with that CPU, here's a deal not many know about, Epyc 7302P for $713
https://www.provantage.com/hpe-p16667-b21~7CMPTCR7.htmWe're in Canada. We overpay for everything up here. :S
And even when you pay a lot, you often can't get things. We tried to order stuff from Insight Canada for our Montreal office and after a week of not being able to ship, they eventually just told us that they couldn't realistically service Canada.
- ASRock Rack Board
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Yeah I have no problem whiteboxing stuff for me (or close family), but when you do it for others, they expect tech support for life. I don't really want to go down that road
But a PoC build may be more "in line" with his budge needs. Thanks for that @PhlipElder !
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@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
Yeah I have no problem whiteboxing stuff for me (or close family), but when you do it for others, they expect tech support for life. I don't really want to go down that road
That's great in an IT setting. Either you as the employee have to support forever anyway, or you as a consultant get them to keep coming back to hire you.
If you think about it, all IT is whiteboxing. Just the boxes are different sizes. Sometimes it's tiny, inside the server. Sometimes it's the server. Sometimes it's the cabinet. Sometimes it's the whole company. But to a company everything we provide as a solution is a whitebox in some sense.
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@scottalanmiller said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@marcinozga said in NVMe and RAID?:
@PhlipElder said in NVMe and RAID?:
@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
I appreciate all the help guys. Yeah I'm compiling a price list but it ain't cheap. Server alone would be about $7k and that's on the low end with smaller NVMe drives (1.6TB). Then still have to purchase the switch and then have to purchase the 10Gbe NICs for the workstations themselves.
Its a large investment that I bet never sees the light of day. It will turn into "I have $2k, what can you build with that?"
FleaBay is your best friend.
10GbE pNIC: Intel x540: $100 to $125 each.
For 10GbE switch go for NETGEAR XS712T XS716T or XS728T depending on port density needed. The 12-port is $1K.
As far as the server goes, is this a proof of concept driven project?
- ASRock Rack Board
** Dual 10GbE On Board (designated by -2T) - Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC Rome
- Crucial/Samsung ECC Memory
- Power Supply
The board should have at least one SlimSAS x8 or preferably two. Each of those ports gives you two NVMe drives. An SFF-8654 Y cable to connect to a two drive enclosure would be needed. I suggest ICYDOCK.
The build will cost a fraction of a Tier 1 box.
Once the PoC has been run and the kinks worked out, then go for the Tier 1 box tailored to your needs.
I love Asrock Rack products, their support is great, if they can actually fix the damn issues, if not, you're sol. My next server refresh will have this board: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Specifications
We just received two ROMED6U-2L2T boards:
https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED6U-2L2T#SpecificationsThey are a perfect board for our cluster storage nodes with two built-in 10GbE ports. An AMD EPYC Rome 7262 processor, 96GB or 192GB of ECC Memory, four NVMe via SlimSAS x8 on board, and up to twelve SATA SSDs or HDDs for capacity and we have a winner.
FYI: We only use EPYC Rome processors with a TDP of 155 watts or higher. Cost wise, there's very little increase while the performance benefits are there.
EDIT: Missed the Slimline x8 beside the MiniSAS HD ports. That's six NVMe drives if we go that route.
You're probably overpaying with that CPU, here's a deal not many know about, Epyc 7302P for $713
https://www.provantage.com/hpe-p16667-b21~7CMPTCR7.htmWe're in Canada. We overpay for everything up here. :S
And even when you pay a lot, you often can't get things. We tried to order stuff from Insight Canada for our Montreal office and after a week of not being able to ship, they eventually just told us that they couldn't realistically service Canada.
We're creative with our procurement process so we don't have issues with getting product.
Insight is tied to Ingram Micro. If they don't have it, Insight doesn't.
Our Canadian distribution network used to be quite homogeneous with all three major distributors having similar line cards. The competition was good though pricing was fairly consistent across the three.
We have a number of niche suppliers that help when we can't get product from the Big Three always making sure we're dealing with legit product not grey market. We verify that with our vendor contacts.
PING if you need anything.
- ASRock Rack Board
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@biggen said in NVMe and RAID?:
Yeah I have no problem whiteboxing stuff for me (or close family), but when you do it for others, they expect tech support for life. I don't really want to go down that road
But a PoC build may be more "in line" with his budge needs. Thanks for that @PhlipElder !
That's what we do as a business.
We've been system builders since day one of MPECS in 2003 but since the late 1990s for myself.
We have a parts bin full of broken promises.
But, we also have a defined solution set that we know works so we run with them.
Our support terms are clearly defined and require a contract.
We are either building a mutually beneficial business relationship or it ain't gonna happen. We don't do one-offs unless there's good reason to.
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The ROMED6U-2L2T is mATX? Whats the advantage there over a full size ATX board?
