New N100 All in one mobo

[Pindaroli]

In aliexpress i saw :
Motherboard

the price is appealing 157Eur. DDR5 - 6 SATA on board - 2 nvme - 4 nic at 2.5Gb
But the problem is that detailed infos are ignored (chipset of Sata Controller)

Anyone has experiences with that?

Alternative is to go with more classical ASROCK N100 + LSI-9007-81 (more watt).

Suggestions?

Bye
Olindo

 

[Ericloewe]

Yeah, every part of that is terrible.

aliexpress

That loud noise you've been hearing is a warning klaxon saying you should stay away.

Motherboard [with Intel N100 CPU]

The Intel N100 maxes out at 16 GB, as per ark, which is rather anemic.

DDR5

That's not a good thing, it's a great way to waste money on high-performance memory for a low-performance system.

2 nvme

With 9 total PCIe 3.0 lanes, which also have to support the NICs and a PCIe slot? Yeah, no.

4 nic at 2.5Gb

So they're guaranteed to be terrible.

more classical ASROCK N100

More classical to whom? That's the sort of thing you use for applications like digital signage, PoS systems and other low-requirement semi-embedded applications that run either Windows or off-the-shelf Linux distros. Not remotely something that would make a good server.

Suggestions?

Yeah, tons: https://www.truenas.com/community/resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Since you haven't actually told us what you want the server to do, it's hard to be more specific.

 

[Davvo]

For very simple storage requirements the N100 might do the job (do note it doesn't support ECC)... but this is the SCALE section, where everything is all but simple storage.

 

[Pindaroli]

Yeah, every part of that is terrible.

That loud noise you've been hearing is a warning klaxon saying you should stay away.

The Intel N100 maxes out at 16 GB, as per ark, which is rather anemic.

That's not a good thing, it's a great way to waste money on high-performance memory for a low-performance system.

With 9 total PCIe 3.0 lanes, which also have to support the NICs and a PCIe slot? Yeah, no.

So they're guaranteed to be terrible.

More classical to whom? That's the sort of thing you use for applications like digital signage, PoS systems and other low-requirement semi-embedded applications that run either Windows or off-the-shelf Linux distros. Not remotely something that would make a good server.

Yeah, tons: https://www.truenas.com/community/resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Since you haven't actually told us what you want the server to do, it's hard to be more specific.

Thanks for your answer. My needs are very simple: make a cheap home lab to experiment software and Nas for multimedia contents. All silent and not power hungry.
I don't need Enterprise grade servers like the ones i use on my job.
I started from i5 2013 nuc, after changing 3 nuc i decided to build with a jonsbo n2 and 3x14tb disk a new macchine 2tb Ssd to use as cache for zfs. N100 is a playfull cpu with multimediale futures, 32gb is now supported and is enough for me. 4 nics is superflous for me. Ddr5 are well used by n100 infact implementation of beelink equ 12 is speedier than ddr4 Asus rock n100 mobo. My doubts are the quality of sata of Ali mobo controller with choosy zfs. I don't have any information.
The lsi controller is sure better but is power hungry. In asrock mobo it could run with 2 lane pcie v. 3.0 enough for My hdd based Nas.
I don't want spend more of 400eur without disks.
That'a all!

 

[Pindaroli]

For very simple storage requirements the N100 might do the job (do note it doesn't support ECC)... but this is the SCALE section, where everything is all but simple storage.

I understand that i posted in wrong place

 

[Arwen]

It is understandable. Many people come here and want something that works, but cheaply.

The problem is that both ZFS & TrueNAS, (SCALE or Core), are both designed for the Enterprise Data Center. iX continued to make them Open Source after they bought FreeNAS years ago. And to be fair, ZFS & TrueNAS will work for many SOHO uses. I use ZFS on a miniature PC for media services, it's way more limited that that N100 and works fine for my use case.

Note that the N100 only supports 16GB;

Intel® Processor N100 (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Processor N100 (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Not sure where ASRock got 32GB from;

ASRock N100DC-ITX

Intel Quad-Core Processor N100 (up to 3.4 GHz)<br />Supports 1 DDR4 DIMM<br />1 DC Jack (Compatible with the 19V power adapter, 5.5 x 2.5mm DC-in jack)<br />1 PCIe 3.0 x4 (x2 mode), 1 M.2 Key E for WiFi<br />Graphics Output Options: D-Sub, HDMI<br />7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio...

www.asrock.com

As I have said before, their is no one home NAS to rule them all. The various options out their have their own quirks, requirements and costs associated with them.

 

[Davvo]

I understand that i posted in wrong place

Not really: my line was a joke about SCALE, its users, and its usage.

 

[Pindaroli]

It is understandable. Many people come here and want something that works, but cheaply.

The problem is that both ZFS & TrueNAS, (SCALE or Core), are both designed for the Enterprise Data Center. iX continued to make them Open Source after they bought FreeNAS years ago. And to be fair, ZFS & TrueNAS will work for many SOHO uses. I use ZFS on a miniature PC for media services, it's way more limited that that N100 and works fine for my use case.

Note that the N100 only supports 16GB;

Intel® Processor N100 (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Processor N100 (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Not sure where ASRock got 32GB from;

ASRock N100DC-ITX

Intel Quad-Core Processor N100 (up to 3.4 GHz)<br />Supports 1 DDR4 DIMM<br />1 DC Jack (Compatible with the 19V power adapter, 5.5 x 2.5mm DC-in jack)<br />1 PCIe 3.0 x4 (x2 mode), 1 M.2 Key E for WiFi<br />Graphics Output Options: D-Sub, HDMI<br />7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio...

www.asrock.com

As I have said before, their is no one home NAS to rule them all. The various options out their have their own quirks, requirements and costs associated with them.

There are many youtube video with 32gb installation. Only importa for a good zfs caching. In asrock site there is the list of memory tested.

Just a question, i your small pc do you have hba or mobo sata adapter?
Thanks

 

[Pindaroli]

Not really: my line was a joke about SCALE, its users, and its usage.

The useful links you provided me are scary. In particular my ipotetic raidz 3x14tb its a nightmare. There are only 2 option

1. Use snapraid. Cheaper
2. By an other 14tb and make mirror + strip. More expensive.

Regarding the mobo: hba is so important?

 

[Davvo]

The useful links you provided me are scary. In particular my ipotetic raidz 3x14tb its a nightmare. There are only 2 option

1. Use snapraid. Cheaper
2. By an other 14tb and make mirror + strip. More expensive.

You don't actually have to buy the third and fourth drive right away, you can add them whenever you want. I don't know snapraid, but if it works better for you totally go for it.

Regarding the mobo: hba is so important?

It's the only way to add multiple drives to the motherboard once you use up all the SATA/SAS slots.

 

[Pindaroli]

It's the only way to add multiple drives to the motherboard once you use up all the SATA/SAS slots.

I buy the aliexpress one there are 6 sata include so hba is not essential. I need to know to chipset!

 

[Davvo]

Ask them at marhone@bkipc.com.

 

[Arwen]

There are many youtube video with 32gb installation. Only importa for a good zfs caching. In asrock site there is the list of memory tested.
...

YouTube is full of misinformation, though it is possible that 32GBytes of memory is supported. It is just that the "official" site from Intel says 16GBytes. So, whether the N100 supports 16GBytes or 32GBytes is your risk.

...
Just a question, i your small pc do you have hba or mobo sata adapter?
Thanks

My miniature PC has a mSATA slot and a 2.5" SATA drive slot builtin. Both SATA from the CPU / SoC, (System on a Chip). It has zero PCIe expansion slots. But, neither that PC nor the CPU / SoC is suitable for use with TrueNAS, (and may no longer be available as I bought the PC either mid-2014 or 2015).

That said, my little miniature PC is perfectly fine for my use as an always on media server and master location of some data.