Xeon E-2224

[kirkdickinson]

I have a Xeon E-2224 just sitting here that I got stuck with, and 6 10-TB WD Reds that I had originally planned to use to replace drives in another system. I am thinking about using this stuff for new a build.

I can't seem to find what motherboards are compatible with this Xeon E-2224. I know it wouldn't even post in the SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSH-LN4F-O that I used for my last build.

What makes the E CPU's different and what weird requirements do they need?

Thanks,

 

[NugentS]

Product Specifications

quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Only SMC M/B seems to be the C7C242-CB-MW
Its a workstation chip - not a server chip

 

[kirkdickinson]

Product Specifications

quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Only SMC M/B seems to be the C7C242-CB-MW
Its a workstation chip - not a server chip

Thanks,

What does SMC stand for?

So the E-2224 is intended for a workstation instead of a server?

I see that the E-2224 is 8th gen and my other Supermicro only listed support up to 7th gen. I assume that is why it didn't work.

I found this board at NewEgg that supports ECC, 8th gen, has 8 SATA Ports, and that seems to fit my requirements.

ASUS WS C246M PRO uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 - Newegg.com

Buy ASUS WS C246M PRO uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246 Chipset with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

I have always used Supermicro boards for FreeNAS builds. I wonder how the Asus boards would work?

I don't see IPMI support listed for either the C7C242-CB-MW or the Asus Board.

 

[Samuel Tai]

What does SMC stand for?

SuperMicro Corp.

 

[NugentS]

I wonder what

• Complete IT Infrastructure Management with in-band ASUS Control Center providing a complete server management solution reducing IT operating costs with features like remote BIOS updating, monitoring multiple systems via mobile device, and one-click software updates/dispatching

means exactly.

However despite it saying server board - its far more a workstation board (8 channel sound???) but at least the LAN ports are Intel Server (allegedly)
and you have two useful PCIe ports (3*16, 3*8) and one largely useless at 3*1) and 8 SATA ports is nice and ECC Support

 

[kirkdickinson]

High-Performance Server Boards & Motherboards | Supermicro

Supermicro server boards support the latest memory, CPU, and add-on hardware with 2nd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors support.

www.supermicro.com

In filters click Intel Xeon E-2200, currently 13 motherboards.

Looks like this is the only one with 8 SATA Ports that I can find for sale.

SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCH-LN4F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246

Open Box: SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCH-LN4F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard - Newegg.com

Buy Open Box: SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCH-LN4F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[Etorix]

What makes the E CPU's different and what weird requirements do they need?

As you have already found out, the Coffee Lake (Refresh) E-2100/2200 are nothing special, they just use LGA1151v2, which is incompatible with LGA1151 used by the previous generations Skylake and Kaby Lake E3v5 and E3v6 (Core 6000/7000). It's just Intel being Intel and deprecating its socket so customers have to buy everything anew.
X11SS_ : Skylake, LGA1151
X11SC_ : Coffee Lake, LGA1151v2

I do not know why people are saying the E-2100 and E-2200 series are workstation chips. They are entry server chips. The W series are the entry workstation chips.

Because Intel officially and separately launched these CPUs first as entry-level workstation AND then relaunched the very same chips later as entry-level server, before figuring out it could further bifurcate its product stack and introduce a Xeon W-1000 line for entry-level workstations that is entirely distinct from, and incompatible with, Xeon E-2300.

Intel Xeon E-2100 An Updated Platform and Market Segment

The Intel Xeon E-2100 platform is out for workstations. In this article we are going to give a quick word about the market position of the new platform, then we are going to show what the new Intel Xeon E-2100 series has to offer as a platform in terms of features.

www.servethehome.com

The Intel Xeon E-2100 Server Re-Launch

Intel has seen it fit to re-launch CPUs that have been on the market for several months. The Intel Xeon E-2100 series has now been launched for servers and we have the details, again.

www.servethehome.com

Intel Xeon E-2200 Refresh 8-Core SKUs Available

The Intel Xeon E-2200 is the new entry-level Xeon part that expands the series to have up to 8 cores and 16 threads per CPU in the same platform as E-2100

www.servethehome.com

Intel Xeon E-2200 Series Launched for Servers... Finally

Our Intel Xeon E-2200 series launch article shows the new family and why the re-launch for servers is an important milestone in the entry Xeon lineup

www.servethehome.com

Remember: Every time a customer figures his way out of the product stack quagmire, an Intel employee is fired! (Or so it seems…)

 

[NugentS]

If you can use onbpard SATA then do - it does save you from additional issues caused by addin cards, firmware etc

 

[kirkdickinson]

So, TrueNAS build, ZFS2, NVMe Boot

SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCH-LN4F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1151 Intel C246
Xeon E-2224
2x - NEMIX RAM MEM-DR416LD-EU26 16GB
6x - WD Red Plus 10TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s, CMR, 256MB Cache, 3.5 Inch - WD101EFAX
2x - Kioxia/Toshiba 128GB PCIe NVMe 2230 SSD (KBG40ZNS128G)

 

[NugentS]

Bit of a waste of the two NVMe slots to boot from

As you are using 6 SATA, may I suggest a SATADOM (or two if feeling profligate) or even USB to M.2 adapter(s) - you have that internal USB port that looks lonely and unused

 

[Etorix]

If @kirkdickinson has no use for these M.2 slots, why not? But beware the selected drives are 2230 and the slots are only fitted to take 2280 and 22110 drives. I would NOT advise drilling extra holes into the motherboard to secure these short drives…

 

[kirkdickinson]

Bit of a waste of the two NVMe slots to boot from

As you are using 6 SATA, may I suggest a SATADOM (or two if feeling profligate) or even USB to M.2 adapter(s) - you have that internal USB port that looks lonely and unused

Those NVMe's are way cheaper than the SATADOM.

I used two 32 Gig SATADoms in my last build in a SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSH-LN4F-O and they cost $76.99 each. These NVMe's are $14.99 each and leave open two SATA ports for spares to do in place drive replacements if needed.

What would be the advantage of USB to M.2 Adapters when there are already 2 - M.2 NVMe ports already on the board??

 

[kirkdickinson]

If @kirkdickinson has no use for these M.2 slots, why not? But beware the selected drives are 2230 and the slots are only fitted to take 2280 and 22110 drives. I would NOT advise drilling extra holes into the motherboard to secure these short drives…

Point noted. I was not thinking about that. Even then NVMe I should be able to find an 80 in stock for less than the $76.99 that the SATADom cost.

$49.99 Sabrent 256GB ROCKET NVMe PCIe M.2 2280

 

[NugentS]

True SATADOM's aren't cheap.
But NVMe is very high speed and I personally like to keep that high speed for something more interesting than boot. Jail storage (nice snappy jails), VM Storage.
You only need 16GB SATADOM - 32GB is excessive. That brings the price down a bit - to very similar to that Sabrent Rocket

32GB is overkill

An alternative to the SATADOM
M.2 Plus M.2 Adapter plugged into the internal USB port. Yup its all ebay - but the M.2 is Optane it will last forever (in IT terms). You could even put your system dataset on these without issue (warning I don't actually know how big the system dataset is - so this might not be a good idea). Put one inside with the other plugged in the back for easy access or just have the one. As long as you have a backup of the config file and have access its no major concern to rebuild the NAS - I have done it several times (in every case testing, never had to do it in anger)

My QNAS in my sig uses M10 Optanes to boot from, in USB adapters stuck in the back and then velcro'd to the case.

 

[kirkdickinson]

True SATADOM's aren't cheap.
But NVMe is very high speed and I personally like to keep that high speed for something more interesting than boot. Jail storage (nice snappy jails), VM Storage.
You only need 16GB SATADOM - 32GB is excessive. That brings the price down a bit - to very similar to that Sabrent Rocket
View attachment 51473

32GB is overkill

An alternative to the SATADOM
M.2 Plus M.2 Adapter plugged into the internal USB port. Yup its all ebay - but the M.2 is Optane it will last forever (in IT terms). You could even put your system dataset on these without issue (warning I don't actually know how big the system dataset is - so this might not be a good idea). Put one inside with the other plugged in the back for easy access or just have the one. As long as you have a backup of the config file and have access its no major concern to rebuild the NAS - I have done it several times (in every case testing, never had to do it in anger)

My QNAS in my sig uses M10 Optanes to boot from, in USB adapters stuck in the back and then velcro'd to the case.

Wouldn't those Optanes plug directly into the board without a USB adapter? Or are you saying that I should reserve the NMVe slots for something that really needs the serious speed?

 

[NugentS]

Yes they would plug in directly. What a waste of 4/8 PCIe lanes that would be
I am sufficiently OCD / anally retentive that I couldn't plug 2 M10's in to fast NVMe slots and boot from them - I just couldn't do it.

Its your build obviously - but I would reserve those M.2's for something fast. Boot is boring. Its nice when it works but as long as doesn't take too long it doesn't matter how long it takes. My QNAS boots just fine and that is CPU (& memory) limited.

 

[NugentS]

I do not know why people are saying the E-2100 and E-2200 series are workstation chips. They are entry server chips. The W series are the entry workstation chips.

Mostly cos they have crap all PCIe lanes in comparison to a real server chip (thats my reason)

 

[kirkdickinson]

Yes they would plug in directly. What a waste of 4/8 PCIe lanes that would be
I am sufficiently OCD / anally retentive that I couldn't plug 2 M10's in to fast NVMe slots and boot from them - I just couldn't do it.

Its your build obviously - but I would reserve those M.2's for something fast. Boot is boring. Its nice when it works but as long as doesn't take too long it doesn't matter how long it takes. My QNAS boots just fine and that is CPU (& memory) limited.

OK, I understand the OCD. I am OCD on some things and a sloppy mess on others. Drives the wife crazy.

I am sure that I barely utilize TrueNAS for what all it can do. For me it is just a robust file server with a lot of snapshots.

I have two of them now in our office, one has 6 4TB (ZFS2) and it is my production server (5 years old). The second has 6 8TB (ZFS2) drives and it syncs from the production server and stores snapshots for a much longer time. (1 year old) Thinking about building a 2nd Backup server.

I also have a personal server at my house that only has PLEX on it. 4 8TB in ZFS1.

 

[Etorix]

M.2 Plus M.2 Adapter plugged into the internal USB port.

Optane to boot?! THAT is what I call "overkill".
And constraining such a fast (though only PCIe x2) through a USB link fits my definition for "waste of resources".
To each his own…

Of course, if you can get these 16 GB hotties for $12, go for it (I've never seen one for less than 60E this side of the Atlantic).
With 32 GB RAM, OP should not even consider a L2ARC. And, like most users, he probably has no use for a SLOG. So he can just as well use his M.2 slots for boot drives: These slots have no other practical use in a home NAS.

 

[NugentS]

Very cheap optane with (at least in theory) a long life to boot. Its just an NVMe. I wouldn't buy new a new optane and use it to boot. Thats what Ebay is for