4 ms·

I need a silent ECC server. Doesn't need to be super powerful but I'd rather have at most one fan. Any advice?

by frankreyes 3y ago

monstermunch 3y ago
Do you really need ECC? Most people don't
- bombcar 3y ago
  Many people got scared by the ZFS/ECC howling years ago, and didn't really think it through (because they're running without unverified backups). https://www.klennet.com/notes/2022-11-25-zfs-and-ecc-rant.aspx https://www.klennet.com/notes/2022-11-25-zfs-and-ecc-rant.as... IF you can get ECC cheap, get it, otherwise, meh.
  - monstermunch 3y ago
    Yeah, I think you and me are on the same page there. It has ECC? Great! It doesn't oh well
hqsolomo 3y ago
Some Ryzen chips (I think- might be TR) often support ECC- see if you can find a compatible mobo that supports ECC modules and Ryzen sand! When I last checked there were a few products out there
- frankreyes 3y ago
  I've just checked and there's some mobos for $60 with ECC. Is that for real? Supermicro costs like $1000, half that for refurbished.
  - hqsolomo 3y ago
    Without looking at the listing I can't earnestly say what you're seeing isn't fake but I know back when I had the same question you're asking here I saw similar offerings. Ultimately I bought a used ITX supermicro mobo+CPU combo unit from eBay for like $200
greggyb 3y ago
I'd start with something like this[0]. The only search term I used was "xeon-d". You can easily find other form factors and combinations. This line of CPUs is lower power (the linked one is rated at 45W), so should be trivially cool-able with a very quiet system. They support ECC RAM. You're likely to find mostly Mini-ITX and uATX boards, so they will fit in just about any case you want. [0] https://www.ebay.com/itm/166190039675?epid=17034031881&hash=item26b1b2c27b:g:PEUAAOSwb19kRYtm&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwAX%2FNqFHNBQPXw%2FCJ1I8X%2BH9K5NwI9%2B6md65NhAc5C6JvHcY04xMO7GNUsJReSSf67quZICDplD0koDjlWWxRdlKeUUa%2BPewd6wSLDyleZHx%2B9blwIRfcyhvu7oS1sAOx7mAlJaVUGUIgTGz8%2FZe6F54wvDOAnELJWmkzucdcyutAC%2BYd9IO3tm%2BoKREqpkZO8gcWcjA1GMAG39u9%2BkcCI2U1s%2Fz5mO1lbIj5ZOyAjWxWDBd51uqfzPOcVW3Rr8rig%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8Dvl568Yg https://www.ebay.com/itm/166190039675?epid=17034031881&hash=...
- favorited 3y ago
  I've done this a few times, and the killer has always been the RAM. By the time you're buying decommissioned enterprise hardware, it's hard (or just expensive) to source RAM from its QVL list - even harder so when you want ECC, which not all of the QVL'd SKUs will be... And, in my painful experience, if it's not QVL RAM there's a good chance it just won't post.
  - greggyb 3y ago
    The top spec 32GB RAM on the qualified list for the specific board I linked earlier runs $40-$41 on ebay. The same speed and capacity for generic DDR4 runs in the mid $30s. The board has 4 RAM slots. So the premium for QVL RAM for that linked board is $20 over generic if you want to max out at 128GB. Supermicro did have RAM issues in the early teens. This sort of research is the non-dollar price of finding deals on server-class hardware. If you want to get something pre-validated, and usually with a warranty, it can be worth it to look for resellers for the major OEMs that also offer refurbished hardware. It's more expensive than the typical options available on eBay, but still much cheaper than new hardware.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    I've had no problem with getting the RAM (either new or just more eBay stuff) - and even got a replacement mainboard for relatively cheap when one burned up (it was easier to swap the mainboard than reconfigure everything for a new server). The killer is the power consumption. It's better now compared to old enterprise gear of 20 years ago, but you can sometimes still pay for a brand new low-power system just in power savings alone. Of course, if you have solar onsite that doesn't matter.
willis936 3y ago
I've been wanting to make an X570D4U-2L2T + CS381B build for a year, but haven't been able to justify the price. The Latte Panda Sigma looks pretty amazing too if in-band ECC is sufficient.
rjsw 3y ago
I have a HP MicroServer with ECC RAM.

I need a silent ECC server. Doesn't need to be super powerful but I'd rather have at most one fan. Any advice?

monstermunch 3y ago

Do you really need ECC? Most people don't

bombcar 3y ago
Many people got scared by the ZFS/ECC howling years ago, and didn't really think it through (because they're running without unverified backups). https://www.klennet.com/notes/2022-11-25-zfs-and-ecc-rant.aspx https://www.klennet.com/notes/2022-11-25-zfs-and-ecc-rant.as... IF you can get ECC cheap, get it, otherwise, meh.
- monstermunch 3y ago
  Yeah, I think you and me are on the same page there. It has ECC? Great! It doesn't oh well

hqsolomo 3y ago

Some Ryzen chips (I think- might be TR) often support ECC- see if you can find a compatible mobo that supports ECC modules and Ryzen sand! When I last checked there were a few products out there

frankreyes 3y ago
I've just checked and there's some mobos for $60 with ECC. Is that for real? Supermicro costs like $1000, half that for refurbished.
- hqsolomo 3y ago
  Without looking at the listing I can't earnestly say what you're seeing isn't fake but I know back when I had the same question you're asking here I saw similar offerings. Ultimately I bought a used ITX supermicro mobo+CPU combo unit from eBay for like $200

greggyb 3y ago

I'd start with something like this[0]. The only search term I used was "xeon-d". You can easily find other form factors and combinations. This line of CPUs is lower power (the linked one is rated at 45W), so should be trivially cool-able with a very quiet system. They support ECC RAM. You're likely to find mostly Mini-ITX and uATX boards, so they will fit in just about any case you want. [0] https://www.ebay.com/itm/166190039675?epid=17034031881&hash=item26b1b2c27b:g:PEUAAOSwb19kRYtm&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwAX%2FNqFHNBQPXw%2FCJ1I8X%2BH9K5NwI9%2B6md65NhAc5C6JvHcY04xMO7GNUsJReSSf67quZICDplD0koDjlWWxRdlKeUUa%2BPewd6wSLDyleZHx%2B9blwIRfcyhvu7oS1sAOx7mAlJaVUGUIgTGz8%2FZe6F54wvDOAnELJWmkzucdcyutAC%2BYd9IO3tm%2BoKREqpkZO8gcWcjA1GMAG39u9%2BkcCI2U1s%2Fz5mO1lbIj5ZOyAjWxWDBd51uqfzPOcVW3Rr8rig%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8Dvl568Yg https://www.ebay.com/itm/166190039675?epid=17034031881&hash=...

favorited 3y ago
I've done this a few times, and the killer has always been the RAM. By the time you're buying decommissioned enterprise hardware, it's hard (or just expensive) to source RAM from its QVL list - even harder so when you want ECC, which not all of the QVL'd SKUs will be... And, in my painful experience, if it's not QVL RAM there's a good chance it just won't post.
- greggyb 3y ago
  The top spec 32GB RAM on the qualified list for the specific board I linked earlier runs $40-$41 on ebay. The same speed and capacity for generic DDR4 runs in the mid $30s. The board has 4 RAM slots. So the premium for QVL RAM for that linked board is $20 over generic if you want to max out at 128GB. Supermicro did have RAM issues in the early teens. This sort of research is the non-dollar price of finding deals on server-class hardware. If you want to get something pre-validated, and usually with a warranty, it can be worth it to look for resellers for the major OEMs that also offer refurbished hardware. It's more expensive than the typical options available on eBay, but still much cheaper than new hardware.
- bombcar 3y ago
  I've had no problem with getting the RAM (either new or just more eBay stuff) - and even got a replacement mainboard for relatively cheap when one burned up (it was easier to swap the mainboard than reconfigure everything for a new server). The killer is the power consumption. It's better now compared to old enterprise gear of 20 years ago, but you can sometimes still pay for a brand new low-power system just in power savings alone. Of course, if you have solar onsite that doesn't matter.

willis936 3y ago

I've been wanting to make an X570D4U-2L2T + CS381B build for a year, but haven't been able to justify the price. The Latte Panda Sigma looks pretty amazing too if in-band ECC is sufficient.

rjsw 3y ago

I have a HP MicroServer with ECC RAM.