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    Supermicro X7SPA-H

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    • S
      SecretAsianMan
      last edited by

      Just discovered this motherboard on Supermicro's web site.  It looks to be a prime candidate for running pfSense on the new generation of Atoms.

      Supermicro X7SPA-H:
      http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/ATOM/ICH9/X7SPA.cfm?typ=H

      Highlights:

      • Atom D510 CPU, dual-core, fanless
      • 2 GigE (Intel 82574L)
      • 6 SATA II (Intel ICH9R)
      • 2 DDR2 667MHz SO-DIMM
      • 1 PCIe x4 wired in a x16 slot

      Unfortunately, no eSATA, CF reader, or DC-DC power built in.

      I couldn't find much detail on pricing and availability, apart from a forum post quoting 180 USD.  Whatever the case, it matches my spec requirements.  I plan to order a pair when they become available.  Then we'll see how pfSense fares on it.

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      • W
        wallabybob
        last edited by

        This should be a nice board for networking. The PCI-E x4 slot should provide enough bandwidth to support a 2 port GigE card with both ports capable of running at line rate.

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        • R
          rugby
          last edited by

          That board looks sweet for a lot of applications.  High performing NAS with 6x2.5" HD's…hmm.....

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          • V
            vito
            last edited by

            After looking at your post, i found this was added to the 1U systems.

            http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5015/SYS-5015A-PHF.cfm

            The case can not hold 6 drives, but still nice.

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            • S
              SecretAsianMan
              last edited by

              The 1U unit does look rather nice.

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              • S
                SecretAsianMan
                last edited by

                The X7SPA boards are listed "in stock" at several vendors now.
                http://www.google.com/products?q=supermicro+x7spa&scoring=p

                I believe the LO/HO/HFO designations are just alternate names for L/H/HF.  That's what I get from reading the product pages at Supermicro's site (linked earlier).

                I've ordered a pair of X7SPA-H for my two locations.  Given that the south bridge is ICH9R instead of NM10, I am cautiously optimistic on pfSense support.  I definitely will post updates on my progress with this board.

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                • V
                  vito
                  last edited by

                  Please Do!! :)
                  It will be nice to see how this board works out.

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                  • S
                    SecretAsianMan
                    last edited by

                    All right, I found out a little more about the situation.

                    At the place where I ordered (Wiredzone.com), the board is not actually in stock, but is being drop shipped from Supermicro (or probably a distributor), and Supermicro is out of stock.  To match, the description for the X7SPA-H on their site has changed to "special order".  Interestingly, the -L and -HF variants are still listed as "in stock".

                    So I'm on the backorder list.  Wiredzone says to expect stock late next week.

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                    • X
                      XeCutor
                      last edited by

                      I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and ordering one of these Supermicro boards for use at home. My big concern is that I'll find the performance of it insufficient after I've bought it and hate myself for buying something so expensive with such a limited use.

                      What I want is a something that can handle a boatload of simultaneous connections while providing 50d/10u [Mbit/s] throughput. Preferably it should be a tad future-proof and be able to handle 100/100 throughput as I'm probably upgrading to at least 100/60 within a year. I'm not planning on running a lot of packages (if any), occasionally some VPN, but I'm definitely going to use traffic shaping to make sure VOIP (SIP) doesn't get dropped packages etc.
                      I'm currently using an old Opteron 165 (1,6Ghz Dual Core Socket 939, 2GB RAM) and Nvidia and Intel GbE NIC's that does this rather well but with no disks, no graphics card plugged in, undervolted and tweaked to the limit it still draws 60-75w from the plug which is a bit too much for my liking. The big traffic generators in my household are p2p, like bittorrent and emule etc.

                      Anyone with a similar setup who can give any input on this little Atom wonder?

                      If I do buy it and it sucks, at least it's got 6 sata ports so it's useable as a decent NAS for which it should be fast enough I guess.

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                      • S
                        SecretAsianMan
                        last edited by

                        XeCutor,

                        If I succeed in getting pfSense running on the two units I build, I will try post some sort of benchmarks.

                        It's been a few weeks since I read the hardware sizing guide and hundreds of forum posts in an attempt to get some idea of what kind of power I need to do all this.  I've slept a few times since then.  What I do remember is that I came to a conclusion that the D510 board I ordered would be sufficient to handle my requirements.

                        I have a bit less bandwidth than you, but we share some goals in traffic shaping and occasional VPN.  Ultimately, I intend to have the units double as a NAS/backup solution, using ssh, rsync, and samba.  We'll see how it goes.

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                        • B
                          bob76535
                          last edited by

                          Looks good. If this works, this could be my new home router.

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                          • X
                            XeCutor
                            last edited by

                            @SecretAsianMan:

                            XeCutor,

                            If I succeed in getting pfSense running on the two units I build, I will try post some sort of benchmarks.

                            It's been a few weeks since I read the hardware sizing guide and hundreds of forum posts in an attempt to get some idea of what kind of power I need to do all this.  I've slept a few times since then.  What I do remember is that I came to a conclusion that the D510 board I ordered would be sufficient to handle my requirements.

                            I have a bit less bandwidth than you, but we share some goals in traffic shaping and occasional VPN.  Ultimately, I intend to have the units double as a NAS/backup solution, using ssh, rsync, and samba.  We'll see how it goes.

                            Benchmarks would be absolutely wonderful, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's curious for some hard data on these atom boards.

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                            • S
                              SecretAsianMan
                              last edited by

                              My pair of X7SPA-H boards finally shipped from WiredZone.  Expected delivery is Feb 10.

                              This weekend, I'll order the other necessary components.

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                              • B
                                bendsley
                                last edited by

                                If you go to Newegg.com, they are running specials right now on SuperMicro barebones 1u appliances.

                                I got:
                                SUPERMICRO SYS-5015A-H 1U Barebone Server - Retail
                                G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
                                Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

                                for $350 including shipping.  I can assure you, pfSense is running on it currently.  It runs like a champ.

                                Newegg.com link
                                http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101262

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                                • R
                                  rugby
                                  last edited by

                                  @bendsley:

                                  If you go to Newegg.com, they are running specials right now on SuperMicro barebones 1u appliances.

                                  FYI, newegg changes their pricing on these deals.  I had that kit in my cart for $299 at one time, waited about 30 minutes and then the Atom 1U box went out of stock on me.  Every time after that it's been $330-$360 for that kit since then.  Their pricing is annoying to say the least.

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                                  • D
                                    Davec
                                    last edited by

                                    I got my X7SPA-H through SuperBiz. Do watch out buying this box set MIGHT not include the 3.5' HD bracket / 2.5' bracket. So need to double check when your ordered. I wait for the HD bracket over a month from Taiwan as it was not included.

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                                    • S
                                      sosdk
                                      last edited by

                                      What kind of internet speed can this board handle ?

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                                      • E
                                        evildave
                                        last edited by

                                        @sosdk:

                                        What kind of internet speed can this board handle ?

                                        With the same CPU and lesser ethernet interfaces (1 're' and 1 'vge') on an Intel D510MO board I am pushing 80mbps on my 100/100 fibre at home and that seems to be a bottleneck of the upstream rather than the hardware.

                                        I think I'd be safe saying that you could run 100mbps ethernet at wirespeed.

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                                        • D
                                          Davc
                                          last edited by

                                          Mine is around 70/50 most of the time as it is now situated in the Datacentre looking after a number of clients

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                                          • S
                                            sosdk
                                            last edited by

                                            Ok thx for the answers. The area that I live in has a shared 500/500 mbit line that isnt overused.

                                            I'm still thinking about switching my router to a PfSense and this could be the board I chose if I build one. I'll get back with some benchmarks if/when I get it.

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