Planing a new server build

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in process of downscaling my lab i decided to ditch 3x elitedesk dm(i5-4590t) and replace those with single n100 minipc and it works awesome actually. but i’d like to go rack mount. my issue is that i have half depth rack so i need to get creative. so i’m checking CSE-505-203B and N100I-D4 board and would pickup https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005856346548.html (2.5G one) so i just wanted to make sure that e key 2.5G would work in this setup so won’t need any pcie riser for other cards. also since this seems really cheap i’d most likely pickup 2 or 3(toptal cost would be like €250. @wendell did a nice video on asrock n100 build so he gave me idea for this

also I’dlike your input on n100/n305 based nas build. anyone checked those cwwk from aliexpress? like https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006294146848.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.74536aa6rOKhnF&mp=1 so i could replace my i5 8600k based nas bacause i really don’t need the horsepower for my setup

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check the manual
I know on the asrock board the n100 e key is not pcie

You can downclock those embedded cpu atx boards on ali to pretty low power.

Whats your goal?

@GigaBusterEXE has done a lot of down clocking with impressive numbers on intel stuff recently

Asus board " which can support type 2230 Wi-Fi/BT and Intel® CNVi (Integrated Wi-Fi/BT) module" So not pcie

I got a decent deal on a Datto 1U S3P10000 Xeon D-1541 that I flashed to asrock bios bmc etc if you need 10gig and a HBA

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based on PRIME N100I-D D4｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global it says “m.2 slot only (Key E) (CNVi, PCIe)” so :person_shrugging:

re nas i’d like to go for a low power cpu on a board that will support 6 sata drives + at least one nvme for OS. rack mountable case that is < 40cm deep would be :chefs-kiss:
also 2.5G would be awesome. trying to modernize things around the house. with new omada stuff.

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Unknown supplier, unknown aftermarket support (if any) and so on. Sounds like both a security and reliability nightmare but if you feel comfortable wasting quite a bit of cash feel free to gamble. I would also be very sceptical of using a flatcable for ethernet and I’ll pass on the Realtek Ethernet controller.

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I see that on the specs page, kind risky imo, check the manual and block diagram if they have one.

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Eh not a huge deal, IOCrest has both flat and round for their m.2 10g (cable lenght is shorter on flat)

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…and you’ve tried any of those in real life?

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yep

Also this isnt a production environment / solution. Could also go usb 2.5g nics they work fine.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvvaR4MATb4 ha! seems that it works, now i just need to see about that case. also fun thing re n100 - 32G is non issue even though not advertized. Looks like that will be my next project. just need to up the WAF(wife approval factor)

but nas still remains a mystery. also there’s that zimacube https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/icewhaletech/zimacube-personal-cloud-re-invented but i’m pretty sure i could build uglier but cheaper system

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as long as it works with proxmox i’m ok with it. i used old laptop motherboard with usb gigabit ethernet for years

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serverthehome has good usb nic review stuff

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Be mindful that the N100 only has 9 PCIe Gen3 lanes that needs to be split between all of the IO.
4x 2.5gb NICs → 4 lanes
2x NVMe ? In their router boxes they configure the NVMe slots with just one PCIe lane each → 2 lanes
6x SATA ? Shared on one late? → 1 lane
USB ? In their router boxes they just use USB2 on all ports. I cannot see how they configure the ports here. Faster USB protocols/standards would require PCIe lanes…

You see the problem? The N100 is a very interesting CPU, but due to its PCIe lane limitations it’s going to be a downgrade from your existing systems in terms of total IO.

Before you buy make sure to get a manual that exactly describes how the board is laid out - to avoid surprises when the board arrives.

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replace with 1 10g for 2 lanes boom 2 free lanes.

Sadly they dont just give you the pcie lanes on the boards to cut up how you want

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