Categories
Home-Server

A new EPYC 7443P

Just bought and installed the new AMD EPYC on my Board and its 2x as fast as my previous processor the 7351P. For the processor to run you need to update the Bios of the Board. One bad thing is, that the Board supports only GEN2 and Gen3 EPYCs after the update and not my old one. So in case of a defect of the processor i have to downgrade the BIOS. Currently I’m struggeling a bit to update the BMC of the Board as well. The main reason for that update is, that the FAN controls are managed by the BMC and not by the BIOS. And currently i have no fan control.

Update (30.08.2021): Managed to install BMC Version 1.11 which has Fan-Control. So I’m fine with it although there is currently a version 1.19 available which cannot be installed (stops at the verification step).

Categories
Common

Enable containers in Windows Server 2019 to Host Docker Containers

Use PowerShell to install the docker module with the following commands and reboot the server.

Please also refer to the original Microsoft documentation -> here .

Categories
Home-Server

Speeding up storage (with NVMe)

I just found those PCIe card from Asus (ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 Gen 4) for about 50€ where you can connect 4 additional NVMe drives to your Mainboard. Its for my Epyc board (ArockRack ROMED8-2T) but it works also with sTRX40 boards. I’ve put 4x Samsung 970 EVO Plus in a Raid 1 configuration. The storage will be used primarily for the VMs and the Databases. For the adapter to work you will need to change the PCIe lane configuration of the slot from 16x to 4x+4x+ 4x+4x.

Categories
Networking

Inside Netgear XS508M

For those who are interested in a view inside the Netgear 8x10GB NBaseT switch:

For noise reduction, I’ve tried to replace the fan (which is a Foxconn pva040f12m) with the Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM which has also a 12V PWM connector. However the switch is running with it but the FAN-LED on the cahsssis indicates a problem with the fan and i could observe a form of thermal throttling. I ended with adding the Noctua Fan as inlet and moved the original fan to the middle of the switch with dampers around it. I used the Y-Cable included in the Noctua Box attaching the Foxconn Fan to the 4 Pin end.

Categories
Home-Server

New Board (Again)

Here is quick preview of my new Board an AsrockRack ROMED8-2T. I’ve moved again because i needed more resources to host VMs and got a good offer for an Epyc Processor. The board is one of the few that can support PCIe 4 x16 on all ATX slots (7). On the board currently is an AMD EPYC 7351P and 4x Kingston Server Premium Ram. My impression so far: It requires no extraordinary cooling for its components. I’m using a Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 for the CPU and a block of 2 standard 140mm chassis coolers which are located on the rights side of the board. Those are in addition to the 5 coolers already existing on the chassis. The board itself does not require additional cooling, however my SAS and NW-Card do. Without the extra fans the cards reach temperatures of 70°.

Categories
Home-Server

Setting up the environment: Jupyter and Colab

I will start experimenting with neuronal networks using Jupyter Notebooks inside the Google Colab envirnonment. This environment brings everything we need to start with machine learning. It is a web based service having an integrated python IDE and has Keras / Tensorflow already included.

When finished with the first examples i will create my own environment to experiment locally.

Categories
MachineLearning

What can you do with deep learning/machine learning

I already introduced my motivation to start getting into machine learning and now i want to focus on what can you do with machine learning:

  • Image classification
  • Object detection
  • Voice recognition
  • Data science and predictions

How does this work ?

Keras / Tensorflow and other similar tools are using neuronal networks. This networks can be trained based on sample data. When trained you can insert a new sample to the model and predict its outcome.

Categories
Home-Server

Adding another Drive to my Server (strange behavior…)

Today i received a new Drive for my Hyper-converged Server. It is another Seagate Exos X16. I also added another SSD for the caching. Unfortunately this time the HDD-drive did not show up in the Primordial pool and it was not possible to add it to my Storage Pool. When running the Get-PhysicalDisk command the drive also did not show up. However it shows up under the disk section in the Server Manager and i could create a new Volume with it.

I’ve tried a few things like resetting the disk, take it offline format it with GPT etc. with no improvement.

The reason for that could be that the SAS-Controller has a different config for this channel (don’t know why). The difference is, that for this drive, it shows Partitioned = yes and Mounted = true. The picture shows the state when everything is fine.

When connecting the drive to another channel, everything works as expected and i could add the drive to my Pool. This is a little bit strange and i will try to get the reason for that. Also i could not find any configuration options for this.

Once the drive is added to the pool, you can trigger the job to distribute the files evenly between the drives (this takes a full day to complete). The command is:

Get-StoragePool -FriendlyName MyPool | Optimize-StoragePool

After the job has finished you can increase the size of the tiers and then of the volume.

Categories
Home-Server

Update Firmware on Microsemi SAS Controller

This is a short overview on how to update the Firmware on my Microsemi 1100-16i HBA (Update on your own risk). I don’t recommend updating if you don’t have any problems but my Firmware was almost 3 years old and i didn’t have any data on the disks yet.

First Download the Firmware and install the maxView Storage Manager. Then start it and LogIn with the local Administrator of the system. On the website select the controller on the left side. Select Update Firmware in the System section. Select flashing options and the new Firmware. Restart the system when the update is finished.

Categories
Home-Server

My new Board (Asus Pro WS X570-ACE)

My last Server-Board was an Asrock X570M Pro4. This Board had an issue with powering on and energy saving options so i returned it for a replacement. In the meantime i decided to buy me a more suitable board, the ASUS Pro WS X570-ACE, which is designed for a more professional work environment having 3 PCI-E 4.0 x8 Slots. Currently i have a RTX2060, my SAS Host Adapter and my 10Gbit network card on it. So far it runs stable. A minor issue so far: If i insert a graphics card and have no monitor attached to it, the onboard speaker reports an error beeping 1x long and 3x short, which signals a problem with the graphics card. You can change the BIOS config to not halt on errors (and wait for pressing F1 key) and continue. This unfortunately does not change the beep behavior. If I’m happy with the stability and the configuration i will run it headless, without a graphics card (i will come back to this later…).