In this NEW and exciting installment of a segment called “I cover random tech” (not really), I take a look at the Oracle Sun Fire X4170 M2. A nicely compact 1U system featuring dual LGA 1366 processors and 18 DIMM.

So what’s interesting about this server in particular? This is a very compact system for the impact it has in terms processing power and connectivity. So what’s the machine capable of?

  • 2x Intel LGA 1366 Sockets (Can take either 55xx or 56xx Series Xeons)
  • 18x DDR3 ECC RAM (Can use 1,2,4 or 8GB DIMMs) 144GB Max.
  • 8x 2.5" SAS Hot swap bays.
  • 2x Hot Swap 1000Watt power Supplies.
  • 3x PCI-e 8x Half Height slots.
  • 4x Gigabit on the motherboard.
  • A Java powered IPMI web interface.

The backplane for the HDDs is conencted to the system via 2x SFF-8087 connectors, the board can be used with its onboard SAS controller (but limits to only 6 drives). When I aquired this server, the backplane was instead connected to an LSI 9211-8i HBA running in IR mode. (which was quickly flashed to pure IT mode)

M1 and M2 differences.#

Not much differs between the two systems although there are a few.

Physically, the logo badge is Red on the M2 instead of Blue. This is an incredible change and adds at least 20% to the performance.

Logically, the M1 can only take 5500 series Xeon’s and not the later 5600 series. The system is also limited to only 4GB DIMMs and has a reduced memory capacity.

Knowing these differences, I would really like to get my hands on an M1 and try flashing all the baseboard firmware over. (In short, its a logical lock as the 5500 chipset can also handle 5600)

Stupid Things.#

The GOD AWFUL IMPI! Don’t get me wrong, it’s good and fully featured. However, the SSL certs system for HTTPS is out of date and causes hell with browsers that are secure…. naturally, IE doesn’t bat an eye lid at this issue.

But worse than that is how SLOW the IPMI interface can be. Maybe I am spoiled by Supermicro’s IMPI, but this implementation is just so slow.

Resources!#

So you want more? Below are links to the Quick Data Sheet of the server and the Service Manual. Enjoy!

Data Sheet Service Manual