DIY Router with Supermicro X10SLH-N6-ST031

[Digilog]

In the past I built all my PCs. But with the new UEFI bios I don't anymore. Security is my main issue. I need BIOS updates from whatever company is making the motherboard. SuperMicro might be OK. They did have some kind of BIOS issues in the recent past. I like Dell now as they have great support and are very close to me. My last Dell was less expensive than your $183.17 used. Lots of Dells around me. And it had a 35-watt CPU.
I am getting ready to drop Dell gen4 as I believe they are not going to support them anymore. A gen4 is my backup pfsense PC. I am only dropping Dell gen4 for firewall duties or exposure to the internet.

UEFI is a no issue. The only problems surrounding UEFI is Microsoft handling of the boot tries to prevent Linux from being installed, but there are ways around that.
I have a couple of UEFI dual boot machines I set up and the bonus to loading Ubuntu on them was they added access to the UEFI bios at boot time in the boot menu.

Bios isn't a big deal. There are a few custom bios out for certain processors, but as far as microcode issues, it depended on if you ran a certain type of subsystem that used the SGX or TDX processor security extensions which I stripped out of Ubuntu because I set up that system based on how a certain data center set theirs up thanks to a tech of their befriending me and giving me a guide they written to use to set them up. But other than Ubuntu and Microsoft, no one else used those processor extensions that I know. The bugs were easily patched out so I have no issues with running a 4th gen Intel.

Supermicro and Dell are the two manufacturers I like as far as build quality. Supermicro's site is not easy to navigate, but they have good support. Dell is excellent too. On the server side, they support their hardware until all supplies of it run out. I think finally the U320 SCSI based servers they made are no longer supported. But 20 years is a long time for a device too.

I am going to spend some time evaluating pfsense and opensense, even though BSD and Linux is going through kernel growing pains, but its mostly associated with new hardware. My router is cuurently running a modified version of ipfire with Linux Kernel 6.13 and running the webgui in out of band management that I set up. So the internet nor the networks have access to the web gui. Something I deployed that is missing in all of these it seems. Other than that, I did have to change somethings in the network stack, but you have to modify them anyways for router use. The only thing I noticed with ipfire is it didn't automatically set up STP scheduling across the inside networks and you have to do that on any system that has multiple interfaces. Otherwise, it would rely on adaptive traffic arbritation which will lead to bufferbloat. Between all of them, the important things to look at is how their network stack is configured and how well they wrote their security. In the future, I will be playing with building a bananna pi wifi7 router, and trying out all of them for the best wireless router os.

I wouldn't recommend anyone just going and modifying an os to run a router. It took me years of reaserch to find out proper implimentations and practices to do that on my own. I am happy with what I ended up with on ipfire. But it would be hard to recommend one over any of the others because there are only a few different things between them and how they behave with the hardware can vary.

 

[Digilog]

Stay on air-cooling - the intended use-case, air is fine, as the CPU isn't going to be loaded all that hard...

I've had bad experiences with water-cooling and leaks that damaged motherboards - yeah, it was a long time ago with Apple G5 PowerMac desktops, but once bitten with issues...

I suppose this is good/bad - one would assume there would be a CPU under there, but at the same time, the application intent for the motherboard, having that CPU cooling heat-sink is important, as these are usually tailored towards the specific use-case for the board...

Would have been nice for the seller to mention that the CPU was optional on purchase...

I would like to stick to air cooling. Looking at the modern liquid cooling options marketed reminds me of all the things not to do with liquid cooling. Back in the days of overclocking I built my own systems from all kinds of industrial parts. So I can't see building a liquid cooling system with that plastic garbage they are selling out there because they made it "look cool". My reservoir was glass and metal and the fuel line hose I used never leaked nor the inline fuel pump.

If the socket was one of the newer ones I would be afraid of bent pins, but it was a bummer that they were not clear about if it had a processor installed or not. A lot of Supermicro boards w/o processors came with io shield and heat sink. This one came with a 1U i/o shield and heat sink, but it will be a tossup if it would cool a 45W processor in a modified consumer case. The 80W in this build (from the 1U bare bones server) , I didn't waste time and purchased the aftermarket heat sink.

 

[Digilog]

Just note that board is old-school Sandy Bridge on the XEON side...

XEON I/O instead of XEON compute.

there are two branches of XEONS. One is primary used for things like routers, IOT, and other heavy bus i/o usage. And the other is for desktop workstation and server environments. The difference between the two types is the XEON I/o optimized processors have built in PHY and in this generation it was 10G on the XEONS and 1G for the I-Core (SOHO/consumer chip). Although they are pin compatible, you have to load the processor profiles in bios if you use a compute XEON on an IOT board and vice-versa.

 

[sfx2000]

XEON I/O instead of XEON compute.

there are two branches of XEONS. One is primary used for things like routers, IOT, and other heavy bus i/o usage. And the other is for desktop workstation and server environments. The difference between the two types is the XEON I/o optimized processors have built in PHY and in this generation it was 10G on the XEONS and 1G for the I-Core (SOHO/consumer chip). Although they are pin compatible, you have to load the processor profiles in bios if you use a compute XEON on an IOT board and vice-versa.

Like I said - it's an older arch and at 32nm, it's going to run a bit warm compared to IvyBridge/Haswell and later...

On the Sandy Bridge XEON's - they're basically Core series chips that have been "rated" for performance...

And there, the supported E3-1220 is basically an upclocked Core-i5, with 4 cores, 4 threads... The I/O you mention on that Generation of XEON's is based around the PCH/SouthBridge, and how many downstream PCI-e lanes were available for use.

Once you get into the Haswell and later - the Xeon-D's are really nice, as they are comm's focused, and have interesting features like Quick Assist and others...

How do I know - well, in my previous jobby job - I was a platform architect for a major telecom in their core network, so one of my roles focused on demand/capacity and cost to deploy and sustain.

 

[Tech9]

Like I said - it's an older arch and at 32nm

The board discussed here uses Intel Xeon E3 V3 Family Haswell-based CPU on 22nm process. Still power hungry at ~80W TDP for non-L versions. Very similar to desktop i7-4770 4C/8T CPU, "0" versions with no graphics, "5" versions with HD 4600.

I really hope @Digilog tested it before purchasing other hardware around it because it's a custom built product for specific use case with no support from Supermicro and may require hard to find BIOS update in order to work properly with replacement CPU.

 

[Digilog]

The board discussed here uses Intel Xeon E3 V3 Family Haswell-based CPU on 22nm process. Still power hungry at ~80W TDP for non-L versions. Very similar to desktop i7-4770 4C/8T CPU, "0" versions with no graphics, "5" versions with HD 4600.

I really hope @Digilog tested it before purchasing other hardware around it because it's a custom built product for specific use case with no support from Supermicro and may require hard to find BIOS update in order to work properly with replacement CPU.

We'll see how it sets up. But I did download the current bios for it as well as the manual. Their site is difficult to navigate and its easier for some things searching on google to find the supermicro links to their pages. It should work as the 40W xeon chips were supposedly low power drop in upgrades to the 80W versions, but on some boards, you had to use the same cpu type (like 1272D is an 80W and only a 1272DL (40W) will drop in).

 

[Tech9]

like 1272D is an 80W

There is no 1272D/DL or Xeon I/O. Only specific CPUs from Xeon E3 V3 family are supported on this motherboard, best match is perhaps Xeon E3-1270 V3 since most had one installed originally. The motherboard doesn't exist on Supermicro website because it was never sold as part and even though Xeon E3 V4 support is in specs (based on chipset) - it won't work with one (based on BIOS). The power consumption will stay high even at idle because of external X540 controllers. The 3x heatsinks next to each other are designed for U1 server with constant air flow. In a case like the one you are planning they'll need active cooling as well. It looks nice for DIY project, but may turn into PITA. Good luck.

 

[Digilog]

There is no 1272D/DL or Xeon I/O. Only specific CPUs from Xeon E3 V3 family are supported on this motherboard, best match is perhaps Xeon E3-1270 V3 since most had one installed originally. The motherboard doesn't exist on Supermicro website because it was never sold as part and even though Xeon E3 V4 support is in specs (based on chipset) - it won't work with one (based on BIOS). The power consumption will stay high even at idle because of external X540 controllers. The 3x heatsinks next to each other are designed for U1 server with constant air flow. In a case like the one you are planning they'll need active cooling as well. It looks nice for DIY project, but may turn into PITA. Good luck.

What I'm referring to is processor suffix and just giving an example. The processor I'm going to stick in it is a E3-1275LV3.

 

[Tech9]

This is your very first step before buying any other hardware. Test the MB and the CPU - if the MB doesn't post with the replacement CPU you can't update the BIOS and get stuck. I had the same situation with a DELL server many years ago and got lucky it posted with an i3 same Gen CPU I had laying around so I could update the BIOS and disable the integrated video, enabled by default. Only then similar Xeon CPU was recognized and started working properly. Server boards are not exactly PnP like PC boards. You'll find minimal settings in BIOS and this is the reason folks talk about BIOS editors in the long discussion on ServeTheHome. If you get to this point as last resort - you'll be lucky to make it work.

I have the same Xeon CPU* still in use in another PC after disposal of 200lbs server junk I have accumulated over time, years ago.

* - The same CPU I used in the server. Yours is the next Haswell with steep Speed Step 2.7GHz base to 3.9GHz (on 2x cores only) and IGP. Fun fact Intel Alder Lake N100 CPU 4C/4T at 6W TDP is faster than 2013/2014 Xeons with 45/80W TDP. Your board will be running at ~60W idle.

 

[Digilog]

This is your very first step before buying any other hardware. Test the MB and the CPU - if the MB doesn't post with the replacement CPU you can't update the BIOS and get stuck. I had the same situation with a DELL server many years ago and got lucky it posted with an i3 same Gen CPU I had laying around so I could update the BIOS and disable the integrated video, enabled by default. Only then similar Xeon CPU was recognized and started working properly. Server boards are not exactly PnP like PC boards. You'll find minimal settings in BIOS and this is the reason folks talk about BIOS editors in the long discussion on ServeTheHome. If you get to this point as last resort - you'll be lucky to make it work.

I have the same Xeon CPU* still in use in another PC after disposal of 200lbs server junk I have accumulated over time, years ago.

View attachment 63178

* - The same CPU I used in the server. Yours is the next Haswell with steep Speed Step 2.7GHz base to 3.9GHz (on 2x cores only) and IGP. Fun fact Intel Alder Lake N100 CPU 4C/4T at 6W TDP is faster than 2013/2014 Xeons with 45/80W TDP. Your board will be running at ~60W idle.

That is a good thought in getting an core i3 to work on this board for router use since its the bus speed is the main factor and not the cpu speed and power for the application. But the two 10G ports that are off the processor would be 1Gb ports.

I am going to use the 80W board more for software development and run some network shares from it once I get the 40W processor/board put together but in the meantime, I will have to use the 80W computer to replace the dying AMD that is running my network. The FX6600 is running at 120 degrees with a 2% load which it normally ran at 90 degrees under full load. I already backed off things electrically as much as I can with it . Periodically, it freezes and all communications stops on the network and the only fix is turning off the network, waiting an hour then power it back up. This is inconvenient and annoying.

If I actually had the time to save up for it, I would just buy their current router server. But I don't have the $1500 laying around for that.

 

[Tech9]

But the two 10G ports that are off the processor would be 1Gb ports.

As mentioned above I used a generic CPU just to boot the MB in order to update the BIOS since the replacement Xeon CPU wasn't recognized. Not sure where you get this from, but the CPUs have no built-in Ethernet interfaces. They have a number of supported PCI Express lines. On the board you have 2x ports are Gigabit, most likely standard for this time 82579M/LM one being management interface, and 6x ports are up to 10GbE on 3x additional X540-T2 external controllers. Your board in theory can work with Pentium G3220T 2C/2T CPU and will have exactly the same Ethernet ports/speeds available. On ServeTheHome Forums there is a person running it with Pentium G3220T. The long thread is here:

1U Supermicro Server 6x 10GBE RJ45 X10SLH-LN6TF LGA 1150 H3 X10SLH-N6-ST031

If you don't need many 10G ports, this may be a good 10G router + pfSense + utility computer (streaming/downloading/plex). Of course, there is also 1u noise factor. CTO 1U Supermicro Server 6x 10GBE RJ45 X10SLH-LN6TF LGA 1150 H3 X10SLH-N6-ST031 | eBay Comes with rails and trays! Should I be...

forums.servethehome.com

The FX6600 is running at 120 degrees with a 2% load which it normally ran at 90 degrees under full load.

The cooling on this computer needs attention. If you see 2 out of 6 cores unavailable - it's because of thermal protection activated. FX-6 series CPUs had 3x Bulldozer modules 2-core each. The CPU had a copper heat spreader and the cores halted are not necessarily the hottest ones.

 

[Digilog]

As mentioned above I used a generic CPU just to boot the MB in order to update the BIOS since the replacement Xeon CPU wasn't recognized. Not sure where you get this from, but the processors have no built-in Ethernet interfaces.

My mistake, I was thinking there were the same as the newer generations of them. Like a Xeon D-1734NT and some Core I series 13th /14th gen. Theoretically all V3 chips should work.

 

[Tech9]

There is no comparison whatsoever. As I also mentioned this old Xeon CPUs in today's standards mostly generate heat. The 80W 4C/8T CPU you are planning to use has about the same computing performance like 12W 4C/4T N97 used in Firewalla Gold Pro with 2x 10GbE ports. The reason I said in another thread I would never touch this board for any purpose in 2025. What you are building is a heater with air filtration system. The total cost of such project will approach and may exceed the cost of a new hardware. Electricity cost comes on top after.

 

[Digilog]

There is no comparison whatsoever. As I also mentioned this old Xeon CPUs in today's standards mostly generate heat. The 80W 4C/8T CPU you are planning to use has about the same computing performance like 12W 4C/4T N97 used in Firewalla Gold Pro with 2x 10GbE ports. The reason I said in another thread I would never touch this board for any purpose in 2025. What you are building is a heater with air filtration system. The total cost of such project will approach and may exceed the cost of a new hardware. Electricity cost comes on top after.

Its a stop gap measure. I'm not caring about power since this doesn't eat it as bad as the crypto miners. So 80W is insignificant to the constant 12Kw draw.

But in the mean time, hopefully someone will come out with a router processor with 3 or more 10Gb PHY built in.

 

[Tech9]

But in the mean time, hopefully someone will come out with a router processor with 3 or more 10Gb PHY built in.

This will most likely never happen with high-power desktop/server CPUs because it makes the product bound to specific application only with limited market share. I understand you want to play, but this old hardware is sold for $100 or less for a reason. This is the last attempt to get some money for it before it goes for recycling. Whoever sells it purchased a whole lot per pound weight. One of my businesses is electronics recycling and we process tons of such equipment per year. I don't resell anything though, part of whatever is reusable goes for donations through charity. Sponsors invest in new hardware needed, labor, logistics, legal support... kids get computers for free.

 

[Tech9]

With this specific server offered for $100 this is how it works - it arrives for under $5 per weight, workers open it, blow the fans with a can compressed air, check if it comes alive as LED lights, remove RAM and CPU and put it on the shelf. This is what "tested" means. Why remove the RAM and CPU? - because they are universal parts and can be sold separately. Otherwise go for free with the server. Selling it on parts potentially speeds up the process of getting money back. If the server chassis stays for too long - goes for recycling, RAM and CPU don't take much space, no need to open it again. Getting something like this for tinkerers is tempting, but in fact is spending more money on top of something obsolete with close to zero value. You have to basically buy back the parts it came with originally to restore it in working condition. Someone buys the MB, someone the RAM, someone else needs the CPU - at the end of the day it's just maximizing the profit for the recycler.