Excellent for ESXi 7.0, and in a nice small space!1/31/2022 3:52:41 PM
Pros: Perfect for a home/small lab ESXi server, fits in a small/compact space, and the mini-ITX form factor can fit in numerous cases for this size motherboard. Comes with everything you need in the box except for a case. Supermicro has many for the mini-ITX, or you can find 3rd party cases as well.
IPMI management interface is outstanding, made it super easy to manage this motherboard with no physical monitor, keyboard, or mouse attached.
Cons: I have no complaints, it has been outstanding and simple to setup and use!
Overall Review: Highly recommend for someone looking to do a home/small lab ESXi server (or any other type of home server).....verified it works perfect with the latest ESXi 7, running ESXi and Vcenter Server on it as well. (all setup on this ESXi host!)...
I myself used the Supermicro 64GB DOM SATA drive for the ESXi OS install, and used an m.2 2TB SSD for the VM datastore (also hosting the Vcenter server VM).. works perfect in this setup. Currently using 64GB of RDIMM memory, which you can take up to 512GB max on this motherboard, which is plenty for a motherboard of this size!
Attached are pictures of the accessories (checklist) that came with the board, as well as the bottom of the motherboard box that shows some of their optional cases, etc... it DOES INDEED come with an I/O plate that can be used for a case that has the I/O slot...
I purchased both of these mini-ITX cases from Supermicro, and found I liked the CSE101i the best, as the smaller footprint works better in my mini chassis in my power/net closet.
The CSE300 is a bit wider, has room for an I/O extender card if you need something like that, but sits lower, so can only fit three 40mm fans, that did not come with the E300 case .. I put in Noctua premiums, they seemed to work fine, but only put out about 5.5 CFM per fan...the proc can get quite hot when you run it hard... with the 3 fans it seemed ok.... but I found I could get more airflow in the CSE101i case..
So I went with the CSE101i, it comes with a built-in single 60x60x15mm fan, that can move 20+CFM airflow, is about 33db at max... it seems to do fine with the single fan, but there ws plenty of room on side where the fan is, to dremel out a mount hole for a second, and mount two 60x60x15 mm fans, and get a little higher CFM.. found approx. 30CFM fans in the same size.. so will get much higher airflow to really keep it in control, and I can run it hard if needed...
Plus the CSE101i is much more compact, and can still fit a 2.5 inch SATA drive above the mobo on a mounting plate if needed.. but with the setup I used, 64GB DOM with 2TB m.2, I didn't need any other accessories..
both cases come with all hardware and power/etc cables needed, only thing else you need is the 150W power supply...
Pros: Perfect for a home/small lab ESXi server, fits in a small/compact space, and the mini-ITX form factor can fit in numerous cases for this size motherboard. Comes with everything you need in the box except for a case. Supermicro has many for the mini-ITX, or you can find 3rd party cases as well. IPMI management interface is outstanding, made it super easy to manage this motherboard with no physical monitor, keyboard, or mouse attached.
Cons: I have no complaints, it has been outstanding and simple to setup and use!
Overall Review: Highly recommend for someone looking to do a home/small lab ESXi server (or any other type of home server).....verified it works perfect with the latest ESXi 7, running ESXi and Vcenter Server on it as well. (all setup on this ESXi host!)... I myself used the Supermicro 64GB DOM SATA drive for the ESXi OS install, and used an m.2 2TB SSD for the VM datastore (also hosting the Vcenter server VM).. works perfect in this setup. Currently using 64GB of RDIMM memory, which you can take up to 512GB max on this motherboard, which is plenty for a motherboard of this size! Attached are pictures of the accessories (checklist) that came with the board, as well as the bottom of the motherboard box that shows some of their optional cases, etc... it DOES INDEED come with an I/O plate that can be used for a case that has the I/O slot... I purchased both of these mini-ITX cases from Supermicro, and found I liked the CSE101i the best, as the smaller footprint works better in my mini chassis in my power/net closet. The CSE300 is a bit wider, has room for an I/O extender card if you need something like that, but sits lower, so can only fit three 40mm fans, that did not come with the E300 case .. I put in Noctua premiums, they seemed to work fine, but only put out about 5.5 CFM per fan...the proc can get quite hot when you run it hard... with the 3 fans it seemed ok.... but I found I could get more airflow in the CSE101i case.. So I went with the CSE101i, it comes with a built-in single 60x60x15mm fan, that can move 20+CFM airflow, is about 33db at max... it seems to do fine with the single fan, but there ws plenty of room on side where the fan is, to dremel out a mount hole for a second, and mount two 60x60x15 mm fans, and get a little higher CFM.. found approx. 30CFM fans in the same size.. so will get much higher airflow to really keep it in control, and I can run it hard if needed... Plus the CSE101i is much more compact, and can still fit a 2.5 inch SATA drive above the mobo on a mounting plate if needed.. but with the setup I used, 64GB DOM with 2TB m.2, I didn't need any other accessories.. both cases come with all hardware and power/etc cables needed, only thing else you need is the 150W power supply...