Question Mini Server : ECC & RAID

[Sepidoel]

Hi, all.

I built a mini server, and because my local electricity quality wasn't really good I installed ECC RAM (DDR4) and configured RAID 1 (NVME). I used AMD Ryzen 4750G Pro with MSI B550M PRO-DASH.

In the motherboard specification it stated : "Supports ECC UDIMM memory", and HWInfo confirmed the RAM supported ECC. Then I was thinking in building a new mini server and stumbled on a secondhand MSI X570-A PRO that in the specification stated : "Supports ECC UDIMM memory (non-ECC mode)". Is there any software to test whether the ECC actually run well?

And what will happen if I installed Registered ECC RAMs?

As for RAID, from what I heard common motherboards RAID were usually software mode. Thus if the specification support only 0, 1, and 10 mode, is there any solution to enable software RAID 5 or 6?

Then in learning RAID I heard that ZFS partition was the best partition for RAID. I absolutely know nothing about it. Is it really a special format that is much better than NTFS?

Thank you in advance.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B550M-PRO-DASH/Specification

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X570-A-PRO/Specification

 

[Soulkeeper]

The support of ecc udimms is up to the board partners to enable in their bios apparently.
Registered ECC would be incompatible on all desktop consumer AMD boards/chips.

Your best bet for verifying that it is working would be a linux livecd or memtest86.
Also, I think software raid is very nice in linux. Your filesystem choice is a matter of preference, I still use ext4.

 

[Sepidoel]

Roger. Thank you very much for your insight. Linux for my server is not an option, because the software is only for Windows platform.

 

[manly]

As for RAID, from what I heard common motherboards RAID were usually software mode. Thus if the specification support only 0, 1, and 10 mode, is there any solution to enable software RAID 5 or 6?

Onboard RAID is software-assisted. But this has nothing to do with software RAID done at the operating system level.
Nowadays, true hardware RAID or onboard RAID are out of favor.
If possible, just use software RAID which can support any of the flavors you'll need.

Then in learning RAID I heard that ZFS partition was the best partition for RAID. I absolutely know nothing about it. Is it really a special format that is much better than NTFS?

Are you using Windows? If so, ZFS doesn't apply. ZFS originated in Solaris, but nowadays you can run OpenZFS on BSD or Linux. YMMV.

If you want to learn a lot more about it, try this:

ZFS 101—Understanding ZFS storage and performance

Learn to get the most out of your ZFS filesystem in our new series on storage fundamentals.

arstechnica.com

 

[Shmee]

Onboard RAID is software-assisted. But this has nothing to do with software RAID done at the operating system level.
Nowadays, true hardware RAID or onboard RAID are out of favor.
If possible, just use software RAID which can support any of the flavors you'll need.



Are you using Windows? If so, ZFS doesn't apply. ZFS originated in Solaris, but nowadays you can run OpenZFS on BSD or Linux. YMMV.

If you want to learn a lot more about it, try this:

ZFS 101—Understanding ZFS storage and performance

Learn to get the most out of your ZFS filesystem in our new series on storage fundamentals.

arstechnica.com

For a server, you really shouldn't be running WIndows, but, I do believe that ZFS can work on Windows. There was a thread about it I saw here earlier.

 

[Sepidoel]

Onboard RAID is software-assisted. But this has nothing to do with software RAID done at the operating system level.
Nowadays, true hardware RAID or onboard RAID are out of favor.
If possible, just use software RAID which can support any of the flavors you'll need.



Are you using Windows? If so, ZFS doesn't apply. ZFS originated in Solaris, but nowadays you can run OpenZFS on BSD or Linux. YMMV.

If you want to learn a lot more about it, try this:

ZFS 101—Understanding ZFS storage and performance

Learn to get the most out of your ZFS filesystem in our new series on storage fundamentals.

arstechnica.com

Thank you very much, I'll learn the article.

And as for why using Windows for a server is because our software was developed on it years ago. And we don't forsee it economically feasible to change it now.

 

[gea]

OpenZFS 2.2.6 on Windows is still beta but has release candidate state. It is already quite usable unless you discover some compatibility problems with your software environment,

Releases · openzfsonwindows/openzfs

OpenZFS on Linux and FreeBSD. Contribute to openzfsonwindows/openzfs development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Without ZFS you can use Windows Storage Spaces with ntfs or ReFS to pool disks of any type or size with Raid redundancy not on physical disk level but per virtual disk.

Windows 11 Pro is fine. If you need some more or extended server services or a superiour SMB direct/RDMA performance, look at Server 2025 Essentials.

For ZFS and Storage Spaces manegement you can use my copy and run napp-it cs web-gui (free for noncommercial homeuse)

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you’re worried about an unreliable electrical supply, a UPS is probably worth the investment.

I mean, RAID and ECC and ZFS are great, but they’re the net that catches you after you fall. A battery backup will keep you from falling in the first place.

Also, remember, RAID is not a backup. Make sure you have your important data synced offsite at regular intervals.