Intel Modular Server – SATA to SAS Adapters for Intel X25-M SSDs or SATA

Intel has given us an extension on the Intel Modular Server demo box we have had for the last six to eight weeks.

We have mentioned in the past that there is an optional SATA to SAS adapter, AXXTM3SATA,  for the IMS that allows us to install 2.5” SATA based drives in the built-in storage unit.

So, since we were ordering from Tech Data Canada and they happened to have some, we ordered the stock that they had:

Note that it is very important to have a look in the IMS Tested Hardware and Operating Systems List (THOL) (previous blog post) to verify how we can combine SATA, SSD, and SAS drives in the IMS storage bays.

We did not find out about the IMS demo extension until after we had taken everything down and set the IMS into its shipping pallet setup.

So, we are going to pull a couple of 160GB Intel X25-M second generation SSDs out of stock and install them. We will use the SSDs for the Hyper-V OSs as well as the Hyper-V configuration and memory file location.

We now have a pretty good performance baseline for the pair of 146GB 15K Seagate drives we have been using for this purpose, so we are looking forward to the performance gains the SSDs will give us.

The extension was give because we would not be able to get our own Intel Modular Server into our shop and ready for my upcoming SBS clustering presentation for the Edmonton Microsoft User Group on the twentieth.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer