Re: [Xen-users] Some iommu questions(mostly about intel's vt-d)

[Gordan Bobic <gordan@xxxxxxxxxx>]

HGST drives or WD Red drives would probably be a better choice. HGST seems to 
be statistically more reliable.

If you go with WD, Red series have working TLER which is important for RAID 
(including software/ZFS variety). Just make sure you enable it in smarts.conf.

Mihail Ivanov <mihail.ivanov93@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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>Hello,
>
>I've finally decided I am gonna go the expensive way.
>Getting a E5-1650V2(3.5-3.9Ghz).
>http://ark.intel.com/products/75780/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5-1650-v2-12M-Cache-3_50-GHz
>
>(The other option being 2 x E5-2609 2,4Ghz which will get me 8 cores,
>but without HT and on much lower clock - so I'd rather have the
>E5-1650V2, also I don't really want to go dual socket)
>
>Those single socket 2011 server motherboards seem like the way to go
>if one wants to be sure everything works.
>
>Now I am kinda only considering Asrock vs Supermicro
>
>(no ASUS for me please :), Intel's mobos are uATX and I want ATX, why
>would I want to pay 300$+ and get like 2 PCI-E slots)
>
>I am thinking of getting this mobo Asrock EPC602D8A:
>http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=EPC602D8A
>
>Do you think it's good? It's a server/workstation board based on the
>602 Chipset with explicit support for Vt-d, a lot of PCI_E slots too,
>Sata ports too.
>
>Yet I haven't found any feedback on that mobo, so I'd be cool if
>someone could share his thoughts on it.
>
>I will be passing through kinda everything(NIC's, SATA
>Controllers,Powerful VGA's,etc).
>Only 3-4 cheap VGA's will stay in Dom0(and maybe sound too).
>
>I've read some papers and decided ECC is a must so -
>so i will most likely use 8 x 8GB 1600 ECC.
>
>As for storage:
>ZFS on 3 x WD Black 2 TB in Raid 5,
>And a cheap A-data SSD 120GB as cache.
>
>On 06/25/2014 03:48 PM, H. Sieger wrote:
>> I agree with Gordan and his advice. However, ASrock seems to have a
>> good reputation for VT-d support, but you definitely should check
>> with them first! While Asus hardware isn't bad (as Gordan said),
>> they are not committed in any way to support VT-d. One top of the
>> line board - for example the Rampage IV Extreme - may support VT-d
>> (via BIOS), the other won't, or only partially (e.g. Black
>> edition). Also, some boards like the RIVE support VT-d with the
>> latest Intel CPUs, others don't. Unless something drastically
>> changed, their tech support is totally useless, even if you talk
>> directly to headquarters. In the realm of enthusiast boards, ASRock
>> seems to be an exception in that they support VT-d in a range of
>> boards and in that they actually know what VT-d is for. Citrix
>> certified boards will most likely be workstation boards.
>> 
>> Here is a list of motherboards I compiled based on success stories:
>> http://www.overclock.net/t/1338063/vt-d-compatible-motherboards
>> 
>> Here the same for graphics cards:
>> http://www.overclock.net/t/1307834/xen-vga-passthrough-compatible-graphics-adapters
>>
>>  Of course both lists aren't exhaustive, but provide perhaps a
>> starting point.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Monday, June 23, 2014 10:19 PM, Mihail Ivanov
>> <mihail.ivanov93@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Hello everyone, I am new to xen and I'd like to ask some things.
>> 
>> I am looking to use Xen with both PV and HVM guests. I want to
>> pass-through most of my devices to DomU's. My main concern so far
>> is what hardware should I choose?
>> 
>> I've decided on the cpu - Intel i7-4770. The ram will most likely
>> be 32GB - two kits of Geil 2x8GB 1600-2166 Mhz. About the mobos -
>> what I know so far is that ASUS don't officially support Vt-d, but
>> Asrock say they do. So I am thinking of getting an Asrock. Thing is
>> - so far I've read about people using the z87 chipset, but only one
>> example of z97. Also on Intel's website they are saying that z87
>> has Vt-d, but nothing about the z97.
>> 
>> So can someone confirm if Asrock Z97 mobos support Vt-d? Also if it
>> has problems with its tables?(EPT ones, if I am not mistaken).
>> 
>> I am particularly interested in the Asrock Z97 Extreme4. Perhaps
>> someone around here has experience with it?
>> 
>> Also I've read about the GPU pass-through, so I've decided to use
>> AMD since nVidia has no support for it (unless I change the ID of
>> my vga to a quadro or some other professional vga).
>> 
>> Not having an FLR isn't an issue, correct?
>> 
>> And now my main concern - which of these devices can be used with 
>> pass-through: the integrated sound card the integrated NIC the sata
>> controllers(expensive boards have two - one from the chipset and
>> another one) the usb controllers
>> 
>> All of those should be PCI devices, correct? Also in an article in
>> wikipedia, they say that some mobos don't have support for Vt-d for
>> example on PCIe x8 or mini? How come only one or two slots can't
>> work?
>> 
>> Also can I passtrough just one USB device or I have to do it with
>> the whole controller?(as a PCI device I guess).
>> 
>> Greetings, Mihail
>> 
>> _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing
>> list Xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.xen.org/xen-users
>> 
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