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Things to Look For When Choosing a Server Motherboard
Although the process of choosing a motherboard is complicated due to the various functions and connections motherboards provide, it can become much easier to find one that meets your requirements once we know what to look for.
Graphics Support
Since there aren’t any intensive graphics/3D requirements in server applications, most server motherboards use an onboard graphics controller to provide video signals to the administrator’s monitor.
Workstation motherboards are quite different. Many workstation systems need powerful 3D acceleration, or even multi-display support, so the workstation motherboard should provide an expansion slot/interface for a video card. The PCI Express x16 slot (shown image below) is the most popular video card interface today.
Expansion Slots
Expansion slots are used to install add-in cards such as network interface cards and HDD/RAID cards. This is very important to the expandability of server systems. Please make sure the motherboard selected provides sufficient expansion slots for all the add-in cards you plan to install.
There are three types of expansion slots on modern motherboards:
PCI
The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus is a computer bus type used to connect computer peripherals. Most PCI buses work at 33MHz with a 32bit bit-width. This allows it to deliver a bandwidth of 133MB/s. 64-bit/66MHz PCI slots can also be found in server/workstation systems.
PCI-X
PCI-X was introduced to address the need for increased bandwidth of PCI devices. The PCI-X specification enables higher operating frequency (66MHz, 133MHz, 266MHz and even 533MHz) with up to 64-bit bit-width to deliver more than 1066MB/s bandwidth. PCI-X protocol enhancements allow devices to operate at much higher efficiency to provide more useable bandwidth at any clock frequency.
PCI Express
PCI Express is the next generation computer bus to come after PCI/AGP. PCI Express comes in several physical configurations to offer a variety of maximum bandwidths. For example, the fastest PCI Express x16 (first generation) configuration is used mainly for graphics cards and provides up to 8GB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth, or 4 times the bandwidth of AGP 8X. At the other end of the spectrum, PCI Express x1 is typically used for other types of peripherals and offers up to 500MB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth. The latest PCI Express 2.0 specification doubles the bandwidth by delivering up to 1GB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth over an x1 link.
Also note that there are different specification PCI Express add-on cards and that they must be installed into the corresponding slots. For example, a PCI Express x1 card should be installed into a PCI Express x1 slot (it can work in x4/x8 slots, but still run in x1 mode).
SAS/SATA/SCSI Device Ports
In server systems, SCSI is the most popular interface for storage devices, like hard drives. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is a standard for transferring data between devices and computers. Thanks to its outstanding ability to compartmentalize diverse operations, SCSI is very suitable for multitasking operating environments. SCSI also enhances critical performance in situations where more than one device is connected. Before serial signaling technology was applied into the SCSI field, all SCSI interface standards used parallel technology to transfer data. Currently, Ultra-160 (160MB/s throughput) and Ultra-320 (320MB/s throughput) are the most widely used standards of parallel SCSI.
The latest SAS or Serial Attached SCSI is earmarked as the next-generation enterprise storage interface to replace parallel SCSI. SAS utilizes serial communication protocol for high bandwidth and throughput performance in corporate and enterprise applications. SAS currently provides up to 300MB/s throughput, and supports hot-swapping as well. SAS is also physical compatible with SATA or Serial ATA, which can also be found on many server motherboards.
As an addition/expansion to the Southbridge chipset, some manufacturers integrate additional hard drive controllers onto certain motherboards to provide more SAS/SATA/SCSI connections. Some of these controllers support RAID functions as well.
Please choose a motherboard that provides onboard storage interfaces that suit your requirements most closely. You can expand the storage device support later by adding HDD/RAID controller cards to your system in the future.
RAID
Certain Southbridge chipsets feature RAID support. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks) is a way of using multiple hard drives together for data storage. A RAID system with multiple hard drives appears as a single drive to the operating system. Depending on the RAID level, the benefits provided by RAID is one or more of the following: better throughput, fault-tolerance or capacity when compared to a single hard drive.
1. RAID level 0 (or RAID 0) is known as striping, where data is striped across multiple hard drives. RAID 0 provides the most advanced throughput and capacity, but offers no fault-tolerance.
2. RAID level 1 (RAID 1) is known as mirroring, which stores the exact same data within at least two hard drives, this method shows excellent fault-tolerance and reliability, but delivers less capacity efficiency.
3. RAID level 0+1 and RAID 1+0 are striping and mirroring, providing good fault-tolerance and throughput all at the same time.
4. RAID level 5 utilizes data block striping with distributed parity data blocks across all the array disks. RAID 5 provides excellent read performance but relatively poor write performance, and RAID 5 is able to recover the whole array when one of its array disks fails. But the failure of a second disk results in data loss.
5. RAID level 6 is an extension of RAID 5 – it adds an additional parity block for extra fault-tolerance. RAID 6 is able to recover the array when two disks fail.
There are other RAID levels available too, such as RAID level 3 and RAID level 4, which are not widely used at the current time.
Other Connections
PS/2
PS/2 ports connect the keyboard and mouse to a computer and are usually color-coded on today’s systems – purple for keyboards and green for mice. Most desktop motherboards still provide PS/2 ports, but an increasing number of keyboards and mice are using USB ports.
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
The USB port is the most popular I/O interface standard used for connecting computers and peripherals or other devices. It is capable of supporting up to 127 daisy-chained peripheral devices simultaneously. The latest USB 2.0 specification can deliver 480Mbps data transfer bandwidth.
IEEE 1394
Also known by the trademarked names of FireWire and i.LINK, IEEE 1394 is a standard for high-speed transfer of digital information. It is one of the most popular standards for connecting high-speed peripherals.
LAN/ Networking
Almost all of the latest server motherboards provide integrated LAN functions, rated either at 10/100Mbps or 10/100/1000Mbps, since every server has to connect to a network. These numbers show the theoretical maximum throughput of the network interface card (onboard LAN controllers in this instance). Some motherboards provide two or even more LAN ports for users connecting more than one network device without needing an add-in card.
Note: If the LAN controller is connected to the motherboard PCI bus, it will not be able to deliver the full 1000Mbps speed due to the bandwidth limitation (133MB/s) of the PCI bus.
Management Features
The IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) is one of the hottest management features available at this time. IPMI specifications define common interfaces to the platform management subsystem, which is used to monitor system health and manage the system. Typical monitoring elements include system voltages, temperatures, fans, power supplies, etc. IPMI includes the definition of interfaces for extending platform management between motherboards within the main chassis, and between multiple chassis.
IPMI operates independently of the operating system, thus administrators can remotely manage a system without the OS or the system management software, or even when the system is powered off.
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Graphics Support
Since there aren’t any intensive graphics/3D requirements in server applications, most server motherboards use an onboard graphics controller to provide video signals to the administrator’s monitor.
Workstation motherboards are quite different. Many workstation systems need powerful 3D acceleration, or even multi-display support, so the workstation motherboard should provide an expansion slot/interface for a video card. The PCI Express x16 slot (shown image below) is the most popular video card interface today.
Expansion Slots
Expansion slots are used to install add-in cards such as network interface cards and HDD/RAID cards. This is very important to the expandability of server systems. Please make sure the motherboard selected provides sufficient expansion slots for all the add-in cards you plan to install.
There are three types of expansion slots on modern motherboards:
PCI
The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus is a computer bus type used to connect computer peripherals. Most PCI buses work at 33MHz with a 32bit bit-width. This allows it to deliver a bandwidth of 133MB/s. 64-bit/66MHz PCI slots can also be found in server/workstation systems.
PCI-X
PCI-X was introduced to address the need for increased bandwidth of PCI devices. The PCI-X specification enables higher operating frequency (66MHz, 133MHz, 266MHz and even 533MHz) with up to 64-bit bit-width to deliver more than 1066MB/s bandwidth. PCI-X protocol enhancements allow devices to operate at much higher efficiency to provide more useable bandwidth at any clock frequency.
PCI Express
PCI Express is the next generation computer bus to come after PCI/AGP. PCI Express comes in several physical configurations to offer a variety of maximum bandwidths. For example, the fastest PCI Express x16 (first generation) configuration is used mainly for graphics cards and provides up to 8GB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth, or 4 times the bandwidth of AGP 8X. At the other end of the spectrum, PCI Express x1 is typically used for other types of peripherals and offers up to 500MB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth. The latest PCI Express 2.0 specification doubles the bandwidth by delivering up to 1GB/s (bi-directional) bandwidth over an x1 link.
Also note that there are different specification PCI Express add-on cards and that they must be installed into the corresponding slots. For example, a PCI Express x1 card should be installed into a PCI Express x1 slot (it can work in x4/x8 slots, but still run in x1 mode).
SAS/SATA/SCSI Device Ports
In server systems, SCSI is the most popular interface for storage devices, like hard drives. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is a standard for transferring data between devices and computers. Thanks to its outstanding ability to compartmentalize diverse operations, SCSI is very suitable for multitasking operating environments. SCSI also enhances critical performance in situations where more than one device is connected. Before serial signaling technology was applied into the SCSI field, all SCSI interface standards used parallel technology to transfer data. Currently, Ultra-160 (160MB/s throughput) and Ultra-320 (320MB/s throughput) are the most widely used standards of parallel SCSI.
The latest SAS or Serial Attached SCSI is earmarked as the next-generation enterprise storage interface to replace parallel SCSI. SAS utilizes serial communication protocol for high bandwidth and throughput performance in corporate and enterprise applications. SAS currently provides up to 300MB/s throughput, and supports hot-swapping as well. SAS is also physical compatible with SATA or Serial ATA, which can also be found on many server motherboards.
As an addition/expansion to the Southbridge chipset, some manufacturers integrate additional hard drive controllers onto certain motherboards to provide more SAS/SATA/SCSI connections. Some of these controllers support RAID functions as well.
Please choose a motherboard that provides onboard storage interfaces that suit your requirements most closely. You can expand the storage device support later by adding HDD/RAID controller cards to your system in the future.
RAID
Certain Southbridge chipsets feature RAID support. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks) is a way of using multiple hard drives together for data storage. A RAID system with multiple hard drives appears as a single drive to the operating system. Depending on the RAID level, the benefits provided by RAID is one or more of the following: better throughput, fault-tolerance or capacity when compared to a single hard drive.
1. RAID level 0 (or RAID 0) is known as striping, where data is striped across multiple hard drives. RAID 0 provides the most advanced throughput and capacity, but offers no fault-tolerance.
2. RAID level 1 (RAID 1) is known as mirroring, which stores the exact same data within at least two hard drives, this method shows excellent fault-tolerance and reliability, but delivers less capacity efficiency.
3. RAID level 0+1 and RAID 1+0 are striping and mirroring, providing good fault-tolerance and throughput all at the same time.
4. RAID level 5 utilizes data block striping with distributed parity data blocks across all the array disks. RAID 5 provides excellent read performance but relatively poor write performance, and RAID 5 is able to recover the whole array when one of its array disks fails. But the failure of a second disk results in data loss.
5. RAID level 6 is an extension of RAID 5 – it adds an additional parity block for extra fault-tolerance. RAID 6 is able to recover the array when two disks fail.
There are other RAID levels available too, such as RAID level 3 and RAID level 4, which are not widely used at the current time.
Other Connections
PS/2
PS/2 ports connect the keyboard and mouse to a computer and are usually color-coded on today’s systems – purple for keyboards and green for mice. Most desktop motherboards still provide PS/2 ports, but an increasing number of keyboards and mice are using USB ports.
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
The USB port is the most popular I/O interface standard used for connecting computers and peripherals or other devices. It is capable of supporting up to 127 daisy-chained peripheral devices simultaneously. The latest USB 2.0 specification can deliver 480Mbps data transfer bandwidth.
IEEE 1394
Also known by the trademarked names of FireWire and i.LINK, IEEE 1394 is a standard for high-speed transfer of digital information. It is one of the most popular standards for connecting high-speed peripherals.
LAN/ Networking
Almost all of the latest server motherboards provide integrated LAN functions, rated either at 10/100Mbps or 10/100/1000Mbps, since every server has to connect to a network. These numbers show the theoretical maximum throughput of the network interface card (onboard LAN controllers in this instance). Some motherboards provide two or even more LAN ports for users connecting more than one network device without needing an add-in card.
Note: If the LAN controller is connected to the motherboard PCI bus, it will not be able to deliver the full 1000Mbps speed due to the bandwidth limitation (133MB/s) of the PCI bus.
Management Features
The IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) is one of the hottest management features available at this time. IPMI specifications define common interfaces to the platform management subsystem, which is used to monitor system health and manage the system. Typical monitoring elements include system voltages, temperatures, fans, power supplies, etc. IPMI includes the definition of interfaces for extending platform management between motherboards within the main chassis, and between multiple chassis.
IPMI operates independently of the operating system, thus administrators can remotely manage a system without the OS or the system management software, or even when the system is powered off.
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Morgan Brown Provides Interent marketing stratigies vist him at http://www.webhostingsurvey.info
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Permission is granted to republish this article, free of charge, as long as embedded links remain in tact and articles are not changed, edited, or reworded.