What server hardware are you buying from the big companies these days?

Mon Jun 8 18:37:54 UTC 2009

ericr wrote:
> I need to buy some new servers, and mgmt has decreed that we get them from
> someplace which will provide service contracts with on-site h/w suppport,
> which means HP, Dell, Sun, IBM, etc.

We use Dell almost exclusively. Although Dell doesn't officially support
FreeBSD, Dell hardware is tier-1 for FreeBSD. I think their hardware is
quite OK. The machines are built well. Haven't had too much to deal with
their onsite service (which is a good sign), but the times that I did I
think they handled it quite well, the parts were in house within 4 hours
and in a case where a motherboard had to be replaced, a Dell technician
was sent in as well and did his job fine.

Dell's RAID controllers (Perc/5i and Perc/6i) work fine in BSD, and some
tools are available although with Linux emulation which kind of sucks.

Here's a sample dmesg of a 1950:

> Copyright (c) 1992-2009 The FreeBSD Project.
> Copyright (c) 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
>         The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
> FreeBSD is a registered trademark of The FreeBSD Foundation.
> FreeBSD 7.1-RELEASE-p4 #0: Fri Apr  3 10:28:13 CEST 2009
>     root at hostname:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC
> Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
> CPU: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU            5148  @ 2.33GHz (2327.52-MHz K8-class CPU)
>   Origin = "GenuineIntel"  Id = 0x6fb  Stepping = 11
>   Features=0xbfebfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CLFLUSH,DTS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE>
>   Features2=0x4e3bd<SSE3,RSVD2,MON,DS_CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,DCA>
>   AMD Features=0x20100800<SYSCALL,NX,LM>
>   AMD Features2=0x1<LAHF>
>   Cores per package: 2
> usable memory = 4276400128 (4078 MB)
> avail memory  = 4114935808 (3924 MB)
> ACPI APIC Table: <DELL   PE_SC3  >
> FreeBSD/SMP: Multiprocessor System Detected: 2 CPUs
>  cpu0 (BSP): APIC ID:  0
>  cpu1 (AP): APIC ID:  1
> ioapic0: Changing APIC ID to 2
> ioapic0 <Version 2.0> irqs 0-23 on motherboard
> kbd1 at kbdmux0
> ath_hal: 0.9.20.3 (AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, RF5111, RF5112, RF2413, RF5413)
> acpi0: <DELL PE_SC3> on motherboard
> acpi0: [ITHREAD]
> acpi0: Power Button (fixed)
> Timecounter "ACPI-fast" frequency 3579545 Hz quality 1000
> acpi_timer0: <24-bit timer at 3.579545MHz> port 0x808-0x80b on acpi0
> acpi_hpet0: <High Precision Event Timer> iomem 0xfed00000-0xfed003ff on acpi0
> Timecounter "HPET" frequency 14318180 Hz quality 900
> pcib0: <ACPI Host-PCI bridge> port 0xcf8-0xcff on acpi0
> pci0: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib0
> pcib1: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 2.0 on pci0
> pci4: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib1
> pcib2: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 0.0 on pci4
> pci5: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib2
> pcib3: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 0.0 on pci5
> pci6: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib3
> pcib4: <PCI-PCI bridge> at device 0.0 on pci6
> pci7: <PCI bus> on pcib4
> bce0: <Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5708 1000Base-T (B2)> mem 0xf4000000-0xf5ffffff irq 16 at device 0.0 on pci7
> miibus0: <MII bus> on bce0
> brgphy0: <BCM5708C 10/100/1000baseTX PHY> PHY 1 on miibus0
> brgphy0:  10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, 1000baseT, 1000baseT-FDX, auto
> bce0: Ethernet address: 00:22:19:82:e8:45
> bce0: [ITHREAD]
> bce0: ASIC (0x57081020); Rev (B2); Bus (PCI-X, 64-bit, 133MHz); F/W (0x04000305); Flags( MFW MSI )
> pcib5: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 1.0 on pci5
> pci8: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib5
> pcib6: <PCI-PCI bridge> at device 0.3 on pci4
> pci9: <PCI bus> on pcib6
> pcib7: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 3.0 on pci0
> pci1: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib7
> mfi0: <Dell PERC 6> port 0xec00-0xecff mem 0xfc480000-0xfc4bffff,0xfc440000-0xfc47ffff irq 16 at device 0.0 on pci1
> mfi0: Megaraid SAS driver Ver 3.00
> mfi0: 2031 (292323270s/0x0020/info) - Shutdown command received from host
> mfi0: 2032 (boot + 3s/0x0020/info) - Firmware initialization started (PCI ID 0060/1000/1f0c/1028)
> mfi0: 2033 (boot + 3s/0x0020/info) - Firmware version 1.11.82-0473
> mfi0: 2034 (boot + 3s/0x0008/info) - Battery Present
> mfi0: 2035 (boot + 3s/0x0020/info) - Package version 6.0.3-0002
> mfi0: 2036 (boot + 21s/0x0004/info) - Enclosure (SES) discovered on PD 20(c None/p0)
> mfi0: 2037 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: Encl PD 20
> mfi0: 2038 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 20(c None/p0) Info: enclPd=20, scsiType=d, portMap=09, sasAddr=5001e090e8810900,0000000000000000
> mfi0: 2039 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 00(e0x20/s0)
> mfi0: 2040 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 00(e0x20/s0) Info: enclPd=20, scsiType=0, portMap=00, sasAddr=5000c5000d253121,0000000000000000
> mfi0: 2041 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 01(e0x20/s1)
> mfi0: 2042 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 01(e0x20/s1) Info: enclPd=20, scsiType=0, portMap=01, sasAddr=5000c5000d25eb55,0000000000000000
> mfi0: 2043 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 02(e0x20/s2)
> mfi0: 2044 (boot + 21s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 02(e0x20/s2) Info: enclPd=20, scsiType=0, portMap=02, sasAddr=5000c5000d2420ed,0000000000000000
> mfi0: 2045 (292323299s/0x0020/info) - Time established as 04/06/09  8:54:59; (29 seconds since power on)
> mfi0: 2046 (292323338s/0x0008/info) - Battery temperature is normal
> mfi0: [ITHREAD]
> pcib8: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 4.0 on pci0
> pci10: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib8
> pcib9: <PCI-PCI bridge> at device 5.0 on pci0
> pci11: <PCI bus> on pcib9
> pcib10: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 6.0 on pci0
> pci12: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib10
> pcib11: <PCI-PCI bridge> at device 7.0 on pci0
> pci13: <PCI bus> on pcib11
> pcib12: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 28.0 on pci0
> pci2: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib12
> pcib13: <PCI-PCI bridge> at device 0.0 on pci2
> pci3: <PCI bus> on pcib13
> bce1: <Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5708 1000Base-T (B2)> mem 0xf8000000-0xf9ffffff irq 16 at device 0.0 on pci3
> miibus1: <MII bus> on bce1
> brgphy1: <BCM5708C 10/100/1000baseTX PHY> PHY 1 on miibus1
> brgphy1:  10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, 1000baseT, 1000baseT-FDX, auto
> bce1: Ethernet address: 00:22:19:82:e8:43
> bce1: [ITHREAD]
> bce1: ASIC (0x57081020); Rev (B2); Bus (PCI-X, 64-bit, 133MHz); F/W (0x04000305); Flags( MFW MSI )
> uhci0: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-1> port 0xcce0-0xccff irq 21 at device 29.0 on pci0
> uhci0: [GIANT-LOCKED]
> uhci0: [ITHREAD]
> usb0: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-1> on uhci0
> usb0: USB revision 1.0
> uhub0: <Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1> on usb0
> uhub0: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
> uhci1: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-2> port 0xccc0-0xccdf irq 20 at device 29.1 on pci0
> uhci1: [GIANT-LOCKED]
> uhci1: [ITHREAD]
> usb1: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-2> on uhci1
> usb1: USB revision 1.0
> uhub1: <Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1> on usb1
> uhub1: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
> uhci2: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-3> port 0xcca0-0xccbf irq 21 at device 29.2 on pci0
> uhci2: [GIANT-LOCKED]
> uhci2: [ITHREAD]
> usb2: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-3> on uhci2
> usb2: USB revision 1.0
> uhub2: <Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1> on usb2
> uhub2: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
> uhci3: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-4> port 0xcc80-0xcc9f irq 20 at device 29.3 on pci0
> uhci3: [GIANT-LOCKED]
> uhci3: [ITHREAD]
> usb3: <Intel 631XESB/632XESB/3100 USB controller USB-4> on uhci3
> usb3: USB revision 1.0
> uhub3: <Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1> on usb3
> uhub3: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
> ehci0: <Intel 63XXESB USB 2.0 controller> mem 0xfc500400-0xfc5007ff irq 21 at device 29.7 on pci0
> ehci0: [GIANT-LOCKED]
> ehci0: [ITHREAD]
> usb4: EHCI version 1.0
> usb4: companion controllers, 2 ports each: usb0 usb1 usb2 usb3
> usb4: <Intel 63XXESB USB 2.0 controller> on ehci0
> usb4: USB revision 2.0
> uhub4: <Intel EHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 2.00/1.00, addr 1> on usb4
> uhub4: 8 ports with 8 removable, self powered
> uhub5: <vendor 0x04b4 product 0x6560, class 9/0, rev 2.00/0.0b, addr 2> on uhub4
> uhub5: multiple transaction translators
> uhub5: 4 ports with 4 removable, self powered
> pcib14: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 30.0 on pci0
> pci14: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib14
> vgapci0: <VGA-compatible display> port 0xdc00-0xdcff mem 0xd8000000-0xdfffffff,0xfc2d0000-0xfc2dffff irq 19 at device 13.0 on pci14
> isab0: <PCI-ISA bridge> at device 31.0 on pci0
> isa0: <ISA bus> on isab0
> atapci0: <Intel 63XXESB2 UDMA100 controller> port 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6,0x170-0x177,0x376,0xfc00-0xfc0f at device 31.1 on pci0
> ata0: <ATA channel 0> on atapci0
> ata0: [ITHREAD]
> ata1: <ATA channel 1> on atapci0
> ata1: [ITHREAD]
> fdc0: <floppy drive controller> port 0x3f0-0x3f5,0x3f7 irq 6 drq 2 on acpi0
> fdc0: does not respond
> device_attach: fdc0 attach returned 6
> sio0: configured irq 4 not in bitmap of probed irqs 0
> sio0: port may not be enabled
> sio0: configured irq 4 not in bitmap of probed irqs 0
> sio0: port may not be enabled
> sio0: <16550A-compatible COM port> port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4 flags 0x10 on acpi0
> sio0: type 16550A
> sio0: [FILTER]
> sio1: configured irq 3 not in bitmap of probed irqs 0
> sio1: port may not be enabled
> sio1: configured irq 3 not in bitmap of probed irqs 0
> sio1: port may not be enabled
> sio1: <16550A-compatible COM port> port 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 3 on acpi0
> sio1: type 16550A
> sio1: [FILTER]
> cpu0: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
> est0: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu0
> est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
> est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 71f071f0600071f
> device_attach: est0 attach returned 6
> p4tcc0: <CPU Frequency Thermal Control> on cpu0
> cpu1: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
> est1: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu1
> est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
> est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 71f071f0600071f
> device_attach: est1 attach returned 6
> p4tcc1: <CPU Frequency Thermal Control> on cpu1
> fdc0: <floppy drive controller> port 0x3f0-0x3f5,0x3f7 irq 6 drq 2 on acpi0
> fdc0: does not respond
> device_attach: fdc0 attach returned 6
> cryptosoft0: <software crypto> on motherboard
> orm0: <ISA Option ROMs> at iomem 0xc0000-0xc8fff,0xc9000-0xc9fff,0xec000-0xeffff on isa0
> atkbdc0: <Keyboard controller (i8042)> at port 0x60,0x64 on isa0
> atkbd0: <AT Keyboard> irq 1 on atkbdc0
> kbd0 at atkbd0
> atkbd0: [GIANT-LOCKED]
> atkbd0: [ITHREAD]
> ppc0: cannot reserve I/O port range
> sc0: <System console> at flags 0x100 on isa0
> sc0: VGA <16 virtual consoles, flags=0x300>
> vga0: <Generic ISA VGA> at port 0x3c0-0x3df iomem 0xa0000-0xbffff on isa0
> Timecounters tick every 1.000 msec
> acd0: DVDROM <TEAC DVD-ROM DV28EV/D.AG> at ata0-master UDMA33
> mfi0: 2047 (292323338s/0x0008/info) - Current capacity of the battery is above threshold
> mfid0: <MFI Logical Disk> on mfi0
> mfid0: 952832MB (1951399936 sectors) RAID volume '' is optimal
> SMP: AP CPU #1 Launched!
> Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/mfid0s1a
> ipfw2 (+ipv6) initialized, divert loadable, nat loadable, rule-based forwarding disabled, default to deny, logging disabled