Supermicro SuperServer E302-9D Review: A Fanless 10G pfSense Powerhouse

Intel launched the Xeon D-2100 SoCs in early 2018, with a feature set making them a fit for several verticals including edge servers, networking, and storage. One of the key advancements made in the Xeon D-2100 compared to the first-generation Xeon D-1500 series was the inbuilt support for two additional 10G network interfaces. With TDPs starting at 60W, the Xeon D-2100 SoCs lends itself to some interesting and unique server and edge procesing products. One such system is Supermicro's passively-cooled SuperServer E302-9D sporting the Xeon D-2123IT SoC.

As part of the evaluation efforts of different technologies and products, AnandTech editors are regularly tasked with the building or identification of suitable testbed systems. The requirements for these systems often mirror the requirements of software developers and homelab enthusiasts. The increasing adoption of 10G across various networking / network-attached storage product lines meant that we were on the lookout for a low-power system with multiple 10G ports to act as testbeds. We reached out to Supermicro after spotting their X11SDV-4C-TP8F-01 FlexATX board. Supermicro graciously agreed to loan us two SuperServers based on the board to take for a testdrive - the E302-9D in a passively-cooled desktop form factor (that we are taking a detailed look at today), and the 5019D-4C-FN8TP 1U rackmount version.

Introduction

Intel's Xeon D product line targets servers used in power- and size-constrained scenarios (including edge compute). This includes applications across multiple domains such as storage, networking, and communication. The product line integrates server-class CPU cores along with the platform controller hub (PCH) in a single package. The first-generation Xeon D (1500 series) was based on Broadwell-DE cores along with the C220 server PCH. Our launch coverage of the Xeon D-2100 series brought out the details of the updated server core (Skylake-DE) and PCH (Lewisburg C600-series). The relatively power-hungry PCH update and the addition of AVX512 capabilities in the Skylake cores meant that the minimum TDP went up from 20W in the D-1500 family to 60W in the D-2100. However, the updates also brought in welcome connectivity updates.

The Supermicro SuperServer E302-9D / X11SDV-4C-TP8F-01 we are looking at in this review utilizes the Xeon D-2123IT with a 4C/8T configuration. It has the least TDP of all members in the D-2100 family, yet comes with support for up to four 10G ports. The 60W TDP of the SoC allows Supermicro to utilize it in a passively-cooled system. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only off-the-shelf x86 system that provides consumers with four 10G Ethernet ports in a fanless configuration.

The Xeon D-2100 series offers support for up to 20 PCIe 3.0 lanes, 14 SATA 3.0 lanes, and 4 USB 3.0 ports. The D-2123IT can be equipped with up to 256GB of DDR-2400 ECC memory. In creating the X11SDV-4C-TP8F-01 board used in the E302-9D, Supermicro has worked around these features to create a compact board / system that appeals to developers and home-lab enthusiasts working on cutting-edge networking applications.

The SuperServer E302-9D is marketed as an embedded system comprising of the CSE-E302iL chassis and the X11SDV-4C-TP8F-01 board. The power supply is an external 150W adapter. The chassis sports a power button and status LED in the front panel, with all the I/O ports in the rear. The chassis supports a low-profile PCIe card mounted horizontally. The dimensions come in a 205mm x 295.2mm x 73mm. The gallery below takes us around the external design of the system.

The table below presents the specifications of the system along with the details of the reviewed configuration.

In the rest of this review, we first look at the detailed specifications of the board along with a look at the internals of the system. This is followed by some of our setup and usage impressions. In particular, we look at pfSense installation on the system along with some basic benchmarks. Finally, we take a look at the power consumption and temperature profiles before offering some concluding remarks.