We want to get a couple of R630’s for Truenas but want to utilize all 8 slots for storage. Older models had the CD ROM so we could plug in an extra SSD for the appliance but with R630’s there is no CD ROM.
I imagine we can get a PCI-e adapter with a NVME to boot from, but if my memory recalls correctly Dell might not be able to boot from a 3rd party adapter, has anyone run into something similar would possible solutions?
Gen 13s are indeed said to be picky about booting from NVMe, though they do have a driver in firmware.
“Easy” solution - get the 10-bay model instead. Sure, they’re just cheap instead of “please take these off my hands they’re costing me money just keeping them stored” cheap, but the difference is not that big these days.
Of course, given the cost and “I’ll find other uses for it” nature of both a small M.2 NVMe SSD and a PCIe card to M.2 adapter, there’s little incentive not to try it out, if you have any Dell Gen 13 servers on hand.
