Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:07:33 -0500 From: Dan Langille <dan@langille.org> To: Wes Morgan <morganw@chemikals.org> Cc: FreeBSD Stable <freebsd-stable@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: hardware for home use large storage Message-ID: <4B788235.6080804@langille.org> In-Reply-To: <alpine.BSF.2.00.1002140859270.26040@ibyngvyr> References: <4B6F9A8D.4050907@langille.org> <4B779561.7000205@langille.org> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1002140859270.26040@ibyngvyr>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Wes Morgan wrote: > On Sun, 14 Feb 2010, Dan Langille wrote: > >> Dan Langille wrote: >>> Hi, >>> >>> I'm looking at creating a large home use storage machine. Budget is a >>> concern, but size and reliability are also a priority. Noise is also a >>> concern, since this will be at home, in the basement. That, and cost, >>> pretty much rules out a commercial case, such as a 3U case. It would be >>> nice, but it greatly inflates the budget. This pretty much restricts me to >>> a tower case. >>> >>> The primary use of this machine will be a backup server[1]. It will do >>> other secondary use will include minor tasks such as samba, CIFS, cvsup, >>> etc. >>> >>> I'm thinking of 8x1TB (or larger) SATA drives. I've found a case[2] with >>> hot-swap bays[3], that seems interesting. I haven't looked at power >>> supplies, but given that number of drives, I expect something beefy with a >>> decent reputation is called for. >>> >>> Whether I use hardware or software RAID is undecided. I >>> >>> I think I am leaning towards software RAID, probably ZFS under FreeBSD 8.x >>> but I'm open to hardware RAID but I think the cost won't justify it given >>> ZFS. >>> >>> Given that, what motherboard and RAM configuration would you recommend to >>> work with FreeBSD [and probably ZFS]. The lists seems to indicate that more >>> RAM is better with ZFS. >>> >>> Thanks. >>> >>> >>> [1] - FYI running Bacula, but that's out of scope for this question >>> >>> [2] - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811192058 >>> >>> [3] - nice to have, especially for a failure. >> After creating three different system configurations (Athena, Supermicro, and >> HP), my configuration of choice is this Supermicro setup: >> >> 1. Samsung SATA CD/DVD Burner $20 (+ $8 shipping) >> 2. SuperMicro 5046A $750 (+$43 shipping) >> 3. LSI SAS 3081E-R $235 >> 4. SATA cables $60 >> 5. Crucial 3×2G ECC DDR3-1333 $191 (+ $6 shipping) >> 6. Xeon W3520 $310 >> >> Total price with shipping $1560 >> >> Details and links at http://dan.langille.org/2010/02/14/supermicro/ > > Wow um... That's quite a setup. Do you really need the Xeon W3520? You > could get a regular core 2 system for much less and still use the ECC ram > (highly recommended). The case you're looking at only has 6 hot-swap bays > according to the manuals, although the pictures show 8 (???). Going to http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/tower/5046/SYS-5046A-X.cfm it does say 6 hot-swap and two spare. I'm guessing they say that because the M/B supports only 6 SATA connections: http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core2Duo/X58/C7X58.cfm > You could > shave some off the case and cpu, upgrade your 3081E-R to an ARC-1222 for > $200 more and have the hardware raid option. That is a nice card. However, I don't want hardware RAID. I want ZFS. > If I was building a tower system, I'd put together something like this: Thank you for the suggestions. > Case with 8 hot-swap SATA bays ($250): > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811192058 > Or if you prefer screwless, you can find the case without the 2 hotswap > bays and use an icy dock screwless version. I do like this case, it's one I have priced: http://dan.langille.org/2010/02/14/pricing-the-athena/ > Intel server board (for ECC support) ($200): > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121328 ECC, nice, which is something I've found appealing. > SAS controller ($120): > http://www.buy.com/prod/supermicro-lsi-megaraid-lsisas1068e-8-port-sas-raid-controller-16mb/q/loc/101/207929556.html > Note: You'll need to change or remove the mounting bracket since it is > "backwards". I was able to find a bracket with matching screw holes on an > old nic and secure it to my case. It uses the same chipset as the more > expensive 3081E-R, if I remember correctly. I follow what you say, but cannot comprehend why the bracket is backwards. > Quad-core CPU ($190): > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115131 > > 4x2gb ram sticks (97*2): > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139045 > > same SATA cables for sata to mini-sas, same CD burner. Total cost probably > $400 less, which you can use to buy some of the drives. I put this all together, and named it after you (hope you don't mind): http://dan.langille.org/2010/02/14/273/ You're right, $400 less. I also wrote up the above suggestions with a Supermicro case instead: SUPERMICRO CSE-743T-645B Black 4U Pedestal Chassis w/ 645W Power Supply $320 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152047 I like your suggestions with the above case. It is now my preferred solution. > For my personal (overkill) setup I have a chenbro 4U chassis with 16 > hotswap bays and mini-SAS backplanes, a zippy 2+1 640 watt redundant power > supply (sounds like a freight train). I cannot express the joy I felt in > ripping out all the little SATA cables and snaking a couple fat 8087s > under the fans. 8 of the bays are dedicated to my media array, and the > other 8 are there for swapping in and out of backup drives mostly, but the > time they REALLY come in handy is when you need to upgrade your array. Buy > the replacement drives, pop them in, migrate the pool, and remove the old > drives. This is really nice. :) Thank you for your suggestions. They have been very helpful. :)
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?4B788235.6080804>