From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Nov 28 18:38:37 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E0ED31065672 for ; Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:38:37 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from modulok@gmail.com) Received: from wf-out-1314.google.com (wf-out-1314.google.com [209.85.200.173]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B541E8FC19 for ; Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:38:37 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from modulok@gmail.com) Received: by wf-out-1314.google.com with SMTP id 24so1592006wfg.7 for ; Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:38:37 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to :subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type :content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; bh=qfu+Yv3ocnuSk0Zuqy7QWmuhUI6dv8q9VrBwlQWsZDk=; b=gwXFm5vy9f8Qx7LZrAfwclXp8oNlqgF93r6LRbrRzPxHagxJHnvFGpqyiUtbyhPrU9 f9csr9vN3rTcx8NZvBk4mqZm4nH6KAdr5n/CervQOuWzki/4sE2KboaHb/PB6BLAOW3F nIJS8hDm3VhntzTUdeolvElQ+UnXI5B8pjsWE= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version :content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition :references; b=QpbvG92neSFa72j97m/2ACVEudkUw91C8w7fRpE0mniSlfkaUUEtKuG1VBAUKkW0bX lStlS4MKVomiS3gp4vsA/K8qgu6tUGcyd7tCUeqPwObiFG/AbNc3bX9a0EzCXbetJmDp uWmfTVEta3WXZdiZIpVR/uA7zcm7O8dHArtpw= Received: by 10.142.253.21 with SMTP id a21mr3435334wfi.174.1227897517283; Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:38:37 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.142.199.12 with HTTP; Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:38:37 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <64c038660811281038ld6e20dcq81a1a98b7e9f7ce@mail.gmail.com> Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:38:37 -0700 From: Modulok To: "Valentin Bud" In-Reply-To: <139b44430811280548x36915301i766bfb15f162c8ca@mail.gmail.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: <139b44430811280548x36915301i766bfb15f162c8ca@mail.gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 5 TB server X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:38:38 -0000 On 11/28/08, Valentin Bud wrote: > Hello community, > > I have to come up with a solution for a company that has as we speak > 4 TB of data spread among 3 computers with lots of HDDs. Of course > i've recommend > them to buy a server for that storage capacity and for data organization. > > I thought of going on the ZFS way (on FreeBSD of course) with some > raidz. One of the problems > is that the server will stay in their office so it has to be quite silent. > > I honestly don't know what hardware to look for so if you have any > suggestions > i'm more than open to hear them. > > a great day, > v I'm not sure what kind of fans everyone here is running, with all these complaints about noise... For a single server sitting in an office, use a regular desktop case with some good 12cm fans. Get a few fan-speed-controllers to reduce the RPMs a little and you can have a computer with several disks in it that is damn near silent, even when it is sitting right next to you. Put a good power supply unit, with a slow 14cm fan in it and you can't hear the computer at all. As far as heat goes, a well ventilated aluminum desktop case disperses heat very, very well, permitting the reduction of fan speed. I have a server built this way sitting not 2 feet from me, which contains 5 hard drives providing 24/7 file storage via samba for the entire local area network, and unless one puts their ear against the case, it's difficult to tell if it is even running...even under heavy load. (This is in a quiet room.) As far as heat goes, the case blows out room temperature air and all components are cold to the touch. Built for around...$800-$900 USD. (I'm not exactly sure on the figure, as some components have been upgraded over the years.) Case: Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Mid Tower. Best case ever. Cheap. Simple. Roomy. Very well ventilated. I now personally own 4 of these cases. No regrets. Ditch the factory fans though. Replace them with a few Zalman 12cm fans. These usually come with a resistor so you can reduce the fan speed (and noise). Processor: Whatever. I went with a cheap dual core Opteron at the time. Board: I usually stick with Tyan. whatever fits your processor, your budget and provides you with enough SATA headers. For a simple file server, stick with a lower-end single-socket board. Unless you plan to do some serious number crunching or have a lot of money to spend, you don't need the extra processors sitting around doing nothing, with their fans making noise. Memory: Start with a few (say 2) gigs, it's cheap. Power Supply Unit: I've had good luck with Thermaltake W0144 Purepower RX. They use 14cm fans which are silent, but move a lot of air and I've had zero problems with them. The ability to only plugin the power components you require helps maintain good airflow in the case. Network: Not all network cards are created equal! Go with one (or two) PCI Intel network cards. If it's based on the Intel PRO/1000GT, it will be supported by the em(4) driver on FreeBSD. I use the Intel PWLA8391GT. Zero problems. As far as hard drives go, I've found recently that Western Digital drives are quite silent, even under heavy read/writes, but I haven't tried Seagate or any of the other major drive manufacturers in a long time, so they may be about the same. With a little work, your goal of a silent, high-capacity server is quite attainable. It can be pretty cheap to build too. -Modulok-