Looking for ideas on extending storage for home aio ZFS/VM + lower power servers

[vjeko]

This post covers more topics than ZFS but as ZFS storage is most relevant, I wrote it here.

History:
I wanted to put a ESXI based ZFS/VM server in the cellar. Not being an IT admin/hw expert, I may have
had some unrealistic ideas - I wanted to sit in my room and access any VM I wanted to play with
and the server was supposed to handle ZFS storage, router functionality , access point controller, Windows
Linux and various other VM's I needed. I bought a Lenovo TS140 (mistake - can handle only 4 drives) with
4 core/8 thread Xeon and a Dell P45 PCoIP zero client (will be extinct in 2025)

Questions:
(a)If I want to keep the TS140 - what is the best way to add 8 disks to the system ? Is there a more future
proof hardware purchasing strategy (e.g. racks) - where mainly mainboard and memory
need to be replaced?

(b)What alternative low power hardware could I use and would it be better to have 3 servers:
ZFS server and server for router + access point controller in cellar and run other VMs on a low power server
in my room to avoid the pcoip/blast hardware?

 

[gea]

This post covers more topics than ZFS but as ZFS storage is most relevant, I wrote it here.

History:
I wanted to put a ESXI based ZFS/VM server in the cellar. Not being an IT admin/hw expert, I may have
had some unrealistic ideas - I wanted to sit in my room and access any VM I wanted to play with
and the server was supposed to handle ZFS storage, router functionality , access point controller, Windows
Linux and various other VM's I needed. I bought a Lenovo TS140 (mistake - can handle only 4 drives) with
4 core/8 thread Xeon and a Dell P45 PCoIP zero client (will be extinct in 2025)

Questions:
(a)If I want to keep the TS140 - what is the best way to add 8 disks to the system ? Is there a more future
proof hardware purchasing strategy (e.g. racks) - where mainly mainboard and memory
need to be replaced?

(b)What alternative low power hardware could I use and would it be better to have 3 servers:
ZFS server and server for router + access point controller in cellar and run other VMs on a low power server
in my room to avoid the pcoip/blast hardware?

a.
You can use an SAS HBA ex BroadCom 9300 with an external Sata or SAS disk enclosure (Jbod or any case with disks and an external SAS connector, with or without an SAS expander). If you use Sata disks care about max 1m cable length, SAS allows10m.

b.
You use an AiO setup to reduce number of servers. Additionally to the main AiO system you may think of a second (backup, spare or failover) system or simply use removeable disks for a disaster backup. I would not virtualize the router as this should always work and use a small power efficient hardware device ex a Glinet with OpenWRT.

 

[vjeko]

You can use an SAS HBA ex BroadCom 9300 with an external Sata or SAS disk enclosure (Jbod or any case with disks and an external SAS connector, with or without an SAS expander). If you use Sata disks care about max 1m cable length, SAS allows10m.

I would appreciate if someone could enlighten me about connecting power to drives. I've been considering various
options (such as mentioned above)and I also saw people transplanting motherboards
to other cases but in the original case, the disks were powered from the motherboard
(which I presume has better filtering than directly from the power supply) whereas in the
new case, the drives are powered directly from the power supply - are there any negative
repercussions with this ? I ask in case I could just replace the power supply as there
is sufficient place for the disks, just the +5V power supply doesn't supply sufficient
current.

For the external case solution, I already have a 1015 HBA, so I guess that is OK
so long as the external case is powering the drives

 

[zachj]

You can put in a quad nvme carrier using your top x16 slot.

You can put in a owc u2 shuttle quad nvme->single u.2 (which installs in a standard 3.5” drive slot) and either a pcie->u.2 carrier with cable or put the shuttle directly on the pcie carrier. Install this in your second x16 slot since all it needs is an x4 link.

 

[vjeko]

OK, thanks, that is another completely different alternative but again unless I'm mistaken the power consumption
of the drives would be a problem and I would need to buy new nvme drives.

 

[zachj]

You could buy used nvme drives.

power consumption of an nvme drive at idle isn’t wildly higher than power consumption of a sata ssd. Under load a modern pcie gen 4 or gen 5 drive can chew power but you almost certainly would be juuuuuust fine with pcie gen 3–especially if you were imagining spinning rust

 

[vjeko]

Let me further clarify the problem/question. The TS140 power supply has following outputs:
12V 1:16A, 12V2:18A, 12V3:12A, -12V:.2A and 5Vsb:3A i.e. there are no other
5V outputs, The drive power cables come from the motherboard, so I
presume the motherboard is down regulating the 12V supply to be used for 5V.
The TS140 spec says max 4 drives - so I'm using a HBA but need a power supply
capable of powering the drives with necessary 5V supply - is there any difference
between powering from the motherboard or directly from a new power supply?

 

[gea]

Normally you use the PSU directly to supply disks.
You only need a small switch to power up the PSU

How to Power Up an ATX Power Supply Without a PC!

How to Power Up an ATX Power Supply Without a PC!: In this instructable i will show you how to power up an ATX Power Supply without a PC. Maybe in some cases you want to test an old CD-Rom Drive or something else. All that you have is a PSU from an old PC an a wire. Here I show you how do to it.

www.instructables.com