Controller/Drive suggestions for Dell R630 "Compute node"

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gr2659

New Member
Feb 14, 2020
15
10
3
Hey all - new here, hopefully this is the right forum for this question.

I have an UnRAID server that I've been running for years, super happy with it for some of what I use it for (my "Plex stack", storage, backups.)

I am building a separate box to move my "compute" loads to and am looking for some suggestions on how to handle drives on it. For any real storage, I'll be pointing this box to my UnRAID array.

I have a Dell R630 that I've recently acquired. It is the 8x2.5" S130 (i.e. SATA only software controller) version. I can buy and add an H330/H730/H730P + cable allowing me to use SAS drives.

I don't need a lot of storage on this box at all. I'm looking for performance. My plan is to run Proxmox on it, with a handful of desktop VMs that I'll use one at a time (and not super often) plus either 2-4 other VMs running docker containers or straight LXC containers for the rest of my apps that I'm moving over from my UnRAID box (20-40 containers over time including network services and a number of web/db style apps).

So... where I'm looking for help...

What should I do drive/storage-wise?

Should I add an H330/H730/H730P (if so, which one?) but flash it to IT mode and use it as an HBA, allowing Proxmox to manage any ZFS-based RAID pools?

This is 1U chassis with limited PCI expansion that I would prefer to save so if you are going to suggest any hardware HBA or RAID controller - the "mini mono" path makes sense... right?

At that point I figure I could buy a handful of say, 600 or 900 GB 10k SAS drives and build a performance-focused RAID array or two.

Or... should I use the built in controller and a pair or multiple pairs of 2.5" SATA drives (SSDs?)

Or... something else I'm not thinking of?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice!
 

Terry Kennedy

Well-Known Member
Jun 25, 2015
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New York City
www.glaver.org
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice!
Since nobody else has answered in 10 days, I'll tell you what I'd do (actually did, on a R730):

o H730 mini mono controller w/ BBU
o Appropriate cables from controller to backplane
o Run a mirrored set of some nice SAS SSDs like Dell 43PCJ (Toshiba PX05SVB048Y, but get the Dell-branded one to stop the controller from whining)

I wouldn't bother with the H730P variant for a 2-drive mirror, unless you can get it for the same price as the non-P card.

Just make sure you get the Rx30 series caddies for those drives - they're a newer drive from the Rx40 and newer series, and Dell changed the caddy design again, even after they promised not to.
 

gr2659

New Member
Feb 14, 2020
15
10
3
Since nobody else has answered in 10 days, I'll tell you what I'd do (actually did, on a R730):
Thank you for doing so, Terry!

I did end up taking a run at this. In case it helps anyone else, I bought a mini-mono HBA330 + proper cable since the price was right and I am using ZFS to manage my RAIDing...

Picked up some generic "Dell x30 series compatible" drive trays on eBay.

I put a pair of Intel SD3700 400GB SSDs in a mirror for the Proxmox install. I also picked up (10) 900GB 10k SAS drives. I have 6 of those in the other HBA-controlled slots. I'm trying to decide now which RaidZ level to use for those, planning on building that tonight. This all worked GREAT. Plug and play, easy peasy on the install, everything was recognized and all drivers updated through iDRAC.

I also picked up a Dell BOSS card (from the x40 series Dells) and (2) M.2 256GB sticks to try to use in a cache pool. The BIOS recognizes these but won't let me build an array yet. I'm still messing around with this. It might not work but for the cost of $100 and a PCI slot, it's worth a bit of effort.

Thanks again for your thoughts!