File storage solution v2

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echo87

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Aug 17, 2015
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Hi!

I'm back with, hopefully, a more thought through build...

Build’s Name: TBD
Operating System/ Storage Platform: Windows Server 2012 R2
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K / 3.5GHz
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A S-1150 ATX
Chassis: Hopefully a Case RM 400/10 v5 with 3x5 hot swap bays
Drives: WD Red 3TB x a few, Intel SSD 120GB x2 for OS. Samsung Evo 250GB x2 for cache?
RAM: 16GB or 32 GB of Kingston HyperX Fury Black Series DDR3 1600MHz
Add-in Cards: Asus Thunderbolt add-in card and some sort of HBA card I guess
Power Supply: Corsair CS750M 80 Plus Gold
Other Bits:

Usage Profile: File storage, archiving family photos etc. Plex Media server

Other information… Would be powered on more or less 24/7 so should be as silent as possible. I have the possibility to add 15 hot swap drives and a few internal ssds I think. Will take some time to fill it up, will the power supply be enough or could I go for something smaller, like 450W?

Thanks in advance! Any suggestions/thoughts will be appreciated.
 
T_Minus

T_Minus

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Feb 15, 2015
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For file storage I would look at used enterprise gear instead of consumer gear. You get something made for 24/7 usage, and most importantly you get ECC RAM which is or IMHO should be required for any dedicated storage setup.

The HGST 5TB for $130 is a "sweet" price point for a quality drive, It's what I'd suggest going with instead of REDs.

Intel S3500, 710, or 320 for OS depending on budget, space, etc, needs for your "OS" drive.
2x 100gb 710 = $100 (NEW DRIVES) but not as fast as 2x S3500 160GB and cost is similar (but used).

For case what is your size limits do you want a mini-NAS case with 8 hot swaps or do you want a mini-tower with lots of room for air, and fitting more goodies?
 
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echo87

New Member
Aug 17, 2015
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Uppsala, Sweden
I have trouble finding enterprise gear here in Sweden, at least without the server sounding like a jet engine. But maybe I should move the stuff inside to a different chassi?

I'm thinking a rack mounted case, depending what the user kroems has to offer here :)
 
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tare55

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Oct 7, 2015
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i need lots of space to set up data protection manager. These seem like a great option.
 
Chuckleb

Chuckleb

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Mar 5, 2013
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@T_Minus
How are the Toshiba drives? They are listed as desktop-grade drives, the WD Red drives are at least NAS drives. Since you recommend enterprise-class gear, shouldn't he move to at least NAS drives?

6TB Hitachi NAS drives were down to about $250 as a low, now about $270.

Someday I'd like to try basically RAID10 spans of the Seagate Archive 8TB drives for media. I've negotiated down to about $215 each so great $/TB. If media, that should be mostly write once/read many so ideal for archive drives.

@echo87
Usually for performance, more platters the better, but that's not as important in this case. I'd go with the 6TB drives if you can afford it, less disks will mean generally quieter, less power, etc. Also more room to expand. Oh and lighter server to move around. I guess with a rackmount case, it doesn't matter to much for noise.

If you're concerned about noise, you could do a case similar to what I have for my main fileserver:
LIAN LI PC-A76 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

I have 7x 6TB drives, 1x 8TB Seagate Archive 8TB, 1x 4TB Seagate NAS, 4x SSDs, Supermicro server board with dual CPUs, m1015 HBA, 23GB DDR3 RAM, Intel SAS expander, USB3 card, eSATA card. All this off of a 500W power supply with a lot room to spare. I still have some slots for additional drives in that chassis and it is huge, great airflow. Installed some secondary case fans, low noise, low temps, etc.
 
T_Minus

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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Chuckleb said:
@T_Minus
How are the Toshiba drives? They are listed as desktop-grade drives, the WD Red drives are at least NAS drives. Since you recommend enterprise-class gear, shouldn't he move to at least NAS drives?

6TB Hitachi NAS drives were down to about $250 as a low, now about $270.

Someday I'd like to try basically RAID10 spans of the Seagate Archive 8TB drives for media. I've negotiated down to about $215 each so great $/TB. If media, that should be mostly write once/read many so ideal for archive drives.

@echo87
Usually for performance, more platters the better, but that's not as important in this case. I'd go with the 6TB drives if you can afford it, less disks will mean generally quieter, less power, etc. Also more room to expand. Oh and lighter server to move around. I guess with a rackmount case, it doesn't matter to much for noise.

If you're concerned about noise, you could do a case similar to what I have for my main fileserver:
LIAN LI PC-A76 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

I have 7x 6TB drives, 1x 8TB Seagate Archive 8TB, 1x 4TB Seagate NAS, 4x SSDs, Supermicro server board with dual CPUs, m1015 HBA, 23GB DDR3 RAM, Intel SAS expander, USB3 card, eSATA card. All this off of a 500W power supply with a lot room to spare. I still have some slots for additional drives in that chassis and it is huge, great airflow. Installed some secondary case fans, low noise, low temps, etc.
Click to expand...
I've only got a handful of them, and no problems. I want to run some tests but I need to setup a couple more NAS systems to migrate data around so I can run some tests comparing to the RED.

My post further down on the page specifies why I said Toshiba -- High capacity, low cost, low usage, media storage in RaidZ2/Z3 (or raid6) for 'cheap' consumer drives, and enterprise drives for important stuff and/or stuff accessed often in whatever raid/mirror setup you want... either one backups are obviously still important ;)

I think the latest backblaze HD Review had some Toshibas in use now, will be interesting to see how they do.
 
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