Hardware suggestions

[MvL]

Hi,

I'm planning to build 2 new servers (OS = ClearOS, unRAID) but I need some advice to choose the right hardware. First I need cases. I want to use 24 hotswap cases. I'm considering the following cases from Xcase.

Pc Cases UK X-Case RM 424 - 24 Hotswap Bay Mini SAS - Generation II Pc Computer Cases

Pc Cases UK X-Case RM 424 Pro, 24 Bay Hotswap, 6GB SGPIO Backplane, Single Or Redundant Psu's by X-Casefor £395.00 Pc Computer Cases

Pc Cases UK X-Case RM 424 Pro with Sas Expander & SGPIO Backplane by X-Casefor £649.00 Pc Computer Cases

The first is the Xcase extra value. The second is the Xcase pro and the third the Xcase pro with expander backplane. A guy from the unRAID forums made some pictures of his build and the value case looks decent. What is wise buy the expander case, just use a couple of HBA cards (motherboard with sas) or a separate expander? I'm considering the E3, E5 or Xeon D platform but this depends on which case i choose (how many pci-e ports).

 

[Patrick]

At this point, I HBA instead of expander case if I can. Of those three I like #2 but there is not a lot of information on #1.

Just wondering, why ClearOS? I just did an experiment with it and was left bewildered/ less than impressed.

 

[MvL]

Hi Patrick, so you advice not to use the expander case.

One of the differences of the cases is the backplane. The value uses a 6/12G backplane and the pro a 6G backplane but the pro has fan malfunction detection and the sas connecters are better positioned. Please check the video's.

The Xcase Value

The Xcase Pro

The Xcase Pro with expander

[offtopic]
maybe we have to separate this discussion of ClearOS from my original question.

Why I use ClearOS? I use it in gateway and used it since 2009. The last 6 months I used Ubiquiti ERPro 8 router but I missed the tinkering on my ClearOS box. So I sold the Ubiquiti ERPRo 8. ClearOS is positioned as a small business server and there coming some cool features to ClearOS like ZFS and Docker. I never used pfsense but maybe pfsense is beter with gateway/router/firewall functions but ClearOS does a lot more.

What did you dislike about ClearOS?
[/offtpoic]

 

[Drewy]

I have the earlier version of the basic rm424 case and it's fine. Nothing fancy but perfectly usable. The sas connectors on the backplane were very tight to get the cables onto.

I drive 4 of slots of the motherboard with a reverse sas cable and the others via a pair of LSI hba's, one 16i and a 8 port 4e/4i. Original plan was to expand to a further case and expander via the external sas interface from the 8 port card if necessary.

 

[Patrick]

@MvL I thought the install process was very dated. One example is that some basic virtualization drivers were not installed by default. GUI performance was nowhere near what I would expect given the hardware. GUI was pretty hard to navigate. The directory server was missing a bunch of pretty basic functionality. More info here: Has anyone tried ClearOS? but I spent a few hours playing with it and ultimately was extremely disappointed and deleted the VM.

 

[MvL]

I have the earlier version of the basic rm424 case and it's fine. Nothing fancy but perfectly usable. The sas connectors on the backplane were very tight to get the cables onto.

I drive 4 of slots of the motherboard with a reverse sas cable and the others via a pair of LSI hba's, one 16i and a 8 port 4e/4i. Original plan was to expand to a further case and expander via the external sas interface from the 8 port card if necessary.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

They moved the sas connectors to the side of the case so that is positive.

@MvL I thought the install process was very dated. One example is that some basic virtualization drivers were not installed by default. GUI performance was nowhere near what I would expect given the hardware. GUI was pretty hard to navigate. The directory server was missing a bunch of pretty basic functionality. More info here: Has anyone tried ClearOS? but I spent a few hours playing with it and ultimately was extremely disappointed and deleted the VM.

Patrick I'm going to respond in the thread you linked.

I'm leaning towards the E5 platform when I choose a cases without a expander these motherboards have lot of pic-e ports.