Hi
I'm planning to upgrade my aging home network. My main focus is to replace an aging and recently unstable FreeBSD custom built erver wich functions both as storage and mainserver. This system is based around these specs:
CPU: Intel I5 Quad
Memory: 32GB RAM
Board: Asus Mobo (not sure wich one)
Disk: 2 SSD for OS, 3x1.5TB HDD, 5x3 TB HDD
OS: FreeBSD 10.1
Misc: Spindle Drives are connected to an M1015 (IT Mode) with an Mini SAS Cables
Graphics: Some old PCI Card
I already bought an DL360 (2xQuad XEON / 96 GB RAM / 8 10K SAS HDD on a P401) to use as VM Host (ESXi free) and moved most of my internal services to it. Now I need to remove everything else from the Server so I can replace it completely. Intended use for the new system is storage exclusively, so it will serve as:
- classic Fileserver (NFS, SMB)
- tftp Server for my diskless computers
- iSCSI target for my ESXi and some more diskless computers
- it may run a webserver for internal use but no other services
So, for my storage needs, I grabbed a cheap DL180 G6 from ebay with theses specs:
1x Intel Xeon E5520 Quad Core
24 GB RAM
2x HP 72 GB HardDisk 15k SAS
HP Smart Array P212 RAID Controller
2x HP NC362i Gigabit Server Adapter (these are oboard)
1x HP SC44GE SAS Controller HP P/N 416155-001
1x QLogic QLE2462 4Gbit Dual PCI-Express FC HBA
The machine is actually the 12xLFF model and was quite priceworthy (150€ including all cards and rails).
My current plan looks like this:
- Replace the CPU with a less energy consuming model (XEON LXXXX), these are ridicuously cheap these days (around 10 bucks)
- Ditch (and sell) the SAS HBA, FC HBA and the P212 Raid Card and the 2 disks
- Install a LSI SAS2008 based HBA like the trusty M1015 in IT mode
- Connect 2 SSD for Operating System directly to the mainboard (ZFS ZMIRROR), (not sure where to keep them)
- Install 3x3TB HDD for the initial setup, configured as ZFS RAIDZ
- Move all data to the new Array
- Move the physical Disks (5x3 TB) from the old storage system to the new one
- configure the "old" disks as ZRADI2 Array
- Move data to ZRAID2 Array
- Re-Use Smaller (and faster) Array as iSCSI target for my ESXi Host
Some questions remain:
- is the M1015 (or any other SAS2008 based card) compatible to the expander chip in my backplane? I found
some information confirming and deniyng this, so I'm a bit unsure. I expect the SATA Speed to negotiate at SATA 3G speed wich I'm fine with.
- I read about problems with the onboard BMC (lights out 100) and "unsupported" PCIe cards. Am I building a new industrial vacuum cleaner or will this work? BMC firware is already updated to the newest version
- is it a good idea to tuck some SSD in a cage somewhere with velcro or should I rather sacrifice 2 slots for the OS drives?
- will any SATA drive on the backplane force ALL drives on it to downgrade to SATA 3G seed or can I mix SAS and SATA disks, so I can use faster disks for my iSCSI target?
- Does the M1015 support SSD on it, so I can use SSD for my VM Storage?
- generally: Is there something completely wrong with my setup / plan or can I do it like this?
with kind regards,
errorsmith
I'm planning to upgrade my aging home network. My main focus is to replace an aging and recently unstable FreeBSD custom built erver wich functions both as storage and mainserver. This system is based around these specs:
CPU: Intel I5 Quad
Memory: 32GB RAM
Board: Asus Mobo (not sure wich one)
Disk: 2 SSD for OS, 3x1.5TB HDD, 5x3 TB HDD
OS: FreeBSD 10.1
Misc: Spindle Drives are connected to an M1015 (IT Mode) with an Mini SAS Cables
Graphics: Some old PCI Card
I already bought an DL360 (2xQuad XEON / 96 GB RAM / 8 10K SAS HDD on a P401) to use as VM Host (ESXi free) and moved most of my internal services to it. Now I need to remove everything else from the Server so I can replace it completely. Intended use for the new system is storage exclusively, so it will serve as:
- classic Fileserver (NFS, SMB)
- tftp Server for my diskless computers
- iSCSI target for my ESXi and some more diskless computers
- it may run a webserver for internal use but no other services
So, for my storage needs, I grabbed a cheap DL180 G6 from ebay with theses specs:
1x Intel Xeon E5520 Quad Core
24 GB RAM
2x HP 72 GB HardDisk 15k SAS
HP Smart Array P212 RAID Controller
2x HP NC362i Gigabit Server Adapter (these are oboard)
1x HP SC44GE SAS Controller HP P/N 416155-001
1x QLogic QLE2462 4Gbit Dual PCI-Express FC HBA
The machine is actually the 12xLFF model and was quite priceworthy (150€ including all cards and rails).
My current plan looks like this:
- Replace the CPU with a less energy consuming model (XEON LXXXX), these are ridicuously cheap these days (around 10 bucks)
- Ditch (and sell) the SAS HBA, FC HBA and the P212 Raid Card and the 2 disks
- Install a LSI SAS2008 based HBA like the trusty M1015 in IT mode
- Connect 2 SSD for Operating System directly to the mainboard (ZFS ZMIRROR), (not sure where to keep them)
- Install 3x3TB HDD for the initial setup, configured as ZFS RAIDZ
- Move all data to the new Array
- Move the physical Disks (5x3 TB) from the old storage system to the new one
- configure the "old" disks as ZRADI2 Array
- Move data to ZRAID2 Array
- Re-Use Smaller (and faster) Array as iSCSI target for my ESXi Host
Some questions remain:
- is the M1015 (or any other SAS2008 based card) compatible to the expander chip in my backplane? I found
some information confirming and deniyng this, so I'm a bit unsure. I expect the SATA Speed to negotiate at SATA 3G speed wich I'm fine with.
- I read about problems with the onboard BMC (lights out 100) and "unsupported" PCIe cards. Am I building a new industrial vacuum cleaner or will this work? BMC firware is already updated to the newest version
- is it a good idea to tuck some SSD in a cage somewhere with velcro or should I rather sacrifice 2 slots for the OS drives?
- will any SATA drive on the backplane force ALL drives on it to downgrade to SATA 3G seed or can I mix SAS and SATA disks, so I can use faster disks for my iSCSI target?
- Does the M1015 support SSD on it, so I can use SSD for my VM Storage?
- generally: Is there something completely wrong with my setup / plan or can I do it like this?
with kind regards,
errorsmith
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