Silent chassis for all-SSD NAS

[ullbeking]

I'm exploring the option of building an all-SSD NAS for as my home NAS after considering how much storage space my family will really need for our home LAN. (Thanks for the suggestion @Rand__ .) I'm MASSIVELY downsizing my hardware inventory and keeping only hardware that is useful to me and/or my family and friends.

So... I'm on the search for a silent chassis, that will be good for building a silent NAS using 2.5" SSD's.

I have a mixed selection of SSD's, but a rough idea is as follows. Quantities that are not already earmarked for use are in the rough amounts as follows (I'll be updating this inventory as my hardware downsizing progresses):

• Intel DC S3XXX SATA 2.5" SSD's:
  • 12x 400 GB
  • 8x 800 GB
  • 4x 1.6 TB
• HGST SAS 2.5" SSD's:
  • 4x SLC 100 GB
  • 4x SLC 200 GB
  • 4x MLC 800 GB

I'm sure to have enough SSD's to fill 24x bays of SATA and SAS SSD's, possibly twice over (I'm still sorting through this mountain of hardware). The total capacity -- assuming mirroring, the simplest possible redundancy level -- is going to be sufficient for a family NAS.

I need a silent NAS chassis. In the case of 24x 2.5" SATA and SAS SSD's, is Supermicro SC216 series possible to run silently?

I've got primary and secondary backup servers all good to go. They are a bit noisy but they will only be powered on when a backup is actively in progress, i.e., not more often than once per day. Each backup server is as follows:

• 1U controller server with LSI 9300-8i (or something similar) for direct attachment to the DAS. This 1U controller will be either one the following:
  • Supermicro X9SCM-F based SuperServer 5017C-TF with E3-1270 v2 CPU and 32 GB UDIMM RAM; or
  • Supermicro A1SRi-2758F based SuperServer 5018A-FTN4 with (non-Erratum AVR.54, i.e., fixed) Atom C2758 SoC and 32 GB DDR3L SODIMM RAM.
• 2U Lenovo SA120 DAS with 12x 3.5" bays for HDD's.

6U, possibly noisy, but rarely powered on.

** The other options to all of this is the U-NAS 810A that I'm still speccing out, but unless I can reduce the constant mechanical vibration noise, or depending on how bad it is, this might not be a good option.

I'm also researching this second option [**], to check feasibility of implementing an all-SSD silent SSD tier between the main "master" NAS and the application layer.

 

[Rand__]

Do you already have the 216? Else its not the best box for silent, a 4U system probably would be better.
Else, for an all SSD sys noise will be done by fans and PSU only.

If you're good with a 920-SQ then thats an option, else a passively cooled ATX (in Tower or modded 4u case) is an alternative.

Fan noise will directly depend on drives, therefore i'd ditch the SAS SSDs (i.e. move to secondary tier), you could then get away with 80cm noctuas in the 216.

 

[ullbeking]

Do you already have the 216? Else its not the best box for silent, a 4U system probably would be better.
Else, for an all SSD sys noise will be done by fans and PSU only.

Are you hinting at the SC846 and mods that a lot of people have been doing to try to make it quiet? There seems to be a cult following of modding SC846 chassis now for silence, filling drive bays in certain patterns so as to maintain certain pressure gradients (positive or negative) and airflow, along with Noctua fans, to create as silent a 4U chassis as possible?

If you're good with a 920-SQ then thats an option, else a passively cooled ATX (in Tower or modded 4u case) is an alternative.

I have many 920-SQ PSU's. And several other -SQ PSU's, so I'm free to experiement.

Fan noise will directly depend on drives, therefore i'd ditch the SAS SSDs (i.e. move to secondary tier), you could then get away with 80cm noctuas in the 216.

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at here. Could you please explain in a little more detail? Thank you!!!

 

[Rand__]

Well 846 with a custom fan wall might be less noisy, its an option, It also can take a regular ATX PSU with some more modding /if the 920sq is still too noisy.
O/c it does not matter if the TV is on all the time anyway, but only you know the desired level of silence

SAS SSDs get hot -> lots of cooling -> lots of air flow -> lots of noise.
SATA SSDs are cooler, so thirdparty fans with less airflow/less noise are an option.

 

[ullbeking]

I've read threads about modding the SC846 before, and I have to admit that it has intrigued me in the past, especially if it's possible to get the correct model to then function as a silent server.

Are you actually suggesting the following?

• The SuperChassis 846BE16-R920B has 24x 3.5" bays so to maintain the correct pressure inside the chassis:
  • 12x of those bays need to be blocked off with drive trays; and
  • 12x 2.5" SATA SSD's will be installed using 3.5-to-2.5 converters in the other bays.
• System fans replaced with silent ones.
• Finally, if the 920-SQ PSU's are still too loud then there are mods that can replace the PDU plus 920-SQ redundant PSU pair with an ATX PSU?

I'm going to search for threads and pages on how to quieten an SC846 and which models are best for this.

 

[Rand__]

Well that is *one* option.
You cann also soundproof the rack, custom build based on a tower chassis, AC the appartment...

Totally depends on the outer criteria

 

[cesmith9999]

I liked the sound proofed IKEA cabinets myself...

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/14u-ikea-closed-server-rack.6171/

Chris

 

[ullbeking]

I liked the sound proofed IKEA cabinets myself...

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/14u-ikea-closed-server-rack.6171/

Hey @cesmith9999, you rock!! Thank you for the link to this! I think it's going to add a whole range of possibilities, especially hiding the devices and servers that my wife would prefer was placed in the room in a more discreet way

 

[ullbeking]

Well that is *one* option.

I'm going to look into this option, because I have long been fascinated by the "Cult of the SC846", and I've seem many threads on these forums about modding the SC846.

You cann also soundproof the rack, custom build based on a tower chassis, AC the appartment...

Totally depends on the outer criteria

Are you referring to something like what @cesmith9999 has suggested?

 

[Rand__]

Thats an affordable option at least

Also consider the option of selling everything off and getting a pair of large ssds instead (or more of the 1.6t) if its possible data/cost wise.

The q is what the most relevant criteria is ... cost, noise, looks...

 

[ullbeking]

Thats an affordable option at least

Also consider the option of selling everything off and getting a pair of large ssds instead (or more of the 1.6t) if its possible data/cost wise.

The q is what the most relevant criteria is ... cost, noise, looks...

Indeed!! I was actually thinking the sensible option is to get a compact Fractal Design chassis, 4-6 large SSD's for the NAS (plus other SSD's for the OS and caching, etc), and simplifying this way.

In fact, if vibration noise from HDD's can be dampened in a FD chassis, then a fast SSD tier would be a really great option, IMO. I'll keep looking. TBH, an SC846 at home isn't going to be popular with my wife, considering I've already got an SC747TQ-R1400B for my workstation ;-)

 

[hmw]

The Norco chassis isn't available anymore but you can find examples on eBay - the RPC 4308 and RPC 2304 will take 8 and 4 drives and are super short depth (15.5'). I'm using a RPC4308 with 8 x 7.68 TB SATA SSDs, a LSI 2308 and with quiet fans. Although - I might just move my NAS to a kobol.io with a custom chassis for 2.5" SSDs, so 5 x 7.68TB SSDs. Given that each SSD does 500 mb/sec and is enough for a 2.5/5GbE link - I can get away with something like DrivePool or MergeFS (over ZFS or UnRAID)

 

[ullbeking]

The Norco chassis isn't available anymore but you can find examples on eBay - the RPC 4308 and RPC 2304 will take 8 and 4 drives and are super short depth (15.5'). I'm using a RPC4308 with 8 x 7.68 TB SATA SSDs, a LSI 2308 and with quiet fans.

Thank you for your suggestions. I'm going to look in detail at these options.

Although - I might just move my NAS to a kobol.io with a custom chassis for 2.5" SSDs, so 5 x 7.68TB SSDs. Given that each SSD does 500 mb/sec and is enough for a 2.5/5GbE link - I can get away with something like DrivePool or MergeFS (over ZFS or UnRAID)

I support kobol.io and I hope this project succeeds. However before I trust my data to it I'm not going to be an early adopter; I've been an early adopter too many time durings during the last several years and it can be exciting but frustrating.

I think in this situation I would prefer to find (for example) a Fractal Design Define case with 5x 2.5" drive bays (minimum) if it exists.