U-NAS 810 | Intel DQ77KB | i7-3770S | Synology DIY | Build 1.0

[toker]

Hello all,

Previously...
Chassis: U-NAS 810
PSU: Seasonic 1U Flex 350W
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500T
Mobo: Jetway NF9A-Q67 Mini-ITX
HDDs : 1 x 120 OCZ Agility 3, 8 x WD Black 750GB
RAID: IBM ServerRAID M5014
OS: Ubuntu 16.04

Issues:
Drives 0 & 1 below the PSU ( getting hot due to PSU never running its fan - The Seasonic PSU fan only kicks in when over 80%-85% load, great for noise but bad for heat - I hardly never hit 80% load)
The 2 drives would hit between 50c-55c (60c max recommended set by OEM - too close for my liking)

Mobo died and there were heat issues with this build so i attempted a rebuild with a different approach.

NAS 2018 Rebuild:
Software:
OS wise, I moved from Ubuntu 16.04 LTS to Synology DSM 6.1.x
Main reason for DSM migration was than it supported 'Seagate Ironwolf Health Managerment' and Docker

Due to limited funds, I had to reuse as much as I could and what I have spare lying about.
New items highlighted in 'Blue' and were buy on eBay used.
Only the Seagate Ironwolf 10TB drives were purchased new.

I understand the Intel DQ77KB is not a server mobo but the features meet my requirements and it was cheap for a mobo with AMT and dual Intel NICs. The only issue being the PCI-E slot is a closed x4, I have to cut open the slot to allow the LSI 9217 PCI-E x8 HBA controller to fit.
- HBA is running at PCI-E x4 3.0, enough bandwidth for spinning HDDs.

Hardware:
Chassis: U-NAS 810
PSU: Dell 240W PA-9E
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770S (wanted a i7-3770T 45W but couldn't source one at reasonable cost)
MB: Intel DQ77KB ITX - Intel Q77 / DUAL LAN / AMT8.0 (iKVM / Remote Management)
RAM: 8GB Samsung DDR3 1066MHz
HBA: Dell LSI 9217-8i (reflash with LSI 9208-8i IT Firmware P20)
SSD: 4 x Intel 530 240GB

• 2 x RAID1 Docker Apps
• 2 x SSD Cache

HDD: 3 x Seagate IronWolf 10TB (upgrade to 8 x @ later date when $$$ funds allow)

Misc. Hardware:
1 x Notuca NH-L9i CPU Cooler
1 x SanDisk Cruiser Ultra Fit 32GB USB Flash Drive (Used for XPEnology Bootloader)
2 x Enermax Twister PWM 120mm Fans (replaced stock GEILD Silent PWM Fans)
2 x Sunno 60mm Maglev Fans (HBA Cooling)
2 x SATA > 2 SATA Power Splitter
2 x SATA > 2 Molex Power Splitter
1 x StarTech 4 SATA Power Splitter
1 x 3 PWM Fan Splitter
3 x U-NAS 2.5 HDD trays
M3 x 36mm Screws (Required to stack 4 x Internal HDD)
M3 x 17mm Screws (Required to stack 2 x Internal HDD)

New Build Pictures:
U-NAS 810 - does indeed have space for 4 x 2.5" HDDs
- you will need to purchase the additional HDD trays

It took a few attempts to find the correct screw size and length (not stated in manual or website!!)

• M3 x 36mm Screws (Required to stack 4 x Internal HDD)
• M3 x 17mm Screws (Required to stack 2 x Internal HDD)

If you need 3 x 2.5" - you have to work the length required. - my guess would be M3 x 25MM /26MM

Internal Cable Management
Front USB Ports - I don't understand why there are 2 x USB3 cables - which itx Mobo has 2 x USB3 headers?
I have only connected the 9 pin USB2 headers to the mobo -

• USB3 cables - unconnected.
• Front Panel Audio - unconnected
• Power LED and HDDs LED - unconnected as the LED are too bright

Internal HDDs
Originally, I had installed the HDDs with SATA/Power connectors facing the mobo this proved difficult to route the cables - so i re-installed them facing the other way toward the PSU area.

Note:
Access to SATA power is very tight between the HDD trays
- if you need a power splitter then get "Y Splitter"
- Not "serial" as the sata power headers are too large for the HDD trays

Cable Management Nightmare:
After days & hours of messy around with varies types of cables - I settles for this!
It's tidy-er than its looks, no cables are blocking airflow to the fans

System Up and Running! & Heat Issue Resolved:

After 10 hours of up time and copying >900GB of data across the network
- HDDs are in the 30c range (much better than before)

Outstanding Issues:
PSU Mount: - I now have a large hole than need to be filled as I am using external PSU.
Seasonic 1U flex 350W - need to fix the fan issue - not active until >80% - unusable in this setup currently
Internal Cable Management: - I will attempt to tidy the cabling in the future when time permits

U-NAS 810 Review
After 2 builds in this case - I came to the following conclusions..
Pros:
Generally solid and good build quality
Mini-ITX Mobo - Full x16 PCI-E Slot (without the need of riser)
8 x 3.5" Hotswap Bays
4 x 2.5" Internal (tho you need to purchase extra hdd trays)

Cons:
PCI-E single slot - no room for cooling (dual slot would have been better or air vents cutouts on the top panel would helped too).
ATX power cables from PSU will never reach Mobo as they are on the opposite ends located in the case.
- no ATX power extension cables were included.
Only 1 x HDD tray provided (I expected at least 2 - considering the price they should have given 4!)
8 x 3.5" Hotswap Caddie (not tray-less)
8 x SATA/SAS ports on enclosure (2 x mini-SAS ports would have been better for cable management)
Still some sharp edges - especially near the sata/sas enclosure cable management area
Manual / Website Support is poor

- UPDATE - Cable Management Nightmare: Part 2
Ordered some more cables of varies sorts and lengths spending around £20.

1 - Reversed position of 2.5" HDDs - connectors toward mobo like originally intended
2 - Added second Sunno 60mm fans / Notuca Low Power Fan Adapter

Better than before but PSU is still not quite there yet. I would like it clear the a PSU area so can be used later if necessary.

Starting Again:
So I removed everything and installed everything again!
Installed 2 x Noctua NF-S12A PWM Ultra Quiet 120mm PWM Cooling Fan from another system replacing Enermax fans.

Removed stock molex power cables on drive enclosure and replaced them with SATA -> 2 x Molex cables then connected them to SATA -> 2 SATA Power cable, all running along the cable management area.

The mini SAS cables are also route this way, then running down to avoid the CPU cooler the cross into the right channel, finally up to the LSI HBA

Am pleased with the final layout - the top area is clean and PSU fits perfectly.

All additional and excess cables are now kept in the right channel of the mobo next to usb/front panel. Its a tight fit, i used lots of cables ties / cables ties mounts and velcro strips to ensure cables running across the mobo remains out of the CPU cooler path.

I tried to remove the USB3 headers but it's part of a front panel audio (all or nothing - its possible to remove it - you will lose the top 2 USB ports / Audio Ports if you do and you will still have the blue USB3 cable as that's attached to Power / Reset Panel below)

Outstanding Issues:
PSU Mount: - Ordered 120mm x 1m thick cut-able fan grille / filters - will attempt to make a mod.
Seasonic 1U flex 350W - need rise RMA with Seasonic

 

[marcoi]

Curious how you installed Synology DSM 6.1.x on a custom build. If you have tips or used a website blog, mind posting it? If not, no worries im googling how-tos as well.

 

[EffrafaxOfWug]

Speaking as an NSC-800 (i.e. substantially smaller) user I'm somewhat surprised at the disc temps - I would have thought the fan on the PSU would have made very little difference to the temperatures in bays 7 and 8...? I use the same Seasonic PSU myself and those drives are never noticeably hotter than the others.

 

[toker]

@marcoi
'XPEnology' - XPEnology community - all the info you need is there

@EffrafaxOfWug
I dont why when the Seasonic PSU is used the 2 HDDs nearest to it always runs hot - when I opened the case to check the PSU was quite hot too. - the fan on the PSU never seems to run at all, thus hot PSU. - but by removing it and using a external power, all the drives runs cool now.

It seems the PSU is at cause here - maybe I got a faulty one but it works (only tested a few days) - i would like to resolve so in the future i will have more option in choice of mobo.

If your running similar setup, can you please post your HDD temps after a day's usage?

 

[EffrafaxOfWug]

For specifics - I'm using the SS300-M1U flexATX 300W Gold. During operations it (and the case above it) is warm to the touch, but never hot.

Ambient temperature right now is about 22°C, slots 1-2 are empty and 3-8 populated with WD reds. CPU HSF running at ~1000rpm, two 120mm fans running at ~1000rpm (i.e. practically inaudible). Idle drive temps as follows:

/dev/sda|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|35|C
/dev/sdb|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|37|C
/dev/sdc|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|38|C
/dev/sdd|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|37|C
/dev/sde|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|37|C
/dev/sdf|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|34|C

Running a quick'n'dirty dd read against the RAID array for ten minutes and they're as follows:

/dev/sda|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|37|C
/dev/sdb|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|38|C
/dev/sdc|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|39|C
/dev/sdd|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|38|C
/dev/sde|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|38|C
/dev/sdf|WDC WD60EZRX-00MVLB1|35|C

Currently the drives in the slots under the PSU are sda and sdb.

 

[toker]

HDDs in the 30c range is very acceptable at idle.

Only difference is i am was running the 350W version of the same PSU - Seasonic SS- 350 M1U Active PFC
Seasonic 350 M1U Active PFC F0

Current system is working too well to take apart for PSU testing and my other itx mobo with ATX power died (no spares) so cant test in any case even if i had a 300W version, I will remember to get the 300W option for my next build.

 

[EffrafaxOfWug]

The 350W is more or less identical to the 300W and, assuming your setup uses as little power as mine, shouldn't ever have too much of a load on it to ever get hot... I went with the lowest power option that I could in order to maximise efficiency (and in retrospect I could have gotten away with using the 250W version). So yeah, it's possible there might be summat wrong with your PSU. What are your ambient temps and is the surface of the PSU actually hot to touch?

As you can see from the temps though, there's no correlation with higher temps and position under the PSU.

 

[toker]

Thanks for running those stats, your temps are what i was expecting, give or take 10% either way.

During the old configuration the PSU was very warm, you could touch it but you wouldn't want to do that for very long. - (this was after weeks of up time). I did not get an actual temperature reading from the PSU, I notice the PSU fan has never started in all the time i had it, maybe faulty fan?

Does your PSU fan ever start-up?

I only got the 350W cos the 300W was out of stock and the price different here was minimal here. I don't encode video or run apps like Plex media server, its simply a NAS and Usenet client so I don't expect huge power usage. - currently running Dell 230W laptop PSU currently so 350W was probably overkill.

I gona have to find a way to test the Seasonic PSU and RMA it before the warranty expires if its faulty - got about 6 months left on the warranty.

 

[EffrafaxOfWug]

As far as I'm aware the fan only runs on a fresh boot - it's very audible at that point, then drops to a low speed and turns off. Temperature wise it's entirely comfortable to touch. Even if the fan on your PSU was broken, it shouldn't need it to keep from getting hot.

 

[toker]

I have never heard the fan ever, not on startup / cold start.

My ambient temperature is 22-23c

System Ide

System Active - After approx 20mins of copying 200GB data between RAID volumes

These temperature readings (before & after) looks normal to me, so the PSU is the likely cause of my heat issue.

 

[toker]

Synology DSM DIY Custom Build Guide
Out of Box Compatiblilty:
CPUs:
Intel CPUs with iGPU (Atom, Pentium, i3, i5, i7, Xeon)
(AMD CPUs GPUs / NVidia GPUs are not supported - you will need recomplile kernel from source with injected linux drivers - this process must be repeated everytime a kernel update is released.
- NOT RECOMMENDED : unless you have vast experience on linux kernel compiling
Network:
All Intel 1Gb Network Adapter
Storage:
All Intel ICH

XPEnology Support:
XPEnology Community

Additional Drivers: (Non Intel NIC & Storage Drivers)
Driver extension jun 1.02b/DSM6.1.x for 3615xs / 3617xs / 916+
Download 'extra.lzma' replace file on DSM USB Bootloader.

1. Flashing Dell 9217 IR to LSI 9207 IT
IR is support however you will lose SMART information on HDD.
For full SMART support 'passthrough' mode is required, hence reflash to IT Mode Firmware

LSI Tools:
9217_8i_Package_P20_IR_IT_FW_BIOS_for_MSDOS_Windows (9207-8.bin, mptsas2.rom)
UEFI_BSD_P20 7.27.01.01 (sas2flash.efi)
SAS 9217-8i Host Bus Adapter

lsiutil.efi
https://kb.nc.tc/_media/lsiutil-1.71.zip

shellx64.efi
Sabayon/molecules

1) Create /format Generic USB Drive to FAT32
2) Copy lsiutil.efi, sas2flash.efi, shellx64.efi, 9207-8.bin, mptsas2.rom to USB Drive
3) Take a copy of the HBA Info (SAS Address, Assembly#, Tracer/Serial#)
a.

4) From PC BIOS/UEFI BIOS – Launch ‘EFI Shell’
a.

5) Select USB Drive (normally fs0)
a. Type ‘fs0:’ & Press ‘Return’
b. Type ‘sas2flash.efi –o –e 7’ & Press ‘Return’ (Full Flash Wipe including OEM Info)
c. Type ‘sas2flash.efi -o -f 9207-8.bin -b mpt2sas.rom’ & Press ‘Return’
d. Type ‘sas2flash.efi -o -sasadd YOURSASADDRESS’ & Press ‘Return’
e. Type ‘sas2flash.efi -o -tracer YOURSERIAL#’ & Press ‘Return’
f. Type ‘sas2flash.efi -o -assem YOURPART#’ & Press ‘Return’
g. Type ‘sas2flash.efi -o -reset’ & Press ‘Return’ (Reset LSI HBA)
h. Exit sas2flash.efi

6) From PC BIOS/UEFI BIOS – Launch ‘EFI Shell’
7) Select USB Drive (normally fs0)
a. Type ‘fs0:’ & Press ‘Return’
b. Type ‘lsiutil.efi’ & Press ‘Return’
c. Select ‘HBA’ & Press ‘Return’ (normally ‘1’ – unless you have multiple HBAs)
d. Select Option from menu ‘13. Change SAS IO Unit settings’ & Press ‘Return’

Link:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, or RETURN to not change]
MinRate:  [0=1.5 Gbps, 1=3.0 Gbps, or RETURN to not change]
MaxRate:  [0=1.5 Gbps, 1=3.0 Gbps, or RETURN to not change]
Initiator:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, or RETURN to not change]
Target:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, or RETURN to not change]
Port configuration:  [1=Auto, 2=Narrow, 3=Wide, or RETURN to not change]

e. Only Change ‘Port configuration’ to ‘2=Narrow’
f. Quit lsiutil.efi

This process statically maps a PhyNum to a Port, if you do not do this then it will not be possible later to configure DSM Drive Mappings

- Results will be the HDD bays will not be number in sequential order and be randomly assigned. Your randomly assigned order will change on every reboot.

Before

SATA Maximum Queue Depth:  [0 to 127, default is 32]
 Device Missing Report Delay:  [0 to 2047, default is 0]
 Device Missing I/O Delay:  [0 to 255, default is 0]
 PhyNum  Link      MinRate  MaxRate  Initiator  Target    Port
    0    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    1    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    2    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    3    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    4    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    5    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    6    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
    7    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  Auto
 Select a Phy:  [0-7, 8=AllPhys, RETURN to quit] 0
 Link:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, default is 1]
 MinRate:  [0=1.5 Gbps, 1=6.0 Gbps, default is 0]
 MaxRate:  [0=1.5 Gbps, 1=6.0 Gbps, default is 1]
 Initiator:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, default is 1]
 Target:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, default is 0]
 Port:  [0 to 7 for manual config, 8 for auto config, default is 8]

After

SATA Maximum Queue Depth:  [0 to 127, default is 32]
 Device Missing Report Delay:  [0 to 2047, default is 0]
 Device Missing I/O Delay:  [0 to 255, default is 0]
 PhyNum  Link      MinRate  MaxRate  Initiator  Target    Port
    0    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  0
    1    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  1
    2    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  2
    3    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  3
    4    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  4
    5    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  5
    6    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  6
    7    Enabled     1.5      6.0    Enabled    Disabled  7
 Select a Phy:  [0-7, 8=AllPhys, RETURN to quit] 0
 Link:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, default is 1]
 MinRate:  [0=1.5 Gbps, 1=6.0 Gbps, default is 0]
 MaxRate:  [0=1.5 Gbps, 1=6.0 Gbps, default is 1]
 Initiator:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, default is 1]
 Target:  [0=Disabled, 1=Enabled, default is 0]
 Port:  [0 to 7 for manual config, 8 for auto config, default is 8]

2. XPEnology / Jun Bootloader Tools:
Notepad++
OSFMount
Win32DiskImager

3. XPEnology / Jun Bootloader: 1.02b DSM 6.1.x
MEGA

vid 0xYOUR 4 DIGITS USB DRIVE VID
pid 0xYOUR 4 DIGITS USB DRIVE PID
sn YOUR SYNOLOGY NAS SERIAL NUMBER
mac1 YOUR NAS MAC1 ADDRESS
mac2 YOUR NAS MAC2 ADDRESS (repeat for mac3 and mac4 etc…)

Obtaining USB VID PID IDs

DSM Serial Number Generator:
XPEnology Serial Generator
Models Available:
Chose model closest to your hardware - affects which synboot.img to use in next step.

DS3615sx (4th Gen - i3, i5, i7) – 12bay (Max: 24)
DS3715sx (Xeon, i3 with ECC RAM) – 12bay (Max: 24)
DS916+ (Pentium N) – 4bay (Max: 8)

Preparing DSM USB Bootloader:
Open application ‘OSFMount’
Open ‘synoboot.img’ from ‘ds3615’ folder (DS3615xs – closest match to my hardware)
- Select ‘Partition 0 - 15.0MB’
- Remember to untick ‘Read only drive’
Edit ‘grub.cfg’ with Notepad++
Replace ‘vid, pid, sn, mac1, mac2’ with your system information – save file with completed.

Optional: SataPortMap=1 (Default=1 – All SATA Ports on all controllers)
· SataPortMap Syntax
(First Digit = 1st SATA Controller onboard, Second Digit = 2nd SATA Controller and so on)
· I have 4 Onboard, 8 LSI HBA = 12 = DS3615sx – No change for me, your configuration may differs then change SataPortMap value to reflect your config.
· Example: 6 Onboard, 8 HBA = SataPortMap48 = 12 OR you will lose last 2 ports from the last controller.
If you need > standard 12 ports then install DSM 6.1.x then SSH and modified
o /etc.defaults/synoinfo.conf - ‘maxdrives = 24’
(change value – NOTE: 24 is official max – some users have successfully used DSM DIY with 40+ drives)

Unmount synoboot.img from OSFMount’ – Close OSFMount

Creating DSM USB Bootloader:
Open Win32Imager (have the USB drive connected thats gona be your DSM Bootloader)
Open ‘synoboot.img’ – we just modified
Select ‘USB Drive’ & ‘Write’
Close Win32Imager and Remove USB when completed

DSM Drive Mappings:
Synology only supports bare-metal (onboard), adding PCI-e SAS/SATA HBA messes up drive mappings. They will be out of sync - identifiying drives for maintainence will be a nightmare.

You will need to work out which PCI-e HBA ports are assigned to which physical slot / DSM disk number.

My DSM Mappings:

DSM_Disk #    HDD_Bay #    Physical_Port #    Logical_Port #
Disk 01    Internal Bay1    Intel ICH P0 SATA3    SATA Port0
Disk 02    Internal Bay2    Intel ICH P1 SATA3    SATA Port1
Disk 03    Internal Bay3    Intel ICH P2 SATA2    SATA Port2
Disk 04    Internal Bay4    Intel ICH P3 SATA2    SATA Port3
Disk 05    HotSwap Bay1    LSI P0-3 > BC1-P2    SAS Phy2 Slot1
Disk 06    HotSwap Bay2    LSI P0-3 > BC1-P4    SAS Phy0 Slot3
Disk 07    HotSwap Bay3    LSI P0-3 > BC1-P1    SAS Phy3 Slot0
Disk 08    HotSwap Bay4    LSI P0-3 > BC1-P3    SAS Phy1 Slot2
Disk 09    HotSwap Bay5    LSI P4-7 > BC2-P2    SAS Phy6 Slot5
Disk 10    HotSwap Bay6    LSI P4-7 > BC2-P4    SAS Phy4 Slot7
Disk 11    HotSwap Bay7    LSI P4-7 > BC2-P1    SAS Phy7 Slot4
Disk 12    HotSwap Bay8    LSI P4-7 > BC2-P3    SAS Phy5 Slot6

LSI HBA:

Mini SAS Breakout Cable:

Internal Bays:

HotSwap Bays:

4. Installing DSM 6.1.x
1) Minimum Requirements: ‘DSM USB Bootloader’, ‘1 x HDD’, ‘1 x NIC’ & PC with Web Browser
2) Boot using ‘DSM USB Bootloader’
a. If successful – you will see Linux GRUB boot screen

b. Open Synology Web Assistant from a web browser

c. Click ‘Set up’

d. Click ‘Install the latest DSM

e. Tick ‘I understand that all data on these hard disks will be removed’ and click ‘OK’
f. Installation will begin – process take approx. 15mins

g. System will reboot when installation has completed

h. Open http://diskstation (username ‘admin’ password ‘’ – default pw is blank)

Installation Completed

 

[PoorManTW]

you use an external dell power brick for DQ77KB itself while using another flex PSU for 3.5" drives? how did you achieve that?