Tips to improve my build?

[Rafael Mundel]

Motherboard X10SLA-F-O: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D65SKGW/?tag=ozlp-20 - $192.99
Case Fractal Design Node R4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352022 - $84.99
Xeon E3-1230v3 (4 cores/8 threads): http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BX80646E31230V3-E3-1230V3-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B00FIWU51O/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1388082082&sr=1-6&keywords=xeon e3-1230v3 - $279.55
Corsair RM550 (modular/6 SATA conectors): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EB7UIO6/?tag=ozlp-20 - $109.99
Crucial 16GB UDIMM ECC RAM: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006YG90RI/?tag=ozlp-20 - $181.99
4x3TB HD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RORMF6/?tag=ozlp-20 - 4x $119.9

[EDIT]Total: ~$1330

PLUS: Some 16GB Kingston pen drives.
RAIDZ2 for the 3TB.




Today I'm using THIS: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...foCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=4041749 (2x320GB HDs RAID1).

Any tips?

 

[JohnK]

1. I would recommend a microATX factor, something like the SLM as you will never use all those PCI slots and you should be able to find it cheaper.
2 I would recommend a smaller/cheaper PSU.
3. You might be able to find DDR3 1600 ram for about the same price.
4. I would recommend WD Red cause I'm biased and you can get the for $110. Saves you from having to Wdidle and also an extra 1 year warranty.

Lastly, you can get away with a Pentium or i3 CPU depending on your needs.

 

[marian78]

Hi, i dont want post new thread on forum (sorry for that dear sir Rafael), because i have same question "Tips to improve my build?":

Here it is:

Data server:
1. HDD: zpool = 2 x VDEV = 14 disks, VDEV = 6 x 2T RAID-Z2 + 1 x 2T spare = 7 disks, used disks are WD20EFRX

2. NIC: 2 x Intel® PRO/1000 CT Desktop Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK, PCI Express + onboard dual intel Gb - LACP

3. MB: Intel® Server Board S1200BTLR (Beartooth Pass TL)

4. CPU: 1 x Quad-Core Intel® Xeon™ E3-1220V2 /3.1GHz/8MB/69W/LGA1155

5. RAM: 32G/ECC unb 1333MHz (4x8G) KVR13E9L/8

6. CASE: Supermicro® CSE-846TQ-R900B 4U chassis

7. USB: SanDisk Cruzer Force 8GB

8. UPS: APC Back-UPS RS 1200VA LCD, 720Watts/ 1200VA, 230V

9. Controller for AHCI: 2 x LSI SAS 9211, PCI-E 6Gb/s, SATA/SAS RAID 0,1,1E,10, JBOD 8 ch (i dont use mainboard sata)

10. Cables: 4x 1m Mini SAS plug with (SFF-8087) <> 4 x SATA


Backup server:
same configuration but:

HDD configuration:
zpool = 1 x VDEV = 7 disks, VDEV = 6 x 4T RAID-Z2 + 1 x 4T spare = 7 disks, used disks are WD40EFRX

NIC:
only onboard dual Gb Intel - failover

RAM:
16G/ECC un 1333MHz (2x8G)

Controller:
1x + i use mainboard sata


Thax for your tips,

Marian.

 

[Richman]

Hi, i dont want post new thread on forum (sorry for that dear sir Rafael), because i have same question "Tips to improve my build?":

Here it is:

Data server:
1. HDD: zpool = 2 x VDEV = 14 disks, VDEV = 6 x 2T RAID-Z2 + 1 x 2T spare = 7 disks, used disks are WD20EFRX

2. NIC: 2 x Intel® PRO/1000 CT Desktop Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK, PCI Express + onboard dual intel Gb - LACP

3. MB: Intel® Server Board S1200BTLR (Beartooth Pass TL)

4. CPU: 1 x Quad-Core Intel® Xeon™ E3-1220V2 /3.1GHz/8MB/69W/LGA1155

5. RAM: 32G/ECC unb 1333MHz (4x8G) KVR13E9L/8

6. CASE: Supermicro® CSE-846TQ-R900B 4U chassis

7. USB: SanDisk Cruzer Force 8GB

8. UPS: APC Back-UPS RS 1200VA LCD, 720Watts/ 1200VA, 230V

9. Controller for AHCI: 2 x LSI SAS 9211, PCI-E 6Gb/s, SATA/SAS RAID 0,1,1E,10, JBOD 8 ch (i dont use mainboard sata)

10. Cables: 4x 1m Mini SAS plug with (SFF-8087) <> 4 x SATA


Backup server:
same configuration but:

HDD configuration:
zpool = 1 x VDEV = 7 disks, VDEV = 6 x 4T RAID-Z2 + 1 x 4T spare = 7 disks, used disks are WD40EFRX

NIC:
only onboard dual Gb Intel - failover

RAM:
16G/ECC un 1333MHz (2x8G)

Controller:
1x + i use mainboard sata


Thax for your tips,

Marian.

Well I heard a rule once to allow 15w per HDD to allow for PSU age and cap capacity diminishing over time even though most HDD take 5-7w to run but .................. 750 watt PSU sound like a lot. I don't know what your board will consume but even with the 23 HDDs that I counted and the 2 NICs and 2 SAS cards still sounds like a lot ..... like a lot of overkill.

 

[marian78]

Thx for reply. There are two separate systems (servers). One with 14HDD and second with 7HDD.

Odoslané z Grand X In pomocou Tapatalku

 

[Sir.Robin]

Airflow over the HDD's in the Fractal cases aren't all that. I wan't a new case myself becuase of that.

 

[JohnK]

Airflow over the HDD's in the Fractal cases aren't all that. I wan't a new case myself becuase of that.

I think the FD Define Mini's are designed for quiet, rather than good airflow. I have two FD Design Arc cases and airflow is great. I added another fan in front for both cases and my drives are running real cool. I will also add that these cases are not much noisier than the old Antec in my office, but with them being in my basement I don't really care.

 

[Richman]

Airflow over the HDD's in the Fractal cases aren't all that. I wan't a new case myself becuase of that.

How much better drive cooling can you get than a fan blowing right over the top and bottom of them?

 

[cyberjock]

How much better drive cooling can you get than a fan blowing right over the top and bottom of them?

Uh.. how about a fan blowing directly ON them! Yes, it does matter!

I'm serious, but also teasing. I haven't seen the inside of one of those cases, so I have no idea how the fans are setup.

 

[Richman]

THats what I meant. There is a fan blowing directly ON the top 3-4 HDD's and another fan can be mounted to blow on the other HDD cage if you want more HDD's. I said top and bottom because the airflow has to FLOW, usually around them meaning ot flows past the top and bottom of the drive as it goes pasts. There is no cas ewhere fan is really blowing ON unless the HDD is mounted vertically with the top pointed toward the fan and the only case I have seen that did that was my old IBM Small Business Machine. I think that setup is rare to see a fan blowing directly toward the top of the HDD.

 

[Sir.Robin]

How much better drive cooling can you get than a fan blowing right over the top and bottom of them?

Right.. so i assume you disagree what i said then? Do you have a FD case yourself and done some testing?

All i'm saying for the guy that wanted some input, is that HDD cooling is not great on these cases.
You can take my word for it, or don't.

My old Chieftech BH-2 for example has a lot better cooling of the drives than my Define Mini's.

Edit: To be fair i'll exchange the original FD fans that came with the cases and see if that helps. Nevertheless the airflow around the drives are more obstructed in these cases than in my mentioned BH-2 and my lian-li case.

 

[Richman]

Right.. so i assume you disagree what i said then? Do you have a FD case yourself and done some testing?

All i'm saying for the guy that wanted some input, is that HDD cooling is not great on these cases.
You can take my word for it, or don't.

My old Chieftech BH-2 for example has a lot better cooling of the drives than my Define Mini's.

Edit: To be fair i'll exchange the original FD fans that came with the cases and see if that helps. Nevertheless the airflow around the drives are more obstructed in these cases than in my mentioned BH-2 and my lian-li case.

I wasn't in disagreement. I posted a question. That implies a response to better explain your statement other than the non-descript, "Its not all that"
That what? Why is that? Do the fans spin at a fixed 600 RPM or less or what. I was asking a question along with an observation (that the fans were blowing directly on the HDD's) expecting an explanation, not an assumption or defense.

 

[Sir.Robin]

Sorry for beeing a bit grumpy. Was tired

FractalDesign has these "trays" you fit the HDD's in. And fans blow from front of the case with airflow hitting the HDD's from the side... so you don't get any airflow UNDER the drive and you get sucky at best on the sides.

"Everyone" is mounting their HDD cages sideways in the towers these days (and i like it for easy swap) but they differ on how you actually mount the drive.

I would think that f.eks. lian-li wich only uses rubber screws and then this "slide HDD in" method has better airflow.

At first i thought my HDD's (Hitachi Ultrastar A7K1000) where hot drives, hovering around 40+ under idle and 50+ under load, but while exchanging them i had them temporarily connected outside the case.
All 6 on their side in a clinge on the wooden bench in the same room as my nas (stable roomtemp) I used 1 fan for all. And temp dropped almost 10 degreees on them compared to when mounted in the Define Mini.
Temps went down to 30+/- at idle and not over 40 under load. Thats a big difference.

Although the old fans spin at about 1300rpm's, I've ordered 2 new Noctua fans. Lets see if theres a difference thoug i doubht it.

The BH-2 case manages the same temps as i got outside the box with its 2 low rpm 92mm fans. These blow from the side of the case hitting the HDD cage in a much better angle.

 

[Starpulkka]

I've ordered 2 new Noctua fans. Lets see if theres a difference thoug i doubht it.

I have used six years or is it seven years of noctua fans wich have that sso1 bearing at that time many other brands have stopped. Not sure about your hardware box but remember that some noctua fans have strong magnet in middle of motor. So dont put fan too close to hdd, you can test magnet field in some metal. I had some older case wich noctua fan was too close on hdds and zfs noticed checksum at every scrub. Removed fan threepointfive centimeters away from harddrive and checksum errors went away at instant. Got 5 antec p280 cases wich have modded hdd racks 4cm away from noctua fans. And what i have noticed when fan pushes air to hdds they keep very nicely cool 27-35c. And antec case have ofcourse pull setup too on racks but it wont suck air so good from front harddrives. I think fractal is a copy of antec case so it might be pretty similar cases. Oh yeh and case is supersilent and easy to dust maintain which i like. So you should have air coming on hdds and then somewhere back or backtop same amount of fans pulling on warm air (wich hdds had heated) out of box.

 

[Sir.Robin]

Never heard that a fan too close to the HDD could be a problem, but if the magnet is powerful enough it does not sound too unlikely.
Thanx for the headsup. Will check it out once i receive them :)

 

[cyberjock]

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm buyin the magnet theory. I'm not saying he's lying, but the metal shell on the hard drives is designed to provide a path for magnetic lines of flux. This is specifically to prevent things like adjacent hard drives or fans from interfering.

 

[Sir.Robin]

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm buyin the magnet theory. I'm not saying he's lying, but the metal shell on the hard drives is designed to provide a path for magnetic lines of flux. This is specifically to prevent things like adjacent hard drives or fans from interfering.

Yeah... and have you ever opened a HDD? The magnets are pretty darn powerful. Should be quite some magnet to interfere with it... and in any case or HDD rack shelf... the HDD's themselves are quite close.... so in my head it sounds very unlikely but i'll check it out nevertheless :)

 

[Starpulkka]

Yeah, indeed inside of hdd have very powerful magnet wich is top of voicecoil (edit: it have magnets up and down from voicecoil) far far from platters and heads. Maby it was ZFS filesystem to blame witch was scared of a side fan, so its not hdd and fan fault at all. :p (i dont believe that aluminium case shell stuff, make your own test seeing is believing..)

 

[cyberjock]

Or do what I did.. use a magnetometer.

 

[Sir.Robin]

Allright... so new fans inplace in my FD Define Mini. Even a tad faster ones. 1500rpm Noctua.
Not worse and not better. Exactly the same temps at idle.

The Seagate ES drives run cooler than my old Hitatchi though...

Yeah and i did a scrub... no errors. So no magnetic interference.