BUILD 1RU Build Advice - Restart Thread, Have Existing 1RU Chassis now

[adamgoldberg]

how noisy those machines have to be to keep cool in your environment

Certainly something to keep in mind, and I didn't explain my environment. I have a 42RU rack in my cool, dry basement, which has a collection of other devices with fans. Unless it's jet-engine loud, it's fine. The addition of 2 x 813MTQ chassis to my existing pile of gear made a minor or not-noticable difference in the noise.

OTOH, if I was trying to install these things in a room I actually occupy, it'd be a no-go.

Apart from that, I think you have a good bargain.

Thanks.

 

[jgreco]

The 2010-2011 era E3-1230's a great CPU, and is nearly as fast as the latest generation. We've still got some in production and the only compelling reason to consider replacing them is that they max out at 32GB. They sip power and just chug away. If I had noticed some 1U's like those for $200 I might well have bought them. Your plan with the Reds seems reasonable. Take the money you've saved and get somewhat larger drives if you can. Don't forget that once you've bought drives, that money is spent, and (for example) thinking you'll upgrade 4TB disks in a year or two to 6TB means that you spend the full amount for both sets. It *may* make more sense to buy larger drives now at a somewhat premium price in order to avoid buying multiple sets of drives. Of course, this requires insight into your likely usage patterns into the future. If you think you'll need those larger drives 3 years down the road, then you should wait, because drive prices tend to fall.

 

[adamgoldberg]

My best guess is that the capacity with 4s will probably be sufficient for 3y or more, and with 6s will definitely be. Of course, there's also 5TB WD Red ($200, $40/TB) which is cheaper than the 4TB and 6TB models and I believe the capacity with 5TBs (7.16TiB) is safe for 3 years.

Anyone feel that the 5TB or 6TB WD Red drives pay a reliability/longevity penalty vs. the 4TB?

 

[anodos]

IMHO buying a 1U chassis for a NAS is a huge waste of money.

Unless it's like this: http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SSG-5018A-AR12L.cfm?parts=SHOW

Though I'm personally hoping that someone takes the motherboard from that 1U chassis and makes it into a 16-bay 'mini-server'.

 

[jgreco]

Unless it's like this: http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SSG-5018A-AR12L.cfm?parts=SHOW

Though I'm personally hoping that someone takes the motherboard from that 1U chassis and makes it into a 16-bay 'mini-server'.

That's Supermicro's variant on the ASRock 1U 12 drive storage server, where ASRock used a mini-ITX (extended?) but Supermicro used a proprietary form factor. Supermicro got it right by using an HBA but killed it by using a prop form factor; ASRock came closer because they used a standard form but used problematic Marvell controllers for some of the ports.

The ASRock solution can be outfitted with a 9211-8i which mitigates that problem, and of course is usable as a 6-SATA board even without the HBA.

As far as I can tell, ASRock wins that one. :)

 

[adamgoldberg]

You gotta think that cooling is a problem in a 12 drive 1U device. Cool air comes in from the front, and by the time it gets to the back row or two of drives, it's quite a bit warmer....

 

[jgreco]

You gotta think that cooling is a problem in a 12 drive 1U device. Cool air comes in from the front, and by the time it gets to the back row or two of drives, it's quite a bit warmer....

Correct. Only an option for 5400/5900 RPM drives. I'm actually planning to deploy one of the ASRocks out to the data center soon and I may keep an eye on the temps to provide some more solid info.