Help in my first build

[Phoare]

Hi,

I am new in this topic of building a server, I have always been building Pcs but I have never try to approach building a server. Why I came across with this I idea, well currently, i am studying agronomic engineer, and we have a farm in Argentina, in which we are going to install at the end of the year a new livestock software management, that consist of collar-mounted activity meter that collects and transmits activity data from each cow, every hour, to a Pc in the farm. The data that we can acquire with this system is really important for us, and as you can imagine we can receive tons of this data (approx. 10-15tb per year) and here I find the first problem, where I can safely store all this data. Part of the data that we receive from the interface is analyzed in real time, the other part is kept on the hard drive of the main pc in that the runs the software.
The other problem that I have is that eventually at the end of the week and every month is that I have to analyze all the data with a vet, not only I have to work with the real-time data of that day, I also need the old data from the previous time, so here I have another point of why I came across with the idea of a server.
Finally, sometimes we are not in the farm, so I will need some kind of remote Access to the data, not only my self, the vet and other people of the team will need remote access to the data, that is the last point of why I think that I need a server.
I have seen other farms in Argentina with this system and they storage all the information in external hard drives or even in CDs, so you can imagine how difficult was finding the data of a particular event, and in all case, it was impossible the idea of Remote Access.

Well, i think that it was long introduction, now the worst part for me, I have been searching where I can buy a server in Argentina, and I found that they are really expensive here in comparison to rest of the world, the problem is that buying a pre build server is really expensive, I don't know why, but on the other hand buying new parts from officials stores is more cheaper.
I was wondering if annoyance can give me an idea of what kind of hardware would be suitable for this kind of situation, the two main point is safe storage and Remote Access, the Budget wouldn't be a problem and I think that I have enough time to learn about this topic, since we are thinking to install this software at the end of the year. We have also two office in the farm where we work and in each of them we are going to install a pc, so in this two pc we also need to visualize the information, but that I think that it can be pretty easy to work out. And I also it would be nice if we can attach to the server the cctv footage of the farm.

Well, i have been Reading this forum the past week and I found it really useful and again sorry for my English, currently, i am learning it.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Chris Moore]

The data that we can acquire with this system is really important for us, and as you can imagine we can receive tons of this data (approx. 10-15tb per year) and here I find the first problem, where I can safely store all this data.

How many years of data would you want to keep available in the server? Would you want to save the data in an archive even after it is removed from the server for being old data?

Finally, sometimes we are not in the farm, so I will need some kind of remote Access to the data, not only my self, the vet and other people of the team will need remote access to the data, that is the last point of why I think that I need a server.

Is there high speed internet connectivity at the farm? A good way to remotely access the data would be to setup a VPN (Virtual Private Network) between the farm and where you are to allow you to access the data, and computers, at the farm as if you were at the farm.

I was wondering if annoyance can give me an idea of what kind of hardware would be suitable for this kind of situation, the two main point is safe storage and Remote Access

The hardware of the server depends on how much data you intend to store, so we need you to answer that question to move into more detail there.
There are many network routers that have the ability to provide a VPN. It depends on whether you would be satisfied with a 'home' router or if you want to go with a higher quality 'commercial' solution. There are also some purely software options in this option, but we need to know what level of internet access the farm will have? Also, is there an existing network to connect the server and the other two computers or will a network need to be installed? Are these offices in the same building or is the connection between separate buildings?

also it would be nice if we can attach to the server the cctv footage of the farm.

That will increase the amount of server you need. It might be possible, but it brings many more questions about how many cameras there are and how the video gets from the camera to the NAS and what software you plan to use to manage the video. Sometimes, it is easier to have a separate system for video than for data as the functionality is quite different.

 

[Phoare]

First thanks for the answer,

How many years of data would you want to keep available in the server? Would you want to save the data in an archive even after it is removed from the server for being old data?

-I would like to storage keep for two years the data, and yes it would be useful if I can save the data in an archive after I removed it from the server.

Is there high speed internet connectivity at the farm? A good way to remotely access the data would be to setup a VPN (Virtual Private Network) between the farm and where you are to allow you to access the data, and computers, at the farm as if you were at the farm.

-Here is one of my biggest concerns, the internet connection is stable, but the speed is low (1-2Mbps). The network that we have on the farm is really basic only a tp-link router, in the offices and in the room where I would like to put the server, currently, we don't have any kind of network, we only have the Isp modem and nothing more, so here there is a point where I have to work, I would like something more related to a commercial solution and all the offices are in the same main building.

That will increase the amount of server you need. It might be possible, but it brings many more questions about how many cameras there are and how the video gets from the camera to the NAS and what software you plan to use to manage the video. Sometimes, it is easier to have a separate system for video than for data as the functionality is quite different.

-And yes I think that would be better to keep the cctv in a different system.

Thanks again !

 

[Evertb1]

and as you can imagine we can receive tons of this data (approx. 10-15tb per year) and here I find the first problem, where I can safely store all this data.

I am earning my living as a system developer. Through the years I have developed a lot of systems handling data. And I know that 10-15 tb per year is not a small amount of data. The thing is that the data was always stored in databases like Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, IBM DB2 etc. Of course those are all SQL databases and thus for the storage of structured data. There are also some databases available that are more targeted at managing documents and less-structured data. The point I like to make is that for your use-case FreeNAS might not be what you need/want. In my opinion you need a system that is capable of managing your data and not just storage.

 

[Chris Moore]

I think the folks at Oracle are using their version of ZFS to do something with a database. It just might be possible to get some kind of database to live inside a jail and use the storage pool for the file.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk