BUILD Legacy Intel Server Build - Expectations?

[KurtO]

I have a legacy server that needs updating, and a tight budget, and I'd appreciate some feedback on what I can expect from using my existing system. I am competent with computers and servers (heck, I built this one about eight years back), but haven't dived into ZFS yet.

My needs are simple. This is a home server, primarily used for data (family photos and videos, music, gaming PDFs, some movies, documents, etc), but there will probably be some video streaming. Performance is not crucial.

The system is an Intel S3200SH server board, with a Core2Quad Q9650 3GHz processor, 8 GB ECC RAM, powered by a Corsair AX750, currently running WHS2011 on two 500GB drives running RAID1, with data on four 500GB drives running RAID5 on a Hightpoint 2310 controller. The case is an older Antec SX1040, with lots of room and fans.

I've replaced two drives this month, and I'm no longer confident in the longevity of the current drives, but our budget doesn't allow for a full-blown update of mobo, memory, drives, etc.

My current plan is to replace the Highpoint and drives with four 2TB drives, boot from a USB stick, and run it as is. As time and money allow, I'd update the motherboard, memory, and add to the drives.

Thoughts? Criticisms?

Thanks.

 

[jgreco]

Replacing the drives and ditching the Highpoint are the key things you need to do. You would be better off with drives larger than 2TB, if you're buying new.

 

[Mirfster]

If possible to fit in your budget, I would say increase the RAM to 16GB.

 

[KurtO]

jgreco - Looking at the initial cost per gig, with a three drive minimum, I can more easily afford 4 @ 2TB than 3 @ 4TB, but I understand the math. If the budget allows, I'll go with the latter.

Mirfster - Memory is maxed out on the MB. :-(

Thanks.

 

[Mirfster]

Mirfster - Memory is maxed out on the MB. :-(

Ahh, my bad... Guess I should have looked up the specs first. :)

 

[mattbbpl]

You've correctly identified your most pressing needs, so that's a great start. If you're going to end up looking at replacing the motherboard, RAM, and CPU in the future and your needs are modest, you could look into buying one of the used TS140 or T20 servers. They're FreeNAS compatible (although you'll likely need to throw some additional RAM into it once you get it).

 

[cyberjock]

I'm not sure how viable this is.

• Your Q9650 does NOT support ECC, even if you have ECC RAM installed.
• You're at the maximum RAM your board supports, which is the minimum for FreeNAS 9. I'm somewhat expecting FreeNAS 10's requirements may go up, which counts you out.
• Your CPU has a FSB, so it is going to be bottlenecked by that alone.

You may want to consider an OS and file system that is less demanding on a system as old as yours, or consider buying a whole new system. Since you said finances are tight, I take that to mean that buying a whole new system is out of the question.

 

[Mirfster]

Your Q9650 does NOT support ECC, even if you have ECC RAM installed.

Nice catch.

 

[KurtO]

I'm not sure how viable this is.

• Your Q9650 does NOT support ECC, even if you have ECC RAM installed.

Well, crap. I missed that when I built it...

• You're at the maximum RAM your board supports, which is the minimum for FreeNAS 9. I'm somewhat expecting FreeNAS 10's requirements may go up, which counts you out.
• Your CPU has a FSB, so it is going to be bottlenecked by that alone.

You may want to consider an OS and file system that is less demanding on a system as old as yours, or consider buying a whole new system. Since you said finances are tight, I take that to mean that buying a whole new system is out of the question.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Maybe it's time to get re-acquainted with eBay, and sell something to support a better server.

Thanks, cyberjock.

 

[ChriZ]

• Your Q9650 does NOT support ECC, even if you have ECC RAM installed.

Wasn't that depending on the motherboard, rather than CPU support for ECC back then?

 

[Mirfster]

Wasn't that depending on the motherboard, rather than CPU support for ECC back then?

Not as far as I am aware.

 

[cyberjock]

Wasn't that depending on the motherboard, rather than CPU support for ECC back then?

Back then it was still dependent on the motherboard chipset AND CPU AFAIK.

In theory, he could buy a compatible Xeon and use that in the board, but it's a question of what makes sense since the board is already maxed out at 8GB of RAM. Seems like it's better financial sense to look for a different OS/file system or consider buying newer hardware. :)

 

[KurtO]

I'm kicking around for a new mobo, possibly one of those Supermicro boards that y'all are raving about. :D

 

[TheKiwi]

I'm kicking around for a new mobo, possibly one of those Supermicro boards that y'all are raving about. :D

They are very nice!

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Depending on your storage utilization, you might consider moving your existing 500GB drives into a brand new TS140 or T20, while adding 8GB (or more) of RAM. Initial outlay should be competitive, then you could replace the drives over time to grow the storage.

 

[KurtO]

Apparently Dell is cheaper than Amazon or eBay right now. T20 at $179.

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-t20/pd