mini-ITX build, 5/6 disk for home camera, media stuff, VMs and probably more

[sretalla]

Do I need anything else to connect them to the HBA card?

Usually a breakout cable... I think it's an 8087 to 4 sata for that card, so something like this... 2 of them as it's 4 ports per cable. https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matter...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=E7MAVMVB7H2W1E8VDQJC

EDIT: after some pondering time, I really should be thinking about the case (since I own one) and helping you to avoid the issues I see... so maybe this cable is better... and a bit cheaper for some reason... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XBE4DG...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The second cable will help as the disks hang from the roof of the cage with the connectors right above the power supply... not much clearance, so the 90 degrees will make a difference. I think 50cm should be long enough from the connector on the HBA to reach around to the pass-through hole and back to the disks... The card I'm using has the connectors at the end... I think that card has them closer to the back, so it's worth some thought.

 

[IQless]

RAM 32GB unregistered ECC: $105 (Hynix brand. Is it bad?) - I found Samsung ones at $156 otherwise

Just make sure it is listed in Supermicro's QVL :)

 

[BFred]

I see. I suspect I also need to buy cables to connect the 6 hard drives to the mainboard. Anything I need to be aware of, or any cable will fit? Any other recommendation before I start buying parts? :p

 

[BFred]

Just make sure it is listed in Supermicro's QVL

Amazing! There are just 2 brands and Hynix is one of them!

 

[IQless]

Amazing! There are just 2 brands and Hynix is one of them!

Nice :)
Other memory will also work, but it is best to go with something they have put there "stamp of approval" on.

 

[IQless]

I'd need at least 2 (one for boot, one for VMs),

You might get yet another one, to run a mirror for your VM's. Running the OS on a single is fine, just backup your config. If your VM's pool dies, its often a bit more work to get back up. Alternatively, you can replicate your VM pool to your RaidZ pool, this will at least give you a backup of the VM pool.

 

[Newfoundland.Republic]

Unless space and/or SATA ports are an issue (which could be the case since this is about mini ITX boards), I can't really see not going with a couple of cheap SSDs. I picked up for under $25/each (Canadian) a couple of Kingston AS400 120GB drives for boot...

There is info on the forums on using USB3 thumb drives and failure due to heat...

 

[BFred]

since this is about mini ITX boards

Actually listening to early comments Ive switched to Micro-ATX. The mainboard has 6 SATA port and Ill be getting a HBA card with 8 internal SATA ports as well. So connecting drives should be ok I hope.

Now you're right that SSD are getting super cheap. I have no idea how big the boot disk should be (was planning for 240+GB) but then again surely 2x120GB seems like a better choice.

run a mirror for your VM'

Right now I have no specific need to full time VM, it would be more like pilot project for testing before going live somewhere else. Again I'm not sure about the required size on my end as in fact (just thinking out loud) 20/30GB per VM might be more than what I need (and I don't see the need for more than 3 of them at the same time). So the SSD part of this project is still... not clearly defined.

Anyhow, I really appreciate the feedback as it helps me to plan a bit more than what I'd doing ;-)

Thank you.

 

[Inxsible]

I would go for a different case -- 804 is a little tight in my opinion for cable management and putting in bigger heat sinks and fans for the HDDs. Try a Define R4 or something like that or a rack mount -- even if you don't have a rack. Placed on it's side, a rack mount, at times, has a lesser footprint than a tower.

 

[BFred]

I would go for a different case -- 804 is a little tight in my opinion

Already went up from mini-ITX to Macro-ATX, I think thats a big step up for the space I have.

Still shopping and wondering if the broadcom HBA card can be replaced by this one: LSI SAS 9210-8i 8-port 6Gb/s PCIe RAID SATA Controller card? Is it too long or I'll be fine with it?
Thank you.

 

[BFred]

A bit of follow up: I am ordering all the parts now, that is, the mainboard I mentioned, a HBA card (LSI SAS 9210-8i 8-port) with SAS cables, the case (Node 804) and super cheap HDDs I found from Serverbuilds.net group purchase 3 days ago (2TB SAS2 drives at $18 each - I ordered 8). Still need to find PSU, extra RAM, some extra cables and the SSD but it should be super easy.

Once everything is here (I live in a country far far away...) I'll start to assemble and will let you know how everything goes.

In terms of budget the HDD price is really helping to keep everything low (much lower than expected). The empty box will cost around $430 at 16GB RAM or $530 with 32GB of RAM. The disk though, will cost only $144 for 8x2TB, which is greatly sufficient for my current and future needs.

Very happy at this point. Thank you all for your help.
Fred