hopvision
Dabbler
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 11
Let me start with some background...
I have been running a Windows based file server at home (2008 R2) serving files and media for a few years without issue until last Friday evening (6/22 will forever be known as "Daddy Yelling the F-Word For 16 Hours Day" according to my wife). I have upgraded the hardware several times "around" the RAID controller (Adaptec/ICP 5165BR) and disks without error. I'd simply build the new system, install windows and pop the card in with the drives all connected as they were. Friday, I attempted to replace the motherboard and while on first boot everything appeared to have worked (both of my arrays were optimal), after two reboots, it told me that all of my drives were new, all of the drives from the two arrays were missing, and nothing I tried could resolve the problem. I couldn't even recover the array via configuring an identical array and doing a quick init because somehow the RAID controller had decided that I needed a feature key to create RAID6 arrays for no apparent reason.
I'll pause here to admit that I did not have a backup. With 22TB of storage (16.5TB after parity), I just didn't really have anywhere to back it up to. Some of the loss put my wife, a photographer, in a bad position. Some of the stuff was irreplaceable. So of I went to buy four 2-drive SATA/USB docks, a few 3TB external drives and a license for UFS Explorer RAID recovery. I'm happy to say that I was able to recover the entire first array via UFS Explorer (and a big fan blowing across my drives in the USB docks) and am working on the second as we speak. All of the personal stuff we can't replace is being backed up to the cloud now. The photos of hers that weren't already in the cloud are now.
This brings me to my big rebuild. After building some simple 1-2 drive Freenas setups for friends who wanted the XBMC + Server media setup I have, I've seen a lot that I like. I've decided that building a Freenas 8 server is the right idea for a few reasons, and really could only identify one con.
PROS:
1. Performance. The windows server was never particularly speedy, but I could serve two 1080p MKV files simultaneously while my wife accessed documents without complaint. I think that Freenas (ZFS) will be much quicker, especially with my new hardware.
2. Lack of Hardware Dependence. Knowing that I can put together another Freenas box (same version or higher) and plug my drives into whatever controller I have and move on without having to cross my fingers and pony up $600 for a spare controller is a big positive.
3. Support. These forums and other resources I've found kick ass compared to the helpless feeling I had last friday with the Adaptec controller.
4. Future Expandability. I'm excited to see some of the additional plugins and things planned for future versions. I'd like to consolidate my SABNZBD+/Sickbeard server and the file server at some point now that I have decent hardware.
CONS:
1. Lack of similar RAID recovery software for ZFS if I hit a problem. Because a lot of the storage will be filled with media that I can't reasonably back up anywhere, It's a real pain to lose it. I don't want to rip all of these discs again, that's for sure.
My primary use for this server will be streaming movies and tv shows to up to three XBMC (openelec) media centers around my house (over gigabit Ethernet) and serving RAW/JPG images to my wife's iMac and her local Lightroom library.
Here's the hardware I have (or have coming in the mail this week) and am planning to use:
AMD FX-4100 Quad Core CPU
16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD5 Motherboard (5 PCIe - x16,x16,x8,x8,x4)
Norco RPC-4220 Case
(2) IBM M1015 SATA3 Controllers flashed to the LSI "IT" Firmware (x8,x8)
(8) 750GB Seagate 7200.11 SATA2 Drives (These were my previous RAID6 Array #1)
(8) 2TB Hitachi 0F12117 SATA3 Drives (These were my previous RAID6 Array #2)
Broadcom 5709 Dual-Port PCIe NIC (most of my other equipment are already setup with link aggregation) (x4)
PCIe Video (I have a bunch of crappy old PCIe cards laying around) (x16)
Antec 750W Power Supply
I was initially planning on running Freenas off of a new USB 3.0 memory stick and USB 3.0 internal header to dual port adapter that I bought. I'm not sure now what I'll use for the OS. I'm planning on running two RAIDZ2 arrays with 8 disks each. I will likely upgrade the 8x750GB to 8x3TB sometime in the fall when I'm financially recovered from this whole debacle. I'd like to setup NFS/SMB/AFP for the Linux, Windows and Mac systems spread around the house. Only the drives, case and power supply are being reused. I already had purchased the CPU, Memory and the PCIe NIC. When I decided to get the IBM controllers, I had to exchange the 970A-G45 motherboard I was planning to use for something with more PCIe.
Does this configuration have any "gotchas"? Would I be better off to throw the 16GB memory in my main workstation and put the 8GB from there in the server? Am I wrong in any of my assumptions? Any comment, critique (backups, I know) or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I have been running a Windows based file server at home (2008 R2) serving files and media for a few years without issue until last Friday evening (6/22 will forever be known as "Daddy Yelling the F-Word For 16 Hours Day" according to my wife). I have upgraded the hardware several times "around" the RAID controller (Adaptec/ICP 5165BR) and disks without error. I'd simply build the new system, install windows and pop the card in with the drives all connected as they were. Friday, I attempted to replace the motherboard and while on first boot everything appeared to have worked (both of my arrays were optimal), after two reboots, it told me that all of my drives were new, all of the drives from the two arrays were missing, and nothing I tried could resolve the problem. I couldn't even recover the array via configuring an identical array and doing a quick init because somehow the RAID controller had decided that I needed a feature key to create RAID6 arrays for no apparent reason.
I'll pause here to admit that I did not have a backup. With 22TB of storage (16.5TB after parity), I just didn't really have anywhere to back it up to. Some of the loss put my wife, a photographer, in a bad position. Some of the stuff was irreplaceable. So of I went to buy four 2-drive SATA/USB docks, a few 3TB external drives and a license for UFS Explorer RAID recovery. I'm happy to say that I was able to recover the entire first array via UFS Explorer (and a big fan blowing across my drives in the USB docks) and am working on the second as we speak. All of the personal stuff we can't replace is being backed up to the cloud now. The photos of hers that weren't already in the cloud are now.
This brings me to my big rebuild. After building some simple 1-2 drive Freenas setups for friends who wanted the XBMC + Server media setup I have, I've seen a lot that I like. I've decided that building a Freenas 8 server is the right idea for a few reasons, and really could only identify one con.
PROS:
1. Performance. The windows server was never particularly speedy, but I could serve two 1080p MKV files simultaneously while my wife accessed documents without complaint. I think that Freenas (ZFS) will be much quicker, especially with my new hardware.
2. Lack of Hardware Dependence. Knowing that I can put together another Freenas box (same version or higher) and plug my drives into whatever controller I have and move on without having to cross my fingers and pony up $600 for a spare controller is a big positive.
3. Support. These forums and other resources I've found kick ass compared to the helpless feeling I had last friday with the Adaptec controller.
4. Future Expandability. I'm excited to see some of the additional plugins and things planned for future versions. I'd like to consolidate my SABNZBD+/Sickbeard server and the file server at some point now that I have decent hardware.
CONS:
1. Lack of similar RAID recovery software for ZFS if I hit a problem. Because a lot of the storage will be filled with media that I can't reasonably back up anywhere, It's a real pain to lose it. I don't want to rip all of these discs again, that's for sure.
My primary use for this server will be streaming movies and tv shows to up to three XBMC (openelec) media centers around my house (over gigabit Ethernet) and serving RAW/JPG images to my wife's iMac and her local Lightroom library.
Here's the hardware I have (or have coming in the mail this week) and am planning to use:
AMD FX-4100 Quad Core CPU
16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD5 Motherboard (5 PCIe - x16,x16,x8,x8,x4)
Norco RPC-4220 Case
(2) IBM M1015 SATA3 Controllers flashed to the LSI "IT" Firmware (x8,x8)
(8) 750GB Seagate 7200.11 SATA2 Drives (These were my previous RAID6 Array #1)
(8) 2TB Hitachi 0F12117 SATA3 Drives (These were my previous RAID6 Array #2)
Broadcom 5709 Dual-Port PCIe NIC (most of my other equipment are already setup with link aggregation) (x4)
PCIe Video (I have a bunch of crappy old PCIe cards laying around) (x16)
Antec 750W Power Supply
I was initially planning on running Freenas off of a new USB 3.0 memory stick and USB 3.0 internal header to dual port adapter that I bought. I'm not sure now what I'll use for the OS. I'm planning on running two RAIDZ2 arrays with 8 disks each. I will likely upgrade the 8x750GB to 8x3TB sometime in the fall when I'm financially recovered from this whole debacle. I'd like to setup NFS/SMB/AFP for the Linux, Windows and Mac systems spread around the house. Only the drives, case and power supply are being reused. I already had purchased the CPU, Memory and the PCIe NIC. When I decided to get the IBM controllers, I had to exchange the 970A-G45 motherboard I was planning to use for something with more PCIe.
Does this configuration have any "gotchas"? Would I be better off to throw the 16GB memory in my main workstation and put the 8GB from there in the server? Am I wrong in any of my assumptions? Any comment, critique (backups, I know) or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.