Project: Galaxy 5.0

Ockie said:
The new seagates are installed and the raid volume is being created at this moment. So far it's looking really good.... lets hope this keeps going!
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Sweet beans, glad to hear you are finally going raid, as much of a PITA as it is, it is soooo worth it:)
 
nice, i still have parts from 3 or 4 cant remember which one. i wish i could get some performance out of these scsi drives!
 
I benchmarked the Areca in the new array and it is doing good. My only problem is that I see a lot of expansion ahead as the drives are still trickling in :)


But the array is online now and the computer has no issue seeing it, so thats a great thing. I'm just so glad that my problems are now gone, no errors or anything. *knocks on wood*


So now it's the painful process of dragging all the information from the WD drives to the new array. I just wish I had some easy way to do this.
 
Ockie said:
I benchmarked the Areca in the new array and it is doing good. My only problem is that I see a lot of expansion ahead as the drives are still trickling in :)

But the array is online now and the computer has no issue seeing it, so thats a great thing. I'm just so glad that my problems are now gone, no errors or anything. *knocks on wood*

So now it's the painful process of dragging all the information from the WD drives to the new array. I just wish I had some easy way to do this.
Click to expand...

What makes the dragging of info "painful"? In my case I emptied out about 16 or 18 500GB Sata drives, so I just dropped 2 x 2port SATA controllers into the machine (cheapo SIIG controllers, that happened to support hot-plugging) so I would have 4 drives at a time copying to the array. Once they were done, another 4 drives got hooked up without powering down and I continued copying to the array. If I recall I was even hooking drives up to other computers on the network and then they were also copying data to the array via each of the two IP addresses of the system with the array.

As for expansion, are you aware of the tool to extend the partition in Windows, once the array controller has expanded the logical volume? Must read: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325590 -- basically at command prompt you type "diskpart" <enter>, then "list volume" <enter>, then "select volume <x>" <enter>, then "extend" <enter>, then exit!

Also, expanding the volume on the array freaked me out the first time around - it wasn't clear in the manual, but while the first step of "Expand Array" was obvious enough, how to expand the VOLUME wasn't so obvious. As it turns out you have to go under the Volume functions and do "MODIFY VOLUME", then you manually type in the max size of the volume (it displays it for you). Then you can set it to "background initialization" and it begins initializing the newly added space, but you don't have to wait for that to finish (since it initializes in background), and you can already go and use DISKPART in windows and extend the volume.
 
Let's hurry up with that build, Ockie! I've already filled up my 22Tb array and am on to "phase 2", if you know what I mean. F-ing server mania over here:


(click to enlarge)
 
Damn, and I thought I was bad with my 16 drive server. :eek:
Bit disappointed that Ockie didn't ditch the Areca card...I wanted a good deal on a larger one. :p
 
Blue Fox said:
Damn, and I thought I was bad with my 16 drive server. :eek:
Bit disappointed that Ockie didn't ditch the Areca card...I wanted a good deal on a larger one. :p
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16 drives - PHOOEY! :) j/k Sorry to ruin your plan, but I couldn't let Ockie twist in the wind and not assure him nothing was wrong with his card. These 24-port cards ARE damn expensive though, aren't they - they cost more than a 50" plasma TV for f-sake.
 
And i only have a 2 drive server equaling 200gb (120gb, 80gb) and that is completely full so now i have to save everything on my 80gb downloader that is almost full.
 
odditory said:
16 drives - PHOOEY! :) j/k Sorry to ruin your plan, but I couldn't let Ockie twist in the wind and not assure him nothing was wrong with his card. These 24-port cards ARE damn expensive though, aren't they - they cost more than a 50" plasma TV for f-sake.
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Yeah...I thought I got a steal on my 12 port one for $300 8 months ago. Hoping to trade it plus some cash for a larger one eventually as I'm running out of space. Would love to get my paws on a 1280ML for $800 or so, but for now, I'm poor, so I can't buy one outright.

On another note, how many drives did it take for you to be limited by the controller? My average read speeds didn't go up too much from 6 to 12 drives with my 1130ML. IOP331 seems to be holding me back...
 
I can only go as fast as this controller takes to expand the arrays. So far 35% and it's been 8 hours, dangit! I do think I need to make a trip to Microcenter today, I really can't do anymore of this network transfers, it's just too painstaking.. must get a spare sata controller (can't find my spares, lol)
 
Ockie said:
I can only go as fast as this controller takes to expand the arrays. So far 35% and it's been 8 hours, dangit! I do think I need to make a trip to Microcenter today, I really can't do anymore of this network transfers, it's just too painstaking.. must get a spare sata controller (can't find my spares, lol)
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Gee, I wonder why you can't find any of your controllers. Didn't you sell them all? :p

*hide the controller he bought from Ockie* ;)
 
Ockie said:
I can only go as fast as this controller takes to expand the arrays. So far 35% and it's been 8 hours, dangit! I do think I need to make a trip to Microcenter today, I really can't do anymore of this network transfers, it's just too painstaking.. must get a spare sata controller (can't find my spares, lol)
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Ockie, are you trying to transfer data FROM the WD GP 1Tb drives? If so you can just insert them into non-array bays on the server (or aren't they already there?) and then configure them as pass-through drives. As I said this is non-destructive. Had I known what the pass-through drive function meant BEFORE all my transfers from individual drives, I wouldn't have had to bother throwing 2-port sata controllers into the system.

Unless its an issue of laziness, just throw whatever other drives you need to transfer FROM into non-array slots, mount it into the drive tray with just a couple screws for ease, and again, do 'create pass through' for that drive and transfer away. Even when the array is expanding, it should have sufficient I/O to handle 4 to 8 drives transferring data to it simultaneously.

Good luck!
 
No rack cabinet yet... right now thats last thing on my list :) So many things to do.


Raid array still expanding, 21 hours so far, I estimate about 5 more hours left to go.
 
Figure I'd let you know, USPS tracking shows the drives are already in Southfield and should be delivered tomorrow... Not bad :)
 
odditory said:
A time-consuming expansion is still better than reformatting!
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This is true.


So even with my expansions, I am out of space, damn the overhead is killing me!! Need to order more drives asap.


Odditory, do you have that backup battery module still? I'm looking for one for the 1280ml and the 4305.
 
Ockie said:
This is true.

So even with my expansions, I am out of space, damn the overhead is killing me!! Need to order more drives asap.

Odditory, do you have that backup battery module still? I'm looking for one for the 1280ml and the 4305.
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What do you mean by overhead? You mean losing 2 drives to Raid6? You could've always just gone Raid5 until you got more drives and then switched to Raid6 during a future expansion - thats what I did.

By the way, did you set the fan mode in the bios to "Workstation 3-pin"? This will quiet all the case fans down considerably (except for the PSU fans - my next challenge to quiet down) - in my test it didn't really change the drive temps (I did a screenshot of the drivetemps in the Areca GUI before slowing fans down, then switched modes and let an hour pass and compared the temps and there was +/- 1C diff

As for the batteries, check your PM.
 
odditory said:
What do you mean by overhead? You mean losing 2 drives to Raid6? You could've always just gone Raid5 until you got more drives and then switched to Raid6 during a future expansion - thats what I did.

By the way, did you set the fan mode in the bios to "Workstation 3-pin"? This will quiet all the case fans down considerably (except for the PSU fans - my next challenge to quiet down) - in my test it didn't really change the drive temps (I did a screenshot of the drivetemps in the Areca GUI before slowing fans down, then switched modes and let an hour pass and compared the temps and there was +/- 1C diff

As for the batteries, check your PM.
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I've been running 3 pin since day one :) The noise is still there but it doesn't bother me.... after sitting next to the thing for a few weeks and working in a massive data center every day, it doesn't bother me. :D

Yeah I was talking about R6 overhead, I'm just picky :) Just need to order more drives ;)




Also, I will be posting new pictures soon when all is said and done. My next project is going to be a backup solution for galaxy... this will be a disk to disk solution. I have found ways to get the highest gig per dollar solution so some of you may be interested to check that out when I start it. My goal is to make the cheapest possible system with the most space (two of them) that will actively back galaxy up and keep a mirror copy of it.
 
Ockie said:
Also, I will be posting new pictures soon when all is said and done. My next project is going to be a backup solution for galaxy... this will be a disk to disk solution. I have found ways to get the highest gig per dollar solution so some of you may be interested to check that out when I start it. My goal is to make the cheapest possible system with the most space (two of them) that will actively back galaxy up and keep a mirror copy of it.
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Sweet deal, will be insanely interested in your research!!

How much of your data have you gotten on to the array as of this morning??
 
Ockie said:
Also, I will be posting new pictures soon when all is said and done. My next project is going to be a backup solution for galaxy... this will be a disk to disk solution. I have found ways to get the highest gig per dollar solution so some of you may be interested to check that out when I start it. My goal is to make the cheapest possible system with the most space (two of them) that will actively back galaxy up and keep a mirror copy of it.
Click to expand...

sounds good
will it also be a rackmount unit?
 
Ockie said:
Also, I will be posting new pictures soon when all is said and done. My next project is going to be a backup solution for galaxy... this will be a disk to disk solution. I have found ways to get the highest gig per dollar solution so some of you may be interested to check that out when I start it. My goal is to make the cheapest possible system with the most space (two of them) that will actively back galaxy up and keep a mirror copy of it.
Click to expand...

This I'm interested in. Using RAID? Rackmount case? Desktop board or server? AMD or Intel? Time will tell...
 
gjvrieze said:
Sweet deal, will be insanely interested in your research!!

How much of your data have you gotten on to the array as of this morning??
Click to expand...

9 and out of space, actually made it further than I thought I would :) Waiting for the rest of the drives to arrive. The thing I am enjoying about this setup is the % of drive utilized and the ability to not break folders up in multiples.

AMD_RULES said:
sounds good
will it also be a rackmount unit?
Click to expand...

Yes, thats the goal. Most likley something like a codegen or a norco rackmount unit.

unhappy_mage said:
This I'm interested in. Using RAID? Rackmount case? Desktop board or server? AMD or Intel? Time will tell...
Click to expand...

No raid, cheap as humanly possible is the basic idea. Desktop board. AMD for price.

ClariorHincHonos said:
Ockie-just go into your DC, claim a rack, load it with servers, and call it good. Call it Galaxy 1000. :D
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Only if you can help me move it. Rack loaded with servers sounds like a broken back :p
 
Ockie said:
The thing I am enjoying about this setup is the % of drive utilized and the ability to not break folders up in multiples.
Click to expand...

That was one of the nice things for me as well. I'm glad you finally decided to make the switch :)
 
stevieg said:
Ockie;

I've been searching like crazy but i can't seem to find the supermicro part number of those 3x5.25->5 3.5" Sata2 enclosures you used on galaxy 4.0? was it
Plan is to run 3 of them in a CM stacker but not totally sure which ones to go with

Steve
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Galaxy 4 actually had these Athena back planes in it, and they are now in my Plutonium 3 project, since I bought Galaxy 4.5 from Ockie,
I know Ockie said these were quiter then the Supermico ones....
here is a link,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817995001
 
gjvrieze said:
Galaxy 4 actually had these Athena back planes in it, and they are now in my Plutonium 3 project, since I bought Galaxy 4.5 from Ockie,
I know Ockie said these were quiter then the Supermico ones....
here is a link,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817995001
Click to expand...

not listed on NCIX's website :-( how much louder would the supermicro's be? i'm not "toooo" concerned about sound as this thing will be stuffed in a closet anyways

Steve
 
FYI - SuperMicro has posted the MANUAL to the SC846 24-Bay chassis used in this build. Good news since when Ockie and I each put our systems together with the SC846 chassis, we were using 'best guesses' during the build since the chassis didn't come with a manual (probably wasn't ready in time when they shipped their first units out). Where this manual is handy is explaining things like the jumpers on the SAS backplane, etc.

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/chassis/tower/SC846.pdf
 
stevieg said:
Ockie;

I've been searching like crazy but i can't seem to find the supermicro part number of those 3x5.25->5 3.5" Sata2 enclosures you used on galaxy 4.0? was it

CSE-M35T-1 ie. http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/mobilerack/CSE-M35T-1.cfm

or

CSE-M35TQ ie. http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/mobilerack/CSE-M35TQ.cfm

Plan is to run 3 of them in a CM stacker but not totally sure which ones to go with

Steve
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Hmm. I used newegg, mwave, and other various sources for mine. I'm not 100% off the top of my head which one does what and why they have two models.

I ran four of these in my stacker, all I did was relocate the power button to the back.

gjvrieze said:
Galaxy 4 actually had these Athena back planes in it, and they are now in my Plutonium 3 project, since I bought Galaxy 4.5 from Ockie,
I know Ockie said these were quiter then the Supermico ones....
here is a link,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817995001
Click to expand...

I also used these in the other galaxy builds. These are great little units and I was more than happy with the end results. The supermicro ones did seem more solid, but they were deeper, fit tighter (incredibly tight for four in a stacker) and they were loud.

stevieg said:
not listed on NCIX's website :-( how much louder would the supermicro's be? i'm not "toooo" concerned about sound as this thing will be stuffed in a closet anyways

Steve
Click to expand...

The supermicros are much much louder. However, loud is really a subjective thing based on the person defining it. Right now, they are silent in comparison to my latest galaxy build :D So right now they wont bother me.

You can always do a fan mod or swap on either unit to get the sound down.

odditory said:
FYI - SuperMicro has posted the MANUAL to the SC846 24-Bay chassis used in this build. Good news since when Ockie and I each put our systems together with the SC846 chassis, we were using 'best guesses' during the build since the chassis didn't come with a manual (probably wasn't ready in time when they shipped their first units out). Where this manual is handy is explaining things like the jumpers on the SAS backplane, etc.

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/chassis/tower/SC846.pdf
Click to expand...

Common sense FTW.
 
I to am interested in your backup build, mostly as to what you'll use for storage. I'm working on putting together a home server for myself, and have everything but the HDDs. I'm looking for the best bang for the buck, but I'm aiming for about 1tb, not quite the 20 that you have :p
 
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