File/Media Server Upgrade thoughts

daphatgrant

Fi-yah!
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Jun 15, 2003
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Hey [H], I'm starting to worry about my old file/media server. It's nothing super special but it's got a lot of older drives in a case that isn't amazing for airflow, hdd's are getting hot! I've lost 2 hdds this year already, mostly do to age and 24/7 uptime.

Here's what I currently have:

Norco 4020 rack case w/ (5) 120mm case fans. (not mine personally but same case)
SuperMicro X8SI6-F-0 mobo
Intel i3 2130
8GB 1333mhz ECC
PCP&C 750watt psu
(1) 250GB Samsung 960 Evo (OS)
(8) 1TB WD Black HDD's
(2) 2TB WD Black HDD's
(1) 3TB WD Black HDD
(1) 4TB WD Gold HDD
Win10 Pro
---------------------------------
19TB total

I'm running Windows 10 with storage spaces doing file duplication so nothing too fancy. My most important stuff is stored in the 3 basic places so nothing on here is life or death. I've essentially got 8TB of usable space and I am starting to bump into the ceiling space wise.

I'm considering keeping the core components but grabbing a new case and 4 new storage drives to replace the current 13. I haven't decided on which drives to go with but I'd like to go with (4) 8TB drives, WD Red or IronWolf maybe.

Here's what I'm considering
Phanteks Enthoo Pro M w/4 3.5" drive brackets
SuperMicro X8SI6-F-0 mobo
Intel i3 2130
8GB 1333mhz ECC
PCP&C 750watt psu
(1) 250GB Samsung 960 Evo (OS)
(4) 8TB somethings...
Win10 Pro (attached to mobo)
----------------------------------------------
32TB total

I'd like to do more drone filming so I do see a use for the additional space plus I'd get a little reprieve on the electric bill.


So, anyone see any issues with this upgrade? Replacement hdd's and case? The only thing I'm curious about is that all the storage drives are 7200rpm and the NAS drives I'm looking at are all 5400rpm, any noticeable speed reductions there? I'm able to locally stream 30GB 1080 videos now without issue. I've asked questions about upgrading this in the past but I think we are about there.

Thanks for any input!
 
Honestly if you want to save on power/space, I might recommend a pre-built NAS like Synology. I'd personally get a DS418 in your situation. You won't notice any difference in speed as it doesn't take much to saturate 1GbE (or 2 of them). Same goes for streaming 1080P content. Even a 20 year old hard drive is fast enough to stream a Blu-ray rip (only 54mbit), so you'll be fine with 5400RPM.
 
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Any benefit to bumping it up to the 918+?
You can add a pair of NVMe SSDs to it for caching. Won't help much with large media files, but could help with random IO on smaller ones depending on your workload. You can also run VMs and Docker containers on it, but nothing too heavy (can only do so much with 16GB RAM). Do you plan on using Plex or the likes? If so, but don't need NMVe caching, you could get a DS418play. It's the model between the DS418 and DS918+.
 
If you are thinking Synology get yourself a DS1019+ and buy and shuck 5 WD Elements 10tb drives (you can generally find them for $160 each) and run BTRFS and double parity. This will yield you 30TB with double parity (or 40TB if you choose single parity). Don't bother with the SSD's for caching, for your use case it will be a waste of time and money.
 
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Do you plan on using Plex or the likes? If so, but don't need NMVe caching, you could get a DS418play. It's the model between the DS418 and DS918+.
I don't run plex now but I've been considering it. You've got me looking at the Synology stuff though. I had considered it beforehand but was sticking with what I have until I looked at the price difference. A $300 difference considering the 918+ vs a new case and drives isn't the end of the world as my current board/chip/ram/psu/fans are all at least 9yrs old. I did look at the 418 play but for another $90 you get quad vs dual core cpu and the possibility of NAS expansion with the DX517 (if I'd ever use it). Bahh!
 
I don't run plex now but I've been considering it. You've got me looking at the Synology stuff though.
If you are looking into synolgy and planning on PLEX in the future, look into 1019+, you can still add a DX517 down the road if you need more space.

 
if hdds are getting hot.. check out fans and cases always needs a bit dustin time to time.. dust piles up really fast and kills everything.. ofcourse depenting of your location but still gotta be carefull with the dustie.. :)
 
if hdds are getting hot.. check out fans and cases always needs a bit dustin time to time.. dust piles up really fast and kills everything.. ofcourse depenting of your location but still gotta be carefull with the dustie.. :)
It's more of a case issue for me really, there are (3) 120mm fans mid chassis that are the "intake" fans and (2) 120mm fans at the back on the top that are exhaust. The more drives you add the more the "intake area" becomes closed off. The HDD's are passively cooled by air being pulled in the front over them vs actively with air being blown on and over them.

IMG_4201.JPG


A Synology NAS is probably the route I should go, I just need to get over the idea of using something that's proprietary.
 
You should be able to access your drives via linux if you ever have a hardware issue with a synology unit.
 
Synology are okay but I have experienced issues over the last few years with them being hacked for bitcoin mining as well as they had a motherboard design which bricked itself and required replacement devices to be purchased. Also don't use their desktop cloud sync (cloud station), it will delete files randomly and after a few months back and forth with Taiwan support we ditched it as they could not figure out what the problem was.

Their stuff is pretty cool but I'm always leery recommending it to people because of these experiences.

I use fractal define cases for my personal file servers, never had any issues with cooling them. The issue with rack servers is they are designed for datacenters so the ambient temperature is much much lower so the drives do not get as hot.
 
I use fractal define cases for my personal file servers, never had any issues with cooling them.
Yeah, lol. I keep going back and forth between keeping my core system and buying a new enclosure and drives and a synology setup.
The issue with rack servers is they are designed for datacenters so the ambient temperature is much much lower so the drives do not get as hot.
Yeah, I agree, it's been a great case for at least 8 years now so I've got no complaints. I beefed it up with the 120mm fans over the 80's it came with but there's not much more I can do at this point cooling wise other than adding industrial noctua fans at 100db, lol.
 
Synology are okay but I have experienced issues over the last few years with them being hacked for bitcoin mining as well as they had a motherboard design which bricked itself and required replacement devices to be purchased. Also don't use their desktop cloud sync (cloud station), it will delete files randomly and after a few months back and forth with Taiwan support we ditched it as they could not figure out what the problem was.
You can't blame them for the defective Intel CPUs. That affected nearly every large hardware vendor out there.
 
It's more of a case issue for me really, there are (3) 120mm fans mid chassis that are the "intake" fans and (2) 120mm fans at the back on the top that are exhaust. The more drives you add the more the "intake area" becomes closed off. The HDD's are passively cooled by air being pulled in the front over them vs actively with air being blown on and over them.

View attachment 195438

A Synology NAS is probably the route I should go, I just need to get over the idea of using something that's proprietary.

I know how those goes.. i have 4x4U racks ;) add better fans if those are some slow fans :p
 
You can't blame them for the defective Intel CPUs. That affected nearly every large hardware vendor out there.
That's true, but how they did not handle it at all was what burned me about it. "oh yeah these are defective but it's not covered under warranty" yeah thanks a lot lol. Our clients that bought them really liked hearing that they had to buy new units. It's different for a personal thing but for a business it is pretty much a deal breaker. Even as a partner their support is trash unfortunately. :(
 
That's true, but how they did not handle it at all was what burned me about it. "oh yeah these are defective but it's not covered under warranty" yeah thanks a lot lol. Our clients that bought them really liked hearing that they had to buy new units. It's different for a personal thing but for a business it is pretty much a deal breaker. Even as a partner their support is trash unfortunately. :(
Can't say I had the same experience. They gave everyone an extra year of warranty for impacted models (announced Q1 2017). I received an advance RMA for free (including shipping both ways) on my DS2415+ back in August. Kinda surprised you had trouble with it. My unit didn't even die, I just did it proactively and they had no issues with that.
 
Can't say I had the same experience. They gave everyone an extra year of warranty for impacted models (announced Q1 2017). I received an advance RMA for free (including shipping both ways) on my DS2415+ back in August. Kinda surprised you had trouble with it. My unit didn't even die, I just did it proactively and they had no issues with that.
Maybe it was model dependent, these were all 18xx models (and IOSAFE NAS) we had issues with. We still use them now but only the rack models since those have never had issues and have regular parts in them lol.

I think most of these NAS vendors are a bit questionable with support to be honest.
 
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Well I ended up just doing an upgrade on the system that I had, new case, psu, fans and drives. I went with (4) 8TB Ironwolfs in a Enthoo Pro M case w/DEMCiflex filter kit, a 550watt Supernova GA and a Hyper 212 cooler. The old PSU had been chugging along for 10 years and 11 months so it was time.

Thanks to everyone for the input in here I truly appreciate so back and forth over the options.

2019-12-04 15.47.40.jpg


2019-12-04 15.56.31b.jpg




Update: drives have been running for 5 days straight @ 30C with ambient temp of 20C so worlds better. I don't know that the temps were before but the drives were very hot so I'm quite pleased with the case upgrade. I'm using Crystal Disk Info for the temp readings.

File Server Temps Amb 20C.JPG
 
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