I've been lurking on the [H] forums and have found many solutions to problems and great recommendations over the years and was hoping to get some advice on my current Media Server project.
Server Role will require:
1. The ability to stream 2-5 BluRay movies at once in separate rooms in the house.
2. A large storage array with room for expansion and ease of use with management tools that don't suck.
3. Virtual Machines ( Domain controller and probably Exchange ) Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V (free)
4. PlayOn service
5. Newsgroup & Torrent Services
6. Burn, Rip, and Video encoding
7. Remote management of Array and Server
Here is a short parts list that I've compiled so far and any insight on these parts or recommendations would be appreciated.
Case: Antech Twelve Hundred Black Steel Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043
Motherboard: SuperMicro MDB-X8SIL-F-O http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182211
CPU: Intel Xeon X3430 Lynnfield http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117226
Memory: Kingston 4GB (2 sets for 8GB total) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139040
Drives: (6) Samsung EcoGreen F3 HD203WI 2TB 5400RPM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152202 (These have been purchased already)
RAID Controller(s):
Adaptec 51245 http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/Controllers/Hardware/sas/performance/SAS-51245/ ( I can get this brand new from a friend for $350)
HighPoint 2314 x4 http://www.newegg.com/Product /Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115036 $184
HighPoint 4320 x8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115056 $429
LSI MegaRaid 9260-8i 6gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118105 $529
LSI MegaRaid 9260-4i 6gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118107 $379
Areca ARC-1680i x8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151023 $649 OUCH
HP SAS Expander $250 (this coupled with a cheap card would be ideal i think)
As you can see the choice to go hardware RAID or software is where I'm having the most problem figuring out. I've seen posts on the really cheap sata controllers and software raid solutions but I haven't been convinced those will provide the throughput i need. I was thinking either RAID 5, 6, or 50 depending on which card or software solution i go with. I've also read good reports of ZFS but with my virtualization needs that's pretty much out the window.
Server Role will require:
1. The ability to stream 2-5 BluRay movies at once in separate rooms in the house.
2. A large storage array with room for expansion and ease of use with management tools that don't suck.
3. Virtual Machines ( Domain controller and probably Exchange ) Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V (free)
4. PlayOn service
5. Newsgroup & Torrent Services
6. Burn, Rip, and Video encoding
7. Remote management of Array and Server
Here is a short parts list that I've compiled so far and any insight on these parts or recommendations would be appreciated.
Case: Antech Twelve Hundred Black Steel Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043
Motherboard: SuperMicro MDB-X8SIL-F-O http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182211
CPU: Intel Xeon X3430 Lynnfield http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117226
Memory: Kingston 4GB (2 sets for 8GB total) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139040
Drives: (6) Samsung EcoGreen F3 HD203WI 2TB 5400RPM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152202 (These have been purchased already)
RAID Controller(s):
Adaptec 51245 http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/Controllers/Hardware/sas/performance/SAS-51245/ ( I can get this brand new from a friend for $350)
HighPoint 2314 x4 http://www.newegg.com/Product /Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115036 $184
HighPoint 4320 x8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115056 $429
LSI MegaRaid 9260-8i 6gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118105 $529
LSI MegaRaid 9260-4i 6gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118107 $379
Areca ARC-1680i x8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151023 $649 OUCH
HP SAS Expander $250 (this coupled with a cheap card would be ideal i think)
As you can see the choice to go hardware RAID or software is where I'm having the most problem figuring out. I've seen posts on the really cheap sata controllers and software raid solutions but I haven't been convinced those will provide the throughput i need. I was thinking either RAID 5, 6, or 50 depending on which card or software solution i go with. I've also read good reports of ZFS but with my virtualization needs that's pretty much out the window.
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