Mtnduey home server build ~28TB Raw

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Mtnduey

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - Nov. 2013/Nov. 2014
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Mar 24, 2003
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With hard drive prices returning to semi-sane levels I've started my home server build so I figured I'd do a write up to share whatever challenges I find along the way for anyone else thinking of a similar build.

The purpose for this build is to have hopefully enough data storage to digitize our DVD collection for in-house streaming as well as any digital copies of Blu-ray movies we have, file server for document storage, music server, Running several VM's for work.

I hope to have it running close to 24x7 so I wanted server gear, ECC, etc.. wherever possible and within budget (so no enterprise 4TB drives here). Once I get a good idea on power draw I plan to add a UPS to the mix for extra protection.

I'm a big fan of surviving a multi-drive failure, so I'm probably going to use raid 6 which will take that 28TB Raw down to 20TB which is still quite a bit of storage.

Time for the HW PR0N!
9127423349_41cba24ec2_o.jpg



HW Specs:
Lian Li PC-Q18 mITX Case
OCZ Deneva 2 480gb SSD for OS and VM OS's
Hitachi 4TB 7200rpm HD qty 7
Intel DBS1200KPR mITX Server Board
Intel E3-1245v2 CPU
Silverstone ST45SF-G 450watt SFX Power Supply
Silverstone PP05 short cable kit to try and keep things tidy
Kingston ECC Memory 16gb
Corsair H90 (hoping this will clear, looks like it's gonna be tight but should fit
Noiseblocker Pro PK-3 90cfm fan x2 (front intake + exhaust for H90)
SFF-8087 SATA breakout cable qty 2
*not pictured* Raid Controller + Battery should arrive today or tomorrow
*not pictured* Blu-Ray drive I'll be scavenging from another rig
 
I'm not going to lie...

Putting a cheap watercooling unit like the H90 in a server rig is asking for trouble
 
I wouldn't used an all in one in that either, just use the stock hsf, no reason not to.
 
I looked up the specs on that case out of curiosity and it says it only has 4 drive bays, where are the other three drives going?
 
Yea I see nothing wrong with that cooler. With a small case, you can keep the radiator outside to reduce the heat load inside.

My one issue would be the OCZ drive. I've had multiple issues with the consumer level drives, so even though they slap 'Enterprise' on it, I would still avoid OCZ like the plague. Hopefully you have better luck than I did.
 
Mtnduey said:
I've never had a problem with my other Corsair water cooled setups and the [H] review of the H90 was pretty spot on so I didn't see a problem using it.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...0_hydro_liquid_cpu_cooler_review#.UcnVW_Pn8uU
Click to expand...

Personally speaking, in a workstation I don't see a problem using it but for a server where I want to mitigate any risks, the mere possibility of a failure leading to a leak would make me use a standard hsf instead. I'd also avoid the OCZ drive on general principles, but as Biznatch said, hopefully you have better luck :)
 
ashman said:
I looked up the specs on that case out of curiosity and it says it only has 4 drive bays, where are the other three drives going?
Click to expand...

the bottom of the case has a plate for the other 3x 4TB drives, and the 2.5" SSD can be mounted on the underside of the 4-bay cage
 
also the stock HSF the CPU came with looks aweful wimpy to me, not sure I could justify putting that in
 
ToddW2 said:
I would fix the hand rail first :p
Click to expand...
Priceless, was busting to see if anyone would notice it.
Mtnduey said:
also the stock HSF the CPU came with looks aweful wimpy to me, not sure I could justify putting that in
Click to expand...
The WC is nice but a bit of a waste, kind of like the OCZ SSD as well.
Factory cooler is fine for that CPU.

Personally, would have used a small Intel or Samsung SSD, also adding second and RAID-1 mirror them to hold Host and VM OS's. RAID card could also be dropped in favour of a cheaper HBA.
 
Mtnduey said:
also the stock HSF the CPU came with looks aweful wimpy to me, not sure I could justify putting that in
Click to expand...

I run the stock 3570k heatsink in the Q25 with 6 HGSTs on a LSI 9260-8i in it, works fine.
 
I got a pretty crazy deal on the enterprise SSD and 9261-8i raid controller so I couldn't pass up the opportunity there. I wish I had of bought a second eSSD since TRIM doesn't seem to be a problem with those like it is on consumer models but oh well. I'm debating building the VM OS to boot off a USB stick anyhow since I can clone those easy and just backup the VM clients to my external HD

Didn't realize until today when the 9261-8i came in that it didn't have the full profile bracket included so I gotta wait a few days for it to arrive, but I needed some shorter SATA cables anyway so it isn't the end of the world. Just another delay
 
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