Need your help with my 48tb Server

A

ave

n00b
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
51
I recently bought a Supermicro 4U SC846TQ-900B case http://www.supermicro.com/products/chassis/4U/846/SC846TQ-R900.cfm, Supermicro X8STE Motherboard http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/X58/X8STE.cfm and 12 of the Seagate Barracuda LP Hard Drives. I paid $400 for the Case and Motherboard as a company was liquidating their stuff. If it was at full price I would not be buying it, but couldn’t resist for that price. My current setup is a HP Windows Home Server computer. I primarily use it for backing up 5 computers and a Video Server as well. Right now I have 4 1.5tb Hard Drives in my WHS. between the Backups, Video Editing files and DVD’s I need more. Most of the space is my DVD collection. I have so many more DVD’s that need to be ripped but out of space.

Here’s what I am looking for to get out of my new server. Space is the most important thing as I just bought 12 2tb Hard Drives at a great price. I have a gigabit switch on my current system and have no problems with streaming HD. Hopefully it won’t be a problem with my current setup. A few hiccups once in a while are acceptable. I don’t want to deal with the hassle of raid as I am just going to deal with my WHS and hope nothing happens. Right now I use 1/3 of my drives as another backup just in case the other drives fail. I also have my important files backed up elsewhere. If I lose a drive that has DVD’s it won’t be the end of the world. Another reason I don’t want to deal with raid is I don’t understand how it works. I program Home Automation Systems and never really got into the Servers. As that said I have some questions that I am hoping you guys can answer. I am on a budget so I want to try to keep the new hardware as cost efficient as possible. I will continually add pictures of the progress of my 48tb server and take any constructive critsim on hardware but no chance on getting away from WHS.

1. This question is the one that really confuses me. It’s about the Sata Controller card and how I hook up all these Hard Drives. 1st I want to go the cheapest route but with descent results. I have a 6 x 4 Backplane http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/BPN-SAS-846TQ.pdf. It came with 4 Sata Cables. Can I hook each one up to the bottom of the Backplane and then to the Motherboard. (Probably not, but wasn’t sure why they give only 4 Sata Cable when I have 24 drives?)

It also came with 1 8-pin to 8-pin Ribbon Cable for SGPIO, What is this for. Does that connect from the Backplane to the Motherboard? It seems like I would need more than that.

I want to use the least amount of wires possible. I don’t want to buy one of those Raid cards for $800 either, plus I won’t be using Raid. Can I just buy a Sata Controller card that has 24 ports or 2 12 ports. I like the 4x SFF-8087 mini-SAS connectors. Can I use these with a Sata Controller Card? I believe my Backplane is Sata and SAS but not sure about the differences.

2. The Motherboard Specs say I can use an I7 or Xeon 5500 processor. Which one is less money? It seems like the Xeon from newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117188 but on the box it says
“For Systems Featuring 2 LGA1366 Sockets” Can I still use only 1 as my Motherboard only has 1 spot? If anybody has other recommendations on a better CPU price, please let me know.

3. Do I have to go with Server Memory? It seems so much more expensive. Will this one work? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139050

I appreciate any help as I know there are a lot of questions I have asked.
 
1. You'll have to connect each sata port on the backplane to a controller card to use that bay. So, you'll need 24 sata ports. If you're just doing WHS, you can use the 6 ports on the motherboard for drives as well, so you'll need 18 other ports, which is unfortunately a very inconvenient number. The largest non-raid SATA/SAS card I know of is this one; several people report using it in WHS with no problems. That's still only 8 ports, though, so you'll need at least two of those and a third card for the last few drives. Alternatively, you could get three of those and not use the onboard ports. You'll need SFF-8087->4x SATA cables to connect it; those run ~$20 each.

2. It appears that you can use that processor; the motherboard mentions supporting 5500-series Xeons. The manual isn't any more specific about it, that I saw, but that chip is the cheapest i7 you can find. It's only dual-core, but it should be plenty of CPU for a WHS setup. If you're worried about performance, Microcenter still has the i7 920 for $200 if you happen to have one nearby.

3. That one should work. Anything unbuffered will do; the board will support ECC or Non-ECC memory. I would probably use ECC memory simply because it is a server application and not terribly more expensive than non-ECC.
 
Damn man that is a lot of HDD space

you definately should turn on folder duplcation even on your movies until you run out of space, which I think will be a while.


I would definately run RAID 1 for the OS. I would not want to reinstall the OS drive with 48tb in the drive pool.

You are not going to be able to migrate that much data off the server to do a reinstall. That motherboad should support RAID 1 onboard. Many of us would help you walk though it. It will allow you to lose 1 os drive and not have to reinstall which is a PITA and the worst part about WHS IMO

Please post some pics
 
1. I would get 3x Supermicro SASLP-MV8 controllers. Each one provides 8 ports. Using MiniSAS->MiniSAS cables you can connect all 24 drives with just 6 wires. This will be your cheapest option at around $400 with cables.

Also that SGPIO is used for LEDs and such and is not required.

2. Yes you can use any LGA 1366 proc in that board.

3. No you dont have to use buffered ram, but you will be limited to using a max of 24GB. Also it does not matter if its ECC or non-ECC.

Lets see some pics.
 
I decided to go ahead with installation as I currently have 6 Sata Ports on the MB. That should be fine until I buy the cards. Ok here what I have done so far

1. Bought4gb of unbuffered memory.

2. Bought a Intel I7 920 at Microcenter on sale for $200

3. Hooked up 1 drive as my new ones are at work.

4. Started installation

Here is my big PROBLEM. I know I here everybody talk about noise, but I didn't realize it sounds like a Hair Dryer on High mode. The noise seems loud for a Data Center, UNREAL. I took pictures of the PSU as I remember somebody opened it up and put some type of noise reducer in between the wires. (I can't find that thread anymore.) How do I know which wires to cut and who makes that part? My server is going in the basement in 2 rack systems that I have. I'm just concerned that I will hear it from the 1st floor. One day I plan on making a Home Theater in the basement and I got to do something with that noise. I have 3 other computers in the rack system as well as 20 other devices and I can't hear them.

As for Raid on the OS Drive I am all about it but need help on where to start. I take it those settings are on the bios?

Here are the pics.

1.jpg


2.jpg


3.jpg


4.jpg


5.jpg


6.jpg
 
I have HALTED operations on building the server until I can figure out how to reduce that noise. I need somebody's help on how to reduce that noise. It's absolutely ridiculous that it is so loud. I was so excited on building it today until I turned the server on. Please help.
 
Well first.

Put your PSU back together before your ruin it or electrocute yourself.

One thing about SM cases and redundant PSU's is that they are LOUD, and are designed for Datacenters(READ: Not your home)

So the only thing you can do is to try and replace the case fans with something quieter.
The PSU theres not much you can do about it.
 
1) make sure your SATA drives are set to AHCI prior to install.... otherwise your Sata HDDs that are connected to the motherboard will not be hotswap and you will need to restart to add new drives... PITA

AHCI info is on 4-13 in the manual


2) RAID on the onboard SATA chipset
B-1 in the manual walks you through how to setup RAID with a Windows install...


lmk if you need anymore help...

btw you want to use 2 of the same drives for the RAID 1 OS array.

link to the manual
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/X58/X8STE.cfm

Also this board rocks... it has 6 SATA ports, 3 PCIe x8 and 2 PCIx............ this is the board I would love to have in my Norco 4020 running my WHS

where did you pick it up?

newegg @ $269 isnt terrible... but my $60 CPU/motherboard combo in my WHS runs fine.. :D
 
Well I'm going to give it a shot. I took out the fan. It is actually 2 fans in 1 little case. It has 2 sets of 3 wires. It looks like the middle wire on both is the one to connect the resistor too?

If I can't get the fans to output less speed then I am going to but the Norco.

9.jpg
 
The norco 4220 has a SAS backplane and can be used with SATA drives and SAS controllers thus reducing the # of cables which is really nice...

but it is loud also and no PSU included.

that case looks great....

put it in a closet and close the door!!
 
The problem is it is going in an unfinished basement in a rack system. When I finish the basement you will alsways hear the "Vacum" noise.

On the Norco I can control case fans reducing the noise.

I'm Confused and Mad!!
 
ave said:
Well I'm going to give it a shot. I took out the fan. It is actually 2 fans in 1 little case. It has 2 sets of 3 wires. It looks like the middle wire on both is the one to connect the resistor too?
Click to expand...

You don't want to lower the fan speed at all with server PSUs. The fans are pretty small so they do push less air than even a 80mm fan. As such, lowering the speed of a server PSU's fan will potentially harm the PSU itself as it will get significantly hotter. They're noisy for a reason.

However, what you could do is, and this is a bit risky and warranty voiding, is to cut open a hole in the side of the PSU facing the motherboard. Then screw in a 80mm or 92mm fan, whichever fits best, to blow air into that hole. Disconnect the PSU's 40mm fan altogether.
 
Good Idea but I disconnected the fax connectors and put the PSU back in and it won' start becuase it knows the fans are not on. Any workarounds? i like mounting a fan on the side, good idea.
 
Don't screw with the power supply. It is designed that way for a reason. It is loud and if you don't like it, you should consider an alternative case (Norco).
 
when i was setting up my 2u server for my home, i swaped out the 4 80mm "case fans" with near silent models. i did the same with the PSU, nearly silent 80mm case fan. mind you i have been modding things for many years now also had the psu unpluged from any power at all for 3 weeks and wore rather thick rubber gloves when doing that mod. i do NOT recommend doing such a thing!
 
You guys are all scaring me. I don't want to get electrocuted. I will put it in the basement tommorow and evaluate the noise. If I think it's loud then I will get the Norco.
 
SS400H1U - has two of those freakish fans.

Depending on your rackmount cabinet, it may deaden the noise.

I 'padded' the inside of mine with bubble wrap (it's cheap), and set the main fan ontop to run, and all that 1U PSU noise just dissappears (x3).

The fan controller won't do much, sorry. It's gonna be noisey, no matter how cool it is. It can get worse. (and it does).
 
Trust me, that Supermicro case is louder than most 1U servers. You can't just make it disappear (I used to own that case, so I know).
 
I have 2 rack systems that are open. Eventually they will be in an enclosed room, but I doubt it will stop the noise. Any other idesas? I really want to keep this.

Do you think I will get alot less noise from the Norco RPC-4220? It seems the Supermicro is built so much better.

I have a headache already from this noise. Thank god my wife is on a business trip or she would of kicked me out of the house along with my case.
 
the norco out of the box is loud, but the internal 80mm bracket can be modded to fit 3x120s which I and many here and at AVSforums have done to make it very reasonable with keeping drive temps sub 40's
 
I personally went from that Supermicro case to a Norco 4020. The Norco 4220 is still a bit on the loud side, so you might want to consider the 4020 instead. I kinda want that case again though, but noise isn't a concern to me (one of my 1U rackmount servers is probably somewhere between 65-70db).
 
4220 is way too loud.

I bought one and returned it, because of the noise.
I bought some 80mm Panaflows for my 4020 and I cant hear it in the next room with door open. Its so Quiet!!
 
nitrobass24: Aren't they similiar cases. The 4020 has 7 80mm fans and the 4220 has 6. So how is the
4220 louder?

So if I do the 3 120mm fans mod and get a Quiet PSU it should be ok? It can't be anywhere near the Supermicro.

I'm going to put it in the basement now and see if I can hear it in my quiet house now that the kids went to bed.
 
The ones in the 4220 are much higher RPM. You won't need to replace the fans in the 4020 honestly. I have not and it is in my bedroom.
 
i have a 4020 and it was too high pitch for me.... i replaced the fan braket 80mm's with yateloon 120mm medium speed $5 fans from jab-tech and run the rear 80mm @ 7v

and it is fine now... my switch is louder...

i didnt think the 4020 was too loud but the high pitch whine of the 80mms was giving me a headache
 
When I close the basement door I can't hear it, but then when I open the door it sounds like an airport. I think i'm going to buy the Norco and change all the fans. What Power supply do you guys reccomend?
 
for 22 drives and a low power CPU/motherboard 500W - 600W will do... you dont need 1000W or anything crazy.

24/7 power use adds up quickly for your Electricty bill... my setup with a 550W Antec PSU and 11 drives is around 230W with a intel celeron 430
 
I would get something with a single rail or a couple large ones to ensure that you don't overload a rail at startup.
 
Single Rail FTW
Less to worry about.

PCPC 750 Silencer can be had for around $80 used, and would be plenty.
 
So I recorded the difference in sounds between normal sound in basement and adding the Supermicro. Keep in mind under normal sound I have 2 rack systems with 3 Computers and 20 components.

So I will order the case tommorow. Who is the cheapest with shipping, Newegg?

I really like the quality and the backplane. No need to mess with power connectors. Now I have to add 10 to the new case. But it seems like the Norco has the SAS backplane with the breakout cable for less cables.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXtEMTwd2m8
 
Actually, with the Norco cases, you don't need to plug in both power plugs on each backplane. Just a single one will do (so 5 molex connectors total).
 
Adidas4275 said:
unless you are running redundant PSU
Click to expand...
Redundant power supplies don't work that way. You have a single set of cables coming out of a backplane for the power supplies. The Norco cases don't support redundant power supplies anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top