New SAN/NAS build, components check

L

levak

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
386
Hello!

I'm rebuilding my NAS/SAN, which is based on OmniOS and napp-it. I will use it to store my personal data, CrashPlan data from my friends and ESX VMs(at least some of them).

Components:
  • SuperMicro X10SL7-F - due to having 14 sata ports and IPMI. With additional HBA, I get to 22 which is enough for quite some time:)
  • Kingston 16GB ECC - as ECC is a must for ZFS
  • Intel Core i3-4330 - since this server will only server data, I see no point in puting in a Xeon workhorse. Do you think the i3 is enough to saturate 2gbps link(bonded)? How about Pentium Gxxxx series?
  • Sea Sonic M12II-750 - I saw people using this PSUs. Are they good? Is 750W enough for 22 hard drives?
  • X-CASE RM 424 case - It's kiddna like a NORCO 4224, but it's suppose to be a little better built. Also, price is in my budget, unlike Supermicro.
  • 2x SATA to SFF reverse breakout cable
  • Kingston SSDNow S200 30Gb for hosting OmniOS installation.

What do you think?
 
That looks like a good setup to me. My next build is going to be something just like that, as my current setup doesn't support ECC or IPMI. Definitely must-have items.

Only concern is that you may need a Xeon to support the proper virtualization extensions. VTx-d I think? You're planning to run ESXi as a hypervisor, with OmniOS/napp-it as your storage VM with an HBA passthrough?

Personally I'd look into a Supermicro case. Is the cost savings in another enclosure worth it? Asking the question because I'm not honestly sure. I've just found that saving money on an enclosure is often not worth it because I end up really wanting the better features.

I imagine the PSU you listed is fine. Hard drives aren't generally stressful on a PSU, just have to make sure the 12V line is strong enough to handle the spin-up load. Unless you have staggered boot to help out on that front.
 
Hey there!

Yea, my current setup doesnt support ECC as well and the more I read aboud ZFS and ECC, the more afraid I am:) Didn't had the need for IPMI at home yet, but it has proven valuable on many other ocations:)

I'm aware i3 doesnt have VT-d support for passthrough, but I won't be hosting ESX on this box. This will be a straight SAN/NAS box with baremetal OmniOS, no virtualization. For that I will have another box or two, to try and test clustering, vmotion,...

I would love to have a Supermicro case, but there is a huge price difference. While Xcase costs around 400€, Supermicro starts at around 1000€. Would love to live in USA and find something cheap on craigslist:p What better features does supermicro offer?

Matej
 
Then it looks like you'll be good on the CPU side. You could always upgrade down the road if you needed to, shouldn't affect anything else on the box I'd think.

I honestly don't know what extra/better features the Supermicro case has. I don't have experience with either case, so would be interested to hear what you end up going with. Saving all that cash if you can would certainly be a smart choice.
 
very similar build coming up here, atho Xeon and ESXi-powered. looks quite fine to me :)
 
Don't underestimate IPMI for the home. It allows you to not have to have a monitor or keyboard ever attached to your servers. I have a small 26U rack in my basement with a couple of servers down there, the only time I have to go down there is if I need to do hardware work. Not having to make room keyboard and mouse or pay for a KVM etc is very nice. Also much less cable work in the rack. Only downside is that the few times I do go down there to do hardware work I have to bring my tablet or laptop with me to watch the boot sequence if I need to do bios work. Very minor issue though.
Oh IPMI also makes dealing with CDROM installs easier in that it will present and ISO to the server as a cdrom boot disc. So you eliminate needing a CDROM and you do not have to fuss with making USB installs.
 
Yea, I know what you mean. Currently I have to take my LCD, keyboard and mouse to the rack everytime I crash a system. It's not that often since I virtualize everything, but still.

Having IPMI will allow me to enjoy my hollidays more, since I had a few cases where I was far far away, my server crashed and there was noone to fix it:)

As far as CPU goes, I think i3 should be more than enough. I would go for Pentium, but i3 does offer AES-IN in case I ever decide to go encryption on my drives. I'm just courious how would a low power(35W) i3 turn out.

Matej
 
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