Old system as a storage server

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mryerse

2[H]4U
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Jan 29, 2005
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I have a need for a storage server and am thinking of using Frost in sig for it. The MB does not have pci-x slots, only PCI. Are there decent raid controllers for this need, or should I upgrade the MB for this server? I don't need to do any transcoding as I have plans to build an HTPC with plenty of power. I just need massive storage for HD content on the network. I'd prefer to use Frost so that I don't have to buy a new system because I'm already buying a bunch of other stuff.

Edit: I'm looking at this card. Unfortunately it only supports 4x sataII ports. I'd prefer to have 8 and it seems you need pci-x for that. New mb it is. Now to modify that case.
 
You're not going to find anything decent for RAID on a PCI slot. If you want to keep that mobo -> WHS w/ Supermicro SAT2-MV8 card(s) in the PCI slots. I think I had that same mobo back in the day. If you're streaming HD you're going to need a Gigabit NIC.
 
mryerse said:
Hmm, yes blu ray bit rate is 40MB/sec, too much for FastE unless compressed. I plan to rip to full format and then stream.
Click to expand...

According to the Blu-ray Disc specification, 1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we're expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps).

Mb not MB. I stream 1080p content to my popcorn hour all the time, it only has a 100Base-T port on it. Gig-e is nice when moving rips to the server but you don't need it to play back content.
 
mryerse said:
Hmm, yes blu ray bit rate is 40MB/sec, too much for FastE unless compressed. I plan to rip to full format and then stream.
Click to expand...

that's 40Mbps not 40MB/s... so 100Mbps should be fine.

And you can use most PCI-X card (not PCI-e which is what you are thinking of) in a PCI slot..

So look for PCI-X (not PCI express as said before) and you will find plenty of cards that will work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-X
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

totally different
 
That's right... small b / 8 for big B. So FastE is okay.

So I am looking at this and this. It seems like if I had 8 drives on there that the MB I have couldn't handle the total throughput to the NIC. A 4x card would just not be enough.

One other thing. Suppose I build this array and decide to move the whole array including the card to a new system. Will the array stay intact or do I need to rebuilt it if I move it?
 
That LSI card will not work in a 32bit slot, it is 64bit only.. you can tell because it is missing a cutout on the pins that the Areca card has.
 
It looks like I'd be limited to software raid. I might as well buy a new mobo at these prices. Thanks.
 
Jeff1024 said:
According to the Blu-ray Disc specification, 1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we're expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps).

Mb not MB. I stream 1080p content to my popcorn hour all the time, it only has a 100Base-T port on it. Gig-e is nice when moving rips to the server but you don't need it to play back content.
Click to expand...

Hey Jeff, how does popcorn hour work for .iso formats? Could I rip a blu ray disc on an ISO and have all the menu's etc just as if I had put the disc in a PS3? If so, this might be more appropriate.
 
I'll either leave it xp32 or go linux. The point with keeping the old system is to not put a lot of money into it. However, it seems like all the raid cards that would work with Frost are software, so a new MB would be appropriate. In that case, I'd probably get WHS, yes.
 
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