Project: Galaxy 4.75

pc299 said:
This is my main server: http://www.commie.cn/boxes/Juarez.htm
VMWare server: http://www.commie.cn/boxes/Puta.htm
Old 1U that I haven't had the heart to get rid of yet: http://www.commie.cn/boxes/Jose.htm
Click to expand...

hey thats a cool info page, is that a script somewhere? or just something coded in html?
I think Im gonna copy that somehow for my systems... I need to come up with an online sysinfo dbase...

All my servers are on the cheaper linux SRAID side... and most are cheaper file servers...
its hard finding a good affordable mobo w/an energy efficient cpu and multiple pci-x busses so i can pick up some $100 16port sata controllers...

all my linux servers run under 100w @ full load... :-D
i hope to one day have all servers fully running off of renewable (solar) energy...
 
Bookmage said:
hey thats a cool info page, is that a script somewhere? or just something coded in html?
I think Im gonna copy that somehow for my systems... I need to come up with an online sysinfo dbase...

All my servers are on the cheaper linux SRAID side... and most are cheaper file servers...
its hard finding a good affordable mobo w/an energy efficient cpu and multiple pci-x busses so i can pick up some $100 16port sata controllers...

all my linux servers run under 100w @ full load... :-D
i hope to one day have all servers fully running off of renewable (solar) energy...
Click to expand...

There static html, I looked at them earlier and the uptime and network usage hasnt changed.
 
It is a phpsysinfo script. He just took a snapshot of the sys info page on put it onto his webserver so we can't access the servers directly.
 
static html? in the new millenium? who still does that :-P
ok well phpsysinfo is a start... wonder if i can get it to report on a diff host.. and input it into a dbase... :-/

I wonder wut the exact power usage is of each galaxy server, and wut they are w/just bare system,no drives...
 
Okay, well my Norco case arrives today. I will get you guys up to speed with pictures. At the same time, I'm going to destroy the entire array and start from scratch, I figured it's probably my best bet as I want to make some changes to the configuration.

Also, while I was in Texas, I bought a new cool toy and dubbed it MiniGalaxy. It's a HP Home server with 4tb capaciy, damn it's awesome/cool/cute and the performance is awesome too. I will update you guys with pics of that too!


Update:

Some changes to be made:

Norco Hot Swap Rackmount Case
Windows Home Server
Supermicro SAT2 MV8 controllers
1TB Seagate System Drive


The Norco case will save this project money, however, the 1TB hard drive and the Home Server OS costs will level it out.

Here is the pricing totals as of now:

$150 Supermicro H8SSL-I Single Socket Motherboard (bundle) (ebay store)
AMD Opteron 146 Processor with silent fan heatsink configuration (ebay store)
4 x Wintec 512MB ECC REG DDR Memory (total of 2GB Ram) (ebay store)
$105 3 x Supermicro SAT2 MV8 SATA Controllers PCI-X 8 Port (refurbed)
$289 Norco 2040 20 Bay Hot Swap Rackmount Case w/ 1 Internal HDD Bay
$0 PC&P 750w Silencer Power Supply (friend donation for fixing their computer)
$149 1TB Seagate SATA Drive for Operating System
$139 Microsoft Windows Home Server Operating System
$700 20 x Western Digital 400GB SATA Hard Drives (hardforum sale)

$1,532

Total Storage will increase to 9TB.
 
Home server does not allow any online capacity expansion. to add storage you need to wipe the whole array. Or at least that's what i was told when i looked into it.

Would be interrested to see what positives you give it over a DIY approach.
 
MeHoo said:
Home server does not allow any online capacity expansion. to add storage you need to wipe the whole array. Or at least that's what i was told when i looked into it.

Would be interrested to see what positives you give it over a DIY approach.
Click to expand...

WHS is all about online capacity expansion, you do not need to wipe the 'array' (pool). If you have a drive that you want to add to the pool with data on it you need to first move the data to the pool (or a 3rd location), then add the drive to the pool (this will reformat the drive). The pool data isn't touched when adding a drive to it. WHS will, at its discretion, rebalance and probably start to use some of the space on the new drive eventually.
 
MeHoo said:
Home server does not allow any online capacity expansion. to add storage you need to wipe the whole array. Or at least that's what i was told when i looked into it.

Would be interrested to see what positives you give it over a DIY approach.
Click to expand...

The drive pool concept: Think of it as a pool of water... lets say gallons = gigs.... and you have 1,000 gallons. If you decide to add 500 gallons of water to the pool, you are litterally adding water to the existing 1,000 gallons... thus expanding your pool to 1,500 gallons

You do not need to remove the water out of your pool to add more. (existing water still remains)

You can also add a drive to the system without adding it to the "pool" for increased storage, so you are able to transfer data off that drive into the pool if you desire. WHS does away with the drive letters so you are able to add many indipendant drives into the system.

Since tinkering more with WHS, I've become obsessed and I believe this is the PERFECT way to do a backup server. Also, with the WHS backup tools, I can backup all my desktops and all my other servers... this will be a blast to play with.
 
Ockie said:
The drive pool concept: Think of it as a pool of water... lets say gallons = gigs.... and you have 1,000 gallons. If you decide to add 500 gallons of water to the pool, you are litterally adding water to the existing 1,000 gallons... thus expanding your pool to 1,500 gallons

You do not need to remove the water out of your pool to add more. (existing water still remains)

You can also add a drive to the system without adding it to the "pool" for increased storage, so you are able to transfer data off that drive into the pool if you desire. WHS does away with the drive letters so you are able to add many indipendant drives into the system.

Since tinkering more with WHS, I've become obsessed and I believe this is the PERFECT way to do a backup server. Also, with the WHS backup tools, I can backup all my desktops and all my other servers... this will be a blast to play with.
Click to expand...

I too have fell in love with WHS its so easy to use and you can use any size drive. Im doing a similar build with WHS right now with Project Phoenix 1.0(Ockie inspired me) The backup tool is just amazing and it make restoration so easy. BTW Ockie did you find a manual for that case...I have mine and it didnt come with one, cant find it on google either. Im curious about the molex connectors on the backplanes. Usually they are both on the same bus but this seems to be a multilayer PCB and I cant seem to trace it to the individual connectors.
 
nitrobass24 said:
Im curious about the molex connectors on the backplanes. Usually they are both on the same bus but this seems to be a multilayer PCB and I cant seem to trace it to the individual connectors.
Click to expand...

The are in a series, so no need to hook up anymore then 1, someone on the forums, called Norco and talked with (who he assumed to be) an engineer.....
 
Yay.. ok so when i inquired to HP and microsoft when this announced product first hit the web they were both wrong. Kewl. Its not uncommon for manufacturers to make a product and ship it before they inform their sales people of all of the ins and outs so I guess i'm not shocked there.

So would you recommend running an OEM copy of WHS on a NAS or no?
 
Picture Updates:

New 4.75 Galaxy:
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Don't mind the messy background, its my workbench:
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Still a lot of wiring to do:
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Galaxy 5.0 and 4.75 Unites:
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Galaxy 5.0 and 4.75 falls in love with eachother.....
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Love at first sight... 9 galaxy months later... what do we have?!?!

THATS RIGHT! BABY GALAXY!

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Like the Parents, BabyGalaxy packs a nice storage payload, 4TB of goodness on 4 disks (rest of the hdd's are on the way)... but wait, there is more, BabyGalaxy is small, it's a full computer, and it's FAST.

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BabyGalaxy spares no time to show off the goods:
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Gotta love the ports:
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Galaxy family picture:
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What are the dimensions of that HP case? Looks a little smaller then a mATX.

No interior shots? :p
 
protias said:
Where did you get the baby galaxy?
Click to expand...

Ockie said:
Also, while I was in Texas, I bought a new cool toy and dubbed it MiniGalaxy. It's a HP Home server with 4tb capaciy, damn it's awesome/cool/cute and the performance is awesome too. I will update you guys with pics of that too!
Click to expand...

Looking great there Ockie, love the whole dictated meeting (or mating) of the machines!!!
 
I must say, that was slightly disturbing...

Looking good, I'd love to do something like this, but I figure I've got two options - one of them being university.
 
ockie how is the quality of the backplane and drive sleds? this is the RPC-4020 right?
 
Oneos said:
I must say, that was slightly disturbing...

Looking good, I'd love to do something like this, but I figure I've got two options - one of them being university.
Click to expand...

Aww, cut me some slack, I was bored and it was past my bedtime :)

piako said:
ockie how is the quality of the backplane and drive sleds? this is the RPC-4020 right?
Click to expand...

Yes, this is the 4020. The quality is good. The sleds and backplane are no supermicro or anything, but it seems to hold up well. However, you do have to sometimes work/force/jam the drive in to get it to go all the way.
The case is also fairly light weigt in comparison to other rackmount cases, but it's solid. I think this is norcos best case as of yet, before they had a lot of sharp edges and some designs were a little sloppy, this one everything is neatly done and the components fits without any issues.
 
huskerpat said:
What's the plan for the hp?
Click to expand...

No idea, it was kind of an impulsive buy when I visited Frys in Texas. Cool thing is that this can be used as a traveling server, it's so tiny :D
 
Ockie said:
I think this is norcos best case as of yet, before they had a lot of sharp edges and some designs were a little sloppy, this one everything is neatly done and the components fits without any issues.
Click to expand...

I do like the lightness of it. My 4020 still has sharp edges, it's no antec or anything, but its a good workhorse. Be careful of the edges. Love the LED indicators coming in through each sled though.
 
alcuin said:
I do like the lightness of it. My 4020 still has sharp edges, it's no antec or anything, but its a good workhorse. Be careful of the edges. Love the LED indicators coming in through each sled though.
Click to expand...

It has some sharp edges in which you can use to peel potatoes... but it also came with some protector plastic strips for those edges. It's a mile and a half better than the previous cases which screamed cheese grater :eek:

I have not turned mine on yet to see the LEDS, but you got me pretty excited :D
 
Ockie said:
No idea, it was kind of an impulsive buy when I visited Frys in Texas. Cool thing is that this can be used as a traveling server, it's so tiny :D
Click to expand...

You gonna leave WHS on it? you might take advantage of the backup feature to back up all your computers. It's pretty slick.
 
Ockie said:
It has some sharp edges in which you can use to peel potatoes... but it also came with some protector plastic strips for those edges. It's a mile and a half better than the previous cases which screamed cheese grater :eek:

I have not turned mine on yet to see the LEDS, but you got me pretty excited :D
Click to expand...

Dunno if I already mentioned but the workmanship of the Norco is clearly not up to some others (i.e. Supermicro) but it's still a deal for $289. A few of the screws weren't quite screwed all the way in or the philips head was stripped from factory, the trays are a bitch to slide in and out with a drive in the tray, there may be an issue with proper heat removal from the drive bays (still testing).

So I need to decide if the lower cost of the Norco case is going to mean a potential slow death of $5000+ in harddrives due to excessive heat or not; if I can't work out a better heat removal solution it will be back to Supermicro for the purpose I needed this chassis for.
 
Just waiting on the 1TB drive to come back from RMA (head crash) and waiting for my new controllers to arrive. The moment I have those I will post some pictures as I can finish this build and get it over with.
 
Ockie, you can buy some new Seagate 1.5TB drive to improve your file server :D
 
Edel said:
Ockie, you can buy some new Seagate 1.5TB drive to improve your file server :D
Click to expand...


It's easier said than done unfortunatley. I would like to upgrade galaxy 5.0 before this machine, however, for me to accomplish this, I'd need to buy 24 of those drives.

Galaxy 4.75 does not need to be as big, so I can settle for the cheaper 1t's. The other main problem I have with going 1.5's right off the bat is that I'm not sure of their performance or any bug issues that may arrise with a large array... I'd rather let the dust settle and view the full reviews and feedback before switching to them.

Most likley I will leapfrog to 2tb drives, that gives me a double capacity right off the bat.
 
Edel said:
Ockie, you can buy some new Seagate 1.5TB drive to improve your file server :D
Click to expand...

1.5Tb is a no-go for people with big arrays. 1Tb remains a "sweet spot" capacity for arrays:

- 2Tb drives will be out in 18 months
- 1.5Tb drives will have "flagship" (novelty) pricing meaning they'll be more than 1.5x the price of a 1Tb drive
- 1Tb is a nice round number for easy math in capacity planning (ala "16 drives in raid6 = 14Tb")
- 1Tb drives will become cheaper as 1.5Tb drives gain publicity and awareness in joe-end-user's mind as "the biggest capacity and therefore it must be the best"
- The difference between for example (24 x 1Tb drives = 24Tb) versus (24 x 1.5Tb drives = 36Tb) is 12Tb. The amount of people that can't accomplish in terms of storage needs with 24Tb in 1Tb drives versus 36Tb in 1.5Tb is slim to none.

Note this isn't just a new version of the "500Gb or 750Gb versus 1Tb" argument when 1Tb first came out. I think the 1Tb capacity actually was a "sweet spot", and was worth paying a bit more in cost per gigabyte for. I definitely was not one of those people arguing that 2 x 500Gb was better than 1 x 1Tb because it was cheaper. I *am* arguing that 1Tb is better, and the fact it'll be cheaper per gigabyte than 1.5Tb is just a bonus.

Also, large arrays of 1Tb have already reached the point where you actually run out of things to store on it (at least for me). I could store every Bluray disc in existence (nearly 1000) in addition to thousands of DVD's and HDV and other stuff and still have an ocean of free space that I don't know what to do with. Ofcourse I've found creative uses, but point is drive capacities have already kind of outpaced what to store on them.

Perhaps I'm biased, having a total of 80 x 3.5" storage bays across four servers at home now (2x Supermicro 24bay, 1x Supermicro 12bay, 1x Norco 20-bay), and I could probably see the point if someone only has 4-8 bays of storage with no space for expansion - then 1.5Tb would be advantageous, but once you get into 8, 12, 16 drives and beyond, 1.5Tb makes less sense.

Bottom line: the next size factor I'll buy will be 2Tb, and I'll only continue to buy 1Tb until then.
 
odditory said:
1.5Tb is a no-go for people with big arrays. 1Tb remains a "sweet spot" capacity for arrays:

- 2Tb drives will be out in 18 months
- 1.5Tb drives will have "flagship" (novelty) pricing meaning they'll be more than 1.5x the price of a 1Tb drive
- 1Tb is a nice round number for easy math in capacity planning (ala "16 drives in raid6 = 14Tb")
- 1Tb drives will become cheaper as 1.5Tb drives gain publicity and awareness in joe-end-user's mind as "the biggest capacity and therefore it must be the best"
- The difference between for example (24 x 1Tb drives = 24Tb) versus (24 x 1.5Tb drives = 36Tb) is 12Tb. The amount of people that can't accomplish in terms of storage needs with 24Tb in 1Tb drives versus 36Tb in 1.5Tb is slim to none.

Note this isn't just a new version of the "500Gb or 750Gb versus 1Tb" argument when 1Tb first came out. I think the 1Tb capacity actually was a "sweet spot", and was worth paying a bit more in cost per gigabyte for. I definitely was not one of those people arguing that 2 x 500Gb was better than 1 x 1Tb because it was cheaper. I *am* arguing that 1Tb is better, and the fact it'll be cheaper per gigabyte than 1.5Tb is just a bonus.

Also, large arrays of 1Tb have already reached the point where you actually run out of things to store on it (at least for me). I could store every Bluray disc in existence (nearly 1000) in addition to thousands of DVD's and HDV and other stuff and still have an ocean of free space that I don't know what to do with. Ofcourse I've found creative uses, but point is drive capacities have already kind of outpaced what to store on them.

Perhaps I'm biased, having a total of 80 x 3.5" storage bays across four servers at home now (2x Supermicro 24bay, 1x Supermicro 12bay, 1x Norco 20-bay), and I could probably see the point if someone only has 4-8 bays of storage with no space for expansion - then 1.5Tb would be advantageous, but once you get into 8, 12, 16 drives and beyond, 1.5Tb makes less sense.

Bottom line: the next size factor I'll buy will be 2Tb, and I'll only continue to buy 1Tb until then.
Click to expand...


You have storage left?! Ship me some drives. lol.
 
I just picked up a rack cabinet for all my toys, stay tuned for pics!
 
Sorry about the craptastic pix. 4.75 is almost complete from the remake. Just waiting on 3 1TB drives to add to the system (main drive + 2 extras)

Like the wiring jobbie?
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Looking good, a little easier to manage those Supermicro cards in this case then the Lian Li PC-343, isn't it!!
 
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