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Upgrading server + integrating NAS...specs?

J

jnick

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
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I'm currently running a old Dell as my server. At any given time it can host:

Ventrilo Server (8 man)
CS:S Server
FTP Server


Since we built an HTPC, I'm now going to add a RAID array for the data. Instead of building a new box and running 2 servers, I figured I'd just upgrade my main server and run the array in there, as I was told, the RAID card is mainly doing all of the work and I can run my servers + NAS in the same box (via RAID) with no issue.

Therefore, I'm looking to find what type of config I should use to set this up.

I'm thinking:

E2140 Allendale 1.6Ghz - $70
Gigabyte DS3L - $80
2GB DDR2 Gskill - $40
600W or 700W PSU - $120

Do you think that's more than capable of handling what I described above? Note that CS:S server isn't run very often. When it is run, Only 5 people + bots are playing. Ventrilo is run almost everyday, Normal load is 4 people. FTP server is on only when needed.

The servers listed above are currently running on:

P4 2.0Ghz
768MB RDRAM
250W PSU
Foxconn mobo (dell)

My gut is telling me that the new server build will be beastly compared to what I have. However, before I shell out the cash, I want to be sure that this is what I need, as I don't want to be wasting money!

Thanks!
 
Whether or not your RAID card does most of the gruntwork depends on the RAID card. Most of the less-expensive RAID cards use the CPU to do all the work--only the really expensive ones use true hardware RAID.

A 600 or 750W PSU is ludicrous overkill for a system like that, unless you're running dozens of drives. Without drives, I'd estimate that you'll be drawing 100W, and that only when the CPU is running flat-out.
 
Hmmm...we plan on maxing out at 8-10 drives, eventually. At the start there will only be about 3. Therefore will a 400-500w PSU be enough?
 
My friend i would recomend EarthWatt 80% efficient green 380, 300, 400 the most PSU. You don;t need more then 150 the most, but just for the future upgrade i would recoment 380 watts.
 
Really? A 380 is sufficient enough for a maximum of 8-10 drives in a RAID array + other basic hardware?

Also, for the above applications, would I be better with the E2140 Allendale 65W? Or should I get the Conroe-L at 35W? Both are 1.6Ghz...If I got the Allendale, I may OC it to around 2.4Ghz, should I feel it's not quite fast enough...
 
I had an Antec TruePower 430w power 8 200gb Seagate PATA drives in RAID5 and 3 36gb SCSI drives in RAID1 + hotspare on a server class Tyan Thunder 2500 motherboard with 2x P3 1ghz cpus and 2gb of RAM for about 3 to 3.5 years without any problems. If you get a good quality power supply, you don't need a stupidly crazy amount of wattage rating to run everything. Especially if you're getting the newer Western Digital GP drives.
 
Except for the PSU the current system would be fine for all those tasks - maybe put in a little more memory.

You could just get a new s478 (i assume?) mobo and a new PSU (e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003) and move the current processor and memory across, saving a bit of cache for your HDDs/controller.

And yes, you'll probably need a better than average controller if you want hardware-RAID.
 
I'm wondering now, after a bit of research, if I even need RAID at all. The storage is going to mainly be multimedia for the HTPC. So it will contain DVD rips and CD rips. I don't think downtime will be THAT much of an issue. Ex: I'm pretty sure I can loose a day or two just restoring images from DVD's or external HDD. Therefore, is RAID 5 even necessary?

From my understanding, it's mainly used only to prevent any down time due to mechanical failure...?
 
RAID is probably overused around here, especially for media servers. The two advantages of RAID--speed and/or (in some cases) fault tolerance--don't count for much for media servers. The one advantage RAID has is that you can get the increased capacity of multiple disks as a single volume. For that purpose, JBOD works just as well.

However, if you can find natural divisions in your media that would allow you to put all your music on one drive, all your movies on another drive (or full-size rips on one drive and XviD or H.264 on another), recorded shows on a third drive, other downloaded stuff on a fourth drive, etc, then you might be able to get away without any sort of drive-combining whatsoever.
 
Yeah...that's what I figured. I really dont think multiple drives will be an issue as I'm using Media Center to centralize all of it. Therefore, it does all of the work :). I do understand what you mean about divisions though. I plan on having all Music and DivX/H.264 on one drive. DVD's will be on the rest of the drives. I can either use Windows search to find the file or reference MyMovies.

However...JBOD does sound interesting. How would one set this up? Is it software based or hardware based?
 
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