WHS Upgrade/Advice

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Vossy

n00b
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Apr 4, 2012
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12
Hello,
Just found this site and been reading heavily. I have an old WHS v1 build I have at home and of course after 14 hard drives my case is out of room, so I now have a permission for an upgrade I have chosen the spec's below, but do have a few questions and was hoping I could get some advice from you very smart people. Please note parts are selected because I can get them all from one supplier here in Australia and alot of the stuff advised throughout these forums I cannot get them here in Oz.
My New System
1 Norco 4224 Case
1 AMD Athlon II X2 260 Dual Core (3.2GHz) - AM3, 2MB L2 Cache, 45nm SOI, 65W
1 Asrock 970 Extreme4 Motherboard
1 Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) PC3-10600 1333MHz Registered ECC DDR3 RAM,
1 OCZ 750W ZS Series PSU - ATX 12V v2.2, EPS 12V, 135mm Fan
2 HighPoint RocketRAID 2680 RAID Controller
1 Norco 120mm Fan Wall Bracket
1 Norco 1x 4-Pin Molex (Male) to 7x 4-Pin Molex (Female) Power Extension Cable
4 Norco 0.5M Mini-SAS(SFF-8087) to Mini-SAS(SFF-8087) Multilane SAS Cable
3 Noctua NF-P12-1300 - 120mm 1300RPM Pressure Optimised Fan
2 Noctua NF-R8-1800 - 80mm 1800RPM Sound Optimised Fan

First off is their anything here I am missing? Does it seem all compatible?

My other questions are....
Those out there that have WHS11 and used to have WHSv1 is it worth the upgrade? What is the major difference apart from the loss of DE? I really like the idea of DE but understand their is some plug in's that do it, anyone advice on that?

As for my hardware, I cannot find anywhere if my motherboard supports WHSv1 but does support XP, does that mean it should be right?

Does the current Versions of Norco 4224 come with the new fans as discussed? Every reference still says the 4 x 80mm fans. How long SAS cables are needed if using the 120mm fans and new mid mount bracket using the above SAS Cards which have the connectors on the end, will the standard 50cm ones work?

I think that is a long enough post and questions for now. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Just some general, humble advice.

That motherboard and ECC ram are kinda overkill for a simple WHS 2011 install. Same for the processor. Do you plan on running any types of VMs or anything else? If not, you could really save money and power consumption with something much smaller. The low end Sandy Bridge Celerons and Pentiums make great SOHO server cpus.

Do you want to run a specific type of raid? If you want to do a software Raid 4/5/6 I would suggest looking at the SASL2 MV8 instead of the 2680.

There are a ton of differences going from Server 2003 to 2008 RC2. Very much worth it. The drive pooling from v1 can be replaced in a lot of ways. If you want just drive pooling, Drive Bender or StableBit Drive Pool are good options.
If you want software raid as well I would recommend looking at FlexRaid, which will also do drive pooling.
 
Just another POV, if you want to do transcoding, that hardware spec will serve you well. You will need muscle for transcoding. As to the 1 vs. 2, 2 does have some quirks still, as long as you know about them, you'll be OK. Connector installs on older XP boxes and win7 64 ultimate can be a problem. Most of the time this can be resolved, most of the time. Server backup is having some real problems. This is being addressed ( maybe ). The included DLNA server is not the best. Not all problems have hit everyone, but the above are the top ones seen. Client backup and restore has been excellent ( when the connector installs ). Oh, and there are some problems streaming to a winphone. WHS2 is still a very good platform, could have been much better with some QC.
 
@Monkeypox Thanks for your advice, problem is the SASL2 MV8 are not available anywhere her in Australia. As for the Mobo, RAM and CPU. I just want something relatively future proof and these are pretty cheap these parts.

@benogil Thanks also for your input, it is a basic home server that just streaming movies etc to my 3 media players and giving me a central storage area to put everything that has back up/duplication.

Still deciding if I upgrade to WHS11 or not. Will have to try and do some more research.
 
I upgraded from my WHS 08 to WHS2011. It was worth it as 2011 was more stable for me and gets past the 2gig hard drive issues. I am currently using drive bender and am happy with it. From looking at your parts list I have a few thoughts:

1) If possible you might want to look at an intel sandy bridge or ivy bridge based build as power consumption begins to add up since this will be a 24/7 machine. I am not sure on how soon you want to do this but it sounds like waiting for ivy bridge might be worth it on the power saving front.

2) I would go with 8 gig of ram. My machine normally idles at about 1 to 2 gigs but occasionally wants more than the 4gig I have installed.

3) If possible I would go with a platinum or gold rated psu. Higher efficiency will probably pay off due to this being a 24/7 machine.

4) I would lean towards a software raid flexraid/drive bender/ drive pool. Along with a non-raid HBA if possible. Can you get an IBM M1015?

Good luck.
 
Be aware that the motherboard you listed does not appear to accept registered memory, what you would want for a build using consumer grade hardware is unbuffered ECC, often colloquially called workstation memory. In addition, while the memory controller in your selected processor supports ECC, the necessary configuration options may not be available on that motherboard which would effectively net you some overpriced standard memory. You may want to try and find a second-hand workstation motherboard from TYAN or SuperMicro.
 
@Franko..thanks for the input, with the upgrade of the things you mention starts to put the price a little it higher that I want to spend. Still weighting up the options about WHS2011.....

@Dalfo002...the link here says that the motherboard accepts "non-ECC" am I missing something with understanding the memory?

Thanks everyone for the input so far...also we only have one supplier of NORCO here in Australia so i am trying to get everything from them Techbuy and keep the price as low as possible.

If anyone has a spare moment please feel free to go through their list and advise me on some better parts.
Unit will be running 16 x 2TB hard drives to start with. Most of my old rig is exactly that old and was a few years old when I built the system a few years ago. So looking for something relative future proof ( I know impossible) and under $1500 at the most.

And thank you to everyone for your input so far.
 
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Do you already have the hardware raid cards or are you planning on buying em? If you are going to buy them, you might actually be able to save some money by going with a non-raid hba. I don't know the pricing where you are at but ibm m1015 hba's can be had on ebay in the US for approx $75 each.
 
I am planning on buying them, the cheapest IBM ones I can see on ebay are about $95 Australian that's including shipping, then theirs the issue what if something is faulty as their are from sellers whom have removed them so no real warranty and most dont come with the PCI Slot adaptor.
I know what I have is not perfect but find something not over the top in price that will work with WHSv1 (just in case I stay with it) plus also having 8 ports is almost impossible. I am open to more suggestions so please keep them coming.
 
Vossy said:
My other questions are....
Those out there that have WHS11 and used to have WHSv1 is it worth the upgrade? What is the major difference apart from the loss of DE? I really like the idea of DE but understand their is some plug in's that do it, anyone advice on that?
Click to expand...
I think one of those "plug-ins" is called Drive Bender. One of the biggest pro to a WHS 2011 upgrade is support for newer 2TB and larger drives. WHS v1.1 doesn't work too well with newer 2TB drives and sometimes doesn't work at all with drives larger than 2TB. So if you want something that is "future proof", you're looking at WHS 2011.
Vossy said:
As for my hardware, I cannot find anywhere if my motherboard supports WHSv1 but does support XP, does that mean it should be right?
Click to expand...
Somewhat. I've seen XP drivers fail to install on a WHS v1.1 setup before. But I've also seen some XP drivers work on a WHS v1.1 install. Your best bet for driver compatibility is to see if there are drivers available for Windows Server 2003. I've found Win2k3 drivers works just fine on WHS v1.1

Vossy said:
Does the current Versions of Norco 4224 come with the new fans as discussed? Every reference still says the 4 x 80mm fans.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, the Norco 4224 still comes with the 80mm fan bracket. However you can order the 120mm fan bracket from Norco. You could always just buy the case and see for yourself if it comes with the 120mm fan bracket. If it doesn't, order it. If it doesnt, no need to order.

Vossy said:
@Dalfo002...the link here says that the motherboard accepts "non-ECC" am I missing something with understanding the memory?
Click to expand...
Yes: It says right it there: Non-ECC. Which means that the mobo you chose does not support the registered ECC RAM you chose or even unbuffered ECC RAM. You're gonna have to find another motherboard or find an actual confirmation showing that specific mobo working with ECC RAM and actually providng the ECC features.

Vossy said:
I am planning on buying them, the cheapest IBM ones I can see on ebay are about $95 Australian that's including shipping, then theirs the issue what if something is faulty as their are from sellers whom have removed them so no real warranty and most dont come with the PCI Slot adaptor.
Click to expand...
True but considering that they're A) server grade and B) significantly more reliable than Highpoint's cards, that concern is almost nullified. If you look through a lot of the big server builds here, most of them will have a used IBM or Dell or LSI card. With that said, can you find these controllers for new:
$153 - Intel SASUC8I PCI-Ex8 SATA/SAS Controller Card
$250 - LSI SAS 9211-8i Controller Card
 
Thanks Danny Bui... Just to confirm the Intel SASUC8I is compatible with WHS11? If so Im leaning towards them.
Will also change the type of RAM and look into drivebender and the other options..
Thanks everyone so far any more info or advice people?
 
Vossy said:
Thanks Danny Bui... Just to confirm the Intel SASUC8I is compatible with WHS11? If so Im leaning towards them.
Click to expand...
Yes it is.
Vossy said:
Will also change the type of RAM and look into drivebender and the other options..
Thanks everyone so far any more info or advice people?
Click to expand...
Personally I'd recommend going with Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI since they have a higher chance of being better quality than AsRock. Plus the longer warranties too.
 
Thanks Everyone...So Im thinking this is it.

1 Norco RPC-4224 Rackmount Server Chassis, No PSU - 4U
1 Norco 1x 4-Pin Molex (Male) to 7x 4-Pin Molex (Female) Power Extension Cable
4 Norco 0.5M Mini-SAS(SFF-8087) to Mini-SAS(SFF-8087) Multilane SAS Cable
1 OCZ 750W ZS Series PSU - ATX 12V v2.2, EPS 12V, 135mm Fan, 80 PLUS Bronze Certified
1 ASUS P8Z77-M PRO Motherboard
1 Intel Core i3 2100 Dual Core CPU (3.1GHz, 850-1100MHz GPU) - LGA1155, 1333MHz, 5.0 GT/s
1 Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3 RAM - STD Height 30mm
1 Hitachi 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATA-III-600 HDD w. 16MB Cache (0F15629) Deskstar 7K1000.C
2 Intel SASUC8I PCI Express x8 3Gb RAID Controller
1 Windows Home Server 2011

Left out the extra fans for now and will wait and see can always order them later....Anymore thoughts??
 
I only have two things to add:

1) You might want to consider a G530 sandy bridge celeron. Its lower performance but if your just running a server it will be idling most the time anyway. This might save you a few bucks if your really price sensitive.

2) Go with a platinum plus rated power supply. This rig will be on 24/7; every watt you save is money in your pocket. This will pay off versus a bronze rated power supply. You also wont need a high wattage power supply. The only time this system will even have any significant draw will be at start up (this can be addressed with staggered spin up on the drives if it becomes an issue). I would buy an Antec EarthWatts Platinum Series 450 or 550 watt supply.

Good luck.
 
Franko... I've been told to get Single rail power supplies only... That one you suggest is twin. Can you or anyone provide some feedback on that do I need single or dual, will 550 Watts be enough?
Also I have found a G530 at half the price....thanks
 
Vossy said:
Franko... I've been told to get Single rail power supplies only... That one you suggest is twin. Can you or anyone provide some feedback on that do I need single or dual, will 550 Watts be enough?
Click to expand...

While you don't need a single rail PSU, I still recommend no less than a 650W PSU as a CYA measure.

The whole single VS multiple rail debate can be seen here:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3990
 
i would stick with a single rail PSU for a 4224 Norco build myself.

If you are going to stick to all 5400RPM or 5900RPM drives, the 650Watt should be OK. If you are going to run 7200RPM drives, you might consider a 750Watt. Especially if you are going RAID where all drives will be spinning at once.

You would probably get better efficiency and longer PSU life with the higher Wattage. I prefer the Seasonic or Corsair PSU's myself.
 
So a
Antec 650W EA-650 Platinum or SilverStone 750W Strider Golder Series
be good enough??
 
Vossy said:
So a
Antec 650W EA-650 Platinum or SilverStone 750W Strider Golder Series
be good enough??
Click to expand...


I would run away from that Antec for a server. it has 4x 12V rails. i would guess that 1 or 2 of those rails are on the video cables since it is not modular. it would be under powered.

The silverstone is a single 12Volt and modular to keep your server tidy.

Given the 2 choices, I would take the Silverstone.

Take a look at this also. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087 A rock solid PSU with 5Year warranty.
 
Well I haven't bought system yet but about to. Need some advice on controller cards. One that will work on WHS 11 and support 3TB drives but is not over the top in price. Thinking of the M1015 can anyone confirm it works with whs 11 and supports 3TB or what about the SASMF8I but have been told they dont support 3TB.
Any ideas anyone?
 
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Thanks Danny Bui, but I think they are a bit dearer than I was hoping. Sorry should have specified try to keep around $150 and needs to be an 8 port
 
Apparently you edited your post. To answer your changes: The M1015 will work with WHS 2011 as you long as you flash it to IT mode. And yes it does support 3TB drives.
 
Hey Danny Bui, Thanks as always for your replies, yes I did and I didn't see that it had gone to 2 pages otherwise I would not have. I guess Ill go ahead and get the M1015 and build my new server.
 
Vossy said:
Hey Danny Bui, Thanks as always for your replies, yes I did and I didn't see that it had gone to 2 pages otherwise I would not have. I guess Ill go ahead and get the M1015 and build my new server.
Click to expand...

Change your forum config to 40 posts per page :)
 
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