ZFS Build - 20TB

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ripken204

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 24, 2007
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I am planning my ZFS build and am hoping to do it soon since my current system is running out of space and I finally have enough money to do this.

HDDS:
I'm going to have 10x2TB F4's in RAID-Z2, just waiting for them to go on sale.
with RAID-Z2 it is optimal for me to use 10 drives, correct?

CASE:
The NORCO RPC-3216 or RPC-3116 looks nice for a case
RPC-3116 has 16 SATA connections
RPC-3216 has 4 SAS connections for 16 drives

I am not decided on a case yet, basically I need something that can hold 10 drives plus OS drive, rackmount or pedestal

CONTROLLER CARD
with 10 drives, plus OS drive, i will need a controller.
The Intel SASUC8I looks like a recommended controller around here.
Now depending on which case I get... if i chose the case with 4 SAS connections, I could hook up 2 of them to the controller, which takes care of 8 drives, then i have 2 drives that need to be hooked to the motherboard, yet they are on a SAS connection. would I be able to use a SAS cable and connect the SAS end to the case's controller and the SATA ends to the motherboard? the only reason for this is to cut down on cable clutter and increase airflow... i would have 3 SAS cables instead of 10 SATA cables

OS:
I am thinking about using Solaris 11 Express, I am going to install this on a dev box and see if it can run the programs I want.

CPU/MOBO/RAM:
I am not sure yet, I was hoping to build something off of sandybridge
For cpu I was thinking the i3-2100T, dual core w/HT, 2.5GHz, 35w
Low powered and hopefully fast enough... how much cpu does ZFS need?

ZFS needs RAM, how much RAM is needed for 10x2TB? 4GB, 8GB, or more?
Is ECC worth it?

Since I was hoping to go with Sandy Bridge... the mobo is the issue now, need to wait for good boards to come out if I decide to go this way

any comments/suggestions?
 
for you sata on the motherboard you nede a cabels like this http://www.xcase.co.uk/3ware-cable-p/cables-3ware-reverse -8087.htm it nede to be reversed
Solaris 11 Express it work for me I just bult my zfs server and Solaris 11 Express have the news zfs versions
cpu go for a xeon so you can get ECC ram the price is higher but for me it was worth the price you speen alot of mony on hdd why go chep on ram and cpu and for RAM look Gigas-VII post http://hardforum.com//showthread.php?t=1586776 I are new to all that zfs but hope it can help you
 
10x2TB in RaidZ2 should be (8+2)*2TB = 8*2TB data + 2*2TB parity = 16 TB net
isn't it?
 
you guys are correct, i was simple referring to the total hdd space, not including the raid, actual usable size of the drives, or how much the filesystem takes off from it.
the title is better with 20TB than 14.3463463546 or w/e it will be, im not going to calculate it now.

that one case suggest, it wont have space for an OS drive.. that would be great for my current server.
i have 9 drives crammed into an antec 300.

i think i will go for 8GB of ram, better to get 8GB of matched ram now then wanting to upgrade later and not being able to buy the same ram

as far as a Xeon cpu, they all seem very power hungry for 1156. i could go to the old 775's if had to.. any recommendations on a cpu.
keep in mind this is mainly used as a file server, dev web server, downloading.

also, why do you suggest FreeBSD over Solaris 11 Express?
or just in general, what do you like about FreeBSD?

I am so used to Ubuntu, so this will be a bit of a change for me.
From what I could find, Solaris 11 has the most stable and best performing ZFS implementation?
 
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yes, quite costly though, but i'll consider it.
i was originally considering getting a cheap i5 for ~$200 but i might have to dish out the extra $100 for quality.

EDIT: or just say screw the power and get something like a X3430 for 1156 or even E5603/E5606 for 1366, the next question is what motherboard to pair with it
 
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ripken204 said:
yes, quite costly though, but i'll consider it.
i was originally considering getting a cheap i5 for ~$200 but i might have to dish out the extra $100 for quality.

EDIT: or just say screw the power and get something like a X3430 for 1156 or even E5603/E5606 for 1366, the next question is what motherboard to pair with it
Click to expand...

Supermicro X8SIL-F. Or, if you need a few more PCIe slots, X8SIA-F
 
hmm new xeon's were released today, the E3-1220 looks tempting... but there are no motherboards for it yet
 
ripken204 said:
that is a nice looking case...
finding it in the US is impossible tho..
i would have to get it from [N C I X] and shipping would be $60
Click to expand...

fair enough! :D (they're located in sweden)
It is impossible to get norcos in germany/europe without paying a fantastillion for shipping...
 
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