20TB server

[D20PAX]

hi all. plan to build a 20TB server, staring with 8tb and adding to it when i need to. gunna be using this case http://www.xcase.co.uk/p/445733/x-c...onal-psusuks-lowest-priced-multidisk-4u-.html would like to base it on WHS and was wondering what hardware would be required. will only be servering Blu-rays to a pair on media center pcs

 

[Messiah Khan]

Im not going as big as you and am only starting off with 8x500Gb drives. But i have exactly the same case (arrived yesterday) and its great. Had slight issue with mounting the ATX PSU (a 700W Tagan one) but other than that all is good. My server is using a cheap nasty old pc; Celeron 700mhz, 1Gb ram (you need at least 512mb to install WHS) onboard GPU, a 16 port Adaptec SATA controller, Netgear gigabit NIC etc. Im probably cutting it a bit fine, but you don't need huge specs for a fileserver.

 

[Owen824]

Nice one for bringing this up. Like the look of being able to add more drives as and when i need them. now a quick question. is it just a case of buying this with a psu and the running this via a spare pc. I currently have a p4 2.8ghz, 2gb ram, 256mb video, 160gb hard drive spare pc. would this be suffice to run this server? what would i need to connect the two. thanks for any help.

 

[eddyx11]

I though there was a 16TB limit with WHS?

I may be wrong like, but just seem to remember reading it somewhere...

 

[PAH]

I though there was a 16TB limit with WHS?

I may be wrong like, but just seem to remember reading it somewhere...

Wouldn't suprise me, with it being 32 bit. Any plans for a 64 bit version?

I suppose using it to store HD stuff is the only way you're going to need such massive amounts of disk space, unless you've got a serious DVD collection!

 

[D20PAX]

Wouldn't suprise me, with it being 32 bit. Any plans for a 64 bit version?

I suppose using it to store HD stuff is the only way you're going to need such massive amounts of disk space, unless you've got a serious DVD collection!

on another froum i aksed about this M$ are looking to release a patch or so that was claimed.

i assumed a large server needed mega power but i guess was wrong, gunna use the contents on my current pc ( pentium D 3.0ghz, 2gb ram) in the server and treat myself to a new dell ONE.

so the case is of decent quality? i herd the case is very very heavy but looks very nice. some more details on how you found it would be great

 

[Messiah Khan]

on another froum i aksed about this M$ are looking to release a patch or so that was claimed.

i assumed a large server needed mega power but i guess was wrong, gunna use the contents on my current pc ( pentium D 3.0ghz, 2gb ram) in the server and treat myself to a new dell ONE.

so the case is of decent quality? i herd the case is very very heavy but looks very nice. some more details on how you found it would be great

Yeah it's pretty decent quality. As you say its very heavy and somewhat unfortunately its very deep (650mm) which means im going to need quite a cabinet to house it. There are a few niggles in that the middle fan mounting should have been easily removable, and the PSU mounting is weird (I've had to bodge it somewhat as it doesn't really seem designed for ATX PSUs, unless im missing some adapter plate or something). Id also like the whole case to be black, but unfortunately only the front is. But other than that its a nice case and provides plenty of expandability.

 

[Stray]

Hi, I was wondering, what sort of power does a server such as above take during normal operations as i'm assuming they're on 24/7. Do the hard drives power down or is that something you have to setup in the operating system?

 

[wywywywy]

Power consumptions off the top of my head.

Motherboard
Intel recent desktop chipset with onboard gfx = 35W
Intel recent mobile chipset with onboard gfx = 20W

Processor (nominal)
Intel Pentium 4 / Pentium D = 120W
Intel Celeron = 70W
Intel Core 2 Duo (desktop) = 65W
Intel Core 2 Duo (mobile) = 35W
Intel Core 2 Solo / Celeron-M (mobile) = 25W
Intel Atom Dual Core = 8W

Memory
Two sticks = 5W

Hard drive
Idle (desktop) = 5W
Load (desktop) = 20W
Idle (mobile) = 1W
Load (mobile) = 5W

Other stuff
Power loss, keyboard/mouse, USB devices, fans, etc = 10W
PCI HDD controller = 15W

Just rough figures off the top of my head. Not 100% accurate, but should be reasonably close.

 

[Stray]

Hmm, would a mini itx motherboard be better for a server (such as m10000) or would they be too slow, i've also heard of green hard drives by western digital I think, are they any good or is it a marketing gimmick?

 

[Singh400]

Just wondering how much space are you currently using? And out of how much?

 

[wywywywy]

I used to use an M10000 on the WHS, but it lacks Gb Ethernet and SATA. Performance has never been a problem - it doesn't really do much afterall.

Now it is replaced by an Intel D945GCLF2 (dual core Atom, ITX) that has both SATA and Gb Eth on board. Power consumption is very low too. Plus it is well cheap - cost £50 only. And you probably have some spare DDR2 sticks already. Do yourself a favour and replace the chipset fan with a Scythe Mini-Kaze though.

I also have the WD GreenPower 1TB. It works fine. It is quieter and lower power consumption than many simply because it is 5400rpm. Still nowhere near as quiet/low-power as a laptop drive obviously, but storage is much bigger.

 

[CallMeSteve]

Now it is replaced by an Intel D945GCLF2 (dual core Atom, ITX) that has both SATA and Gb Eth on board. Power consumption is very low too. Plus it is well cheap - cost £50 only.

Hi, can I ask where you got that motherboard from? I'm looking for the exact same thing for a possible WHS build. Thanks.

 

[wywywywy]

I got it from CarTFT. Intel D945GCLF<b>2</b> (with integrated Atom 2x 1.6Ghz CPU, <b>TV-Out</b>) BOX *new*
But LinITX also sells it. LinITX.com - Intel D945GCLF2 Dual Core 1.6Ghz ATOM Mainboard
And MicroDirect seems to be the cheapest. Intel Motherboard D945GCLF2 Q35 LGA775 on board VGA DDR2 micro ATX Retail boxed - BOXD945GCLF2 - www.microdirect.co.uk
Or you can get it from eBay US for slightly cheaper.

I know the price is quite different now - the Pound was much stronger when I bought it.

 

[CallMeSteve]

Thanks mate

 

[Stray]

I used to use an M10000 on the WHS, but it lacks Gb Ethernet and SATA. Performance has never been a problem - it doesn't really do much afterall.

Yeah it's weird I completely forgot about that, pretty useless without gigabit ethernet, i've seen a few mini itx boards with dual or even 3 gigabit ethernet ports. Would you be able to connect them all to a switch to allow multiple connections from 2/3 pcs at gb speed? Or is it mainly for bridging networks?

I also have the WD GreenPower 1TB. It works fine. It is quieter and lower power consumption than many simply because it is 5400rpm. Still nowhere near as quiet/low-power as a laptop drive obviously, but storage is much bigger.

May sound like a silly question but do you notice a reduction in access time/speed because it's not 7200rpm when serving files?

 

[wywywywy]

Not really no, especially I don't copy from files across too often nowadays - everything stays on the server. The hard drives on my desktops/HTPCs get smaller and smaller over time, moving to Velociraptors and laptop drives, and probably SSDs in the near future. The need for speed is like a one-off process, after everything is moved to the server, they just stay there.

Even a 5400rpm drive can serve 1080p material to more than one client, no problem at all.

The next drive I buy for the server will probably still be the GreenPower. I am pretty satisfied with it as an overall package... unless they introduce 1TB laptop drives soon!

 

[Singh400]

Not really no, especially I don't copy from files across too often nowadays - everything stays on the server. The hard drives on my desktops/HTPCs get smaller and smaller over time, moving to Velociraptors and laptop drives, and probably SSDs in the near future. The need for speed is like a one-off process, after everything is moved to the server, they just stay there.

Yeah thats my eventual plan aswell. Just have one large file dump. And the workstations themsevles will be running no more than 120GB SSDs.

The next drive I buy for the server will probably still be the GreenPower. I am pretty satisfied with it as an overall package... unless they introduce 1TB laptop drives soon!

Haven't seen anything that really puts these drives ahead of the rest. Say for instance the Samsung F1s - or maybe I haven't been looking hard enough?

 

[wywywywy]

I have a Samsung F1 1TB on the same server, and what puts the GP ahead of the F1 is just two things really - noise level and power consumption. The F1 is faster but if you like me don't care too much about raw performance, then they GP is a better product for use on a home server in my opinion.

The noise level is important unless you have a server room/cupboard. And if that is the case I would be very jealous, because my living room is my server room.

The power consumption I haven't measured but I believe the reviews. On average the GP consumes about 25-35% less power than other 3.5" drives, which definitely helps on a 24/7 machine.

F1 and GP both are of about the same price.

 

[Stray]

Not really no, especially I don't copy from files across too often nowadays - everything stays on the server. The hard drives on my desktops/HTPCs get smaller and smaller over time, moving to Velociraptors and laptop drives, and probably SSDs in the near future. The need for speed is like a one-off process, after everything is moved to the server, they just stay there.

Even a 5400rpm drive can serve 1080p material to more than one client, no problem at all.

Hmm that sounds like a good idea, if I take the 500gb hard drive out of each of the 4 pcs on the network and put them in to a home server and replace them with smaller or even 10000rpm hard drives (which would improve gaming? not sure). The added bonus is that there is always access to the server files whereas one or more of the pcs might be switched off when you try to connect

 

[wywywywy]

Yea that's what I was going to do originally, using an unloved M10000 + IDE drives from various machines, housed in a 1U rack case. Although within 6 months I went a bit overboard and bought a 1TB F1, 1TB GP, D945GCLF2, various other things, and a 4U rack case...

The 10000rpm Velociraptor is absolutely sublime!!! So fast, quiet and economical. It won't make games run faster, but the loading will be much quicker. The downside obviously is that it is about 9 times the price of other "normal" drives per gigabyte. You will love it though. For me it is about 30% faster than my old 7200rpm drive, and I mainly use it for storing virtual machines (the loading/unloading really hammer hard drives).

 

[Stray]

The 10000rpm Velociraptor is absolutely sublime!!! So fast, quiet and economical. It won't make games run faster, but the loading will be much quicker. The downside obviously is that it is about 9 times the price of other "normal" drives per gigabyte. You will love it though. For me it is about 30% faster than my old 7200rpm drive, and I mainly use it for storing virtual machines (the loading/unloading really hammer hard drives).

I think that's the beauty of this setup, the Velociraptor maybe be more expensive per gb, but you don't need as many GB. Thank you for your help!