BUILD Growing pains (expanding a TS140)

[falkon]

I'm trying to expand my current build:
Thinkserver TS140
Xeon E3-1225v3
4GB 1600MHz DDR3 ECC RAM (upgrade to 16GB sorely needed)
4xSeagate 4TB ST4000VN000 in zfs mirrors

I also have a spare LSI 9240-8i sitting around

I'm at 80% capacity and will need to expand with a few more drives soon. However, the case doesn't have the space for any further expansion. Transplanting the motherboard seems to be a pain in the ass so I don't think I want to do that. So I have a few options:
1.) Buy a new motherboard and transplant the entire thing into a new case. Also upgrade the memory.
2.) Buy a RAID enclosure and use a mini SAS connector from the LSI card to link it up.

Which option do you think? Also for whichever option, could you give some hardware suggestions? Mobo, case, enclosure, etc?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

4GB 1600MHz DDR3 ECC RAM (upgrade to 16GB required immediately to meet minimum requirements)

 

[falkon]

yeah, I'll do the upgrade together in the next two weeks.

 

[Spearfoot]

Which option do you think?

"None of the above" :)

You haven't told us how your pool is configured; I assume it's a RAIDZ topology of some kind. You can't just add disks to a RAIDZ volume, but you can replace the existing disks with larger capacity drives and increase your storage that way. You would have to replace the disks one-at-a-time and let the pool resilver after each replacement. Using 8TB disks would double your storage capacity (assuming the Thinkserver SATA controller can handle drives that big). So your procedure would be:

1> Upgrade RAM to 8GB (minimum) or 16GB (preferred)
2> Replace the 4TB drives with 6T or 8TB drives.

Your only other options involve a new case + PSU + add'l drives + (perhaps) a disk controller, which could easily end up costing more than 4 new 8TB drives. Plus, there's the question of how you'll transfer your current pool data to the new pool... Do you have good backups?

 

[falkon]

I'm using mirror vdevs so I believe I can just add 2 more drives to the pool easily.

 

[Spearfoot]

I'm using mirror vdevs so I believe I can just add 2 more drives to the pool easily.

Yes, you can -- except you mentioned that your case doesn't have room for more drives.

You can still double the pool size as I suggested. You'll see gains in capacity immediately after replacing both drives in a mirror. So you could get half of the prospective additional space right away by replacing one of the mirrored pairs, and wait to replace the other mirror later, if need be.

 

[falkon]

I agree. Your plan is good and in the short term, I could live with that. But I would like future expandability and it's a shame to have 2x4TB drives sitting around. So the question remains: new case+mobo or RAID enclosure?

 

[Robert Smith]

Maybe if you can find a TS440 for cheap somewhere, even a broken one, the internals of TS140 should transfer easily.

 

[falkon]

Not a bad idea.

 

[Mirfster]

Get a 2U or 4U.. Go big or go home... /JK :P

 

[Philip Robar]

I have a TS140. What I've done is use a 4 in 3 drive cage. Since this won't fit in the external drive slot area (and even a 3 in 2 wouldn't fit without cutting that brace in the internal frame) I just have it sitting next to the case and run the data and power cables out a back slot.

RAID towers and x in y drive cages tend to be a little pricy. (I only got mine because they were on sale for half off.) As an alternative you could try one of these: Sans Digital's HD Organizing Rack ($30)

"The Hard Drive Rack HDDRACK5 is the latest innovation product for hard drive storage and organization. Each HDDRACK5 unit houses up to five hard drives by using easy to install turnbuckle screws. Designed with a 4.7” cooling fan and a hollow aluminum frame, the HDDRACK5 provides the most efficient heat dissipation. The HDDRACK5 is built with an ON/OFF power switch, which controls the power of hard drives, when a 20-pin or 24-pin ATX power supply is connected. The HDDRACK5 is expandable to 10-bay by stacking an additional unit on top and securing it with a tool-less screw."

 

[anodos]

Get a 2U or 4U.. Go big or go home... /JK :p

Where's the joke? I'm missing it.