Following my introduction post, I wanted to explain a bit more about what I am after.
Today, I have the following builds:
1/ Oversized - server - built in March 2013:
Norco RPC4224
Supermicro X9SRL-F
Xeon E5-2665 v1
128GB ECC
3 x M1015 (properly flashed so I have JBOD)
6 x 3 TB 3.5"
9 x 1TB (2.5'' - size matters for the option I have in mind)
3 x 1TB 3.5"
RAIDZ2 built in such a way that I can lose one of my 3 controllers and still feel like nothing happened - 18 TB useable and currently 7.2TB used - I added 1 TB in a year, so I may not need so much space with such redondancy.
4x 1Gb NIC in LACP to my switch
2 x 80 GB SSD for the system as a ZFS mirror - connected to the motherboard
2/ Old stuff - recovered a long time ago:
DL380 G5
Dual Xeon CPU E5x00 series - not super powerful anymore and fairly power hungry
20GB of RAM ECC
8 x 1TB (2.5'') - raidz
This was originally my plan to use as a backup server however:
I have 2 x 3TB drives that I kept as spare but that I could use now.
So in total, I have the following:
Now back to the options I have in mind to achieve:
Option A:
I stick to the Cisco router + the UCS blade and I add an USB external enclosure for 4 drives to get space.
USB2 only poor performance
Cannot really pretend to be a central primary NAS
Option B:
I find a controller for the DL380 to expand externally but would need to address the shutdown issue
Option C:
I use my Norco case and find a motherboard/CPU/Memory with IPMI to unload my current large build and create a primary server focusing on low power consumption.
Then I could combine storage and gateway functions so I can shutdown my Cisco router.
I looked at the hardware recommendation, but one question is:
Is it correct to think than bigger HDD and less HDD helps for low power consumption?
So in my case, I could focus on getting my 8 x 3 TB + 2 x 4 TB (and expand from that in the future)
For my backup server, I use a spare case+PSU, and need to find a used motherboard/CPU/RAM to accomodate all the 1TB HDD. I was thinking of getting this ICY DOCK but given the number of drives I have, it might be cheaper to go for another Norco...
Finally, I stick my Supermicro + Xeon E5 in a 1RU case to use for heavy compute scenario.
If you are still reading, first, thank you ;-), and then what would you do for a good use of the existing hardware I have while minimizing stuff I have to buy keeping in mind the point is to keep the power utilization of the main server low ?
Thanks !
Today, I have the following builds:
1/ Oversized - server - built in March 2013:
Norco RPC4224
Supermicro X9SRL-F
Xeon E5-2665 v1
128GB ECC
3 x M1015 (properly flashed so I have JBOD)
6 x 3 TB 3.5"
9 x 1TB (2.5'' - size matters for the option I have in mind)
3 x 1TB 3.5"
RAIDZ2 built in such a way that I can lose one of my 3 controllers and still feel like nothing happened - 18 TB useable and currently 7.2TB used - I added 1 TB in a year, so I may not need so much space with such redondancy.
4x 1Gb NIC in LACP to my switch
2 x 80 GB SSD for the system as a ZFS mirror - connected to the motherboard
2/ Old stuff - recovered a long time ago:
DL380 G5
Dual Xeon CPU E5x00 series - not super powerful anymore and fairly power hungry
20GB of RAM ECC
8 x 1TB (2.5'') - raidz
This was originally my plan to use as a backup server however:
- I am a bit short on space and there is no way to add more drives - at least not sure how to do it easily, I have PCI-64 slot available
- Although it has IPMI, when the server is off it draws something like 30W, very surprised !!!!
- For an unknown reason, I cannot shutdown this server while running FreeBSD, it will panic and hang.
I have 2 x 3TB drives that I kept as spare but that I could use now.
So in total, I have the following:
8 x 3 TB 3.5"
20 x 1 TB 2.5"
3 x 1TB 3.5"
2 x 4TB drives 3.5" in external enclosure that could be removed to be made internal
20 x 1 TB 2.5"
3 x 1TB 3.5"
2 x 4TB drives 3.5" in external enclosure that could be removed to be made internal
Now back to the options I have in mind to achieve:
- Better power utilization while systems is idle
- Get a reliable backup server I can fully control from the main server to automate backup
- Better usage of my existing storage capacity
- Keep reasonable level of redundancy
Option A:
I stick to the Cisco router + the UCS blade and I add an USB external enclosure for 4 drives to get space.
Pros:
Easy to addCons:
Need to buy one enclosure, likely to be 4-drive enclosure which could give me a raidzUSB2 only poor performance
Cannot really pretend to be a central primary NAS
Option B:
I find a controller for the DL380 to expand externally but would need to address the shutdown issue
Option C:
I use my Norco case and find a motherboard/CPU/Memory with IPMI to unload my current large build and create a primary server focusing on low power consumption.
Then I could combine storage and gateway functions so I can shutdown my Cisco router.
I looked at the hardware recommendation, but one question is:
Is it correct to think than bigger HDD and less HDD helps for low power consumption?
So in my case, I could focus on getting my 8 x 3 TB + 2 x 4 TB (and expand from that in the future)
For my backup server, I use a spare case+PSU, and need to find a used motherboard/CPU/RAM to accomodate all the 1TB HDD. I was thinking of getting this ICY DOCK but given the number of drives I have, it might be cheaper to go for another Norco...
Finally, I stick my Supermicro + Xeon E5 in a 1RU case to use for heavy compute scenario.
If you are still reading, first, thank you ;-), and then what would you do for a good use of the existing hardware I have while minimizing stuff I have to buy keeping in mind the point is to keep the power utilization of the main server low ?
Thanks !
