BUILD Want to build/buy a rackmount, but I'm a bit lost

[DGenerateKane]

Sorry in advance, but this post might be a bit unorganized.

I originally decided on getting the Norco 24 bay listed in the hardware guide, but after reading some reviews I've decided to stay away from it. Supermicro apparently doesn't have a 24 bay rackmount from what I saw, so I started looking at their 36 bay chassis. I ended up finding some used ones that were entire systems, which got me wondering if I could use the hardware for my purposes. The first one I found SuperMicro CSE-847E16-R1400LPB seemed ok. I know I'd ditch the low capacity drives and I would have to replace the RAM with higher capacity modules sooner than later. The problem I have is I'm not sure if the backplane supports higher capacity drives. I'm under the impression it does not, which means I would have to buy new one, which I wouldn't be surprised if it cost as much as the whole machine does. I've seen several that specifically state they don't, but they were from a different seller so I'm not sure if this seller would make the distinction. I also have zero knowledge with rackmounts, and I'm not sure exactly how the backplanes connect to the motherboard.

Another rackmount I came across was an Isilion this 4U 36 Bay Storage Server. With my limited knowledge I do believe this one will accommodate large capacity drives. My concern with this one is the board only supports up to 192gb of RAM. I intend for this system to last me 10+ years, and plan on filling it with lots of high capacity drives, specifically I'm looking at Seagate 10TB Ironwolf drives. And who knows what capacity will be available in just a few years time. So if I go with the rule of 1gb RAM per 1tb of storage, and if I've got the rackmount full of 10+tb drives, 192gb will not be enough.

I also don't know how long these used systems might last. I obviously don't ever want to have to replace dead hardware, but I certainly don't want to have to replace any early on simply because they saw extensive use prior to my purchase. And if the board fails, I would probably have to get a different model anyway and likely a new CPU and all new RAM.

If I do get new hardware, I was looking at the SuperMicro X10SRL-F motherboard. The 64gb DIMMs are too cost prohibitive, so I'm going to start with 2 or 3 sticks of Samsung DDR4 2133MHzCL15 32GB (PC4 2133) Internal Memory M386A4G40DM0-CPB RAM. That depends on how many drives I start with, which I haven't nailed down yet. I'd like to start with 10, but realistically I can't afford more than 4 or 5. I wasn't sure what processor to get, because I read that something changed and not every socket 2011 processor will actually work. Since I don't know what processor I'm getting I don't know if I'll need a cheap video card or not either. I have not looked into PSU's yet. Like I said earlier, I do not know anything about backplanes, so I'm not sure if I would need any SATA cards, or what type of cables.

This machine is going to serve media files to several HTPC's throughout my house. Eventually I plan on setting up a plex server to allow remote streaming as well. That's what the majority of the storage is for. Besides that, I do have a good chunk of storage that will basically be archived. I have a pool on my current NAS that is 85% archived files, and about 15% of the files in the pool gets accessed regularly.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thoughts? Opinions? Corrections? I appreciate any help I can get.

 

[Spearfoot]

Sorry in advance, but this post might be a bit unorganized.

I originally decided on getting the Norco 24 bay listed in the hardware guide, but after reading some reviews I've decided to stay away from it. Supermicro apparently doesn't have a 24 bay rackmount from what I saw, so I started looking at their 36 bay chassis. I ended up finding some used ones that were entire systems, which got me wondering if I could use the hardware for my purposes. The first one I found SuperMicro CSE-847E16-R1400LPB seemed ok. I know I'd ditch the low capacity drives and I would have to replace the RAM with higher capacity modules sooner than later. The problem I have is I'm not sure if the backplane supports higher capacity drives. I'm under the impression it does not, which means I would have to buy new one, which I wouldn't be surprised if it cost as much as the whole machine does. I've seen several that specifically state they don't, but they were from a different seller so I'm not sure if this seller would make the distinction. I also have zero knowledge with rackmounts, and I'm not sure exactly how the backplanes connect to the motherboard.

Another rackmount I came across was an Isilion this 4U 36 Bay Storage Server. With my limited knowledge I do believe this one will accommodate large capacity drives. My concern with this one is the board only supports up to 192gb of RAM. I intend for this system to last me 10+ years, and plan on filling it with lots of high capacity drives, specifically I'm looking at Seagate 10TB Ironwolf drives. And who knows what capacity will be available in just a few years time. So if I go with the rule of 1gb RAM per 1tb of storage, and if I've got the rackmount full of 10+tb drives, 192gb will not be enough.

I also don't know how long these used systems might last. I obviously don't ever want to have to replace dead hardware, but I certainly don't want to have to replace any early on simply because they saw extensive use prior to my purchase. And if the board fails, I would probably have to get a different model anyway and likely a new CPU and all new RAM.

If I do get new hardware, I was looking at the SuperMicro X10SRL-F motherboard. The 64gb DIMMs are too cost prohibitive, so I'm going to start with 2 or 3 sticks of Samsung DDR4 2133MHzCL15 32GB (PC4 2133) Internal Memory M386A4G40DM0-CPB RAM. That depends on how many drives I start with, which I haven't nailed down yet. I'd like to start with 10, but realistically I can't afford more than 4 or 5. I wasn't sure what processor to get, because I read that something changed and not every socket 2011 processor will actually work. Since I don't know what processor I'm getting I don't know if I'll need a cheap video card or not either. I have not looked into PSU's yet. Like I said earlier, I do not know anything about backplanes, so I'm not sure if I would need any SATA cards, or what type of cables.

This machine is going to serve media files to several HTPC's throughout my house. Eventually I plan on setting up a plex server to allow remote streaming as well. That's what the majority of the storage is for. Besides that, I do have a good chunk of storage that will basically be archived. I have a pool on my current NAS that is 85% archived files, and about 15% of the files in the pool gets accessed regularly.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thoughts? Opinions? Corrections? I appreciate any help I can get.

Supermicro makes a slough of 24-bay 4U servers, if that's what you're wanting: try including 'supermicro' and '846' when you search eBay. There are quite a few 4U 24-bay Supermicro systems available right now.

One disadvantage of the 36-bay 4U servers is that the motherboard compartment is only 2U in height; this means you can't install PCIe cards with full-height brackets. Also, the reduced height limits your choices if you want use active CPU cooling.

I recently purchased a system very much like this one: Supermicro 4U 846BA-R920B. I contacted this seller directly and negotiated a different memory configuration -- 8 x 16GB DIMMs instead 16 x 8GB. This unit has dual 'SQ' (Super Quiet) power supplies, highly desirable in these rackmount servers -- which tend to be loud.

Good luck!

 

[danb35]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro-...Dom/132221656170?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

 

[DGenerateKane]

Odd, I didn't see any 24 bay chassis on their site under 4u. I've however decided I want 36 bays anyway, giving me plenty of room for expansion in the future. As for the lack of room for PCIe cards with full-height brackets, I'm not sure I'd ever need any. The only thing I would possibly need would be sata cards, but if I understand correctly some backplates can connect all 36 drives directly to the motherboard. Or am I wrong? The one danb35 linked to states for RAID: "1x LSI 9211-8i HBA JBOD FREENAS UNRAID (with SAS2 expander will support all 36 bays)" Which sounds like I wouldn't need any. But I really don't know anything about backplanes, so like I said I could be reading it wrong. If I am wrong, and will need full-height bracketed PCIe cards to allow for more drives to be connected, then that will be a problem. The RAM on that machine would definitely work for my needs for a few years at least, but I know at some point I'll have more than 128TB of storage space and will then have to replace all the RAM with larger capacity DIMMs. Which by then could be pretty expensive. I might contact the seller and see if higher capacity DIMMs could be swapped. Are there any users with used rackmounts on here? I'd like to know how well they hold up.

 

[danb35]

1x LSI 9211-8i HBA JBOD FREENAS UNRAID (with SAS2 expander will support all 36 bays)" Which sounds like I wouldn't need any.

That's correct.

know at some point I'll have more than 128TB of storage space and will then have to replace all the RAM with larger capacity DIMMs.

The 1 GB RAM / 1 TB storage rule is a very loose rule of thumb. More RAM is never a bad thing, but you should base expansion requirements on more than just your amount of storage (especially if you're starting with 128 GB). But that said, it'd certainly be worth asking if the RAM can be swapped out with fewer and larger DIMMs--the board supports up to 1 TB of RAM.

Are there any users with used rackmounts on here?

My system is very similar to the one I linked, though with a different motherboard that integrates the HBA. I bought it used and have had it for a little over a year, and it's working very well--though I'm using it at home, so most of what it does is ridiculous overkill for my needs.

 

[DGenerateKane]

Alright, I think I will go with the one you linked. I do have a question for you though, I noticed you have a Chelsio T420E-CR adapter in yours. How is it? Is it worth it? I'd really like to get my current NAS, my future NAS, and at least one of my desktops on 10gb ethernet. It looks like it's going to cost a bit though, and I'm not entirely sure of all the hardware I'd need.

 

[danb35]

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/10-gig-networking-primer.42/

I'm using a Dell 5524 switch at the moment, but that only has two SFP+ ports.

 

[DGenerateKane]

Yeah I've been reading that. I think I may have to wait until next year to upgrade my network, I'm dropping a lot of money on the server and drives. I'd also like to build a replacement machine for my gaming rig that's over 6 years old now.