2011-01-30, 01:04
well, you can't say this case is ugly right?
2011-01-30, 01:59
No, its definetly not ugly. I just want something really plain. I have a NZXT Lexa blackline for my main PC (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811146048)
I just realized that the psu I was looking at had two 12v rails. So now I'm looking for a cheaper single rail psu.
I just realized that the psu I was looking at had two 12v rails. So now I'm looking for a cheaper single rail psu.
2011-01-30, 02:37
xecutionx Wrote:Right now, I'm very interested in this atom mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product
If you like this MB i'd really consider the HF version over this one. The built in IPMI really is worth paying the extra money.
Also if you like the Fractal Designs cases see if you can find the older R2 version any cheaper. Very minimal changes between them....
I've done 3 unraid builds so far (my own and for mates) and all have used the X7SPA-HF motherboard, Fractal designs R2/R3 cases and the 8 Channel supermicro SAS card. As i said earlier its not the cheapest box to build but i really think its a hard to beat combo.
Couple of other neat features of the X7SPA boards that make them perfect for unRaid (not sure if i mentioned it earlier). There is a USB port right on the motherboard and you can jumper them to be always powered on. And once again the IPMI...
As for PSU's... the above builds i've done (all with 10 HDD's) have used the following without any issues.
Corsair VX450w
Corsair CX430
Antec NEO ECO 400C
2011-01-30, 03:20
leigh_munro Wrote:If you like this MB i'd really consider the HF version over this one. The built in IPMI really is worth paying the extra money.Thanks for the info. What exactly is IPMI used for? Network Administration? Do you have a usage example?
Also if you like the Fractal Designs cases see if you can find the older R2 version any cheaper. Very minimal changes between them....
I've done 3 unraid builds so far (my own and for mates) and all have used the X7SPA-HF motherboard, Fractal designs R2/R3 cases and the 8 Channel supermicro SAS card. As i said earlier its not the cheapest box to build but i really think its a hard to beat combo.
Couple of other neat features of the X7SPA boards that make them perfect for unRaid (not sure if i mentioned it earlier). There is a USB port right on the motherboard and you can jumper them to be always powered on. And once again the IPMI...
As for PSU's... the above builds i've done (all with 10 HDD's) have used the following without any issues.
Corsair VX450w
Corsair CX430
Antec NEO ECO 400C
I'll look into those power supplies. I really appreciate all the input.
2011-01-30, 03:53
xecutionx Wrote:What exactly is IPMI used for?
Basically my server is setup in a cupboard in a back room. Only plugged into power with no keyboard, Display or mouse. From any other computer on my network i can log into the IP address for the IPMI server and have complete control of the server. Keyboard, Video and mouse is all done over the network. You can even power on/off, access the bios, see all the sensor reading from the motherboard (temp fanspeed etc). You can even create a virtual drive on the server (eg mount CD-rom from the networked computer to the server)
Basically anything i could do by sitting infront of the server, i can now do over a network. In fact my unRaid box has never had a keyboard, display or mouse ever plugged into it at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent..._Interface
2011-01-30, 04:03
leigh_munro Wrote:Basically my server is setup in a cupboard in a back room. Only plugged into power with no keyboard, Display or mouse. From any other computer on my network i can log into the IP address for the IPMI server and have complete control of the server. Keyboard, Video and mouse is all done over the network. You can even power on/off, access the bios, see all the sensor reading from the motherboard (temp fanspeed etc). You can even create a virtual drive on the server (eg mount CD-rom from the networked computer to the server)It's definitely worth a shot. How's the speed?
Basically anything i could do by sitting infront of the server, i can now do over a network. In fact my unRaid box has never had a keyboard, display or mouse ever plugged into it at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent..._Interface
What exactly is the point of the usb jumper setup you described earlier? I was also going to install unraid onto a usb. I have built systems before, but never have gone this deep in regards to hardware features.
What ram did you use? I read about some comparability issues and am worried about that. Thanks for all your help.
2011-01-30, 04:21
xecutionx Wrote:It's definitely worth a shot. How's the speed?
What exactly is the point of the usb jumper setup you described earlier? I was also going to install unraid onto a usb. I have built systems before, but never have gone this deep in regards to hardware features.
What ram did you use? I read about some comparability issues and am worried about that. Thanks for all your help.
USB on MotherBoard: Basically unRaid boots off a usb stick(pretty sure thats your only option), normally you would need to have the usb stick plugged into one of the ports on the back of the motherboard or get an adapter for the usb headders usually found on most motherboards. With the supermicro board you can just plug the usb stick straight into the center of the motherboard. The main advantage is nothing hanging out the front or back of the computer.
Not sure what ram i used but didnt have any issues with any of the 3 builds i've done. The board is supposed to be a little picky but i only ever purchased what was cheapest at the time.
2011-01-30, 10:26
leigh_munro Wrote:Basically my server is setup in a cupboard in a back room. Only plugged into power with no keyboard, Display or mouse. From any other computer on my network i can log into the IP address for the IPMI server and have complete control of the server. Keyboard, Video and mouse is all done over the network. You can even power on/off, access the bios, see all the sensor reading from the motherboard (temp fanspeed etc). You can even create a virtual drive on the server (eg mount CD-rom from the networked computer to the server)
IPMI sounds like a great feature but I'm wondering if it is worth the extra cost in this case. I mean the OP can get the open box non-ipmi version with a significant discount and apart form being able to power on and access bios, you can pretty much do everything else with a simple telnet session? Or am I missing something obvious?
I run my headless server in the loft away from anyone's ears and the only time I need to power it on is when I add / replace / upgrade something inside so access to the power button is not a problem.
I guess what I am trying to say is that if money is not an issue, by all means get the IPMI board but if budget is tight, the unRAID server can be managed almost as easily without the IPMI feature.
2011-01-30, 14:51
maxinc Wrote:IPMI sounds like a great feature but I'm wondering if it is worth the extra cost in this case. I mean the OP can get the open box non-ipmi version with a significant discount and apart form being able to power on and access bios, you can pretty much do everything else with a simple telnet session? Or am I missing something obvious?I think, in the long run, it would be worth it. I didn't really want to take the risk with that open box board. There is also an app for the iPhone where I can read temperatures and server vitals (in addition to powering it on and off).
I run my headless server in the loft away from anyone's ears and the only time I need to power it on is when I add / replace / upgrade something inside so access to the power button is not a problem.
I guess what I am trying to say is that if money is not an issue, by all means get the IPMI board but if budget is tight, the unRAID server can be managed almost as easily without the IPMI feature.
2011-01-30, 15:04
You can power it off / reboot and read all server vitals, hdd temperature, smart statuses, drive performance, even receive email from various events from within the unRAID interface.
The only thing you can not do is to Power Up remotely which I think is a great feature for those servers with not so easy access and which don't run 24/7 and require frequent power ups.
The only thing you can not do is to Power Up remotely which I think is a great feature for those servers with not so easy access and which don't run 24/7 and require frequent power ups.
2011-01-30, 15:27
maxinc Wrote:You can power it off / reboot and read all server vitals, hdd temperature, smart statuses, drive performance, even receive email from various events from within the unRAID interface.
The only thing you can not do is to Power Up remotely which I think is a great feature for those servers with not so easy access and which don't run 24/7 and require frequent power ups.
Now you have me second guessing, lol. Here's what I'm looking at atm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182234
I plan on using this sever for a couple years which is why I don't mind spending on quality parts. With a RAID card, I'll get 14 sata ports. I currently have 3 1.5tb drives and 2 2tb drives and only plan on buying 2TB drives from here on.
2011-01-30, 15:57
The Atom board has a great advantage of being ultra power efficient and I wish it didn't cost so much in the UK. It will serve you well for many years ... or at least until you need to add the 17th drive anyway. If the open box is not faulty and all the bits are present, I wouldn't hesitate.
And just to mess with your mind some more, lol, my unRAID server has been running for 24/7 for 2.5 years and has been built from recycled parts which ran for another 2-3 years and costed me virtually nothing. Is not as power efficient but it would take almost 5 years to justify the costs of an ATOM board (based on monthly power savings). Performance wise, there is no difference.
And just to mess with your mind some more, lol, my unRAID server has been running for 24/7 for 2.5 years and has been built from recycled parts which ran for another 2-3 years and costed me virtually nothing. Is not as power efficient but it would take almost 5 years to justify the costs of an ATOM board (based on monthly power savings). Performance wise, there is no difference.
2011-01-30, 16:01
For those that are interested, there is an excellent discussion of unRAID builds here:
http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7998.0
http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7998.0
2011-01-30, 16:09
This one is a bit more future proof since it allows you to go up to the 20 drives but has only 4 SATA to start with.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182205
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182205
2011-01-30, 17:59
I currently have an e8400 with a Asus P5Q Pro mobo that gives me 7 sata slots. This computer is running 24/7 with a 7 harddrives. This undoubtedly sucks a lot of power (the machine is torrenting and serving a XBMC box and two xbox 360s, got 'em cheap for video streaming and backup). Otherwise, I don't really use this machine for day to day activity, as I use my netbook for browsing except for maybe some web design and photoshop. I figured I'll build an unraid box, save some power while having some protection from disk failure. I plan getting a ssd in the future for my main PC to increase overall speed.
When I do decide to upgrade my PC, I can always use the old mobo and cpu for a server. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
This board (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182243) has a d525 atom with IPMI. The IPMI seems like a very popular feature: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5133.0
I'm only going to be using 6 drives. When I need more than 6, I'll buy the addon card which gives me up to 14 drives. 28TB (26 usable due to parity) in theory, is more than enough for a home server, IMO.
Current Build:
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182234
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820148317
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811133180
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817371029
When I do decide to upgrade my PC, I can always use the old mobo and cpu for a server. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
This board (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182243) has a d525 atom with IPMI. The IPMI seems like a very popular feature: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5133.0
I'm only going to be using 6 drives. When I need more than 6, I'll buy the addon card which gives me up to 14 drives. 28TB (26 usable due to parity) in theory, is more than enough for a home server, IMO.
Current Build:
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813182234
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820148317
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811133180
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817371029
