Vexhold's 20 Drive Beast

Rajahal's 20 Drive Beast

 

http://www.lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hardware_Compatibility#Recommended_Builds

 

 

OS at time of building: 4.7 final

CPU: Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale 3.2GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3550

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O Xeon X3400 / L3400 / Core i3 series Dual LAN Micro ATX Server Board w/ Remote Management

RAM: Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 ECC Unbuffered Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/4G

Case: NORCO RPC-4220 4U Rackmount Server

Drive Cage(s): N/A

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V

SATA Expansion Card(s): SUPERMICRO AOC-SASLP-MV8 PCI Express x4 Low Profile SAS SAS RAID Controller

Cables: 1x NORCO C-SFF8087-4S Discrete to SFF-8087 (Reverse breakout) Cable - OEM

      4x NORCO C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable - OEM

Fans: Stock

 

Parity Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Data Drives: 3x Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Cache Drive: None

Total Drive Capacity: 6TB (Future expansion to 38TB)

 

Primary Use: Media storage for SageTV

Likes:

Dislikes:

Add Ons Used: unMENU, C Compiler, Bandwidth Monitor, Mail & Status Alerts

Future Plans: Add more Hard Drives and addon's

 

Boot (peak):

Idle (avg):

Active (avg):

Light use (avg):

 

 

 

This is a build from Raj's wiki list. I have yet to see this one built and I was rolling one anyways, so here it comes. Parts were delivered today. I will walk through the entire process as I go through it. I will post everything I learn, as I learn it. I am hoping to take a ton of photos and answer any questions you have on the build.

 

Stay Tuned!!

 

---

 

Edit (Feb 23 2011) - Added a 4th WD EARS 2TB - Got it for 29.99

Hardware

 

Case: NORCO 4220

 

I went with the Norco 4220 because I needed a case that could expand and grow with me without having to get back inside and mess with the hardware. I realize that there is the Norco 4224 that has 4 more drive bays, but at the time of purchase I was a little strapped for cash and could not justify the added expense. I also chose this case, over a desktop model, due to the fact I have a server room and wanted a rack mount.

 

I was a little nervous about the comments people made about the noise this case puts out, but after getting it all installed and running, found it was no louder than any of my other systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motherboard/CPU: SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O w/ Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale 3.2GHz

 

I like this board alot! It has a small footprint and has tons of features.The most important to me are:

 

Onboard Video

6 SATA ports

3 PCI-e Slots

IPMI

On-board USB port

 

The CPU was an easy choice as it runs very cool, doesnt use alot of power and can kick it up a notch when needed.

 

 

 

 

 

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W

 

This power supply is pretty. Not sure thats a good thing or not, but it is. As you can see it is even shipped in a velvet Corsair bag.

 

But more inportant it is beefy. It has a single 12v rail with 52amps. The only downside of this PSU for me is it was not modular. For me, I hate having a big ball of uneeded crap in my case that I have no control over. -oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

Controllers: SUPERMICRO AOC-SASLP-MV8

 

Not much to say about these boys. Just have to have them!!

 

 

 

 

 

Cables: (1) NORCO Reverse breakout Cable , (4) NORCO SAS Cable

 

My first time using SAS and I must say...  I like it!! I remember back when IDE cables were the bane of my existance when it came to cooling.

 

 

 

 

Hard Drives: WD20EARS 2TB

 

I only got 3 of these, as that should be a good start and I don't have 2,000 dollars to throw at drives right now. In the end, I will fill this case and possibly build another.

 

 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 ECC Unbuffered Server Memory

 

I heard alot of people talking about memory compatability with this mother board. I trusted Raj's choice and am glad I did. No problems at all.

 

 

Cooling: All Stock

 

Like I said above, I was worried about the fan noise the NORCO 4220 was going to make, but I figured, "Bah, it's in the server room". I was pleasantly suprised at how quiet it is.

 

I also used the stock CPU fan and heatsink. The new Intel CPUs run very cool and I have no worries about overheating.

 

 

 

Price:

 

 

Total actually came out LESS than Raj's end price tag. I miscalculated the comparison. Sorry Raj!! Haha.

 

Case: Norco 4220 (334.99)

 

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O Xeon X3400 / L3400 / Core i3 series Dual LAN Micro ATX Server Board w/ Remote Management (189.99)

 

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible ...  (89.99)

 

Flash Drive: SanDisk Cruzer 4GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model SDCZ36-004G-A11 (9.99)

 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 ECC Unbuffered Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/4G (50.99)

 

Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (3@ 99.99 = 299.97)

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale 3.2GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3550 (129.99)

 

Cables: NORCO C-SFF8087-D SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Internal Multilane SAS Cable - OEM (4@ 19.99 = 79.96)

      NORCO C-SFF8087-4S Discrete to SFF-8087 (Reverse breakout) Cable - OEM (12.99)

 

Controller Card: SUPERMICRO AOC-SASLP-MV8 PCI Express x4 Low Profile SAS SAS RAID Controller (2@ 109.99 = 219.98)

 

Total Cost: 1028.88 + tax and shipping & hard Drives

The Build

 

 

Even though I havent posted alot on the forums, I have been reading ALOT!! I always make sure that I know what I am getting into before I start in on it. You guys that have been using unRAID for a while have been a big help in making hardware and software decisions.

 

The day before starting the build, I ran through the Wiki one last time and printed out some of the key steps for the install. These being all the steps I would be in my "Tech Cave" with no internet.

 

Once the parts arrived I did the initial inspection, photos, and serial number documentation. Alot of people don't do this, but as I have had someone break into my home and take alot of computer stuff, insurance companies need information!!

 

Creating the bootable unRAID Flash Drive was even more simple than the Wiki explained. Took a grand total of 3 minutes. BAM!!

 

The overall build went very smooth and only ran into 3 problems.

 

Problem #1

 

When installing the motherboard into the Norco 4220, I found that there were not enough pre-drilled holes for the motherboard risers. There was on missing. I decided it was ok and just moved on, but remembered to be careful when plugging the SATA cables into the board.

 

 

 

 

Problem #2

 

When installing the SUPERMICRO AOC-SASLP-MV8, I ran into an issue. The cards come pre-setup with the lower profile stabilizers. I took them off and replaced them with the taller ones. I put them on the same way the smaller ones were, but when I tried to plug them into the board, it did not line up.

 

I fixed this by installing the stabilizer on the other side of the card. It was still a smidge off, but looks good.

 

 

Problem #3

 

Holy Hannah are those Molex connectors hard to get in!! Seriously, I almost resorted to getting my three year old to stick his little hands in there and give her a go. I only plugged in 5 of the 10 molex and realize there is some debate whether this is correct or not, but if I run into problems, I will get some splitters.

 

My only point of advice on these (and the SAS connectors) is... Take the fans out and find a person with freakishly small hands.

 

The Finished Product

 

I am very pleased at how this build turned out. This will keep me going for quite a while and when it fills up, or I decided to mirror it, I might build a second one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started this build at around 8pm and finished at around midnight, but keep in mind I have 3 kids under 7 that ate up alot of that time.

 

I started the formatting at midnight and when I woke up at 8am, it was complete with no errors.

 

I have not seen the drives get over 29 degrees celsius and they usually run at 24-27 degrees.

 

Did you consider the NORCO RPC-4224? If so, why did you select the 4220?

I actually purchased the 4220 right when the 4224 was released. At that time, I was a little strapped for cash and the extra four drives did not justify the price difference.

Build Complete. Thanks Raj for the wonderful guides!!

Are you going to run pre-clear on those drives?

Beautiful write up!  I love all the pictures.

Build Complete. Thanks Raj for the wonderful guides!!

 

This is a great post!

 

Vexvold, I LOVE the pictures!

 

The pictures have answered SO many questions I had running around my head. I just could not seem to understand how the cabling worked, but the picture said it all. Sometimes I can get stuck on the simplest things I guess.

 

I have been toying with the idea of building something much like this, based on Raj's hard work, but you have done it.

 

I personally built an unRAID server based on 15 disks, but I can see now a time now when I will outgrow it. This is pretty much the next step up.

 

I like the detailed shots. The parts laid out and described, all of it.

 

Very nice, and for me, very helpful.

 

Bruce

grats with your new system.

i just build a build a system yesterday with the same MB and Memory only use a "normal" computer case. The MB  layout is better fitted for your Norco. In an normal case the CPU and MB connectors are on the top where the powersupply is on the bottom.

by the way How are the soundlevels of the fans?

 

... and I think i spotted your toe in one of the pics

... and I think i spotted your toe in one of the pics

 

Yeah, always crop out toes. And beer guts. And don't take pictures naked when there are shiny surfaces nearby.  

Yeah, always crop out toes. And beer guts. And don't take pictures naked when there are shiny surfaces nearby.  

actually it has its Charm, the toe that is.

got to say I like the pictures, great job!

I just realized why your build was more expensive than normal - you paid $180 for the PSU.  Why was it so expensive?  That PSU normally sells for around $90.

Bah, I bought 2 of them. They were 90 each with a rebate bringing them to 80 each. Ill fix that when I get home.

Ah, that makes more sense.

I just realized why your build was more expensive than normal

Haha, I figured out the big reason for the price difference.

 

You didnt include Hard Drives in your spec.

 

My build actually was CHEAPER!!!

 

I revised the price list to show this.

 

This is a great post!

 

Vexvold, I LOVE the pictures!

 

The pictures have answered SO many questions I had running around my head. I just could not seem to understand how the cabling worked, but the picture said it all. Sometimes I can get stuck on the simplest things I guess.

 

I have been toying with the idea of building something much like this, based on Raj's hard work, but you have done it.

 

I personally built an unRAID server based on 15 disks, but I can see now a time now when I will outgrow it. This is pretty much the next step up.

 

I like the detailed shots. The parts laid out and described, all of it.

 

Very nice, and for me, very helpful.

 

Bruce

 

 

Glad I could help Bruce!!

Shouldn't it be Vexhold's 3 drive beast?  You got those other 17 drives on order  ?

Shouldn't it be Vexhold's 3 drive beast?  You got those other 17 drives on order  ?

 

Jeff, get back to work, you troll.

Cool, I think this is almost exactly the same setup that Rajahal built for me, 'cept I went with the 4224 case and a different PSU. LOVE IT!

The newegg.com presidents sale marked the pwer supply and hard drives for this build on sale. I contacted newegg to try to get the price difference of 100.00 and the told me sorry they do not guarentee prices. Instead, they gave me a 50.00 gift credit for a future purchase.

 

Better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Made some discoveries on my build that I wanted to share for anyone new to unRAID.

 

As I was excited to jump into the build, and thought I did all my homework, I missed something that made me redo all my drives.

 

With the new Advanced Format Drives, you must use either the preclear_disk.sh -A /dev/sd* or before adding drives to your array, you have to select the "MBR: 4K-aligned" option in the unRAID settings.

 

I found this out the hard way, but luckily had all my files in another location still.

 

Running preclear now.........

With the new Advanced Format Drives, you must use either the preclear_disk.sh -A /dev/sd* or before adding drives to your array, you have to select the "MBR: 4K-aligned" option in the unRAID settings.

4k-aligned is default in 5.0b4, which is good because I didn't think to check it first.  Will using this option cause any problems if you have a mixture of AF and non-AF drives?  If not, they should probably just remove the option and always do aligned.  It would eliminate confusion.

 

EDIT: Scratch that last bit.  I didn't think of people upgrading unraid who already have non-aligned drives.  My question about mixed AF and non-AF drives still stands though.

if you accidentally precleared a drive to 63k alignment you can still quickly fix it

 

preclear_disk.sh -C 64 /dev/sdX

 

but i assume you disks still need to be empty to fix them quickly

Nice work.. I am building a similar box but with a ASUS P5Q3 MB - also I may have overspec'd my PSU (850 Corsair modular).

From what I gather from my case supplier, the 2x molex connections on backplane do not both need to be powered. The second one is a spare/redundant...

One of the reasons I opted for a modular psu was so that I could feed each set of 5 molex from a different 12V cable on the PSU so if one cable/connection failed the backplane would not loose power. Not sure if this works in practice, the psu should arrive today.