pmpj218's first unRAID build

Hi there. This is my first unRAID server build. I wanted to move all my movies, TV shows, and music to some kind of networked storage to stream to SageTV. It took me about a week to put together and install everything. I got a lot of tips from reading the wiki, forums, and Raj's prototype designs. I guess my build is based on his 12-drive budget build. Never heard of AZZA before, but the Helios 910 was a nice case to work with. I just didn't like the blue LED from the side fan, so I cut the wires to that. I kind of wish I went with hot-swap cages, but I guess I can always upgrade later. The CoolerMaster drive cages were painless to install though. They slid right into the case no problems. I can see that it can be a bit of a pain to do any drive maintenance, since I have to take out the entire cage.

The server has been working for about a month now. I didn't get a chance to take pics of it when I first built it because I just wanted to get it working at the time, but I just added some drives to it today, so I figured I'd post some pictures of my first build.

OS: unRAID 5.0beta10 Pro

CPU: 2.7 GHz AMD Sempron 140

Mobo: MSI 880GMA-E45 AM3 AMD 880G

RAM: 4 GB Corsair DDR3 1333

Case: AZZA Helios 910

Drive Cage(s): COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP

Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CMPSU-430CX 430W

SATA Expansion Card: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

Cables: SATA Cables (4), 3ware Serial Attached SCSI CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M (2)

Fans: Stock case fans, replaced drive cage fans with Noctua NF-P12 120mm (3)

Parity Drive: 2 TB WD Green EARS

Data Drives: 2 TB WD Green EARS, 2 TB WD Green EADS, 2 TB Hitachi 5k3000 (5)

Cache Drive: 1 TB WD Green EADS

Total Drive Capacity: 12 Drives

edit: I unplugged the case leds and the reset switch. And I added a picture of the other side of the case behind the motherboard.

If you swap disks often, then a hotswap cage makes sense. Also, if you need 15 disks, then the 5 in 3 cages are necessary (for many mid-tower cases).

That's been my experience anyway. I built my server five months ago and have yet to swap out the original disks in the Icy Dock hotswap cage.

Nice looking build.

Thanks. Yeah, I guess I don't plan on swapping disks too often. Only if a drive fails or until I fill up the case with drives. And I'm hoping 12 drives will be sufficient for the long run. I figure by the time I need to add more drives, 3TB or larger drives will not be too expensive.

I made the mistake of buying the Icy Dock cage when I only had three disks to work with during the initial build. A hotswap cage really isn't needed for some people, but I didn't make the connection. Blame it on the unRAID fog.

Very nice looking build, and great cable management.  I like the red tape over the reset button   By the way, you can also leave the reset button unconnected internally, it isn't required that it be connected to anything.  Then you won't have to worry about accidentally resetting your server.

Thanks for noticing the red tape It's actually covering the power led, which kept attracting my one-year old to the server. I could probably leave that unplugged though too right? If so, I will probably leave both the power led and the reset button unplugged.

Nice build.  Have a similar setup with (2) stock Azza cages.  My cable management went out the door as soon as I started adding new drives..and got impatient. What did you use for SATA power splitters?  Any advice about routing and securing the power cables to the backside of the case?

The great thing is the unRAID operating system.  Just serves whatever I need reliably.

Thanks for noticing the red tape It's actually covering the power led, which kept attracting my one-year old to the server. I could probably leave that unplugged though too right? If so, I will probably leave both the power led and the reset button unplugged.

Correct, you can leave all of the LEDs unplugged too.  The only thing that is actually required is the power button (though you can hook up the reset button to the power button pins and use it instead...the reset button is generally smaller and harder to push accidentally).

Nice build.  Have a similar setup with (2) stock Azza cages.  My cable management went out the door as soon as I started adding new drives..and got impatient. What did you use for SATA power splitters?  Any advice about routing and securing the power cables to the backside of the case?

I used two of these for SATA power splitters.

As for the cable management, I didn't even know what that was until I browsed this forum for examples to build my server. I've only built 3 other computers before this. And even though they were all relatively straight-forward desktop PCs (non-gaming), I always ended up with a mess of cables. But after looking at a lot of nice builds here, I figured what I needed to try to do was not to leave any potentially unused power cables hanging around, since it would make it that much harder for me to keep things tidy. So I tried to minimize the number of splitters I used and make the most of the 430CX's 4 SATA and 3 Molex connectors. I ran all 4 SATA connectors to the bottom drive cage. Then I connected the two 1-to-4 splitters to two of the molex connectors in the back of the case, running one set to the middle drive cage and the other set to the top drive cage. Finally, I used the remaining molex connector to daisy chain all of the fans together. Then I just used a bunch of zip ties and twisty ties to secure the wires to the case. So, the only unused power cable right now is the PCIE power connector.

The back of the case isn't the prettiest, but I don't think it's too bad. The next time I open up the case, I'll try to remember to take a picture of the back side and post it here.

Correct, you can leave all of the LEDs unplugged too.  The only thing that is actually required is the power button (though you can hook up the reset button to the power button pins and use it instead...the reset button is generally smaller and harder to push accidentally).

I really appreciate the tip. Thanks!

I used two of these for SATA power splitters.

 

...I figured what I needed to try to do was not to leave any potentially unused power cables hanging around, since it would make it that much harder for me to keep things tidy.  I ran all 4 SATA connectors to the bottom drive cage. Then I connected the two 1-to-4 splitters to two of the molex connectors in the back of the case, running one set to the middle drive cage and the other set to the top drive cage. Finally, I used the remaining molex connector to daisy chain all of the fans together....So, the only unused power cable right now is the PCIE power connector.

Thanks for the info!  You got the key to keeping the cable management tidy.  Very nice build and I appreciate the clue.  Once I find some patience..I'll retry with a similar setup.  The 2 extra molex cables I left on the backside make mine difficult to keep tidy.  

Edit: btw, I had used the 1 to 2 SATA:SATA splitters...leaving extra molex.

My only negative comment. Get some black tape. LOL

Other than that I really like your build. I built a second machine for a friend using the same case and I'm really impressed with the quality of the case.

I noticed you have lables on your drives. What I did was put a number on each of my drives so I knew which cable plugged into it if/when I have to pull out a drive cage.

My only negative comment. Get some black tape. LOL

Seriously, right? It was a little crazy that I couldn't find black tape at home...I had white, blue, green, yellow, and red! I actually ended up disconnecting the power led (which is what the tape is covering), so I've removed the tape now.

I noticed you have lables on your drives. What I did was put a number on each of my drives so I knew which cable plugged into it if/when I have to pull out a drive cage.

I like that. I'm going to have to remember to do that.

I noticed you have lables on your drives. What I did was put a number on each of my drives so I knew which cable plugged into it if/when I have to pull out a drive cage.

 

I like that. I'm going to have to remember to do that.

Unless you put a number on the cable as well, how does that help you?

I noticed you have lables on your drives. What I did was put a number on each of my drives so I knew which cable plugged into it if/when I have to pull out a drive cage.

 

I like that. I'm going to have to remember to do that.

 

Unless you put a number on the cable as well, how does that help you?

I guess I could label the cables, too. As long as I can match up the same cable to the same disk if I ever need remove the disks from the drive cages and put them back in the same slot.

I noticed you have lables on your drives. What I did was put a number on each of my drives so I knew which cable plugged into it if/when I have to pull out a drive cage.

 

I like that. I'm going to have to remember to do that.

 

Unless you put a number on the cable as well, how does that help you?

I put labels around my cables as well. So I know 1 plugs into disk 1

I think its a pretty smart idea for those of us that don't have hot swap bays.