DEFIANT - My silent mid-tower unRAID server


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I recently moved and my Norco 4020 with stock fans is too loud because it's now somewhere that I can hear it.  :(  So I built a new quiet system and I am very happy with how it turned out so far.  This will allow me to take my sweet time and rebuild my Norco into an ESXi box and mod it for 120mm fans.

 

When I went looking for a case, I wanted something quiet in mid-sized tower that could hold at least 6 drives and make it easy to change them out.  When I need to change a drive, I either wanted a hot-swap tray, or just unplug the cables for the one drive.  I saw the NZXT H2 case at Frys and it was EXACTLY what I wanted.  It has 8 front accessible drive bays with tool less drive trays that have rubber grommits to reduce noise and vibrations.  It also has 2 120mm fans that easily clip on with a wireless connector.  That is SOOO DAMN COOL!  I LOVE IT!  It only takes one second to take the fan off the front.  It's got cool wow factor too when I show it to friends, I pop the fan off while it's running, show them as it spins down and then pop it back in and it spins up.  Also, it has a built in fan control for L/M/H speeds that control all 3 120mm fans.  The case also has a docking bay on the top for another sata drive.  I plan to use this to connect backup drives.

 

My MB choice may not be popular, but I really like this ASRock MB.  I have built 4 PCs with it and they have all been rock solid.  So, I decided to give it a shot.  If it doesn's workout well, I'll just replace it with my Supermicro C2SEA when I rebuild my Norco and use the ASRock for another desktop.  I may even do that anyway, don't know yet.

 

OS at time of building: 5.0-rc11 Pro

CPU: Intel Pentium G2020 Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 SuperMicro C2SEA

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB)

Controllers: 2x Adaptec 1430sa w/2507 bios

Case: NZXT H2 $100 

Drive Cage(s): N/A - Case has 8 front loading trays.  Currently unused bays can hold future 5x3 cage.

Power Supply: CORSAIR HX750  $130

SATA Expansion Card(s): N/A, 8 ports on MB

Cables: 8x18inch SATA 6Gbps  $5

Fans: 3 120mm stock case fans with controller

 

Parity Drive: 4TB Seagate ST4000DM000 5900RPM 64MB 4x1000GB CC43 $160

Data Drives: 6x4TB Seagate ST4000DM000 5900RPM 64MB 4x1000GB CC43 $800

Cache Drive: 4TB Seagate ST4000DM000 5900RPM 64MB 4x1000GB CC43 $160

Total Drive Capacity: 8 drives

 

Cost of system: ~$235 (used many components leftover from previous build)

Cost of drives: ~1,350

Total cost: ~1,585

 

Primary Use: Data storage, Media streaming to TVs, PCs and Projector

Likes: Very quiet, runs cool, easy to change drives, front fans are awesome!, CPU is a bargain at $70, Seagate 4TB DM drives run fast and cool

Dislikes: None so far!

Add Ons Used: preclear, MySql, unMENU, apcupsd, bwm-ng, socat, unraid_notify, cache_dirs, rsync

Future Plans: None

 

Boot (peak): TBD

Idle (avg): TBD

Active (avg): TBD

Light use (avg): TBD

 

QXADA3s.jpg

 

lJmOIjk.jpg

 

VYB2zCS.jpg

 

Pic with the ASRock MB:

JAY1YSR.jpg

 

Pic with the C2SEA:

Wuyvptb.jpg

 

The hard drives I pulled out of external drive enclosures I bought at Costo.  First thing I did with this build was performance test Seagate 4TB drives and I really like the DM drives.  My performance test results are here:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=26140

 


 

Edit 1:  All drives precleared successfully for 3 cycles.  Several TB of data copied to the array.  Parity Sync and Parity Check complete with no errors.  Syslog is clean.  Life is good.  :)

 


 

Edit 2:  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  I swapped out my HX-750 power supply for an older TX-750 because I wanted to use the HX-750 in another build.  I started having sata problems a couple days later.  In the process of trying to determine the sata errors, I first swapped sata cables and then MB/CPU.  That didn't fix it, but then I pulled the TX-750 and put in a new HX-750 and my problems went away.  So, the ASRock MB was probably fine, but I don't think I am going to put it back in to find out, I'll just use it for a desktop build.

 


 

Edit 3:  Been running rock solid for another week.  :)  Added one more 4TB drive, now fully populated with 8 drives.  I am very happy with this build, I would do it again.  Case is great!

 

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I think it's a waste to use a 4TB drive as cache, but other than that, can't wait to see how this progresses.  Do the drives have a warranty?

I disagree on the cache drive.  It's more than just a cache drive for me, it's a warm spare.  So if another drive fails, I can swap it into place right away.  :)  My first cache drive was 250GB.  I started filling that in a day.... got frustrated.  My next one was 500GB.  Then I started filling that in a day.... more frustration.  I don't want to be frustrated.  8)

 

Warranty - Maybe and Yes.  I bought the drives from Costco and pulled them out of the external enclosures.  According to the Seagate website they are under warranty until 4/30/15.  Will Seagate honor the warranty if I send them an internal drive that was purchased in an external enclosure?  I don't know.  Some people have done this with success, doesn't mean it would work for me.  I look at it this way, if down the road Seagate won't honor the warranty, Costco has a satisfaction guarantee and will take the drive back anytime in the future and give me a full refund in cash.  So, I would say I'm covered.  :) 

 

Costco gets a LOT of my money because of their satisfaction guarantee.  I'll even buy something from them when it costs a little more, just for the piece of mind.  I don't end up returning that much stuff, but sure feels good knowing that I can if I need to.

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Uhhh, 956 MB/s? How is that possible?

 

As far as I know, it's not.  :)  You must have missed the note below the screenshot.  While the preclear was running, I changed the timezone.  That rolled back the system clock.  So the script did the math from the wrong time, hence the inflated number.  ;D

 

Feb 23 14:50:49 defiant crond[1211]: time disparity of -479 minutes detected

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My preclears all finished successfully even running seven at a time.  :)  The cycle only took about two hours longer than running two at a time, so very pleased with that.  For one cycle I am seeing 38-40 hours. 

 

I am currently using rsync to copy data from my old array, and it's chugging along at ~70MB/s.  This is gonna take a while!  I found this post very helpful in quickly setting up rsync:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=13432.msg127670#msg127670

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I needed the HX-750 power supply for another build, so I swapped it out with a TX-750 that I already had.  I guess "If it ain't broke don't fix it" comes to mind.  Since I swapped the PS I am getting some sata errors across multiple drives.  Ugh!  The TX-750 powered my older norco 4020 build for years without issue.

 

Mar  3 00:07:56 voyager kernel: ata6: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4090000 action 0xe frozen (Errors)
Mar  3 00:07:56 voyager kernel: ata6: irq_stat 0x00400040, connection status changed (Drive related)
Mar  3 00:07:56 voyager kernel: ata6: SError: { PHYRdyChg 10B8B DevExch } (Errors)
Mar  3 00:07:56 voyager kernel: ata6: hard resetting link (Minor Issues)

Mar  3 13:01:53 voyager kernel: ata8: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x90002 action 0xe frozen (Errors)
Mar  3 13:01:53 voyager kernel: ata8: irq_stat 0x00400000, PHY RDY changed (Drive related)
Mar  3 13:01:53 voyager kernel: ata8: SError: { RecovComm PHYRdyChg 10B8B } (Errors)
Mar  3 13:01:53 voyager kernel: ata8: hard resetting link (Minor Issues)

Mar  3 15:43:15 voyager kernel: ata8: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x90002 action 0xe frozen (Errors)
Mar  3 15:43:15 voyager kernel: ata8: irq_stat 0x00400000, PHY RDY changed (Drive related)
Mar  3 15:43:15 voyager kernel: ata8: SError: { RecovComm PHYRdyChg 10B8B } (Errors)
Mar  3 15:43:15 voyager kernel: ata8: hard resetting link (Minor Issues)

Mar  5 20:07:41 voyager kernel: ata8: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x90002 action 0xe frozen (Errors)
Mar  5 20:07:41 voyager kernel: ata8: irq_stat 0x00400000, PHY RDY changed (Drive related)
Mar  5 20:07:41 voyager kernel: ata8: SError: { RecovComm PHYRdyChg 10B8B } (Errors)
Mar  5 20:07:41 voyager kernel: ata8: hard resetting link (Minor Issues)

Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata3: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4090000 action 0xe frozen (Errors)
Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata3: irq_stat 0x00400040, connection status changed (Drive related)
Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata3: SError: { PHYRdyChg 10B8B DevExch } (Errors)
Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata3: hard resetting link (Minor Issues)

Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata4: exception Emask 0x50 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4090800 action 0xe frozen (Errors)
Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata4: irq_stat 0x00400040, connection status changed (Drive related)
Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata4: SError: { HostInt PHYRdyChg 10B8B DevExch } (Errors)
Mar  6 00:05:18 voyager kernel: ata4: hard resetting link (Minor Issues)

 

So I'll do the following to try and fix this, if I get another error, I'll proceed down the list:

1.  Maybe cables aren't seated properly - Check all cables and make sure they are snug (power and sata).

2.  Maybe it's the ASrock MB on-board sata controller - Add 2 Adaptec 1430sa controllers (already have on hand) instead of MB sata

3.  Maybe it's the new monoprice sata cables - Replace the sata cables.

4.  Maybe it's the ASrock MB - Replace with Supermicro C2SEA (already have on hand)

 

Update #1 - Checked all the cables, nothing appeared loose.  I don't think it was a cable not being seated properly, especially since I saw the error on 4 of the installed 7 drives.  I did re-route some of the power connections to the fans that I had on the back side of the case, since they were close to some of the sata cables.  Who knows.  I also went ahead and updated the bios for good measure.  One great feature of the MB is that you can go into the bios and tell it to grab the latest firmware from the internet and apply it.  No searching, downloading, or copying to some portable media.... just do it.  Now I wait to see if the errors come back.

 

Update #2 - Everything looked good for 2 days, then got another SATA error. 

Mar  8 09:15:31 voyager kernel: ata6: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4090000 action 0xe frozen
Mar  8 09:15:31 voyager kernel: ata6: irq_stat 0x00400040, connection status changed
Mar  8 09:15:31 voyager kernel: ata6: SError: { PHYRdyChg 10B8B DevExch }
Mar  8 09:15:31 voyager kernel: ata6: hard resetting link
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: ACPI cmd ef/10:06:00:00:00:00 (SET FEATURES) succeeded
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: ACPI cmd f5/00:00:00:00:00:00 (SECURITY FREEZE LOCK) filtered out
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: ACPI cmd b1/c1:00:00:00:00:00 (DEVICE CONFIGURATION OVERLAY) filtered out
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: ACPI cmd ef/10:06:00:00:00:00 (SET FEATURES) succeeded
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: ACPI cmd f5/00:00:00:00:00:00 (SECURITY FREEZE LOCK) filtered out
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: ACPI cmd b1/c1:00:00:00:00:00 (DEVICE CONFIGURATION OVERLAY) filtered out
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6.00: configured for UDMA/133
Mar  8 09:15:36 voyager kernel: ata6: EH complete

I went ahead and installed both of my 1430sa controllers and used different cables (since it was easier that re-routing my existing cables).  Now I wait to see if the errors come back.

 

Update #3

Went for 4 days with no issues.  So I decided to add a couple of drives and play with the array a little.  Moved around about 500GB of data with no issue.  Then when I was streaming something to my XBMC I lost the stream.  Checked unRAID and it was VERY unhappy.  Lot's of sata errors, LOTS of read/write errors, basically hosed.  This was at the same time that several of the drives spun down.  So I rebooted and played with spinning drives up/down.  That basically caused the array to implode with sata errors, even sometimes rebooting itself.  Very Ugly.  Soooo...  I swapped out the ASRock MB with my Supermicro C2SEA booted up and SAME problem.  Well, all that was left to swap out was the PS or drives.  So I removed the TX-750 PS and installed a new HX-750.  Booted up, no errors and can spin up/down drives at will.  Gonna let it run for a couple days and see what happens, but pretty sure my TX-750 was the problem.

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I have the same case and quite like it.  I just wish they had an option to replace the 5.25 inch bays with another four 3.5 inch bays and another one of their front mount fans (I put an old 4 in 3 adapter into that space).  I found I could get better air flow over the drives by covering the vent holes on the bottom of the case, this way the extractor fans at the back and on top pull in from the front more.

 

Nice job on the SATA cabling, makes mine look a right tangled mess...  You used 18 inch cables, where did you hide the rest of them?

 

Can you pop off the other side panel and post a picture of how you pass the cables around that side?

 

Regards,

 

Stephen

 

 

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I have the same case and quite like it.  I just wish they had an option to replace the 5.25 inch bays with another four 3.5 inch bays and another one of their front mount fans (I put an old 4 in 3 adapter into that space).  I found I could get better air flow over the drives by covering the vent holes on the bottom of the case, this way the extractor fans at the back and on top pull in from the front more.

 

Nice job on the SATA cabling, makes mine look a right tangled mess...  You used 18 inch cables, where did you hide the rest of them?

 

Can you pop off the other side panel and post a picture of how you pass the cables around that side?

 

Regards,

 

Stephen

I couldn't agree more on the case, I too would love to have another 4 drive slots and a 3rd removable 120mm fan.  That would rock! 

 

I'll try covering the vent holes in the bottom of my case too, thanks for the tip.

 

I can't get a picture of the other side of the case right now, but I will post later.  The cable routing is not as neat on that side.  :)  The ASRock MB has the sata slots horizontal with the MB, so they point towards the front of the case.  I routed my sata cables through the slots between the drive cages and the other side of the case.  The slot is not much wider than the width of the sata cable.  So I basically made a big U loop with each one, and then the next one is right on top of the last.  This seemed like the best way to not put pressure on the MB sata connectors, since each cable is going straight into the connector with no bend or pressure from turning the cable.  I know a picture is worth a thousand words but hope that helps until I can get the pic up.

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I have the same case and quite like it.  I just wish they had an option to replace the 5.25 inch bays with another four 3.5 inch bays and another one of their front mount fans (I put an old 4 in 3 adapter into that space).  I found I could get better air flow over the drives by covering the vent holes on the bottom of the case, this way the extractor fans at the back and on top pull in from the front more.

 

Nice job on the SATA cabling, makes mine look a right tangled mess...  You used 18 inch cables, where did you hide the rest of them?

 

Can you pop off the other side panel and post a picture of how you pass the cables around that side?

 

Regards,

 

Stephen

I couldn't agree more on the case, I too would love to have another 4 drive slots and a 3rd removable 120mm fan.  That would rock! 

 

I'll try covering the vent holes in the bottom of my case too, thanks for the tip.

 

I can't get a picture of the other side of the case right now, but I will post later.  The cable routing is not as neat on that side.  :)  The ASRock MB has the sata slots horizontal with the MB, so they point towards the front of the case.  I routed my sata cables through the slots between the drive cages and the other side of the case.  The slot is not much wider than the width of the sata cable.  So I basically made a big U loop with each one, and then the next one is right on top of the last.  This seemed like the best way to not put pressure on the MB sata connectors, since each cable is going straight into the connector with no bend or pressure from turning the cable.  I know a picture is worth a thousand words but hope that helps until I can get the pic up.

 

That's kind of what I thought you must have done, and I think it would probably work for some of my drives too.

 

Regards,

 

Stephen

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I like the case. I need a new one and this might be it!

I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again for an 8 drive system (expandable to 13 with a 5in3 bay).  I really like the case a lot.  Too bad they don't make one with 12 drives and 3 fans in front.  The removable fans are great and make it so you can remove a drive without any tools and only need to disconnect the sata and power cables from the one drive you want to swap out.

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I like the case. I need a new one and this might be it!

I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again for an 8 drive system (expandable to 13 with a 5in3 bay).  I really like the case a lot.  Too bad they don't make one with 12 drives and 3 fans in front.  The removable fans are great and make it so you can remove a drive without any tools and only need to disconnect the sata and power cables from the one drive you want to swap out.

 

What cables did you find ended up working best? Length? 90 degree angle?

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What cables did you find ended up working best? Length? 90 degree angle?

I was getting some sata errors so I installed 2 Adaptec 1430sa controllers and changed the sata cables.  I am currently using older 18" (red, straight end, non-locking) cables that came with some older sata controllers.  That was four days ago, and I haven't seen a sata error since I swapped them out.  So I suspect the problem I am having is either with my MB sata or with the 18" (black, straight end, locking) sata cables I bought from monoprice.  I am going to let it run for a few more days and then swap stuff around again to try and determine if my problem is the MB or monoprice cables.  OR maybe I'll just leave it alone since it's not broken anymore.  :)

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I really new to unRAID and have been lurking here for some time. I am looking at your build for ideas for my first build.

 

Did you determine if it was the cable or MB SATA causing your error?

 

Thanks!

Well... turns out neither.  I think.  :)  I pulled the ASRock MB and put in my C2SEA and was still having problems.  I figured out that I could reproduce a sata problem by spinning up/down all drives.  So I just replaced my power supply and so far problems went away.  I can spin up/down without issue.  So I think my Corsair TX-750 power supply was the problem.  I installed a new Corsair HX-750 and looks good so far, but I just put it in 30 minutes ago.  Gonna let it run for a few days and then decide if I want to go back to the ASRock MB and use the on-board sata controller with the monoprice cables.

 

Update - I went ahead and put the monoprice cables back in and updated the first post.  I am going to leave the C2SEA in the box, that was really my long term plan anyway.  So far so good!  I think the ASRock MB would work fine, it did before I swapped in the "bad" power supply.

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