UCD Guidelines - Please Read First


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You have been diagnosed with UCD!

 

The unRAID Compulsive Design sub-forum is the gathering place for those of us with unRAID Compulsive Disorder (UCD).

This sub-forum is dedicated to showing off your shiny new unRAID server in all its glory.  However, expect that others (especially newcomers to these forums) will also be reviewing your build for inspiration, to see if the parts you used are worthwhile, and to determine if your build might work for them.  With that in mind, following the template below will help others learn from your build.

 

Photos

Photos are an integral part of the UCD sub-forum.  Please provide the best photos you can.  If the best you've got is a camera phone, so be it.  Any photos are better than none.  For all photos, use imgur as an image host (you do not need an account there to use it).  Limit all photos to 800 pixels in width as anything wider breaks the forum format and forces the viewer scroll to see the whole photo.  If you are unable to resize your photos to smaller than 800px wide, please use imgur's Large Thumbnail option instead.

 

Whenever possible, please provide at minimum the following three shots where appropriate:

1) Front and/or angle shot to give an idea of the server as a whole

2) Interior shot with case side/top removed to show your cable management skills (or lack thereof ;))

3) Front/angle shot while powered on to give an idea as to the brightness and color of the various LEDs (if the server has any)

 

Of course you should feel free to provide more detail and photos if you like, don't feel limited by these suggestions.

 

Include power consumption if possible

If you have a volt meter or multimeter and know how to use it, why not post some real-world power consumption numbers?  Want to measure your server's power consumption without first earning a degree in electrical engineering?  Purchase a Kill-A-Watt.  Plug it into the wall/surge protector/UPS, then plug the server into it.  Press the middle button to change it from VA to Watt mode.  Many modern UPSs will also tell you power consumption figures without the need for a separate meter.

 

When posting power consumption figures, please include the following at minimum:

 

- Peak consumption during boot

- Average consumption when idle (all disks spun down)

- Average consumption when active (during a parity check, for example)

- Average consumption during light use (streaming a movie from one disk, all others spun down)

 

By the way, the power consumption numbers listed in the example below are made up as I never actually measured the power consumption of this particular server.

 

If you copy someone's build, post in their thread to let them know!

Remember, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

 

Post updates to your build!

Did you add a new SATA expansion card?  More drives?  Replace some faulty RAM?  Let us know!  The more information about what works and what doesn't work with your build the better.  Remember that you are helping others decide what to build for themselves.

 

Instead of overwriting your original post with updates, we suggest that you simply append changes and updates to your build so that others can see how your build has progressed over time.  Again, see the example below.

 

Template and example UCD post below

 

Enjoy your new-found unRAID Compulsive Disorder!

 

- The unRAID Moderators

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Template

Here's a template for the example post below.  You can copy-paste this code into a new thread and fill in the details for your build.

 

Brief intro

[b]OS at time of building:[/b] 
[b]CPU:[/b] 
[b]Motherboard:[/b] 
[b]RAM:[/b] 
[b]Case:[/b] 
[b]Drive Cage(s):[/b] 
[b]Power Supply:[/b] 
[b]SATA Expansion Card(s):[/b]
[b]Cables:[/b] 
[b]Fans:[/b] 

[b]Parity Drive:[/b] 
[b]Data Drives:[/b] 
[b]Cache Drive:[/b] 
[b]Total Drive Capacity:[/b] 

[b]Primary Use:[/b] 
[b]Likes:[/b] 
[b]Dislikes:[/b] 
[b]Add Ons Used:[/b] 
[b]Future Plans:[/b] 

[b]Boot (peak):[/b]
[b]Idle (avg):[/b]
[b]Active (avg):[/b]
[b]Light use (avg):[/b]

[img=Angle photo]

[img=Interior photo]

[img=Powered On photo]

Closing comments

[hr]

future edits

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Example UCD Post

 

Here's where I might include a short intro about how happy I am with my new unRAID server, how easy it was to build, how I justified it to the wife, etc.  I might also mention the other devices I use in conjunction with my server, such as a fully gigabit network, a custom HTPC, my smart-phone, etc.  Live product links such as I've added below are optional, but widely appreciated by others who may wish to copy your build.

 

OS at time of building: unRAID 4.7 Pro

CPU: 2.7 GHz AMD Sempron 140

Motherboard: Biostar A760G M2+

RAM: 2 GB Kingston DDR2 800

Case: Antec 902

Drive Cage(s): ICY DOCK MB455SPF-B (3)

Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CMPSU-500CX 500W

SATA Expansion Card(s): Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8, PCI-Express x1 Controller Card (Silicon Image SIL3132)

Cables: SATA Cables (2), 3ware Serial Attached SCSI CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M (2), Molex Splitters (6)

Fans: All stock fans

 

Parity Drive: 2 TB Green EARS

Data Drives: 2 TB WD Green EARS (2), 1.5 TB WD Greens EADS (2), 500 GB Seagate

Cache Drive: None

Total Drive Capacity: 15 Drives

 

Primary Use: Data storage, media streaming to HTPC and other computers

Likes: Very quiet, runs cool, impresses friends

Dislikes: Bright fans can be annoying, and only the large rear fan LED can be turned off easily.

Add Ons Used: preclear, unMenu, cache_dirs

Future Plans: Add more data drives, add cache drive, install SNAP, install SABnzbd, build a second server

 

Boot (peak): 212 W

Idle (avg): 50 W

Active (avg): 120 W

Light use (avg): 52 W

 

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jaoFH.jpg

 

 


 

Edit: I've owned the server for one month now and run into a few problems.  First off, my RAM turned out to be bad.  See this link for details (link to the thread in which you asked for help).  Guess I should have run memtest when I first built my server!  Secondly, my 500 GB Seagate drive finally bit the dust.  No real problem there, I just bought a new 2 TB WD EARS, installed the jumper on pins 7/8, precleared it, and installed it in the server.  unRAID rebuilt the 500 GB drive's data onto the new 2 TB drive in about 10 hours.  I sure am glad I opted for the hot swap cages, as they made replacing the drive so much easier.

 

Edit2: It has now been 6 months and my server is running smoothly.  I installed SNAP and a few other add-ons with no trouble.  I've added several more drives so that I'm now up to 11 drives, and I just ordered another that I see on sale today in the Good Deals forum.  My digital hoarding has progressed to a clinically significant stage, my wife is researching treatment options.  I keep telling her I'm fine.

 

Edit3: One year has passed.  I lost my wife, my car, and my job because I spent hours each day browsing the Good Deals forum looking for the best deal on a new drive, but my server is still running great!  Its gentle hum and warm glow gets me through the lonely nights.

 

Edit4: I stopped shaving... I stopped showering... I have no more friends... even the neighbor's dog keeps its distance.  I go to bed mumbling about disks, and connectors, and drive trays... The forum posts are the only company I have at night when I can't sleep. I've become a recluse... I pour over sales catalogs and mailings looking for discount-codes.   I live for the monthly parity check.  I spend my days copying the same files to and from the disks, over and over again... It has been months since I actually watched a movie... but my server runs like a dream!

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