progrock

32 gb ecc ddr3... because that's all my motherboard supports, running Xeon E3-1225v3 (quad core, but 1 thread a core, so only 4 threads... kinda wish I had more, especially if I ever start using my windows 10 VM).. on a Dell proprietary motherboard with an Intel C226 chipset (Gutted from a Dell Poweredge T20) now in a node 804 case, with 2 x 4tb WD Red, 2 x 3tb WD Red, 2 x 2tb WD Gold, and 2 x 2tb WD Blue, and a Crucial MX300 750gb SSD.. with a flashed Dell Perc H310 to support all the HDs. All powered by a Seasonic Prime Titanium SSSR-750TD PSU. Also got an Intel X540-T2 10Gbit dual network card about to be delivered... not sure if it'll make any difference, but figured I'd at least try it out. Waiting for a good deal on a second .5-1tb SSD to complete my storage, got the 750gb Crucial for $100 last November... wishing I had bought 2. After that, I think this system is good to go. Have also considered getting a Supermicro Server motherboard, but unless I want to buy all new RAM and CPU, not sure if it would be much of an upgrade considering the LGA1150 socket DDR3 boards are Intel C222 or C224 chipset... and just doesn't seem too practical based on having a C226 already (even if it is a dell proprietary board).

So glad to se IPv6 should be coming sooner than later to unraid.... considering one of the main purposes people use unraid for is running a media server, as well as docker containers... I sure hope IPv6 is high up on the list. +1

Kizer, I'm very happy with the upgrade... the computer went from something I never used to my main file server... and pretty damn cheaply for what I ended up with. Upgrading the case was huge, very happy with the Node 804. BUT there are quite a few non standard things dell does. The most obvious being their power supply cable to the motherboard (def not a standard 20/24 pin atx.. I think it was 8 pins but would have to double check.. but as mentioned above you can get a premade conversion cable for dirt cheap from china. But there was a few more surprises... I had bought a Noctua CPU cooler to get better and quieter cooling.... BUT dell's motherboards have a rear plate over the CPU spot where any standard CPU cooler that requires a custom bracket back there just won't work. I have yet to research finding one that would. Second, after moving to the new case.... on startup initially I believe I had 5 errors that halted startup, and required pressing F1 to move on to normal boot.... not the worst thing, but still annoying, especially when you don't have a dedicated monitor for the server. I got rid of 3 of the errors, by pulling parts out from the dell case (the case intrusion sensor being one, which i taped closed and left hanging off where it connet to the motherboard.... I also had to take the internal temp sensoe from the dell, again easy enough.... and then I ripped apart the front of the case to cut the front usb/audio headers to stop that error. I am down to nothaving a 4 pin I believe dell specific fan connected to the motherboard (case fan), and my power switch wiring throws the final error (but can be fixed by bridging to pins, which I will be doing soon enough). Anyway, the most important thing I found, which took over a week of googling to find was this post: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/dell-poweredge-t20-mini-tower-server-owner-thread.18707248/page-9 In the end I am VERRY happy with the server... and the price...especially with the dell H310 perc flashed cards (I bought 2, one for backup) for $30 each... flashing them took a bit of trial and error with the dell computer.. but I managed to get it done.

Got it flashed successfully... after about 15 tries. So, after having MULTIPLE bootable FreeDos images not working with multiple errors, from couldn't find any LSI adapters (right after I see the LSI bios boot, haha) to not enough memory or some other junk. I finally got the FULL FreeDOS 1.2 (tho I removed the games and a few other thing since I didn't have the room for everything I needed). Now I had previously gotten my SAS Address from running 1b.bat.... so had that saved and no need to worry there. Sadly even with the Full 1.2 FreeDOS, the other sas2flash.exe just wouldn't work, wouldn't see my adapter. I ended up getting the larger set of files found in this write-up: https://techmattr.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/updated-sas-hba-crossflashing-or-flashing-to-it-mode-dell-perc-h200-and-h310/ Finally got these 2 commands to work: megarec.exe -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin megarec.exe -cleanflash 0 I then booted into UEFI through my Bios (the UEFI that was included in the zip file from the above link)... and flashed my bios 3 times (as it seems to be recommended), followed by adding my SAS address back in. Anyway, everything went extremely smoothly this last go. I gotta go pickup my SAS to SATA cables at the amazon locker a few blocks away.... and will test this things out.

OK, ran into first issue... hopefully the only one, tho it is sorta a big one... nothing broke, but nothing worked. So I made my bootable USB by downloading a FreeDOS v1.1 .img and using dd command to write the USB drive. I boot up a system that has only the Dell Perc H310 in the PCI/-E slots of it, off of the Bootable USB... the H310 has nothing connected to it, all HDs also disconnected from motherboard. The first thing I get is the "PowerEdge Expandable Raid Controller BIOS" bootup... and then it says 0 drives found.... and asks me to press C to configure the LSI card, or any key to continue. Hitting any key to continue brought me to the booted up FreeDOS to the DOS prompt. I then run 1.bat. Surprisingly (considering I just watched the LSI Bios boot) 1.bat output says "No LSI SAS Adapters found! Limited Command Set Available" I ran 1b.bat and it FOUND the controller and has a SAS address in there. But, if the then run 2.bat, I get the no lsi sas adapters error again.

I got my Dell H310 Perc off ebay today. Planning to try to flash it tonight. I downloaded the latest toolset from The toolset includes a Rufus exe... but I don't currently have a windows machine. Is there an easy way to create the needed bootable USB using either Mac OSX or Linux? Can I just download the FreeDOS Lite v1.2 from http://www.freedos.org/download/ and use dd to create the bootable flash drive? ...Sadly that did not work, the image created a bootable drive with no extra space

Oh I forgot to mention, I currently have a Radeon FirePro W4100 in the system. Will this be of any use what so ever with unraid?.... I don't plan on having it hooked up directly to a monitor (tho in the future it's possible)... but I do have a Steam link that could be used to mirror the desktop on my TV. Had bought the card with plans to use it for Autodesk Fusion 360.... but have never used it on this computer ever... always just ran it on my Macbook Pro my work gave to me.

I currently have a Corsair CS-M 550W PSU. I've heard many mixed reviews on this lower end model of Corsair. When I originally bought it, the system it was for I never expected to run more than 2 (max 3) HDs, and pretty low-end components besides that. I have got it for a Dell Poweredge T20 that I got at a very low price from Dell. Since I haven't used the system in the ~6 months Ive had it, and was in the market for a NAS, I have decided to turn it into one. Planning on having 8 x 3.5" HDs (Currently have 2 x 2TB WD blue, and 2 x 3TB WD red, and the stock 1 TB hitachi, as well as a 750gb Crucial SSD). Also have a ATI Radeon Firepro w4100 (Not sure if this card will be of any use on an unraid server, but I will find out soon enough), a wifi card (this may be getting removed), and just ordered a Dell H310 Perc card to support the additional HDs. Anyway, the last thing I want is to have a lo-quality PSU start damaging my components. If I had known I was gonna turn this computer into an unRaid/NAS, with all these HDs, I likely would have gotten a Seasonic in the first place (always had good luck with them)... but now I'm on the edge of whether I should upgrade, or if the Corsair CS-M is solid enough to not worry. My current upgrades and planned ones I summarized in this thread

OK, so after a little more research, I decided to go halfway with my planned upgrade (but in a direction where I could complete the upgrade anytime if I find it necessary). I ended up grabbing a Dell H310 Perc SAS controller ($40 shipped on ebay) to allow more than the 6 HDs my current motherboard supports. I plan to have 8 3.5" HDs, and 1 (possibly 2) 2.5" SSD drives. Does it make sense to attach all 8 3.5" Storage drives to the H310, or should I split them between my motherboard and the card? The ECC memory (CT2KIT102472BD160B) that I was gonna purchase for the Supermicro motherboard had dropped from $125 for 2 x 8gb down to $109 over the weekend (now up to $119 on newegg). Since the price had dropped, and the memory should work fine on my current Dell Poweredge T20 stock motherboard... and if I do decided to upgrade to the supermicro, I know it's the recommended RAM for that) I ended up biting the bullet and grabbing all 32gb that my board supports. I also ended up grabbing a pair of 3tb WD NAS HDs from Frys the other day (they were on sale for $93)... might stop by there today, fi they are still that cheap might grab another 2. I'm about to order the upgraded case I want, the Fractal Design 804 (though gonna do just a few more minutes of research to confirm it's the case I want to go with, but about 95% sure it is). I'm also considering upgrading the Power Supply... I have the Corsair CS550M, but I hear that's a pretty low quality PSU from Corsair, and since I'm planning to power 8+ HDs on this system, and don't want to have any issues stemming from a cheap PSU, I am debating on ordering one with my case. I've had very good luck with SeaSonic in the past, though always open to recommendations. Definitely want something very quiet and very stable. And lastly, also considering upgrading my CPU cooler form the stock dell one. Was gonna grab a Noctua NH-D9L, for something simple, inexpensive and quiet ($53 on newegg). But also considering getting an AIO water cooling setup (seems like the popular corsair ones go for $60-100)... tho I don't know if there will be much purpose. I jsut want something that's gonna be silent and do the job... and I have a feeling the Noctua one will be more than enough. BUT, I a still tempted.. mainly because the Node 804 case has pretty much the perfect space for a 240mm setup or smaller. Definitely very open to suggestions here, considering I haven't done much research here. Anyway, let me know what you guys think. With the Dell H310 Perc I grabbed for $40, it seems like the Supermicro board may not be necessary anymore... BUT, I bought the memory that is supported by them incase I change my mind (and I suppose with the Dell H310, I technically could get a different Supermicro Motherboard... no longer needing the onboard LSI controller technically). Right now I'm primarily debating between what CPU cooler, and whether or not to grab a PSU or not (definitely leaning towards grabbing a better one, don't need my PUS damaging my other components).... and pretty sure I'll be grabbing the Node 804, but gonna look around just a little more before I order.

So, I've had a DEll PowerEdge T20 sitting around for about 6 months since I bought it on a very good sale from dell. It's got Xeon E3-1225 v3 Quad core in it. I've already replaced the power supply with a Corsair CS550M, added 4gb of ECC RAM (so it's at 8gb right now), and have a 750gb SSD, the 1 TB drive it came with, and a pair of 2tb WD drives I got at a very low price from frys. Sadly it only has 4 SATA ports, and basically 4 3.5" bays, one of which is holding my 2.5" SSD (though has space for a second). Anyway, I've finally decided to turn this thing into a dedicated NAS (and ideally a Plex media server, and maybe some other stuff, ie sickbeard). I was also considering upgrading the RAM, either getting an extra 16gb (2 x 8gb) or possibly just going all out and getting 4 x 8gb to max out the board... as well as getting some more HDs. So, I was thinking about gutting the current stock case and putting everything into a Fractal Design Node 804. And to handle the extra HDs, I figured something like a Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 would make sense (I haven't done extensive research yet, but it seems like it's either something in the $100+ range like that card... or just some total garbage card that would likely be more of a waste of money in the long run (I'll spend the extra $50 for stability).... BUT... then I realized, instead of getting the extra SAS controller... what if I just replaced the stock mother board with a SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O, and moved my CPU, PSU, and HDs over... and grabbed the same case and some ECC RAM for the board. Besides the integrated LSI 2308 SAS controller, I would be getting IPMI 2.0... which I think may be well worth the upgrade. The only weird part si, my current board I believe is an Intel C226, while this is a C222.... but based on my use case for the system, I don't think that matters. Anyway, what do you guys think?.. does this make sense? One thing to note is, if I was to jsut build a system from scratch, and NOR reuse the parts from the Dell T20... I would literally have to throw out the T20, my apartment just doesn't have the space to waste with a machine like that doing absolutely nothing. Also, I don't mind spending a little money for peace of mind... assuming what I am planning does indeed make sense. I'm open to other recommendations, if they are along the same lines (as in not $500 more expensive... tho if it makes sense to spend $100-200 more, then I don't mind). Also, if I'm just totally wrong, and should get a expansion card instead, LMK... BUT I'm thinking the SuperMicro board is likely much better quality than the stock dells.. and again between the SAS controller and the IPMI, I'm very tempted. Thanks in advance, Bob