First Project Hardware Check/Advice

[Tim_R]

Hello everyone,

 

I am kind of new to the realm of nas’s and legit servers, but am looking to start using them and learning a lot more, plus I need a lot more storage space since I’m running out. I have taken a great interest in unraid recently and I really want to go with it for my first major project. I am now in the process of trying to finding the right hardware. If I could get some advice on if what im currently thinking is a good idea or bad idea, I would really appreciate any input.

 

Here is my current vision/goals:

-Around 12TB of usable storage

-3 linux VM’s always running – a “downloader”  VM, a security camera/dvr (4 cameras) VM, and a less intensive VM for a couple miscellaneous services I need

-Plex – mostly a single stream, but potentially up to 3

-A linux VM that I can bring up as needed – GNS3 for networking studies

-Some kind of backup/imaging software for a couple of computers

 

I also would like to have the room/possibility of bringing up another 2-4 VM’s as needed, but probably nothing super intensive.

 

 

What is your budget?

Total maximum would be $1300. Hardware maximum would be around $500-600, since I plan $600-$700 on new drives. And if I can generally spend less than that, that would be great too.

 

-How many drives do you want your server to be able to support and how much capacity do you need?

I think being able to support 8 drives would be nice for the future. Right now, I plan on having 4-5 drives though.

 

-Is expandability important to you?  If so, what's your long term goal?

I would love to have room for expandability. Like I said above, being able to add a couple more drives when that time comes (hopefully not soon) would be nice. I also would like to have a powerful enough machine to be able to play around with a few additional VM’s or add ons in the future.

 

-Are you interested in running any unRAID Add Ons (see here)?  If so, which ones?  Be specific.

VM’s, Plex, UPS power down, and probably a few others, im not entirely sure yet.

 

-Do you want to run green/low power drives or faster 7200 rpm drives?  If you don't have a specific need for 7200 rpm drives, then choose green drives.

I was planning on going with WD Red’s. I am undecided right now either 3TB, 4TB, or 6TB drives, but that will probably depends on remaining budget and deals, but it probably doesn’t matter too much.

 

-Do you have any spare parts laying around that you would like to apply towards your build? 

No spare parts…

 

-If you already have parts in mind, please oh pretty please post links to them so that we don't have to look them up.

Dell R710 – x2 E5620 quad core CPUs, 64GB+ ram  

(Not necessarily from Newegg, possibly Ebay will have a better deal)

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=9SIA68F34B4106

 

LSI 9211-8i Controller (IT Mode)

(Use this card instead since the dell raid card included won’t support JBOD)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291641245650

 

WD Red Drives (5400rpm)

 

 

 

The Dell r710 looks to be a pretty decent choice from what I have been seeing, but would this be good or even enough for what I am hoping? And would 64GB or 72GB of ram be enough too? Is there be a better solution for the $300-$600 price range? A different server? Get a collection of used server parts and build my own (which to me seems more expensive)? Or is the r710 fine?

 

 

Thank you for any advice and input.

[ashman70]

I think you can probably achieve much of what you want to do in VM's with dockers. If you already have an R710 then obviously its s good place to start, I think the one you have listed is more than enough for what you want to do. The 9211-8i is good card just make sure to get it with a low profile bracket.

[miniwalks]

Just check the R710 layout first, some are low profile rear, some are full height


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tim_R]

Thank you both for the responses.

I dont have a R710 yet, but im really considering it now. And thanks for the heads up on the bracket for the LSI card.

[SSD]

You should not need a VM for downloading. A docker should do. Your VMs do not seem so extensively demanding.

 

You'd have a lot of cores and a lot of memory, and if you are doing lots of things at once, especially games that take advantage of all those cores, this could be an awesome rig.

 

And the cost is very reasonable.

 

But I am not a big fan of those big rack mount setups, partly because I have no rack and I think about the floor space it would need. 2x870 watt PSUs sounds like a lot. Could be noisy and use a lot of electricity. 64G is a lot. 2.4G cores are a kindof slow.  This was made to live in a data center, not in a home. WAF could be an issue depending on where it sits.

 

We have had users buy these types of rigs and be regretful due to the physical size and noise, feeling it was more powerful than they needed and looking to downsize.

 

And I don't see use cases that are really screaming for so many cores and so much memory. (A VM does not necessary demand a dedicated core).

 

I prefer a small tower footprint, more modern components, and faster per core performance. A 4 core Kaby Lake, which has special hardware for 10 big HEVC decoding, would be very useful if Plex is a prime driver. Older Xeons really struggle with HEVC decoding, and even a modern Celeron can run rings around them in this regard.

 

Not trying to be negative, but you asked and I am giving you my personal perspective.

 

Whatever you decide - good luck with your build!!

[Tim_R]

Thank you for the input bjp999.

 

I have taken sound already into consideration for my rack, but yes power is something to look into a little closer, but i think i have a plan for that too if i go with a machine like this.

 

I am also kind of looking for some overkill right now, so i dont have to worry about it as a expand or try some potential ideas in the future. And for the price, a machine like this seems like a better deal than a single or even a couple smaller machines. but im still searching to the different solutions too.

 

Thank you for your opinion, its always good to hear from a different perspective.

[SSD]

11 hours ago, Tim_R said:

Thank you for the input bjp999.

 

I have taken sound already into consideration for my rack, but yes power is something to look into a little closer, but i think i have a plan for that too if i go with a machine like this.

 

I am also kind of looking for some overkill right now, so i dont have to worry about it as a expand or try some potential ideas in the future. And for the price, a machine like this seems like a better deal than a single or even a couple smaller machines. but im still searching to the different solutions too.

 

Thank you for your opinion, its always good to hear from a different perspective.

 

Heck of a deal for all that memory and power!!

 

Best of luck with our build!

[HellDiverUK]

See if you can find a R515 or R715.  Duel Opterons, much more power efficient and quieter than the Intel version of the server.  Should be cheaper, too.

 

I've a R515 running at work, and just had a look at the documentation for it yesterday - we got it in April 2012 and other than connecting to it via Remote Desktop to check backups etc are working, I've basically never had to look at the machine in those 5 years.