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Blade Server

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Another day, another build.

Today I'm officially starting my Blade Server project, but, counter to the name, this is not a blade server, but Blade's server ;)

This is my old rig that I'm going to be adapting into a Debian server, and I plan on running it with ZFS Raid.

The current specs are

  • Case: Corsair C70 White
  • M/B: MSI Z77-GD65
  • CPU: Intel 3570k
  • RAM: 8 GB White Corsair Low Profile 1600 MHz
  • Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
  • HDD 1: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
  • PSU: XFX ProSeries 850w
  • Fans: One Noctua NF-F12, 3 Cougar Vortex
While these are the current specs, here's what I want it to be at the end of this project:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $230.00)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD65 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (Purchased For $150.00)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $55.00)

Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.25 @ NCIX)

Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.25 @ NCIX)

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($210.75 @ shopRBC)

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($210.75 @ shopRBC)

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($210.75 @ shopRBC)

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($210.75 @ shopRBC)

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($210.75 @ shopRBC)

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($210.75 @ shopRBC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $50.00)

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $100.00)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $100.00)

Other: LSI 9211 8-Port ($270.00)

Total: $2418.00

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 17:14 EDT-0400)

I plan on buying four of the hard drives this summer, along with the SSDs. The final two hard drives will be added in the future if need be. Also in the future, I will be looking at getting an LSI 9211 8-Port raid card, mostly because of @wpirobotbuilder 's Reducing Single Points of Failure (SPoF) in Redundant Storage guide (and if you haven't read it, I suggest doing it now, it's very informative, located here).

For Raid:

I plan on doing two separate RAID arrays, a RAID 1 (mirrored Vdev) array on the two SSDs for the OS, and a RAID 5 array with the WD Red drives. I'm going to be following @MG2R 's great tutorial on setting up a Debian server (located here, though I won't be following his guide exactly). For ZFS, I read Aaron Toponce's great guide located here, and (if/when I get it) I'll be using @alpenwasser guide on flashing your 9211 here.

Now, the planning for this build is not set in stone (far from it) and it will really vary depending on what I need when the time comes, for example, if I never end up needing the extra Red drives, I won't purchase them, and if I don't purchase them, nor the SSDs, then I won't purchase a raid card.

The main purpose of this server is to be a general file server, media server, and to keep a backup of my computer data (mainly my photos), It'll probably also end up being used for virtualization for when I'm on the go.

Case wise, I currently have it modified to have a clear window, without any ventilation holes, but I am thinking about changing it back to the old one (due to the extra hard drive ventilation with it).

Also, just want to give a HUGE thanks for @Whiskers for making the banner, looks great!

Thanks for reading this intro, congrats for getting this far, and remember to subscribe for more updates. :)

front-view.jpg

Updates:

May 31st - Software Update

May 31st: Part Two - The Day of Regress

June 3rd - Network Issues Update

June 5th - I Smell Fresh Blood

June 19th - Networking Update

June 21st - Mini Hardware Update

July 5th - Installing ZFS

August 5th - Another Network Update

September 10th - OwnCloud Installation

October 17th - More Storage and mdadm RAID

October 18th - Mini Mini Performance Update

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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I'm so jelly of your camera bro :P Very exited about this build

My Sig Rig: "X79 (3970X) -Midas"http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wsjGt6"  "Midas" Build Log - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/59768-build-log-in-progress-code-name-midas/


"The Riddler" Custom Watercooled H440 Build Log ( in collaboration with my wife @ _TechPuppet_ ) - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/149652-green-h440-special-edition-the-riddler-almost-there/


*Riptide Customs* " We sleeve PSU cables "

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Wert this?

Hey that's not a blade server!

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I'm so jelly of your camera bro :P Very exited about this build

thought you got a new camera man?

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thought you got a new camera man?

I did but not as good as yours or Blades cams, My mom gave me her old 30D cam :( still an ok cam but nothing like Blades

My Sig Rig: "X79 (3970X) -Midas"http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wsjGt6"  "Midas" Build Log - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/59768-build-log-in-progress-code-name-midas/


"The Riddler" Custom Watercooled H440 Build Log ( in collaboration with my wife @ _TechPuppet_ ) - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/149652-green-h440-special-edition-the-riddler-almost-there/


*Riptide Customs* " We sleeve PSU cables "

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I did but not as good as yours or Blades cams, My mom gave me her old 30D cam :( still an ok cam but nothing like Blades

what does he have? I only have a T3i. I think you just need some upgraded glass man since you have still have the kit lens. Also have you solved your lighting issues yet?

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I can only get so erect

Our Grace. The Feathered One. He shows us the way. His bob is majestic and shows us the path. Follow unto his guidance and His example. He knows the one true path. Our Saviour. Our Grace. Our Father Birb has taught us with His humble heart and gentle wing the way of the bob. Let us show Him our reverence and follow in His example. The True Path of the Feathered One. ~ Dimboble-dubabob III

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Subbed, looks like a good build. I was skeptical when I saw the "Blade server", because you really can't build those.

 

Do you really need 120GB SSDs though?

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use, and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. - Galileo Galilei
Build Logs: Tophat (in progress), DNAF | Useful Links: How To: Choosing Your Storage Devices and Configuration, Case Study: RAID Tolerance to Failure, Reducing Single Points of Failure in Redundant Storage , Why Choose an SSD?, ZFS From A to Z (Eric1024), Advanced RAID: Survival Rates, Flashing LSI RAID Cards (alpenwasser), SAN and Storage Networking

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Do you really need 120GB SSDs though?

Admit it, you're just jealous because his SSD is larger than your

RAM capacity. :P

(so far... :D)

EDIT:

@Blade of Grass: +1 for font choice in OP.

BUILD LOGS: HELIOS - Latest Update: 2015-SEP-06 ::: ZEUS - BOTW 2013-JUN-28 ::: APOLLO - Complete: 2014-MAY-10
OTHER STUFF: Cable Lacing Tutorial ::: What Is ZFS? ::: mincss Primer ::: LSI RAID Card Flashing Tutorial
FORUM INFO: Community Standards ::: The Moderating Team ::: 10TB+ Storage Showoff Topic

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Admit it, you're just jealous because his SSD is larger than your

RAM capacity. :P

I know, but I've maxed out the board :( I would love 192 GB of capacity but it'd be so expensive, and I'd need to go LGA 2011.

 

Speaking of which @Blade of Grass you will definitely want more memory for this machine.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use, and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. - Galileo Galilei
Build Logs: Tophat (in progress), DNAF | Useful Links: How To: Choosing Your Storage Devices and Configuration, Case Study: RAID Tolerance to Failure, Reducing Single Points of Failure in Redundant Storage , Why Choose an SSD?, ZFS From A to Z (Eric1024), Advanced RAID: Survival Rates, Flashing LSI RAID Cards (alpenwasser), SAN and Storage Networking

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Blade... Your current "crappy" server is better than my main rig...

 

I hate you...

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Admit it, you're just jealous because his SSD is larger than your

RAM capacity. :P

(so far... :D)

EDIT:

@Blade of Grass: +1 for font choice in OP.

Courier new is my favorite font :D (almost all your posts have such great font choices ;))

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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I know, but I've maxed out the board :( I would love 192 GB of capacity but it'd be so expensive, and I'd need to go LGA 2011.

Speaking of which @Blade of Grass you will definitely want more memory for this machine.

Yeah, something I'd do down the line. Most I can do is 16GB (due to the 2x 4GB sticks, unless I want to get a whole new kit, hmm).

What's wrong with 120GB SSDs?

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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Blade... Your current "crappy" server is better than my main rig...

I hate you...

Hey! Who says this is crappy!?!

I'll host you a vm if you want :P

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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I'll host you a vm if you want :P

8zd8q0z.gif

 

(Just kidding. Bananabubblebutt you <3)

Edited by alpenwasser
removed profanity :)
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Courier new is my favorite font :D (almost all your posts have such great font choices ;))

Yeah, monospace fonts FTW! I've been wanting to start formatting

my normal posts with Courier as well, but I'm not sure if it would

maybe be a bit too... excentric? Some day, possibly.

And thanks! :)

BUILD LOGS: HELIOS - Latest Update: 2015-SEP-06 ::: ZEUS - BOTW 2013-JUN-28 ::: APOLLO - Complete: 2014-MAY-10
OTHER STUFF: Cable Lacing Tutorial ::: What Is ZFS? ::: mincss Primer ::: LSI RAID Card Flashing Tutorial
FORUM INFO: Community Standards ::: The Moderating Team ::: 10TB+ Storage Showoff Topic

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Yeah, monospace fonts FTW! I've been wanting to start formatting

my normal posts with Courier as well, but I'm not sure if it would

maybe be a bit too... excentric? Some day, possibly.

And thanks! :)

We should be able to change our default font to courier. Not only does it look awesome, but because of monospacing it's easier to read (imo).

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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We should be able to change our default font to courier. Not only does it look awesome, but because of monospacing it's easier to read (imo).

Interesting that you mention that. When I did typography research

for making my dad's website I came across an article that stated

that monospace fonts are more difficult to read for dyslexic people.

The reason seems to be that the width of a character is actually

helpful to the brain for parsing written text, and if you remove

that and make all characters identically wide, things get trickier.

But, in the end, I love myself some properly formatted monospace

text, regardless of that. It just looks so much better IMHO. :D

BUILD LOGS: HELIOS - Latest Update: 2015-SEP-06 ::: ZEUS - BOTW 2013-JUN-28 ::: APOLLO - Complete: 2014-MAY-10
OTHER STUFF: Cable Lacing Tutorial ::: What Is ZFS? ::: mincss Primer ::: LSI RAID Card Flashing Tutorial
FORUM INFO: Community Standards ::: The Moderating Team ::: 10TB+ Storage Showoff Topic

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monospace FTW! Anyone every have someone change the font in notepad and just punch them?

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If anyone uses Notepad++ Waher-style is a awesome theme for it!

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Yeah, something I'd do down the line. Most I can do is 16GB (due to the 2x 4GB sticks, unless I want to get a whole new kit, hmm).

What's wrong with 120GB SSDs?

Nothing is wrong, but if you can get away with a smaller SSD then you can save money to reinvest in another part of the server.

 

The rule of thumb for ZFS is 8GB RAM minimum, plus an additional 1GB per 1TB of storage. It's mostly to ensure consistent performance.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use, and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. - Galileo Galilei
Build Logs: Tophat (in progress), DNAF | Useful Links: How To: Choosing Your Storage Devices and Configuration, Case Study: RAID Tolerance to Failure, Reducing Single Points of Failure in Redundant Storage , Why Choose an SSD?, ZFS From A to Z (Eric1024), Advanced RAID: Survival Rates, Flashing LSI RAID Cards (alpenwasser), SAN and Storage Networking

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Nothing is wrong, but if you can get away with a smaller SSD then you can save money to reinvest in another part of the server.

The rule of thumb for ZFS is 8GB RAM minimum, plus an additional 1GB per 1TB of storage. It's mostly to ensure consistent performance.

Guess I'm a rule breaker ;)

I might go with a smaller SSD, if I can find something that is good quality and has a capacitor so it can finish whatever it needs to write (power outages here are surprisingly frequent for a city).

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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monospace FTW! Anyone every have someone change the font in notepad and just punch them?

 

I'm a Vim guy myself, but holy hell if somebody changed something like that

on my setup, I might actually start smashing stuff. :D

BUILD LOGS: HELIOS - Latest Update: 2015-SEP-06 ::: ZEUS - BOTW 2013-JUN-28 ::: APOLLO - Complete: 2014-MAY-10
OTHER STUFF: Cable Lacing Tutorial ::: What Is ZFS? ::: mincss Primer ::: LSI RAID Card Flashing Tutorial
FORUM INFO: Community Standards ::: The Moderating Team ::: 10TB+ Storage Showoff Topic

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I'm a Vim guy myself, but holy hell if somebody changed something like that

on my setup, I might actually start smashing stuff. :D

I was playing around with Debian in a vm and found vim to be annoying (trying to write and add lines etc, probably just need to learn more) :( Nano FTW! :P

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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