Beginner to larger scale storage

[Uleepera]

I have a server that I build up on an entry level workstation i3 system.  Its been running for a number of year but recently encountered some stability issues.  I picked up a killer deal on on Dell's doorbusters yesterday getting a newer and most certainly better workstation for an all in about $256 shipped.  My old system had jerry rigged USB external drives for storage to the tune of 1 WD Easystore 5tb and another WD Easystore 10tb.  I plan to continue using them or possibly to shuck them into the new system directly and eliminate the external factor for now.  Regardless, I want to start planning out something more efficient and larger scale to implement over the next year.  I don't have an immense budget but I can throw a few bones and build it out over time.  I'd initially looked at Poweredge 2950 but was strongly discouraged due to power consumption and lack of upgradability.  A friend told me I should try to target a system with at least 12 hot swappable drives.  Also that I should make sure its a system capable of going to 10gb ethernet without breaking the bank.  Additionally, he suggested I try to look to systems that would be easily daisy chained down the road if 12 bays becomes restrictive.  

 

The advice came from a good friend who hobbies around but I honestly have no idea what I'm doing and I'm looking for a second opinion.  My intent initially was to run 4 10tb drives in raid 1/0 and then add 2 more 10tb drives at a time as I can afford it.  A question about raid.  Do all drives have to be identical or does there just need to be one of each type represented on each side?

 

So I guess I'm asking the following

1. What would be a good system to start with probably used or refurbed on EBay

2. Is 10gb ethernet something good to target or will there likely be a better option in the near term 1-3 years? 

3. Is it even possible to daisy chain in this type of setup? 

[leadeater]

23 hours ago, Uleepera said:

1. What would be a good system to start with probably used or refurbed on EBay

Dell R510, HP DL380p Gen8 etc. Check out https://labgopher.com/, it checks ebay listing for servers and you can filter for the kinds of things you want i.e. 3.5" bays and it lets you know how good of a deal it might be.

 

23 hours ago, Uleepera said:

2. Is 10gb ethernet something good to target or will there likely be a better option in the near term 1-3 years? 

Only if you need it, like transferring large files often. Saying that there is lots of cheap 10Gb NICs on ebay anyway.

 

23 hours ago, Uleepera said:

3. Is it even possible to daisy chain in this type of setup? 

Yes all you need is a SAS HBA or RAID card with external ports and an external disk shelf that you plug in to that SAS card using SAS cables. You can chain down to a lot of disks, more than you'd realistically run at home before you hit the limit.

[Uleepera]

21 hours ago, leadeater said:

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Dell R510, HP DL380p Gen8 etc. Check out https://labgopher.com/, it checks ebay listing for servers and you can filter for the kinds of things you want i.e. 3.5" bays and it lets you know how good of a deal it might be.

 

 

Thank you!  That link is amazing!

 

Quote

Only if you need it, like transferring large files often. Saying that there was lots of cheap 10Gb NICs on ebay anyway.

I do anticipate need it at some point probably 1-2 years out.  Right now 1gb is fine.

 

Quote

Yes all you need is a SAS HBA or RAID card with external ports and an external disk shelf that you plug in to that SAS card using SAS cables. You can chain down to a lot of disks, more than you'd realistically run at home before you hit the limit.

Any good right ups on this you could suggest?  Never used sas before so I don't really understand the possible pitfalls. 

 

[Uleepera]

Sorry, 1 other follow-up question.  It seems as long virtually all the results from that link do not include trays or at least not enough trays to fill.  Any suggestions on a reasonable place to purchase additional trays?

[leadeater]

52 minutes ago, Uleepera said:

Sorry, 1 other follow-up question.  It seems as long virtually all the results from that link do not include trays or at least not enough trays to fill.  Any suggestions on a reasonable place to purchase additional trays?

Ebay also has listings for trays, you can find the part numbers in the server maintenance and repair documentation then search for that part number on ebay. Or buy cheap worthless SAS/SATA disks i.e. 72GB and ditch the disk in the tray for the one you actually want.