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LAN File Server Build

Treuen_Ritter
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Go to solution Solved by Applefreak,
7 minutes ago, Treuen_Ritter said:


Looking to build an all-in-one server computer with 10 HDD's and one very fast SSD. The case is all I purchased so far.
I figured out how to use SSHFS in UNIX to allow my 2 other Windows PC's to transfer files, however my (x2) External RAID boxes (32TB each) are not trustworthy.
I'm not interested in external cloud services or corporate dependencies. I don't have a cell phone or cable tv, if that helps to understand.
 

Budget: $3000

OS: Deepin Unix

Case: Fractal Design Define 7 XL (Already Own)

Motherboard: Recommendations? NVME Boot Supported, DDR4, Onboard HDMI & 7.1 SPDIF (Optical Audio)
CPU: Intel Recommendations? (Intel  is my choice for sure, for SSH file transfering over LAN, I'm hoping to use a $300 CPU and be fine)
CPU Cooler: Noctua (Quiet yet reliable brand)
RAM: (x4) 8GB DDR4 Recommendations? (ECC seems overkill)
Storage: (x1) NVME M.2 SAMSUNG (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM) 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB (OS)
RAID 0 (x5) HDD 10TB
RAID 0 (x5) HDD 10TB (Backup)
PSU: Wattage? (Calculate after I know what I'm getting)
PCIe: (x2) RAID Controller Cards? Recommendations? (My research seems to tell me that using/finding x11 onboard SATA ports, isn't adequate for x2 RAID 0's with x10 HDD's for read and write speeds. Will the PCI cards compete with NVME bandwidth?

Does anyone use their motherboard for dual RAID 0's? Is it good enough or a disaster?
Does anyone have PCI RAID controller? What card is working for you? Can it handle x5 HDD's
Does anyone have two PCI RAID controllers and an M.2 NVME SSD? What motherboard do you have to go with it?
 

The research has pushed me to consult the experts, here, because there's so much to consider that whoever has verified what hardware builds work would help me to just throw down and finally build my server.

ECC is a must, while memory speed is less important. Use less but bigger drives and software raid (I use ZFS with 2 hot spares for example). RAID 0 for a file server with the limiting factor being the network interface makes no sense. A single enterprise HDD these days will saturate a 2.5 GB/s connection by itself. We are talking 220 to 260 MB/s per drive. RAID 0 will actually hurt performance because of the extra load on the cpu needed for write operations and parity checking. Again, consider some kind of software RAID. ZFS (on Debian) has been really good for me.

I have 8 drives and I wish my switch could link 2x 10 GB ports so that transfer speeds were not bottlenecked by the interface. As for the internal bandwith, that is less of an actual concern unless you plan on putting 2 graphics cards in that system as well. Then going with AMD (maybe Threadripper) might be your best choice, if you feel you can max out those lanes somehow. For a file server, even an old AMD FX, AMD Phenom, Core 2 Quad setup should be plenty. If you can get one that supports ECC that would be better, if not, it's not the end of the world. ECC does decrease the time it takes to resilver the array with a new drive when you need to replace one. That is the only time where a faster processor would make a ton of sense. If you get something new, a quad core Ryzen or i3 would be enough as well and if you do more than just hord data, something a bit more powerful can't hurt either. 

For HDDs, get WD Gold or Seatage Exos drives.

If you go with a ZFS setup like I have, the more RAM you have the better. If you write a lot of data in one instance, 64 GB or more of RAM are not a bad investment. Again, memory speed is not as important here. So basic 2133 DIMMS would do fine on Intel. For AMD I would go with 2933 or higher. Some AMD boards support ECC and every Ryzen CPU does but DDR ECC memory at that speed is fairly expensive compared to regular one. The choice is up to you.

 

Btw. Deepin is Linux not Unix.

 

Posted


Looking to build an all-in-one server computer with 10 HDD's and one very fast SSD. The case is all I purchased so far.
I figured out how to use SSHFS in UNIX to allow my 2 other Windows PC's to transfer files, however my (x2) External RAID boxes (32TB each) are not trustworthy.
I'm not interested in external cloud services or corporate dependencies. I don't have a cell phone or cable tv, if that helps to understand.
 

Budget: $3000

OS: Deepin Unix

Case: Fractal Design Define 7 XL (Already Own)

Motherboard: Recommendations? NVME Boot Supported, DDR4, Onboard HDMI & 7.1 SPDIF (Optical Audio)
CPU: Intel Recommendations? (Intel  is my choice for sure, for SSH file transfering over LAN, I'm hoping to use a $300 CPU and be fine)
CPU Cooler: Noctua (Quiet yet reliable brand)
RAM: (x4) 8GB DDR4 Recommendations? (ECC seems overkill)
Storage: (x1) NVME M.2 SAMSUNG (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM) 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB (OS)
RAID 0 (x5) HDD 10TB
RAID 0 (x5) HDD 10TB (Backup)
PSU: Wattage? (Calculate after I know what I'm getting)
PCIe: (x2) RAID Controller Cards? Recommendations? (My research seems to tell me that using/finding x11 onboard SATA ports, isn't adequate for x2 RAID 0's with x10 HDD's for read and write speeds. Will the PCI cards compete with NVME bandwidth?

Does anyone use their motherboard for dual RAID 0's? Is it good enough or a disaster?
Does anyone have PCI RAID controller? What card is working for you? Can it handle x5 HDD's
Does anyone have two PCI RAID controllers and an M.2 NVME SSD? What motherboard do you have to go with it?
 

The research has pushed me to consult the experts, here, because there's so much to consider that whoever has verified what hardware builds work would help me to just throw down and finally build my server.

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Posted
9 minutes ago, Treuen_Ritter said:

I don't have a cell phone or cable tv, if that helps to understand.

Just to clarify is the server you're making for a closed network or does it have internet access? and is it for backups or are you streaming assets from it?

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  • Solution
7 minutes ago, Treuen_Ritter said:


Looking to build an all-in-one server computer with 10 HDD's and one very fast SSD. The case is all I purchased so far.
I figured out how to use SSHFS in UNIX to allow my 2 other Windows PC's to transfer files, however my (x2) External RAID boxes (32TB each) are not trustworthy.
I'm not interested in external cloud services or corporate dependencies. I don't have a cell phone or cable tv, if that helps to understand.
 

Budget: $3000

OS: Deepin Unix

Case: Fractal Design Define 7 XL (Already Own)

Motherboard: Recommendations? NVME Boot Supported, DDR4, Onboard HDMI & 7.1 SPDIF (Optical Audio)
CPU: Intel Recommendations? (Intel  is my choice for sure, for SSH file transfering over LAN, I'm hoping to use a $300 CPU and be fine)
CPU Cooler: Noctua (Quiet yet reliable brand)
RAM: (x4) 8GB DDR4 Recommendations? (ECC seems overkill)
Storage: (x1) NVME M.2 SAMSUNG (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM) 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB (OS)
RAID 0 (x5) HDD 10TB
RAID 0 (x5) HDD 10TB (Backup)
PSU: Wattage? (Calculate after I know what I'm getting)
PCIe: (x2) RAID Controller Cards? Recommendations? (My research seems to tell me that using/finding x11 onboard SATA ports, isn't adequate for x2 RAID 0's with x10 HDD's for read and write speeds. Will the PCI cards compete with NVME bandwidth?

Does anyone use their motherboard for dual RAID 0's? Is it good enough or a disaster?
Does anyone have PCI RAID controller? What card is working for you? Can it handle x5 HDD's
Does anyone have two PCI RAID controllers and an M.2 NVME SSD? What motherboard do you have to go with it?
 

The research has pushed me to consult the experts, here, because there's so much to consider that whoever has verified what hardware builds work would help me to just throw down and finally build my server.

ECC is a must, while memory speed is less important. Use less but bigger drives and software raid (I use ZFS with 2 hot spares for example). RAID 0 for a file server with the limiting factor being the network interface makes no sense. A single enterprise HDD these days will saturate a 2.5 GB/s connection by itself. We are talking 220 to 260 MB/s per drive. RAID 0 will actually hurt performance because of the extra load on the cpu needed for write operations and parity checking. Again, consider some kind of software RAID. ZFS (on Debian) has been really good for me.

I have 8 drives and I wish my switch could link 2x 10 GB ports so that transfer speeds were not bottlenecked by the interface. As for the internal bandwith, that is less of an actual concern unless you plan on putting 2 graphics cards in that system as well. Then going with AMD (maybe Threadripper) might be your best choice, if you feel you can max out those lanes somehow. For a file server, even an old AMD FX, AMD Phenom, Core 2 Quad setup should be plenty. If you can get one that supports ECC that would be better, if not, it's not the end of the world. ECC does decrease the time it takes to resilver the array with a new drive when you need to replace one. That is the only time where a faster processor would make a ton of sense. If you get something new, a quad core Ryzen or i3 would be enough as well and if you do more than just hord data, something a bit more powerful can't hurt either. 

For HDDs, get WD Gold or Seatage Exos drives.

If you go with a ZFS setup like I have, the more RAM you have the better. If you write a lot of data in one instance, 64 GB or more of RAM are not a bad investment. Again, memory speed is not as important here. So basic 2133 DIMMS would do fine on Intel. For AMD I would go with 2933 or higher. Some AMD boards support ECC and every Ryzen CPU does but DDR ECC memory at that speed is fairly expensive compared to regular one. The choice is up to you.

 

Btw. Deepin is Linux not Unix.

 

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