What to buy as second file server?

[TechnicalInternal]

Hello all,

 

I am looking for a second file server next to my unRAID tower.

I have already got the disks from my unRAID tower (total of 11 disks incl. parity) because one array with 11 disks or more is tricky on 1 build.

 

So that's why I am looking for a cheap second server.
My location is the Netherlands, and in that region (NL/EU) I want to buy a refurbished workstation or something that can serve as a FreeNAS (or something similar) file server.

I was already looking on Google for refurbished workstation, and I give me enough hits.

 

But the only thing I have to consider is, where do I put about 5 3,5" harddrives of 2 and 3 TB.

That is my question, as often I cannot see how many drives are put in a (for example) Dell Precision T3500 (€99,-) or a HP Z400 (€285,-).

So I am looking for an older model workstation, that I can use for my 5 - 6 hdd's and that can run FreeNAS or similar.

I hope you guys can help me with this matter.

 

--TI

[CerealExperimentsLain]

I'd go for something cheap and low powered, then use that #2 UnRAID machine to do only UnRAID while the first machine does any 'real work' via dockers and such.

 

Take a look at my signature:

UnRAID #1: Intel E5-2697v2, Asus P9X79 LE, 48GB DDR3, Radeon HD 5450

UnRAID #2: Intel E5-2603v2, Asus P9X79 LE, 24GB DDR3, Radeon HD 5450

#2 has the worst Ivy Bridge E Xeon you can get (I already had the mobo, so I went with it as it was on hand, 'free', using it prevented ewaste, and Xeon CPUs are plentyful) while #1 has the most powerful Ivy Bridge E Xeon.  #1 has #2's shares mounted in it, so #2 is nothing but 'dumb data storage' where as #1 has a bunch of dockers doing it and those can interact with both servers easily.

[TechnicalInternal]

12 minutes ago, CerealExperimentsLain said:

I'd go for something cheap and low powered, then use that #2 UnRAID machine to do only UnRAID while the first machine does any 'real work' via dockers and such.

 

Take a look at my signature:

UnRAID #1: Intel E5-2697v2, Asus P9X79 LE, 48GB DDR3, Radeon HD 5450

UnRAID #2: Intel E5-2603v2, Asus P9X79 LE, 24GB DDR3, Radeon HD 5450

#2 has the worst Ivy Bridge E Xeon you can get (I already had the mobo, so I went with it as it was on hand, 'free', using it prevented ewaste, and Xeon CPUs are plentyful) while #1 has the most powerful Ivy Bridge E Xeon.  #1 has #2's shares mounted in it, so #2 is nothing but 'dumb data storage' where as #1 has a bunch of dockers doing it and those can interact with both servers easily.

Thank you for the information.

Can I do something like you did, but with only 1 unRAID licence.

Otherwise, I wanted to use a free server OS, because paying twice isn't in my budget.

And what setup is not too beefy and a little old, so that I don't have to buy a state-of-the-art machine, but can save some money on that too.
Thanks in advance!

[Pixel5]

is electricity cheap in your area?

 

because as a simple file server i would never ever even consider getting an old work station simply due to the high power usage of these systems.

 

[Blue4130]

2 hours ago, Pixel5 said:

is electricity cheap in your area?

 

because as a simple file server i would never ever even consider getting an old work station simply due to the high power usage of these systems.

 

If it's sitting idle most of the time (typical for a file server) then power use is not too bad. My xeon e5 2650 based system idles at 77w (whole system) - less than an old school light bulb. 

[CerealExperimentsLain]

2 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

If it's sitting idle most of the time (typical for a file server) then power use is not too bad. My xeon e5 2650 based system idles at 77w (whole system) - less than an old school light bulb. 

Remind me again why we no longer use incandescent lightbulbs.

[Blue4130]

11 minutes ago, CerealExperimentsLain said:

Remind me again why we no longer use incandescent lightbulbs.

Sure, but in the grand scheme of things, 77w is not that much. If the cost of energy on 77w is going to break you financially, maybe computers are not a good fit. 

[Pixel5]

9 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

If it's sitting idle most of the time (typical for a file server) then power use is not too bad. My xeon e5 2650 based system idles at 77w (whole system) - less than an old school light bulb. 

77W is very bad if its just a simple file server considering you can get the same performance from an i3 10100 which will have a total system idle consumption under 20W

 

if electricity is expensive where OP lives this is a big deal, for me this 57W higher idle power consumption would cost me ~143€ per year in electricity.

thats basically almost the price of an i3 10100 and a motherboard.

[Blue4130]

47 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

77W is very bad if its just a simple file server considering you can get the same performance from an i3 10100 which will have a total system idle consumption under 20W

 

if electricity is expensive where OP lives this is a big deal, for me this 57W higher idle power consumption would cost me ~143€ per year in electricity.

thats basically almost the price of an i3 10100 and a motherboard.

Not that I am doubting you, but the only review I find shows it idle (whole system) at around 50w.

 

And if I wanted less power used, I could definitely get mine lower. Dropping the gpu and going with something with an igpu would help. Alao turning it off at night would cut power use by half

[TechnicalInternal]

Well, power isn't that cheap here, but I can afford to get a slightly higher power bill.
What is slighty, I don't exactly know at the moment.

But back on-topic, anyhow.

What is a new build, without a power hungry system going to cost, and what kind of build would you recommend me for a second server?

Because I think it will be on 24/7.

I like the idea of getting a power efficient i3 or so with a cheap mobo, but which i3 and which mobos?

Yes, I can build PC's but never ever really looked at the power summary.

 

I hope you'll can tip me some great i3 server builds.

Thanks in advance!

[Pixel5]

4 minutes ago, TechnicalInternal said:

Well, power isn't that cheap here, but I can afford to get a slightly higher power bill.
What is slighty, I don't exactly know at the moment.

But back on-topic, anyhow.

What is a new build, without a power hungry system going to cost, and what kind of build would you recommend me for a second server?

Because I think it will be on 24/7.

I like the idea of getting a power efficient i3 or so with a cheap mobo, but which i3 and which mobos?

Yes, I can build PC's but never ever really looked at the power summary.

 

I hope you'll can tip me some great i3 server builds.

Thanks in advance!

honestly for an i3 build there is not much to it, an i3 10100 of 10100F if you dont ever need the iGPU but i think they even cost the same.

any motherboard of the form factor you want in any case you want with as much RAM as you want but keep in mind you only need 2666mhz RAM as the CPU doesnt support more.

 

If you need more then 6 SATA ports you gonna need an HBA and if you want to use both NVME slots that the 1200 platform offers you you gonna lose one of that SATA ports.

Going with an i3 system is super simple it basically all depends on your preferences.

[TechnicalInternal]

Well I am thinking of building a new system for unRAID with the i3 and a socket 1200 mainboard.

I have now a AMD A4-3300 build with 11 disks, mostly under 4TB.

Then split up the current build into a new build (ie with an i3-10100) with the bigger drives and the 3300 for a data-only server for the backups via FreeNAS or so and some of the leftover drives (lets say 5).

 

Is that a good idea?

 

Here the two builds I would end up with:

 

Server 1 (with a free OS): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ngDQ4d

Server 2 (with unRAID OS): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gz88Vc  (this one will have a Supermicro HBA that I already own in my server atm.)

 

So I have to buy some parts, but then I will have two servers.

[Pixel5]

yes that looks like a good idea and you wont even need the HBA when you only use 6 SATA ports.

 

But i would also recommend to get rid of some of your super low capacity drives and get another 8TB drive as you ill throw away so much storage just because you dont have another 8TB drive.

 

[TechnicalInternal]

6 hours ago, Pixel5 said:

yes that looks like a good idea and you wont even need the HBA when you only use 6 SATA ports.

 

But i would also recommend to get rid of some of your super low capacity drives and get another 8TB drive as you ill throw away so much storage just because you dont have another 8TB drive.

 

Thank you @Pixel5, then I am going to do as described above.

Yes, my intention is to one by one replace all the lower TB drives by 8TB version drives.

But as buying all of the 8TBs at once is a little too pricey, even with the chip shortages and so on.

 

Thanks again!