Home Test Lab - Storage/Virtual Host

[Kaliras]

Hello,

 

While I'm not new to building computers, I am new to building DIY servers. My server deployment experience only involves pre-built server hardware (eg. HPE, Dell, Lenovo), and I'm a little nervous about part compatibility.

 

I'll try to keep this short:
I have 8x 10TB Seagate Exos X10 3.5" hard drives (ST10000NM0096) that I would like to use, I previously tried to use an old computer and the following parts:

• CableCreation Internal Mini SAS 36pin SFF-8087 to (4) 29pin SFF-8482 connectors with SATA Power,1M
• LSI 9260-8i /IBM M5015 46M0851 6G SATA/SAS PCIe x8 6Gbps MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i

I installed the above hardware in an old PC I had kicking around and I could not get the drives to power up (I couldn't hear them spin and the controller couldn't detect the drives either). I did a bit of research and the problem likely involved power pin compatibility, but still couldn't get the drives to turn on using a few recommended fixes, in the end I returned the two items listed above back to Amazon.

 

Now I'm ready for try #2 but I want to do it right, so below is my current build plan. My primary concern is that the drives won't turn on due to compatibility issues with the backplane, so if someone has experience with the below hardware and can put my mind at ease I would appreciate it. I'm fairly certain they will power up, but due to may previous experience I'm a bit nervous about spending money:

 

•  Case: SilverStone Technology CS381B Micro-ATX/Mini-DTX/Mini-Itx NAS Storage Case (https://www.amazon.ca/SilverStone-Technology-Micro-ATX-Mini-DTX-Mini-Itx/dp/B07W8KC3PY/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=silverstone+nas&qid=1626297005&sr=8-4)
• Spinning Disks (already owned): 6x 10TB Seagate Exos X10 3.5" hard drives (ST10000NM0096) (https://www.amazon.ca/SEAGATE-ST10000NM0096-10TB-Internal-Drive/dp/B01M07WKSE)
• SSD Drives: 2x 500GB Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD
• OS Drive: Samsung 980 Series 250GB M.2 (I'm aware this is a single point of failure)
• Motherboard: AsRock Rack X470D4U Micro ATX Server Motherboard AM4 Ryzen & Ryzen 7nm PGA1331 AMD X470 (https://www.amazon.ca/ASRock-Rack-X470D4U-Asrock-Motherboard/dp/B07PNFTPGB)
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x
• RAM: 2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Dual Channel Kit (2x 16GB) (https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00115488) = Total of 64GB RAM
• PSU: Corsair SF Series, SF600, SFX Form Factor, 600 Watt (600W), Fully Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified (https://www.amazon.ca/Corsair-Factor-Modular-Certified-Warranty/dp/B01CGI5M24/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=sfx+power+supply&qid=1626299201&sr=8-7)
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a-AM4, Premium Low-profile CPU Cooler for AMD AM4 (Brown) (https://www.amazon.ca/Noctua-NH-L9a-AM4-low-profile-quiet-cooler/dp/B075SG1T3X)

My current plan is to use an SSD Cache compatible RAID card to improve performance for storage operations, however I'm not familiar with the technology, so maybe not worth it? My plan is to use VMware as my Hypervisor, note that the AsRock Mobo does not officially support VMware (and VMware doesn't support AsRock) but does has Intel NICs so I should avoid driver issues (I hope). I want to stick with VMware as I could potentially deploy this hardware temporarily for my clients if the need ever came up (eg. hardware failure and waiting on support).

• RAID Controller: Adaptec RAID 8885Q with MaxCache Components 2277100-R (https://www.amazon.ca/Adaptec-8885Q-MaxCache-Components-2277100-R/dp/B00GX442GK)
• Cables: 10Gtek Internal Mini SAS HD SFF-8643 Cable, with Sideband, 0.5-Meter(1.6ft), Foldable, Flexible, 2 Pack (https://www.amazon.ca/10Gtek-Internal-SFF-8643-Sideband-0-5-Meter/dp/B01AOS4NE6)

I'm open to any suggestions and comments if this build looks particularly wrong or if there is something I might not have considered. In the end this hardware will be likely used for things like:

• Windows Images
• Steam Cache
• Backup recovery test location
• Generic file storage/PLEX

Thanks!

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

25 minutes ago, Kaliras said:

SSD Drives: 2x 500GB Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD

 I wouldn't use these as cache drives, get a used server drive. Much more write endurance.

 

26 minutes ago, Kaliras said:

OS Drive: Samsung 980 Series 250GB M.2 (I'm aware this is a single point of failure)

Since vmware is your hypervisor, id just boot off a sd card or usb drive. You can mirror them if you want

 

Or use a sata dom on that board. Otherwise id get a samller and cheaper ssd her.e

 

27 minutes ago, Kaliras said:

RAM: 2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Dual Channel Kit (2x 16GB) (https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00115488) = Total of 64GB RAM

Id get 2 dimms so you can upgrade later on. Id go ecc here too

29 minutes ago, Kaliras said:

My plan is to use VMware as my Hypervisor,

Do you need vmware. Id go proxmox here if you can. Much better storage system, and free

 

30 minutes ago, Kaliras said:

RAID Controller: Adaptec RAID 8885Q with MaxCache Components 2277100-R (https://www.amazon.ca/Adaptec-8885Q-MaxCache-Components-2277100-R/dp/B00GX442GK)

That looks like a external sas controller, you want a internal one. And Id really just go proxmox here for the much better software raid support for zfs

 

31 minutes ago, Kaliras said:

'm open to any suggestions and comments if this build looks particularly wrong or if there is something I might not have considered. In the end this hardware will be likely used for things like:

• Windows Images
• Steam Cache
• Backup recovery test location
• Generic file storage/PLEX

Thanks!

Id really suggest proxmox here, should just work better.

 

Probably pretty overkill for this uses, you can use much cheaper hardware here if you want. Something like a i3 should be plenty for this use.