Building a small server and NAS

[Blackterror25]

1. Should I go with raid 5, raid 6, JBOD or storage pools inside windows server 2012?


2.1. I get a hardware raid or software raid? is there really a difference in performance for the current servers?
I'd love to see some real world results, the most recent I can find on this topic is from 2009.

2.2 If I do need a raid card, do I really need one with sata3 6gb/s connections? Could I save a couple of bux and just get a sata2 3gb/s, that will still get me 375mB/s on

each drive wich should be more then enough for any hdd.


3. What's a good anti-virus software and anti spy-ware software that wont randomly reboot my server for some sort of update and won't use up much system horsepower?


4. Is there any software out there that will give me an email notification if a hard drive failed?


5. What do you guys think of the following hardware?
I want to run the server for a nas and a couple of small game servers (minecraft, cod4, ts3, ...)
CPU; AMD FX-6300 Black Edition or AMD A10-5800K Black Edition or AMD FX-4100 Black Edition (Preference goes to the AMD FX FX-6300 for 6 cores and high clock speed without it being relatively cheap)
RAM; Some random 8gb of cheap ddr3 ram
SSD; some cheap random decent but cheap 128gb ssd
Case; My old Antec 1200
PSU; Some old 500Watt antec PSU
motherboard? am3+ or fm2?
raidcard?

 

I'm aiming for around 300-400€ for the components I still need (without harddrives)


6. What's a good alternative for remote desktop access that I'm able to use on my windows 7 PC (maybe soon windows 8) and windows phone 8?
I've been using teamviewer on an old laptop I've been using for a server but have found it could freeze over time and you'd have to restart teamviewer to fix it.

[Ssoele]

1. Should I go with raid 5, raid 6, JBOD or storage pools inside windows server 2012?

 

It depends on how many drives you will be using, usually, if you go with more then 5 drives, go with RAID 6. You have 4 or less? Go with RAID 5. Storage pools is also an option if you go with Server 2012, but personally I would recommend FreeNAS.

 

 

2.1. I get a hardware raid or software raid? is there really a difference in performance for the current servers?

I'd love to see some real world results, the most recent I can find on this topic is from 2009.

 

Again, it depends on your needs, if you want the speed go with hardware RAID, if you're on a budget and speed is not that important, go with software RAID. I can't give you any specific results, but I am maxing out gigabit with one of my setups.

 

 

2.2 If I do need a raid card, do I really need one with sata3 6gb/s connections? Could I save a couple of bux and just get a sata2 3gb/s, that will still get me 375mB/s on

each drive wich should be more then enough for any hdd.

 

For normal hard drives, SATA 3GB/s is just fine.

 

 

3. What's a good anti-virus software and anti spy-ware software that wont randomly reboot my server for some sort of update and won't use up much system horsepower?

 

You don't usually use a antivirus on a NAS. Set it up on a client PC that scans the NAS volumes if you really want it.

 

 

4. Is there any software out there that will give me an email notification if a hard drive failed?

 

It depends. Some RAID cards have this build in, some don't, dome software supports this, some don't, look into the specifications when buying/downloading.

 

 

5. What do you guys think of the following hardware?

I want to run the server for a nas and a couple of small game servers (minecraft, cod4, ts3, ...)

CPU; AMD FX-6300 Black Edition or AMD A10-5800K Black Edition or AMD FX-4100 Black Edition (Preference goes to the AMD FX FX-6300 for 6 cores and high clock speed without it being relatively cheap)

RAM; Some random 8gb of cheap ddr3 ram

SSD; some cheap random decent but cheap 128gb ssd

Case; My old Antec 1200

PSU; Some old 500Watt antec PSU

motherboard? am3+ or fm2?

raidcard?

 

I'm aiming for around 300-400€ for the components I still need (without harddrives)

 

You really don't need that much horsepower when you go with a RAID card, a Celeron or a Sempron will do just fine, with software RAID, it really depends on the software you use.

Also, don't run other services on a NAS, it makes it a lot more unstable and can result in data loss.

 

 

6. What's a good alternative for remote desktop access that I'm able to use on my windows 7 PC (maybe soon windows 8) and windows phone 8?

I've been using teamviewer on an old laptop I've been using for a server but have found it could freeze over time and you'd have to restart teamviewer to fix it.

 

You can use Remote Desktop if you use Windows Server, FreeNAS has a web control panel.

[Blackterror25]

Thanks for the reply

 

 

 

It depends on how many drives you will be using, usually, if you go with more then 5 drives, go with RAID 6. You have 4 or less? Go with RAID 5. Storage pools is also an option if you go with Server 2012, but personally I would recommend FreeNAS.

 

 

I'd like to get capped on my gigabit speeds and will probably start of at about 3-4TB and expend as needed. Or will it be best if I start off with higher capacities?

 

 

Again, it depends on your needs, if you want the speed go with hardware RAID, if you're on a budget and speed is not that important, go with software RAID. I can't give you any specific results, but I am maxing out gigabit with one of my setups.

 

So for gigabit speeds I should get a dedicated raidcard?

 

 

 

You don't usually use a antivirus on a NAS. Set it up on a client PC that scans the NAS volumes if you really want it.

 

the problem with freeNAS is that I want to run a couple of gameservers and teamspeak server. wich, I'm assuming, won't work on freeNAS.

That's also the reason why I'd like at least a little horsepower

 

 

You really don't need that much horsepower when you go with a RAID card, a Celeron or a Sempron will do just fine, with software RAID, it really depends on the software you use.

Also, don't run other services on a NAS, it makes it a lot more unstable and can result in data loss.

 

not even a ts3 server and gameserver?
 

[Ssoele]

I'd like to get capped on my gigabit speeds and will probably start of at about 3-4TB and expend as needed. Or will it be best if I start off with higher capacities?

 

I'd go for the cheapest GB/$, either Seagate or WD (not Green drives).

 

 

So for gigabit speeds I should get a dedicated raidcard?

 

The problem I have with software RAID is that it can be very inconsistent, the speeds can vary a lot. I'm getting gigabit speeds on only 4 older WD Caviar GreenPower drives with a dedicated RAID card.

 

 

the problem with freeNAS is that I want to run a couple of gameservers and teamspeak server. wich, I'm assuming, won't work on freeNAS.

That's also the reason why I'd like at least a little horsepower

not even a ts3 server and gameserver?

 

Personally, I would not, you can however, but is might cause problems (a TeamSpeak server much less).

[Blackterror25]

I've been running an old laptop (windows server 2008) and a ts3 server on it for about 2.5 years now without any porblems caused by the teamspeak server.

 

also had some game servers wich never really caused any problems.

 

 

 

So what raid card would u advise?

I'm doubting between 4 and 8 drives.

 

 

 

Also, If I where to route 2 UTP cables to a 1gb switch, will that make 2 PC's being able to download at 1gb each? or should I get a 5gb switch for that (witch are freaking expensive )

[Ssoele]

So what raid card would u advise?

I'm doubting between 4 and 8 drives.

 

Usually HighPoint has some good value for the money cards, check out this topic if you want some pointers: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/49715-getting-started-with-a-nas/#entry662706

 

 

Also, If I where to route 2 UTP cables to a 1gb switch, will that make 2 PC's being able to download at 1gb each? or should I get a 5gb switch for that (witch are freaking expensive )

 

You'll need a smart, or managed switch for that, one that supports LAG. Something like this is good value for the money: http://www.tp-link.us/products/details/?categoryid=223&model=TL-SG2216

[Blackterror25]

So what processor and motherboard are you advising?

 

So I'm going to use windows server 2012 and run a TS3 server and maybe 1 or 2 game servers.

[Blackterror25]

Do you guys know if it would be possible to host my own dropbox or skydrive on my server. Preferably something that would work with my Windows Phone.

[Guest]

Do you guys know if it would be possible to host my own dropbox or skydrive on my server. Preferably something that would work with my Windows Phone.

Yes you can, have a look at OwnCloud where you can setup your own personal cloud. You could also look at an FTP based thing with FileZilla where you just add the folders as a network location on Windows and they work as folders.

 

So what processor and motherboard are you advising?

 

So I'm going to use windows server 2012 and run a TS3 server and maybe 1 or 2 game servers.

I would be looking at a low end Core i3 fourth generation CPU with a H87 motherboard. The reasoning behind this is that they draw very little power especially when not doing much. The biggest issue with servers that I notice is the ongoing running cost.

[Blackterror25]

I would be looking at a low end Core i3 fourth generation CPU with a H87 motherboard. The reasoning behind this is that they draw very little power especially when not doing much. The biggest issue with servers that I notice is the ongoing running cost.

Lets say I got an Intel Core i3 4130 Boxed, how would that stack up against an AMD with the same price but with a bit higher clock speed and more cores?

 

 

Running cost as in power consumption?

Shouldn't be a problem, we have about 7200 watts peak of solar panels on our roof and we produce more then we consume so the only electricity we pay is at night.

Althought my dad would probably won't mind if I still keep an eye on power consumption

[Blackterror25]

@windwspeed36 & @Ssoele

 

What do you think of the HP p400, They are very cheap in price and from the sound of it preform very good after a firmware update.

Even new it isn't that expensive compared to other controllers.

 

 

http://forums.servethehome.com/raid-controllers-host-bus-adapters/2308-hp-p400-why-so-cheap-ebay.html#post20055

 

1MB random reads: 265MB/S
1MB sequential reads: 778MB/S
1MB random writes: 107MB/S
1MB sequential writes: 374MB/S

 

 

 

Could I get your thoughts on this?

[Ssoele]

@windwspeed36 & @Ssoele

 

What do you think of the HP p400, They are very cheap in price and from the sound of it preform very good after a firmware update.

Even new it isn't that expensive compared to other controllers.

 

 

http://forums.servethehome.com/raid-controllers-host-bus-adapters/2308-hp-p400-why-so-cheap-ebay.html#post20055

 

1MB random reads: 265MB/S

1MB sequential reads: 778MB/S

1MB random writes: 107MB/S

1MB sequential writes: 374MB/S

 

 

 

Could I get your thoughts on this?

 

It's a bit of an older card and personally I like the SFF-8087 connector more. Have a look at the RocketRAID 2680SGL (http://www.amazon.de/HighPoint-RocketRAID-2680SGL-Speichercontroller/dp/B004TEZ31E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389247213&sr=8-2&keywords=RocketRAID+2720SGL).

[Hikaru12]

 

Lets say I got an Intel Core i3 4130 Boxed, how would that stack up against an AMD with the same price but with a bit higher clock speed and more cores?

 

 

Running cost as in power consumption?

Shouldn't be a problem, we have about 7200 watts peak of solar panels on our roof and we produce more then we consume so the only electricity we pay is at night.

Althought my dad would probably won't mind if I still keep an eye on power consumption

 

 

You're still looking at about 55W max on that Intel while lowest AMD I've seen is still 65W. Hardly much of a difference but AMD's tends to run hotter.

[madcow]

Something to watch out for is that some 3 Gbps raid controllers (particularly LSI) do not support drives larger than ~2.2 TB. This limitation has nothing to do with the 3 Gbps but simply indicates a generation of hardware that may not support larger drives.

[Blackterror25]

It's a bit of an older card and personally I like the SFF-8087 connector more. Have a look at the RocketRAID 2680SGL (http://www.amazon.de/HighPoint-RocketRAID-2680SGL-Speichercontroller/dp/B004TEZ31E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389247213&sr=8-2&keywords=RocketRAID+2720SGL).

 

I'd also prefer that connector but I wouldn't mind if you probably couldn't use that cable for anything else in the future.

I've been looking at that card for a while as well but the bad reputation kind of scares me off.

 

 

***EDIT***

 

Also could I trust buying a used raid card on ebay? They sell some really good ones really cheap.

 

 

Something to watch out for is that some 3 Gbps raid controllers (particularly LSI) do not support drives larger than ~2.2 TB. This limitation has nothing to do with the 3 Gbps but simply indicates a generation of hardware that may not support larger drives.

 

Did not know that, thanks for the heads up

[macpro622776]

If you have some spare power, why not run your other child servers eg game servers in one or two Virtual Machines off the NAS server?

[Blackterror25]

I'm on the point to buying the parts.

Quick last question, the website that I'm buying from only has LSI sata to sas cables, will this work with the Highpoint rocket 2720sgl? seeing that it's an other brand, I'm guessing sata to sas is just a pas through and it shouldn't be a problem, but I just want to make sure before spending 15 euro on a cable.