Cheap Fileserver Hardware? (WHS/FTP)

[cpuxtech]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/cpuxtech/saved/2vhQ

 

This is the build I have now.  It is only the CPU, MOBO, MEMORY, and CASE.  I have everything else including 8tb of 2tb drives, whch I will be building a 6TB fileserver with using FileZilla and WHS for offline backups over a VPN.

 

Anyways, is this a decent enough hardware array for what I am doing?  Just a small WHS and FTP box to have some fun with and get some good functionality with especially when I am away or need centrailized updated work files.  Especially for programming and project files for media things I will be doing for YouTube.

[Hondatek]

That sound Cool. and fun to build.

[Ssoele]

An i3 is a bit overkill for a fileserver, a Pentium G2020 will be plenty.

[legopc]

as far as i know its fine 

[SMURG]

An i3 is a bit overkill for a fileserver, a Pentium G2020 will be plenty.

Even an Atom would do. You could pick up a BGA Atom board and save yourself a fair few dollars, whilst at the same time reducing power consumption and noise (since the CPU would be passively cooled).

[Guest]

You could also pick up an old HP Gen 5 or Gen 4 server for about the same. Just the power draw would be fairly high is the only issue.

[Serbian_Souljah]

An i3 is a bit overkill for a fileserver, a Pentium G2020 will be plenty.

^^^This, I am running a 2TB Fileserver with a Athlon II 170u 2.0GHz CPU, It's only single core and low TDP (20w) I only used the CPU because i had it lying around.

[Raboo]

That sound good.

[tycheleto]

Are you planning to run software or Hardware RAID? Or no RAID at all?

 

And are your drives going to be external? Case doesn't seem as if it would support 4 3.5" Drives.

 

Other than those and the overkill CPU(Personally using a G2020), it looks good. May want to use an SSD for the boot(not sure if you have this already and just not mentioned)

[cpuxtech]

Are you planning to run software or Hardware RAID? Or no RAID at all?

 

And are your drives going to be external? Case doesn't seem as if it would support 4 3.5" Drives.

 

Other than those and the overkill CPU(Personally using a G2020), it looks good. May want to use an SSD for the boot(not sure if you have this already and just not mentioned)

I know its a bit risky, but I am planning on RAID 5 on the motherboard chipset.

Case won't fit as many drives as I need which I realized shortly after posting this lol, found a good Fractal Design Node 304 though that I'm probably gonna get for it instead.

 

I do have an SSD for boot that I also have at home along with many other of the components.

 

What are you running on your computer with the G2020, because I am planning on using WHS 2011 and FileZilla for different functions they both support....

[tycheleto]

I know its a bit risky, but I am planning on RAID 5 on the motherboard chipset.

Case won't fit as many drives as I need which I realized shortly after posting this lol, found a good Fractal Design Node 304 though that I'm probably gonna get for it instead.

I do have an SSD for boot that I also have at home along with many other of the components.

What are you running on your computer with the G2020, because I am planning on using WHS 2011 and FileZilla for different functions they both support....

Fractal design node 304 looks good... I'm personally using the define mini cos I wanted matx.

I'm running flexraid on windows 8. Software raid doesn't quite have the performance of a raid card, but the flexibility it provides is amazing. Would like to setup an ftp server but my network is still a bit messy so haven't done so.

If you are scared raid 5 on motherboard is risky, and don't really need the little bit of extra performance, you should really consider software raid.

[SMURG]

I've used Intel's Matrix RAID for a RAID 0 array in the past, and my current file server uses it for a RAID 5 on an Atom D2550, which works completely fine. What is it that you consider to be dodgy about it?

[Giggitygoebbels]

IMO go with a Asrock C2550D4I.It have 14 SATA ports,though a bit pricey,is energy efficient and uses a passive heatsink.

Have 4 DDR3 slots.If you want more juice,get a C2750D4I,which uses an 8 core Atom processor instead of a quad core one found on the C2550D4I.

The Gigabyte C1007UN is also fine,but it have little sata ports,and no PCIe for a RAID card or something while the asrock boards I mentioned have a gen 3 x8 slot.

All are mini-itx btw.

I tried running my file server with an i3 2120 and a biostar H61MGV before,and it gets hot so badly it almost died(i guess thats what i get for getting a cheap motherboard and using a stock cooler) after it ran for like 3-4 days non-stop,and then i have turned a laptop into a nas instead(again did not work out,only one eSATA port on the laptop).I have mounted the cooler correctly btw.I don't know why this happened.Probably because of lousy VRMs.But i was traumatized enough to not run my computers 24/7 as far as possible.

So in my experience,an i3 is not a very good choice for a file server.

[tycheleto]

I've used Intel's Matrix RAID for a RAID 0 array in the past, and my current file server uses it for a RAID 5 on an Atom D2550, which works completely fine. What is it that you consider to be dodgy about it?

It's not dodgy, but it's not designed like a raid card with the focus on raid, more of an extra feature. So the amount of control you get isn't as much. And if you have any hardware problems, you need to get the exact same motherboard to have any hope of recovering the data(unless I am mistaken). Also adds some overhead compared to a RAID card. In other words, I do not feel that it is as effective as a RAID card for high end setups.

On the other hand, software raid loses some of the performance compared to hardware raid, but gets so much more flexibility in my opinion. Some of them simply run parity on top of the existing file system, so you can basically pull the drives out and read them on other computers if you have hardware failures. This also means that parity errors do not make you lose all your data, and you can quite easily recalculate and correct the parity. Also, if you have multiple drive failures, you only lose the data on the lost drives, and not the entire array. Basically, I do not feel that motherboard raid is as good as software raid for low cost setups.

Yes, motherboard raid does have some advantages, and it does strike a middle ground, but it can also be so restrictive too. Not sure if you are able to raid drives across controllers, maybe with some newer motherboards, but the last time I checked a lot of the motherboard raid was either Intel controller only or third party controller only.

[cpuxtech]

It's not dodgy, but it's not designed like a raid card with the focus on raid, more of an extra feature. So the amount of control you get isn't as much. And if you have any hardware problems, you need to get the exact same motherboard to have any hope of recovering the data(unless I am mistaken). Also adds some overhead compared to a RAID card. In other words, I do not feel that it is as effective as a RAID card for high end setups.

On the other hand, software raid loses some of the performance compared to hardware raid, but gets so much more flexibility in my opinion. Some of them simply run parity on top of the existing file system, so you can basically pull the drives out and read them on other computers if you have hardware failures. This also means that parity errors do not make you lose all your data, and you can quite easily recalculate and correct the parity. Also, if you have multiple drive failures, you only lose the data on the lost drives, and not the entire array. Basically, I do not feel that motherboard raid is as good as software raid for low cost setups.

Yes, motherboard raid does have some advantages, and it does strike a middle ground, but it can also be so restrictive too. Not sure if you are able to raid drives across controllers, maybe with some newer motherboards, but the last time I checked a lot of the motherboard raid was either Intel controller only or third party controller only.

 

Pretty interesting.....

 

How about these for the motherboard and CPU then

 

Mobo:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157367

 

CPU:    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116886

 

Problem is I need the mobo to have 6 SATA ports...

 

I guess I could go with something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RIFLVQ?tag=intercept-kb-20

 

I'd rather spend a little less on a mother board or not get something with such an advanced chipset if I am just getting a Pentium G2020, but what do you guys think? Thanks!

[tycheleto]

Pretty interesting.....

 

How about these for the motherboard and CPU then

 

Mobo:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157367

 

CPU:    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116886

 

Problem is I need the mobo to have 6 SATA ports...

 

I guess I could go with something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RIFLVQ?tag=intercept-kb-20

 

I'd rather spend a little less on a mother board or not get something with such an advanced chipset if I am just getting a Pentium G2020, but what do you guys think? Thanks!

 

 

Well I think 6 SATA ports is a requirement, especially on Mini ITX where you only have one PCI-E slot.

 

I'm currently running a Micro ATX motherboard with 6 SATA ports:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-h77mag43

 

Chose this as it is fairly inexpensive, gives me 6 SATA ports and 4 PCI-express slots. These PCI-express slots were important as it allowed me the flexibility to install either a High End RAID Card or NIC in the x16 slot, or use the x1 slot for relatively inexpensive(~$30 where I am) 2 port SATA Cards(that do not support RAID, and just there to add ports). This allows me to potentially have a quad port NIC as well as like 10 SATA ports in the system. Case is a Fractal Design Define Mini btw.

 

However, I do understand that not everyone has the space for matx, and the Fractal Design Node 304 does offer good drive space for the size. As such, you should probably try to get the cheapest motherboard that has 6 SATA ports. Not much point having space for 6 drives if your motherboard doesn't support so many.

 

There is no need for a high end chipset, but the different chipsets have their own maximum number of SATA ports. I believe H61 is limited to 4 SATA ports, whereas the Ivy Bridge chipsets(B75,Q75,Q77,H77,Z75,Z77) allow for up to 6. Note that this is a maximum, and the board manufacturers may have less than this maximum on some motherboards. H77 also allows for some form of motherboard RAID and Intel SRT, just adds a bit of flexibility IMO.

[cpuxtech]

Right I only want the H77 because it supports 6 SATA ports and that would be extremely helpful, but here's the thing.

Since H61 doesn't support RAID, the decision is really this:

An H61 motherboard

[cpuxtech]

No that's not what I meant I didn't mean to send that lol.....

[cpuxtech]

The decision is this:

An H61 motherboard with 4 SATA ports so I can have all 4 hard drives running off of it, and for my SSD boot drive I'd use a SYBA pci card that expands 2 extra SATA ports...but since H61 doesn't support RAID, I'd have to use software RAID.

Or:

An H77 Motherboard that supports RAID off the chipset, and has 6 SATA ports. Both of these would be about the same cost since I wouldn't have to buy the SYBA card for the H77 because it supports more SATA ports.

And it supports RAID and obviously I could still do software RAID.

And I wouldn't have to Use a PCI on the H77 which is great.

It makes more sense to go with the H77 Motherboard in this case. I'll grab a cheap one with 6 SATA ports, the Pentium G2020, some cheap RAM, and the fractal Node 304.

Thanks everyone, any other recommendations before I order are welcome!

[cpuxtech]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/cpuxtech/saved/2vMJ

This is the new build I got ready to order.

Link is above but ill list the parts:

Mobo: Asus P8H77i Mini ITX (6 SATA ports and onboard RAID support if I don't use Software RAID).

CPU:Pentium G2020 (I did research on a bunch Of Pentiums and definitely decided this one is best bet)

RAM: Crucial Balistix (it was a cheap 2gb dim, it was CAS latency of 8 which is extremely low for cheap DDR 3 1600 memory)

Case: Either Fractal Node 304, or BitFenix Phenom Midnight Black

[IdeaStormer]

An i3 is a bit overkill for a fileserver, a Pentium G2020 will be plenty.

What? I guess if you're going to have your server sit there and you look at it a G2020 will be fine, but if its going to be calculating checksums on RAIDed drives you might want something better, really depends on how many drives and RAID type used, especially if you use software RAID. Then again, if you don't care if a file copy or backup takes forever then yea go G2020, good luck!

[tycheleto]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/cpuxtech/saved/2vMJ

This is the new build I got ready to order.

Link is above but ill list the parts:

Mobo: Asus P8H77i Mini ITX (6 SATA ports and onboard RAID support if I don't use Software RAID).

CPU:Pentium G2020 (I did research on a bunch Of Pentiums and definitely decided this one is best bet)

RAM: Crucial Balistix (it was a cheap 2gb dim, it was CAS latency of 8 which is extremely low for cheap DDR 3 1600 memory)

Case: Either Fractal Node 304, or BitFenix Phenom Midnight Black

 

 

Looks good, if you're running Mini ITX I definitely recommend getting a board with 6 ports as opposed to 4. I see little reason to sacrifice your only PCI-e slot just to get up to 6, when the cost of that board is pretty much equal to the cost of getting a better Mini ITX board in the first place. Having the flexibility to add an extra NIC or a 6 port SATA Raid Card in the future is much more worth it.

 

What? I guess if you're going to have your server sit there and you look at it a G2020 will be fine, but if its going to be calculating checksums on RAIDed drives you might want something better, really depends on how many drives and RAID type used, especially if you use software RAID. Then again, if you don't care if a file copy or backup takes forever then yea go G2020, good luck!

 

Generally the G2020 is only a problem if you're trying to run on the fly encoding. A lot of NASes these days still use Atoms, and the G2020 is more than adequate for most people. And the power savings is good too. File copies do not take forever, they're not quite RAID card worthy but definitely doable. When I was using FlexRAID Real Time RAID, I was able to get 50-60MB/s writes, with reads seeming to be drive speed limited. I have since taken a performance hit to 20-30MB/s now because I'm running a Beta release of a new version, but I expect to go back to 50MB/s once it becomes fully stable and optimized.