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HTPC/Server

Daring Mr Hanky
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Hello, I'm literally brand new to this forum and could use your help.  I currently run a UnRAID server and have a separate HTPC.  I want to combine the two forms into one box and add as much future "proofing" as possible when it comes to computers anyways.  The cost isn't as much of a factor as hitting the key deliverables.  Those are as follows: Support ECC memory, handle 10 HDD drives (RAID 6) and 3 SSD drives (operating system, security system and downloads), 4K resolution at 60hz (1 TV for now), Dual NIC motherboard, HDMI output, Platinum power supply, DDR4 memory, USB 3.1.

 

This PC will be laying on its side in my home theater rack so looks aren't really a factor.  The PC will be used for the following:

 

  1. streaming Kodi
  2. downloads (virtual machine with dedicated NIC and SSD)
  3. security camera software (virtual machine with dedicated SSD)
  4. RAID 6 for family videos, pictures, movies, tv shows, documents, etc.
  5. gaming, for now that's only Star Wars Battlefront

 

I'm not a computer expert so I need help verifying whether or not the below will satisfy my goals.  Is it too much, not enough, something might not work with others, etc....  i know you folks will think of stuff I haven't so please feel free to comment.  The computer case probably won't work with the number of drives I want to be able to support in the future.  This means the case needs to have at least 3 usb ports on the front so I can run keyboard, mouse, extra Bluetooth dongles.  I want as fast of a read/writes as possible with RAID 6.  So if there are bottle necks (RAID 6 aside) with what I've picked let me know.

 

I have a game card in mind as backup if the CPU integrated GPU can't handle the task.  I'm hoping some of you may know the answer to this.

 

Motherboard Supermicro X11SAT-F Workstation Motherboard - Intel C236 Chipset - Socket H4 LGA-1151 $342.99 1 $342.99
CPU Intel Xeon E3-1275 v5 $359.99 1 $359.99
CPU Cooler MasterAir Maker 8 High-end CPU air cooler $117.54 1 $117.54
Case Corsair Obsidian Series Black 550D Mid Tower Computer Case $145.83 1 $145.83
Power Supply SILVERSTONE Strider Platinum series PS-ST75F-PT 750W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $144.99 1 $144.99
Controller Card Supermicro AOC-S3108L-H8IR-16DD 8 internal ports, low-profile, 12Gb/s per port- Gen-3 - RAID 0,1,10,5,6,50,60 (Supports 16 drives w/ expander) $446.29 1 $446.29
SAS Cable pc-pitstop    sas_cables_adapters; 8682-05m     $38.90 2 $77.80
Memory Supermicro Certified MEM-DR416L-CL01-ER21 Micron Memory - 16GB DDR4-2133 2Rx4 ECC REG RoHS $100.00 2 $200.00
SAS HHD Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD 8TB 7200RPM 12Gb/s SAS 256 MB Cache Internal Bare Drive ST8000NM0075 $389.00 6 $2,334.00
SSD Cache Drive Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E250B/AM) $114.95 3 $344.85
        $4,317.69

 

If i'm going about anything wrong please straighten me out!!

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Sorry for the confusion, my plan is to ditch the UnRAID in the current rig and build a all in one HTPC server using RAID 6.  I don't consider UnRAID JBOD because it uses parity to protect the data.  You can lose up to 2 drives and not lose your data.  Similar to RAID 6 from what I've read.

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I don't think there is any bottleneck there. I would be curious to know why you want to get rid of UnRAID though.

I am also not a fan of Seagate drives but that's just a personal preference. I went for HGST instead. I was also going to buy SAS drives at first but then I realized I wouldn't really gain anything from it since I would use UnRAID's parity and I would have enough SATA ports on the mobo and I wouldn't need to buy an extra HBA card. What I don't like about the RAID setup is that if the card fails, reconstructing an array isn't always easy, so that scares me.

Overall this should be a nice project, and I would be interested to know how it turns out.

Good luck.

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Thanks for your feedback.  The main reasons for getting away from UnRAID is

  1. The technology is above me.  When I run into problems, it takes a lot of research, time, troubleshooting to overcome the issues.  Time is $$$$$$.  I want a system that just works with little tweaking. I am much more comfortable with Windows.  Also a good friend of mine is in the IT world and can help me with any issues from a Windows/RAID stand point.  
  2. I want an all in one system.  Yes the newest version of UnRAID can do this, but it's still brand new so again I point to #1.  Windows is a much more mature platform from which to work.  You start combining all the features I want into one package everyone knows there will be issues. I need a quick method of troubleshooting.  Either myself or my friend can overcome windows based problems fairly quickly.
  3. Rebuilding a down drive takes foooooooooooooorever with UnRAID.  First you have to pre-clear the new drive which could take up to 2 days with a 4TB drive.  Then you have to rebuild the drive which take a couple more days.....  this is way too long.  Window based RAID takes a fraction of the time (based on the research I've done)

When I started the UnRAID build back in 2009 my main reason for choosing it was cost.  I could choose whatever drive was cheapest at the time and just add it.  I had more time on my hands due to not having any kids at the time.  Now I have two young daughters, higher paying job so my needs have changed therefore this build is different.  The card failing thing does scare me as well but my friend says this is an unusual event.  Given my HT is in my basement, the HTPC/Server stays pretty cool with little thermocycling.  This should reduce the risk in theory.  I am pondering buying 2 cards in the event one does fail.  This would make the down time extremely short and the risk virtually gone.  Again I appreciate your feedback!

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Your reasoning is sound, it looks like you already have someone that can provide guidance under a Windows environment so I think you'll be fine. And that's also probably why you aren't getting any other replies either, there isn't much more to say since it all sounds like a good plan for what you want to achieve.

 

I would guess for the slow rebuild, it might be because you were using very slow WD greens or something like that. Also if there are any other processes running that might utilize the drives it could also slow down the rebuild (mover, or any other streaming activity, etc.). 4 days total for a 4TB seems odd, but, anyway it comes down to your point #1 that if something like that happens you don't necessarily have the time to try to diagnose the issue and you'd prefer a solution that would work better out of the box. I hope all will go well for me if a drive fails in the future, in any case I like to fiddle and troubleshoot so in my case that's fine (I'm a programmer).

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