Threadripper Rack Server (for NAS/offsite backup)

[ERM64bit]

Back when I started at my company, our NAS solution didn't exist. So I grabbed a 8 bay server that was no longer in use (I previous added it to a newer server as a VM), put 8 5TB drives in it, and called it a NAS. Our company primarily had pdfs, word documents, and photos at the time that added up to about 3-4 TBs of files. The only problem is that after a year, it's already half full, and now we're considering livestreaming & archiving our monthly board meetings next year. So my first thought was to hit up 45 Drives, and also get a quote from EMC so no one (my Dell/EMC loving boss) would complain, but then my inner Tim Taylor came out, and I had the need for more power. So I think (at least I hope) that I'm not the first guy to think about implementing it, but let me just explain what my thought process behind this is:

 

- Threadripper supports 64 PCIe lanes, which means it should (theoretically) support multiple RAID cards, a 10Gb NIC, and maybe a M.2 SSD for OS with no problems whatsoever

- Threadripper supports DDR4 ECC RAM

- Threadripper 1920X is considerably less expensive than most server CPU equivalents at $599 vs the comparable Xeon Gold 6136 at $2460

 

Which made me think: what if I got a Threadripper 1920X, 3 RAID cards (something like a LSI 9300-8i) and hooked it up to 24 12TB Western Digital Gold, a 10GB NIC, and just whatever is laying in my office graphics card, I could build a very large NAS/Backup server for a fairly inexpensive price. To give a full rundown of specs for my thoughts:

 

CPU: Threadripper 1920X

Cooling: I've been going back and forth with an air cooler, although I would like to try putting in something like a 360mm rad, like the SilentLoop 360 or similar

Motherboard: Gigabyte X399 Aorus Gaming 7 (originally wanted to go with ASUS, but the EATX form factor may be an issue in the chassis)

RAM: Crucial DDR4-2400 (64GB)

Storage: 12TB WD Gold x 24, Kingston DC400 480GB for OS (or some M.2 variant)

Chassis: Norco RPC 4224 4U Rackmount Case

PSU: Corsair HX1000i

RAID: LSI 9300-8i x3, which each controller using 8 drives in RAID 5, then striping them together in RAID 50 for ~260TB of total storage

 

I'm looking at a total cost of ~$13,000, vs $17219.11 for a 30 Storinator, and over $20,000 for EMC. So, thoughts? Feedback? Should I just go with 45 Drives and let someone else build it? Should Linus attempt this first? Let me know before I make a $13,000 mistake/possibly badass server.

 

 

 

[unijab]

OS?

ZFS/NTFS/XFS...other?

 

 

IMO

I prefer HBAs over raid adapters.

 

[ERM64bit]

5 minutes ago, unijab said:

OS?

ZFS/NTFS/XFS...other?

 

 

IMO

I prefer HBAs over raid adapters.

 

The OS is more than likely going to be unRAID (because I like it and that's what I'm familiar with), although it will depend on how our budget meetings go and how much the Director has to say. Normally he goes with my recommendation, but IDK because I know that not going with EMC is going to make him sad. Oh I was going to use XFS, and while I normally would agree with you about using an HBA, I've typically seen that use case for a SAN implementation rather than a NAS, but I'm open to suggestions.

[unijab]

Have you seen Linus's video on "whonnock server died... aka... our data is gone"?

[ERM64bit]

11 minutes ago, unijab said:

Have you seen Linus's video on "whonnock server died... aka... our data is gone"?

I have not, I'll need to go search the archive for that.