I needed a new DAS shelf and came across a free Dell MD1200 with cables and caddies. In the process, they also gave me a PowerEdge R720. I already have UNRAID in a current system that works fine, just needed more room. The free hardware made me think I should maybe switch over and use the other hardware elsewhere.
PowerEdge R720 specs:
CPU: DUAL Intel Xeon E5-2665 2.40GHz, 20 M Cache, 8.0GT/s QPI, Turbo, 8 C, 115W, Max Mem 1600MHz
RAM: 4x8GB RDIMM, 1600 MT/s, Standard Volt, Dual Rank
PERC H710P Integrated RAID Controller, 1GB NV Cache
PERC H810 RAID Adapter for External JBOD, 1Gb NV Cache
8 hot swap bays – 2 caddies
Intel Ethernet I350 QP 1Gb Network Daughter Card + 4 port card
Risers with up to 6, x8 PCIe S lots + 1, x16 PCIe Slot
Current UNRAID:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 8core @ 3700 MHZ
Ram: 32GB
Motherboard: MSI Gaming x470 PLUS
GPU: GT 710 2GB
SAS Expander: SAS9211-8i
4 Port Gig NIC
Dockers used:
Embyserver – 6-7 concurrent streams are typical
Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, Ombi, DelugeVPN, Sabnzbd, PhotoPrism
HomeAssistant, Omada Controller, Krusader
Future: VaultWarden
I would need to add either a SAS-HBA with external ports or Dual Mini SAS SFF-8088 to SFF-8087 Adapter to make the MD1200 connect to the current UNRAID. If it wouldn’t make a difference or I would see less performance, I will stick to the current setup. If so, any other suggestions for the free hardware?