Hello all,

 

I have a question.

When I buy a server rack, let's say an HP Proliant DL360E or a Dell R620, can I then plug my harddisks from my unRAID array into it and run unRAID from a USB stick?

So that I change the disks from my (now a full atx tower) current server and put them into one of those refurbished server racks and turn it on like a mobo swap..?

Or does unRAID not comply with that kind of hardware??

 

I am very interested in buying a refurbished server and buy a new simple serverrack and to expand so to more disks.

Is the above system compatible with the unRAID software??

 

Kind Regards,

 

Rik

PS. I hope that this threat is in the right category... If not, mods please move this one into the right category... Thanks!

Plenty of examples of server hardware in use on the forums if you search.

 

Primary issue is typically disk controllers, servers may come with RAID only, where Unraid needs plain IT mode HBA's. Some controllers can be flashed, others you must replace. You will need to research the specific hardware you are looking at.

Thank you @jonathanm for the information.
So is the disk controller the only issue I have to look after, or are there more??

 

And is there a list of RAID controllers that are compatible with unRAID or do I need to ask it here, before I buy a refurbished server?

 

I hope that the disk controller is the only hickup...
Kind Regards!

Sorry for the doublepost but I found something interesting.

 

I want to buy a Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant 380e Gen8 server 1,9 GHz 12 GB Rack (2U) Intel® Xeon® E5 familie 750 W DDR3-SDRAM - server rack.

I came across this one: https://www.spareit.nl/nl/servers/servers-1/hpe-dl380e-gen8-e5-2420-1p-12gb-r-p420-hot-plug-12-lff-750w-ps-server

It is the Base model, found out via the CPU's inside.

The internals are SATA/SAS interface from HP are with this model:

 

HP Dynamic Smart Array B320i/512MB FBWC Controller

 

It has PCIe slots, so can I just put in my SuperMicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 card in it..?

 

Does this "idea" is going to work with unRAID?

Will do some research on my own, but would like to hear from you guys / experts too...

If you're going to use an HP server, you're better off getting an HP H220 or H240 controller.  it'll have the correct connectivity for the drive cages, and it won't freak out the BIOS/iLO systems.

5 hours ago, sota said:

If you're going to use an HP server, you're better off getting an HP H220 or H240 controller.  it'll have the correct connectivity for the drive cages, and it won't freak out the BIOS/iLO systems.

I never had a server before, can I swap the one in the server(rack) with a HP H220/240 controller?
Sorry for all the "basic" or "newbie" questions, but I have zero experience with serverracks...

it's fine; I don't get upset with such questions.

 

it's going to depend on the system.  I can take the 2 I have here as example though:

The DL380 G6 has a built in P410i RAID controller.  You can't effectively put in a useful HBA mode.  I'm not using this one for unRAID.

The DL380e G8 has a built in B120i RAID(ish) controller. Same deal: doesn't do HBA nicely.  As you can see in my signature, this is my unRAID box.

You can DISABLE the onboard controllers in the BIOS, install an H220/240, and plug it directly into the drive cages.

unRAID will be able to see all 25/27 (2.5") or 12/14 (3/5") disks then, on the G8.  I'm not 100% sure on the 2.5" cage/backplane, but I know the 3.5" setup has a built-in expander, to allow all 12/14 drives to work on a pair of 4-lane cables.  I'm willing to bet the 25/27 setup does the same though.

The G6 (and i think G7) cages do NOT have expanders

I use the internal USB port, with a PNY Attache 3 32GB USB 2.0 stick, of which I bought a 5 pack.

 

you'll note I'm mentioning two disk quantities; that's because the G8 has the ability to house 2 drives in a cage in the back.

So you do not recommend using a refurbished server rack for unRAID purposes??

Then I have to look for an external enclosure (like this one: https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=201 ) (or this one. https://www.datoptic.com/ec/15-drive-port-multiplier-enclosure-sbox-xv-html.html) with eSATA.

Can we discuss external enclosures in a separate thread or just in this thread (mod / admin maybe to answer..?)...?

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

I didn't say that.

All of my equipment is used, except for some of the hard drives.

1 hour ago, sota said:

I didn't say that.

All of my equipment is used, except for some of the hard drives.

Okay, excuse me.

When I buy a HP ProLiant 380e Gen8, then recommended is to disable the internal controller card and buy a HP H220/240?

Am I concluding that right?

 

Or would you recommend buying an other rack? If so, which type and brand?

 

EDIT: Is it possible to put 8TB disks into them? Is that size supported by a HP H220/240?

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

That is correct with respect to the controllers.

I'm an HP fan-boi.

I've plugged just about every imaginable size and type of disk into my system, including 8TB and 10TB disks.

Well @sota, thank you very much for the infomation until now.

 

Lets say that I buy the following:

• 2x Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant 380e Gen8 server (https://www.spareit.nl/nl/servers/servers-1/hpe-dl380e-gen8-e5-2420-1p-12gb-r-p420-hot-plug-12-lff-750w-ps-server)
• 2x HPE Smart HBA H240 726907-B21 (https://www.creoserver.com/hp-smart-hba-h240-726757-b21)

Then I can switch over from my (almost full) unRAID tower to these 2 racks?

Is that everything I need to look at? Or do I need more (yeah a server rack enclosure, to put the 2 2U racks in )

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

I'd say that's not a bad start.  Do you need 24 drive bays?

8 hours ago, sota said:

I'd say that's not a bad start.  Do you need 24 drive bays?

Yes I think so.
My tower has at the moment 11 disks incl. parity.
So otherwise I cannot expand by more than 1 disk after merging everything into the HP server...

3, if you get the rear disk add-on.

Have you considered upgrading to larger drives while you're at it?

Yea, I did.

I use from the last disk on, only 8TB drives now.

But that's a little off-topic, right?

 

I can connect 2 380e racks for usage of 1 unRAID instance, am I right?

So that they both are using the same USB unRAID array.

 

Is that possible, so that with the list above I am done until I reach 24 disks (23 data and 1 parity disk, of course)?

Edited April 20, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

no unRAID doesn't do distribution like that.

you'd need to run 2 arrays, one on each machine, and will need 2 licenses.

also, most people will tell you, 24 disks with single parity, is a bad idea.

1 hour ago, sota said:

no unRAID doesn't do distribution like that.

you'd need to run 2 arrays, one on each machine, and will need 2 licenses.

also, most people will tell you, 24 disks with single parity, is a bad idea.

 

Too bad, that wasn't what I was hoping for.
What can I do to have a single array of 24 disks... (i.e. with more parity disks or so.)? That is what I am looking for all the time...

 

Saw that unRAID OS supports up to 30 devices in the parity-protected array (28 data and 2 parity)... So how can I finally get a solution to use that...

Edited April 20, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

That would be beyond my current level of experience, so I can provide no practical advice for that.

Thats a pity @sota, but thanks for so far!

 

Can someone else help me then with this subject of matter??

I would like to have something with a lot af slots, and in a sort of server environment...

Edited April 20, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

Personally if your running more than 11 or 12 drives I would seriously install a second parity drive. Gives you a chance to survive two disk failures at the same time. 

 

I was pushing 12 drives and thought I have two choices.

A) Install a second Parity

B) Pull out some of these older drives and go bigger 

 

I picked B and updated all my drives since some had 7-9years of use. eeeekkkkkkkkkkk

@kizer, I would love to put another parity in my array.

So option A is definitely a good one, but I have something to say for option B.

 

I would like to remove the smaller 2TB and 3TB disks and replace them with 8TB disks.

Then I would have 11*8 = 88TB.

But what should I do with those spare drives.

Isn't it a shame to throw those drives away.

I have no other use for it...

 

Sorry for all the questions, 1st I am not as experienced with unRAID as the most of you. 2nd I have Aspergers, and very unsure...

I well would say a big "thank you all" so far! I love this community and their users

Edited April 20, 20215 yr by rikdegraaff

if you wanna go with more than 24 drives, then look at supermicro chassis. this for example: https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/chassis/4U/847/SC847BE2C-R1K23LPB

but it will be a way from your current budget i think. you can find these or similar refurbished too.

BUT, as others suggested, a very big array with with just a two parity drives.. then just buy two separate servers and uses two unraids.

OR, if you go with one server, then you can build a second unraid on top of unraid as VM - but all this adds more complexity.

 

BTW, i'm running two small unraid arrays on top of Proxmox VE (VMWare ESXi works too) in one physical server, together with additional different VMs. this configuration is not supported by Limetech, but works for me and many others for years.

1 minute ago, rikdegraaff said:

But what should I do with those spare drives.

Isn't it a shame to throw those drives away.

I have no other use for it...

Do you have some backup server? if not, then build one. unraid parity is not a backup, and you should have a separate backup server for you most important data..

I backup my 50TB array to a bunch of 4TB drives, then make a duplicate of those.