Antec 900 Build - 8+ disks


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Well all, I am looking to replace my sprawling WHS server farm. Yes, farm. I have three so far. One for backups, and two for streaming media. With three kids and their computers and two NMT units, one WHS simply could not handle the strain to feed two high def feeds. Now two isn't even cutting it. (Stupid Blue-ray, 1080P, gazzilion GB files)  :)

 

I did some basic playing around with a three disk unit and am now collecting parts to build my beast. A collection of pieces I have around the house and a few new parts. This will host and stream all the media files, host backups of various systems in the home as well as a large colelction of ISO software backups.

 

OS at time of building: 5 Beta 4

CPU:  AMD Athlon X2 2.6Ghz

Motherboard: HP (Asus)  m2n68-la

RAM:  2GB

Case: Antec 900

Drive Cage(s): Two x CoolerMaster 4x3

Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX750

SATA Expansion Card(s): Two x HighPoint RocketRAID 2300 PCI Express SATA II (3.0Gb/s) Controller Card

Cables: Not sure yet. CM drive cage is all direct connect, so just standard SATA and power cables I guess

Fans: Two x 120mm included in the CM drive cages, stock fans included with the Antec 900 itself

 

Parity Drive: 2TB Hitachi 7200RMP, 32MB cache drive, brand new

Data Drives: Combo of 2x1.5TB, 4x1TB and some 500GB drives. All are Seagate or WD, 7200RPM, 32MB cache, used drives from the WHS systems

Cache Drive: None

Total Drive Capacity: 8+ TB

 

Primary Use: Media streaming, host backups

Likes: Ability to use some parts from around the house, performance blows away WHS, the "raid" mechanism seems a lot better then the solution WHS was using

Dislikes:Probably going to be loud at startup, but otherwise none yet

Add Ons Used: unMenu, mail notification, UPS signaling

Future Plans: Build second unit, store offsite and use RSync to mirror the primary

 

Boot (peak): TBD

Idle (avg): TBD

Active (avg): TBD

Light use (avg): TBD

 

 

I have ordered the controller cards, so need to wait for those, otherwise ready to start assembling. Yes, I know the PSU is a monster. But I figured if I was to put some money somewhere, that be the spot. Plus, there was a sale at a local store on these, so couldn't pass it up.

 

Question - Should I start the build with 5Beta4 or stick with 4.7 and upgrade later? Version 5 been rock solid so far. Still pondering that. :)

 

I will update with progress and pics as I progress. Thanks for any feedback or suggestions.

 

Shawn

 

Update Feb 26, 2011 - Sometimes it is the little things. After 15 years of IT you just have to sit back and chuckle. So late last night I think to pull out the old system from the Antec 900 case, move it to another case so my 900 is all set. Get everything pulled out. Might I say, the drive cages that came with the Antec 900 had to be the worst invention ever. 8 screws to secure the bloody thing, then you still had to screw in the drive. I digress. Pulled the original drive cages out and look to slid in one of my CM drive cages and check the fit. Slides in nice. But... bloody screw holes don't align. I start proding and pushing, shifting around, nada. Don't line up worth jack. I am thinking to myself, going to have to get the hammer, plyers, dremmel.... darn it. Pull out the CM and look at it. Oh wait. Fancy little arrow on the side showing which side is up. DOH!  :o  Turn it right side up, slid it in, voila, perfect fit. <sigh> The little things.

 

Update Feb 27, 2011 - Another late night. Decided to start on the initial build even though I do not have all the parts yet or drives freed up. Can at least start testing and get some pics done. All in all coming together nice. Maybe soon I will actually test and see if it boots up.  :P

Issue #1 - Cable management. The draw back to the lower cost of the CM cages versus say an IcyDock or SuperMicro, cable management a lot harder.

Issue #2 - Space. Not a lot of clearance in the Antec 900 between back of the drives and the mobo. A 1200 would probably have more room. I have a HAF 932 and a HAF X as well, both of which have a lot more clearances, but they are custom builds I am not tearing apart. :)

 

Update March 2nd - Have the system powered up, three drives in it. All is running fine - version 5 beta 5b... I think... they changing a lot. :)  Still waiting for the controllers from Newegg - cross border shipping... <sigh>

 

Update March 6th - Well I have been busy. :) Please see post here... http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11530.0

Got the two controllers and working away on things. Preclearing drives, formating, oh the joys of unRaid. :) One thing I have noticed, although these CM cages are not hot swap, the 120mm fan on front really works well keeping the drives cool. In all my testing I have not seen any drive go about 30C. Typically they run about 23-25C. Guess a trade off on convenience for superior cooling... and silence. They are super quiet.

 

Now I have to watch that bug called OCD. :) Trolling all the forums and builds here, I find myself thinking and dreaming of all the "upgrades" I want to do.  Have to keep it in check, at least for a bit...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to let you know, went with 4.7 to be safe! :) Will play with the beta's on a test unit. Everything working great in the Antec case.

Only issue I have is getting the controller here in Canada that I want to use... But so far so good.

I am using "Beyond Compare" to copy data from various sources to the unRaid system as this is a lot fast then Windows copy, supports resume and interruptions and such.

 

Shawn

 

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