MicroServer N36L/N40L/N54L - 6 Drive Edition


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No TV tuner in my PCs, I don't use them.

 

unRAID is used in the server. You can't use the Microserver for unRAID and as an HTPC at the same time. I don't use an HTPC. The Popcorn Hour plays stuff.

 

Hi Neil, so are you using your servers purely to stream your blus, dvd's and cd's from?

 

Do you rip your material straight from your pc to the server or rip it to your pc and then copy to the server?

 

Thanks K

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No TV tuner in my PCs, I don't use them.

 

unRAID is used in the server. You can't use the Microserver for unRAID and as an HTPC at the same time. I don't use an HTPC. The Popcorn Hour plays stuff.

 

Hi Neil, so are you using your servers purely to stream your blus, dvd's and cd's from?

 

Do you rip your material straight from your pc to the server or rip it to your pc and then copy to the server?

 

Thanks K

 

Yes.

 

and

 

Yes and Yes -- either works.

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No TV tuner in my PCs, I don't use them.

 

unRAID is used in the server. You can't use the Microserver for unRAID and as an HTPC at the same time. I don't use an HTPC. The Popcorn Hour plays stuff.

 

Hi Neil, so are you using your servers purely to stream your blus, dvd's and cd's from?

 

Do you rip your material straight from your pc to the server or rip it to your pc and then copy to the server?

 

Thanks K

 

Yes.

 

and

 

Yes and Yes -- either works.

 

Cheers Neil, it is all "gradually" becoming clearer :)

 

It's quite funny, the more you read the more confused you become, I think my head needs a built in filter lol 

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Cheers Neil, it is all "gradually" becoming clearer :)

 

It's quite funny, the more you read the more confused you become, I think my head needs a built in filter lol 

 

Personally, I often found that I wasn't always sure that the topics I was reading about in the FAQ or forums actually matched the question/issue I was having.

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Hello All,

Finally finished my build log :o

Any, errors, omissions, please LMK.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/networking-nas/1429720-tims-7-24tb-tiddler-unraid-nas.html

Cheers.

Tim

 

 

Excellent blog post! I honestly have ZERO need for this little guy as I have a 15 drive and a 6 drive unRAID server built, but I love how small and little power this bugger uses. I wish we could get a good price on this here in the States...

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Excellent blog post! I honestly have ZERO need for this little guy as I have a 15 drive and a 6 drive unRAID server built, but I love how small and little power this bugger uses. I wish we could get a good price on this here in the States...

 

It's a lovely little thang but then i'm a saddo ;D

Thanks for the feedback.

Tim.

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  • 3 weeks later...

 

Has anyone managed to get the WOL working correctly with this unit?

I've spent some time with it now and can't quite get it to start up. Unsure if the powerdown script allows the unit to wake, ie, not being in a hibernate state. I've read elsewhere that the MB doesnt support S1, S2 or S3?

 

Cheers, Dan

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Has anyone managed to get the WOL working correctly with this unit?

I've spent some time with it now and can't quite get it to start up. Unsure if the powerdown script allows the unit to wake, ie, not being in a hibernate state. I've read elsewhere that the MB doesnt support S1, S2 or S3?

 

Cheers, Dan

 

I understand it doesn't support S3. I think Windows users have WOL working by setting the adapter to respond to Magic Packet only: http://91.151.218.11/showpost.php?s=f5334be210bd95f767647b5a8b1e810d&p=18110314&postcount=279

 

But this seems to be difficult/impossible to do under Linux: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=18635837

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Right, thanks. :'(

Another question then, can i start and stop at certain times of the day? I'm sure I've something somewhere, but done so much reading lately I cant remember where.

On to squeezebox server now.

Thanks again.

 

I don't think the BIOS has that option. My 6-disk box runs at 27W with all drives spun down apart from cache, so I am happy to leave mine on all the time.

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I was looking for a 4 bay raid device when I came across Unraid and your build.  This post inspired me and 4 weeks ago I went and bought the same Microserver.  I basically duplicated the entire build with 8tb of storage and a 500 WD black drive for cache.  Bios has been hacked and everything runs well. Before putting in the drive tray in the spare bay I was playing with drive layouts and was able to place 2 3.5 drives sideways on a diagonal with the interface up so it can be cabled.  Only reason I was messing around was because the license allows for one more drive.  Did you give any thought to a 7th drive or did the power supply concern you?  I was thinking of modifying the top left inner cage so i could lay the drives flat. 

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I was looking for a 4 bay raid device when I came across Unraid and your build.  This post inspired me and 4 weeks ago I went and bought the same Microserver.  I basically duplicated the entire build with 8tb of storage and a 500 WD black drive for cache.  Bios has been hacked and everything runs well. Before putting in the drive tray in the spare bay I was playing with drive layouts and was able to place 2 3.5 drives sideways on a diagonal with the interface up so it can be cabled.  Only reason I was messing around was because the license allows for one more drive.   Did you give any thought to a 7th drive or did the power supply concern you?  I was thinking of modifying the top left inner cage so i could lay the drives flat.   

 

I've thought of little else!  ;D

 

Seriously though, I did try fitting in another 3.5" drive, but struggled.

 

Your idea sounds clever. Can you post a photo of what you've done (a crappo cellphone pic is fine)? I think I know what you've done, but it would be good to see it.

 

I have a Pro license on this machine, so if I could cram another 4 drives in there, I would!

 

The PSU has to cope with at least 4x 7200rpm drives.

With 2x 7200rpm 3.5" + 3x 5400rpm 3.5" and 1x 5400rpm 2.5", I saw a max draw of about 115W at boot. I think they put a 200W PSU in the N36L in this revision, so I'm sure it'll be fine as long as most of your drives are "Green".

 

How did you connect up the 7th drive? Did you add a PCI-E SATA card? I think I'd just use 6x 3.5", replacing my 2.5" drive with a 3.5".

 

I'd be interested to see what temperatures you get for the drives in the top, particularly the 7200rpm drive.

 

P.S. I just ordered a 4GB DIMM, as I keep running out of RAM. That should also speed things up a bit with RAM caching of directory reads etc.

 

Cheers,

 

Neil.

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OK, I had to try out your excellent idea, kapfel. I managed to fit 4 3.5" drives in the top and the 2.5" drive as well! Total drives: 9!

 

I think cooling may be an issue, but the case would act as a heatsink for most of the drives, so I will be trying this out.

 

Some pictures:

 

2hp7qqs.jpg

 

This is the "bottom layer" -- the drive on the left (back of the case) has the connectors exposed at the rear, and the other drive has the connectors positioned down the groove in the case where the 5.25" drive would normally slide.

 

 

 

 

70x8g2.jpg

Here you can see the SATA and power connectors down that groove.

 

 

 

 

jhe9p0.jpg

 

The "top layer" of drives. I believe there's plenty of room for cables, although i haven't tried hooking them all up yet. There's more headroom at the top of the case than appears at first glance.

 

 

 

 

33tjwus.jpg

 

Another angle.

 

 

 

 

24qo50p.jpg

 

It's not so pretty with the top back on. The drive is not quite flush with the front of the case, but it's only by 1mm or so. I may trim the SATA plug slightly with a knife to get it further in the groove so the drive is flush and hide the hole with a blanking plate.

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LOL, wow, that is some impressive drive cramming.

 

...I was playing with drive layouts and was able to place 2 3.5 drives sideways on a diagonal with the interface up so it can be cabled...

 

Unless I'm misinterpreting you, this is a bad idea.  A drive should never be mounted at any angle except for 0 degrees (flat) or 90 degrees (vertical, meaning perpendicular to the plane of the ground).  Any other angle can seriously reduce the life of that drive.

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Your correct Rajahal.  I did not realize the angle was an issue.  I was able to place the rear drive as Neil did but I didn't realize till he posted the picture that the front drive could sit forward like that.  I was going to order a card to support drive 7.  I was going to order a card from Monoprice.  I don't think the heat will be much of an issue for two 3.5s on the top but 4 might be much.  My current drives are all 5400 and 5900.  Only 7200 is the 2.5 500g black. 

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Can someone who owns this server tell me how much space there is above the internal USB port?  I don't want to use this server for unRAID, so I was thinking I could put a wireless USB adapter in that slot and run the wire out to an antenna I super glue to the top of the case.  Something tells me though that there isn't room to do this.

 

Basically, I want to put a Windows server somewhere for offsite backup duplication and and an offsite domain controller. I want to put it in a closet and forget about it.

 

Thanks!

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Can someone who owns this server tell me how much space there is above the internal USB port?  I don't want to use this server for unRAID, so I was thinking I could put a wireless USB adapter in that slot and run the wire out to an antenna I super glue to the top of the case.  Something tells me though that there isn't room to do this.

 

See this post: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11585.msg110605#msg110605

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Can someone who owns this server tell me how much space there is above the internal USB port?  I don't want to use this server for unRAID, so I was thinking I could put a wireless USB adapter in that slot and run the wire out to an antenna I super glue to the top of the case.  Something tells me though that there isn't room to do this.

 

See this post: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11585.msg110605#msg110605

 

Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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