I'm ordering parts from Raj's 20 Drive Budget Build (rackmount) but ordered a Norco 4020 case instead of the 4220, what cables will I need with this case?

The Norco RPC-4020 Uses standard Sata headers on the backplanes.

 

If you are using the same build as he has listed for everything else.

you will need 4 standard Sata cables (might come with the Mobo for free)

and you will need 4 of Mini SAS 36pin (SFF-8087) FORWARD breakout Cables.

that is a SAS to 4 Sata plugs.

 

Make sure you get Forward and not Reverse. They look identical.

 

EDIT:

you need 4 of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116097

now the trick is to find them for less or pay the new eggprice.

At least they finally stopped charging $7 shipping per @!#$#$ cable.

Raj,

 

I am looking at your 22 drive beast as a new build but I want to wait for your compatibility tests with 3tb drives.  How is the testing going?  Thanks for all your support on this site.

 

Alan

 

I have finished all my 3 TB compatibility testing, and I plan to publish my findings to the GreenLeaf blog very soon, hopefully this weekend or early next week.  In addition to those results, I'll also publish the results of my latest budget board testing as well as a review of the Nexus Prominent 9.  Last but not least, I'll be introducing a new GreenLeaf server design - the 15 Drive Silent Server.  I've got a lot of work to do this weekend, but work you enjoy never feels too much like work.

 

For those who can't wait for the full write-ups, here's the results in a nutshell:

 

3 TB Drive Compatibility testing: I found every motherboard and SATA/SAS controller card I tested to be fully compatible with 3 TB drives.  So that's a relief.  Also, the 3 TB Hitachi CoolSpins are fantastic drives.  I ran 15 of them through 2 passes of preclear (1.12beta) and not a single one skipped a beat.  With that type of quantity I always expect one or two duds.  Hitachi must have some very good quality control.

 

Budget Board Testing: The winner is the Asus M4A78LT-M ($66 at Newegg).  Note: NOT the 'LE' version of the board.  Be careful when shopping, it is easy to mix them up.

 

Nexus Prominent 9: Great case, I love it.  Makes for a REALLY quiet server.  Downsides are price and difficulty installing three 5-in-3 cages.  More details to come in the full review.

 

15 Drive Silent Server: Here's a sneak peak

 

I'm ordering parts from Raj's 20 Drive Budget Build (rackmount) but ordered a Norco 4020 case instead of the 4220, what cables will I need with this case?

 

Johnm's advice is spot on.  Monoprice is the best place to buy cables, but as they are out of stock until the end of the month, Superbiiz has the next best deal at the moment.

15 Drive Silent Server: Here's a sneak peak

 

Droool...

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT:

I love the clean lines and the look...

 

The only thing that bothers me is the USB2 ports. I would love to see usb3

ugh i just put one in my shopping cart... ~angry fist @ Raj~

Johnm

 

Thanks for the reply, just to be clear I need 4 of these, 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M Multi-lane Internal (SFF-8087) Serial ATA breakout cable ?

The cables are the last thing I have to sort out and get ordered.

I ordered one of these already so hopefully they are the right ones and I will get 3 more.

 

 

Correct. Raj pointed out that they are a bit cheaper here http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=CBLSFFCF05&title=LSI-3Ware-CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M-SFF-8087-to-Discrete-Forward-Breakout-Cable

 

 

Nice silent build Raj.

 

Does this involve replacing the Norco turbines fans?

OK, they wanted $56 to ship 3 cables to Canada so I found them at a Canadian site for $19 each and $7 total shipping.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Don't be surprised if I'm on here looking for more guidance later.

Nice silent build Raj.

 

Does this involve replacing the Norco turbines fans?

 

Yes indeed.

Will this SAS cable work for the Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8? http://www.sona.de/.545269601-Supermicro-Multilane-Breakout-Kabel-CBL-0097L-02

 

Thx

Will this SAS cable work for the Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8? http://www.sona.de/.545269601-Supermicro-Multilane-Breakout-Kabel-CBL-0097L-02

 

Thx

I believe you would need this one: http://www.sona.de/.1939726910-Supermicro-Multilane-Breakout-Kabel-CBL-0116L

You wont need the sideband cable for most applications.

It is hard to tell based on the descriptions.

Johnm is correct, you don't need the sideband model.  The problem is that I can't tell from the Sona website if that is a forward or a reverse breakout cable.  The forward breakout cables do work with the Supermicro A0C-SASLP-MV8 cards.  The reverse breakout cables do not.

Johnm is correct, you don't need the sideband model.  The problem is that I can't tell from the Sona website if that is a forward or a reverse breakout cable.  The forward breakout cables do work with the Supermicro A0C-SASLP-MV8 cards.  The reverse breakout cables do not.

I agree, it is hard to tell if it is forward or reverse.

I looked up the supermicro part number.

 

It "implies" it is forward breakout for going from an MV8 to a drive cage in the example on the supermicro website.

OK, I managed to order the right ones, hopefully. In a few days I can finally start to go online with my server.

 

I did a testrun with 2 x 2-port SATA adapters before I had the supermicro card, did 3 preclears and went online with the array. I also formatted the drives.

 

So I guess if I use those drives on my new Supermicro card, I would have to do the whole procedure again including preclearing?

 

Someone enlighten me please. Thanks in advance

OK, I managed to order the right ones, hopefully. In a few days I can finally start to go online with my server.

 

I did a testrun with 2 x 2-port SATA adapters before I had the supermicro card, did 3 preclears and went online with the array. I also formatted the drives.

 

So I guess if I use those drives on my new Supermicro card, I would have to do the whole procedure again including preclearing?

 

Someone enlighten me please. Thanks in advance

if I am not mistaken,

in 5X you just need to swap the controller and and restart your server. you might have to start the array manually.

 

in 4x you need to first get a screenshot of your drive settings, replace the controller, start the server, reassign the drives to the correct locations and start the array.

What Johnm said is correct, no need to preclear the drives again.  Just assign them to the correct drive slots.

 

I posted the results of my 3 TB compatibility testing over the weeked.  Enjoy!  I'm working on the budget board review right now.

Thanks. If I want to assign the drives from scratch, would unraid do a clearing process because the drives are formatted?

As long as they still contain the special preclear signature (which formatting does not overwrite) then they won't need to be cleared again.  If unRAID can't detect the preclear signature then they will be cleared.

Is there a way to find out if this signature is gone or not?

As long as they still contain the special preclear signature (which formatting does not overwrite) then they won't need to be cleared again.  If unRAID can't detect the preclear signature then they will be cleared.

 

Formatting should most definitely destroy the preclear signature!

As long as they still contain the special preclear signature (which formatting does not overwrite) then they won't need to be cleared again.  If unRAID can't detect the preclear signature then they will be cleared.

 

Formatting should most definitely destroy the preclear signature!

 

Oops, didn't realize that.

 

Is there a way to find out if this signature is gone or not?

 

I believe there is a preclear command that will just check for the signature, but I can't find it at the moment.  Read through this thread and see if you can find it.

I keep forgetting to announce my blog posts!  The new budget board post is here!  The winner is the ASUS M4A78LT-M.

 

By the way, I'm having a spot of trouble with the Blogger software creating wacky font sizes.  I'll be troubleshooting it later today.  If you have trouble reading the post, just copy/paste the text into a text editor of your choice (or use your browser's zoom function).  Sorry for the trouble, and I hope to get it fixed ASAP.

I have updated the Prototype Designs thread.  Noteable updates are:

 

• All prices updated.  Most have dropped between $20 and $100!
  
• The Budget Board for 5 - 15 drive designs has been updated to the ASUS M4A78LT-M.  It is temporarily out of stock at Newegg, but should be back in stock soon.  Hopefully it lasts longer than the previous one did.
  
• The vendor for the Norco SS-500 drive cage has been updated to 3BTech Computers.  The page is out of date - it shows the old version of the drive cage with a 92mm fan.  When you order you actually get the new version of the cage with an 80mm fan.  They drop ship directly from Norco for less money than any other vendor I've found.  I've also found their customer support to be excellent.
  
• Added a 'SATA cables' count to each design.  Many people have contacted me directly asking how many SATA cables need to be purchased with each build.  Hopefully this section will address those questions.
  
• The Sempron 140 is back in stock, but at the same price as the Sempron 145.  All AMD builds now call for the Sempron 145.
  
• The i3 530 is back in stock but at a higher price than the i3 540.  i3 builds continue to call for the i3 540.
  
• All Budget Box designs that previous called for the Azza Helios 910 now call for the Xigmatek Utgard Original CPC-T90DB-U01.  The Utgard is cheaper and potentially quieter since it lacks the over-sized side fan.  I have not personally used the Utgard case yet, but it is on my list of hardware to review.  If you would like to see this or any other piece of hardware reviewed sooner, consider donating to the GreenLeaf Software and Hardware Blog.  All donations are applied towards purchases of hardware or software to be reviewed.
  

• All Budget Box designs that previous called for the Azza Helios 910 now call for the Xigmatek Utgard Original CPC-T90DB-U01.  The Utgard is cheaper and potentially quieter since it lacks the over-sized side fan.  I have not personally used the Utgard case yet, but it is on my list of hardware to review.  If you would like to see this or any other piece of hardware reviewed sooner, consider donating to the GreenLeaf Software and Hardware Blog.  All donations are applied towards purchases of hardware or software to be reviewed.
  

 

Hi all, I just put together the Budget Box this weekend (with a different motherboard), but I didn't bother to hook up the side fan on the Helios 910. Should I? Sorry for the noob question, but it was my first time to build a computer. I was just so relieved when I pressed the power button and the thing actually turned on! I just figured that the motherboard doesn't need any extra cooling, but then again I don't know anything. When I compare the fans to the Utgard, the only difference (other than no huge side fan) is that the Utgard has a front fan, but the internal Norco fan should take care of the right?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

p.s.  - That front power LED on the Helios is really damn bright!! The server is the back of my storage room, and the light emanates out into the hall and lights me a path to the bathroom! I think I'll disconnect it.

You can definitely leave the side fan disconnected, it isn't necessary.  I remember reading that one user actually swapped the sides of the case so that the fan was on the motherboard side.  This effectively covers up the gaping hole in the case and potentially helps direct airflow past the drives.  Easy enough to accomplish, so I think it is worth a try.

 

You can also leave the power LED disconnected, nothing wrong with that.  Sometimes I'll hook up the HDD LED to the PWR_LED pins on the motherboard since the HDD LED tends to be smaller and less bright.  Or you can leave them both disconnected.