Rustbucket's unRAID


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I finally started collecting parts for my unRAID server. I've been keeping my media on a single 2tb external drive, and praying it doesn't die for the past year or so. I'm out of space, and tired of worrying. I really like the storage system unRAID uses, but I want the flexibility of a full OS, so I've been knocking around how to proceed for a few weeks. I was initially looking at building a mini ITX based system, but I have no self control and everything spiraled out of control. I still want a relatively low power system, so I tried to select an efficient processor. The power supply, in particular, is way over the top. I'm only running 3 drives, and doubt I'll ever expand past 5 or 6. What can I say, it was on sale. I'm contemplating sending it back and getting a ~300w PSU instead...

 

OS at time of building: Planning to use 4.7

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 600E 2.2Ghz 45w - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TPGLVG

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KPP4JO

RAM: CORSAIR XMS 4GB DDR3 (2), to be expanded- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233132

Case: Helios 910 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RS4HVQ

Drive Cage(s): None

Power Supply: SeaSonic X650 Gold SS-650KM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

SATA Expansion Card(s): None

Cables: Random Selection

Fans: Stock

 

Parity Drive: Samsung F4 2TB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245

Data Drives: Samsung F4 2TB (2) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245

Cache Drive: None

Total Drive Capacity: 4TB (for now)

 

Primary Use:

I'm planning to install ESXi with an unRAID VM and the drives passed through as block level devices. The server will also have a Ubuntu Server 10.04 guest that will run Crashplan, allowing my unRAID to be a target for backups for my folks. It will also give me an outlet my incessant need to fiddle with my configuration without messing up my media server. ;) I'll be running sabnzbd and sickbeard, but I haven't decided whether to do than in unRAID or Ubuntu. There's a thread floating around indicating this ought to work with a bit of tinkering, and that's the fun part of any project anyway.

 

Likes:

Long walks on the beach, and... wait, this isn't that kind of site it is?

 

Dislikes:

I'm a bit concerned about noise as the system will be living in my bedroom for the foreseeable future. If the stock fans are too loud I'll have to look other options. The last build I did was before the whole pwm era, so I'll need to do more research. One of the cool things about the PSU is that the fan turns off entirely under ~150w or so, based on a couple of reviews I read. Come to think of it, it may never turn on for me...

 

Add Ons Used: Dunno yet - better make it work first!

Future Plans: Drop in a 2tb drive each time I fill up the previous one. Gloat if it works.

 

I'd certainly appreciate any feedback on the build. If I can't get VMware to work with unRAID, I'll probably make it a dedicated system, at which point the spec will be truly ridiculous...

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I'm interested in your build as a second/test server for myself. :)  Primarily to learn Ubuntu and run Crashplan. unRAID was my first foray into the Linux OS world and I've been impressed with the performance.

 

I like the Helios, but will probably choose something different for improved cable management.

 

You may find the fans dB to be excessive for the bedroom.  A fan controller helps some. A possibility is disconnecting the large 230mm fan. I was tempted to do that when I had 3 drives installed. Replacement of the stock fans is another option you mentioned.

 

btw, I like your choice in power supplies, although it may not run as efficiently as a smaller PSU, Seasonics are solid, modular is a plus for cable management, and I will bet that your build grows to 10-12 drives! ;D

 

One valuable addition to your build - UPS.  I found mine to be invaluable in protecting the server, and avoiding those long parity checks - especially when they occur <1 day after completing a scheduled check.

 

Welcome to the forum and enjoy!

 

Edit:  Remember to check the serial number on your Samsung drives and update the fw if necessary.

 

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Thanks for the feedback.

 

= I'm definitely planning to disconnect and possibly remove the 230mm fan. If I'm ever running a ton of drives it may be necessary, but as it it, I don't see the purpose. Does anyone know if the 140's that come with the Helios are the style that have the same screw spacing as 120's?

 

I'll definitely add a UPS to the list. I've pretty much used up my cash for the time being, but I'll at least get a baby one tyo give the machine the few minutes to shut down soon.

 

 

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Thanks Rajahal!

 

I've been doing a bit more reading on unRAID and VMware, and am a little concerned about not being able to use the registered version in the future, since the VM I was planning to build won't use an actual flash drive. I see a couple of options that might make it possible.

1.) Run a VMware server install with unRAID as a guest. A full OS install is a bit wasteful of resources, but I'm pretty sure VMware Server supports USB passthrough. I don't know if it support booting off a USB device, though...

 

2.) Switch to Xen. I haven't used it extensively, but I believe it supports USB passthrough as well. Hopefully USB booting, too.

 

I'll do a bit more reading. I'll probably be assembling the computer this weekend, so I still have a couple of days to poke around and dither.

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I don't claim to really know anything about running unRAID through a VM, but I do know that unRAID doesn't actually have to boot off a USB flash drive.  The only thing that needs to be on a flash drive is the unRAID license key (Plus.key or Pro.key) as it is tied to the flash drive's GUID (serial number).  The actual unRAID system files (bzimage, bzroot, etc.) can be located and loaded from another drive, be it a hard drive, an SD card, a CF card, a floppy disk, etc.

 

You might look into some of the old threads and wiki information about getting unRAID to run on old motherboards that don't support booting from USB.  Specifically search 'kicker disk'.

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Preclearing/memtesting/cpuburning time in my very sophisticated technology lab.

 

A couple of thoughts:

  * The Seasonic PSU is nice. Heck, the velvet bag it comes in and the nylon bag for the cables almost seems worth the price of entry. ;) Running a preclear, the fan on it hasn't turned on yet (it stays off below 20% load) - too cool!

  * Obviously, the case fans aren't running yet (case? what case?), but the CPU cooler is nice and quiet as well.

  * Speeds for preclearing the drives are running about 120 Mb/second.

  * I couldn't find a jumper, so I had to short the power switch pins on the motherboard with my pocketknife. Do not try this at home! You can, and will, fry your computer.

 

I'll check back later this week when I get it all cased up and buttoned down.

 

-Josh

 

 

IMAG0039.jpg

 

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I had some issues getting my drives to preclear successfully - you can see the gory details in this thread (http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12747.0), but the long and short of it is that I had a defective stick of memory, which is currently on its way back to Newegg for replacement.

 

Now that I finally got that worked out, the parts have been installed in the case. I built the array with two precleared drives and no parity to start, using the future parity drive as a transport to bring all my data into the machine. The initial copy is complete and I'm preclearing the 3rd disk now. Preclears with the disks sitting on the desk ran in the mid 30's C, while the current one is running 22C

 

I'll be running the box as a dedicated unRAID system for a few weeks to work out the kinks, then moving to ESXi. The biggest variable that I need to work out is whether my motherboard supports IOMMU so I can pass PCI devices to ESXi. I haven't found any tests for my chipset (AMD 880), so I'll just have to find out myself.

 

If I'd done more research ahead of time I think I would have gone with an inexpensive Xeon board with official VT-d support. I'd lose a fair amount of efficiency but gain certainty and a supported solution. Hindsight is 20-20 I guess...

 

I'll snap a couple of pics tonight, but it looks pretty much like any other Helios case, with worse cable organization.  ;)

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  • 10 years later...
20 minutes ago, Ben Thuss said:

Did you ever figure out if the Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H supports IOMMU? I have the same board and am trying to set GPU passthrough but cant seem to find info on if its possible.

Regardless if it supports it or not (or if the CPU installed does), you're going to run into nothing but trouble on a board that old.  Save your hair and don't try and force it to do something that at best supports it on paperbut not in the real world.

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@Squid that's totally fair. I'm basically trying to repurpose a bunch of old server parts and migrate my hardware from a huge gaming tower into a more low key micro atx form factor. I know i should just do a full overhaul but I was just trying to see if it'd be possible with the AM3 Phenom II that's in there. Finding compatible micro atx boards that are now 8-10 years old has been a challenge.

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