2 unRAID servers instead of Norco monster?

[opentoe]

I'm curious as to why a lot of people would rather have a monster Norco case then have 2 smaller unRAID boxes? In a year or so I may be changing around some of my hardware and wanted to hear opinions on the matter. In my mind I would rather manage 2 or have 2 15 drive servers than one large Norco. Hopefully I'm thinking straight on what I'm asking.

 

 

[joshpond]

Horses for courses.

 

More cost for the psu, motherboard, ram and OS etc but you do get more backup.

 

Also a lot of people use if for media, you'll have to trawl through 2 unRAIDs to find the movie.

 

Josh

[sacretagent]

i can understand in the US where hardware is cheap that a norco makes sense

but outside the us where some things are hard to find i think 2 unraids make sense ...

1 for Movies and 1 for tv series and the rest ... whatever you have the most the other one can put other stuff ...

 

only real reason why i didn't do this yet is the electricity cost... but then again 2 x 450 watt PSU against one 850 w for a norco ...

 

from the other side here in Thailand

 

a icute 18 case (12 x 3.5 bays and 6 HDD slots)= 2900 Bath

4 x coolermaster 4in 3 cages = 700 x 4 = 2800 Bath

total =5700 bath / 32 for us $= 178 US$

funny thing is if i would buy a icydock 5 in 3 here that would set me back 6000 bath  

anyway above gives me also 22 drives (which is the max for unraid anyway )

 

 

 

 

[jortan]

450/850 watt are maximum power ratings not a reflection on how much power they consume (it depends on the devices attached to them)

 

Two unRAID systems will definitely use more power than just one.  This why you see some people doing the opposite of what you suggest - virtualising unRAID and other services in to a single box using VMWare ESXi.

[Johnm]

What is best for one person is not always best for another.

 

While it is true that in the states, The norco can be the best value for the case and only having 1 server is cheaper for both parts and power usage..

 

if parts are hard to come by for you or you have an extra older PC in your junk bin, then that might be the way to go.

especially if you have one or both servers in sleep/standby or turned off when not in use.

 

If hot-swap drive bays are hard to purchase there, then dont get them.

they are not required, just a convenience. you can use a second case next to the first to store drives in if you need to.

 

Or, if you have some basic tools and you like modding, you can make your own drive cages/holder. all you really need is some metal and fans to cool the drives. they wont be "quick hot swap" but you could save a fortune. Something similar to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAFUtKe4j44

You cold also make them hold more or fewer drives

 

I am sure you can get to do a 5 in 3 depending on your case and how you build your drive bracket. You might have to add air vents to you front 5 1/4" covers if they are solid.

 

You could always put them elsewhere in your tower like across the bottom.

[KYThrill]

I'm curious as to why a lot of people would rather have a monster Norco case then have 2 smaller unRAID boxes? In a year or so I may be changing around some of my hardware and wanted to hear opinions on the matter. In my mind I would rather manage 2 or have 2 15 drive servers than one large Norco. Hopefully I'm thinking straight on what I'm asking.

 

 

 

Some people build the monster Norco systems because they need 2-3 monster Norco systems vs 6 smaller systems.  I have one Norco good for up to 38TB, 57TB once a final 5.0 is released with 3TB drive support.  I will have a second Norco which will rsync disk by disk as a backup.  And 38TB is probably not enough space for my current media collection, so I will probably end up needing two of them (so another backup).  That will end up leaving me with 4 Norco 20 drive systems.  Then on top of that, I will have two smaller 8 drive systems (one in use and one backup) that are used as a general file server vs media server.

 

Blu-ray TV seasons will run 200-250 GB per season, so maybe 8 seasons per 2TB hardrive.  It fills up HDD's pretty fast, and that is before you even get to movies.  It's like Prison Break and True Blood are done, oops thats one HDD.  Now Twilight Zone and the original Star Trek.  Oops, there goes another HDD.  Okay, time for Smallville and Terminator Sarah Conner Chronicles.  Another one down.  Battlestar Galactica the complete series.  Another one.  BD TV seasons eat HDD's pretty fast, so if TV is your thing, you need bigger systems.

 

And once old series shot on 35mm start getting remastered in HD, the race is on as to how fast you can fill up a 20 drive Norco. Remastered 8 and 10 season TV shows will need their own HDD's for each show.

[Whaler_99]

My main reason for not going Norco - space. I am placing my server in a space in my crawl space that can perfectly hold a tower system. Running the Antec 1200 with 4 x 5x3 cages is more expensive, but a lot easier to access, move around and fit where I need it to go.

 

Shawn

 

[yelnatsch517]

Because server racks look cooler.

[ProfQ]

Although I'd suggest starting with a case for your first build, you don't really need to buy a case to build an unRAID server.

 

There is always the possibility of building up, even to the size of a fridge if you wanted to. My next unRAID project will be using an old TV furniture or a Victorian bookcase or buffet.

I believe unRAID gives us the freedom to make it all fit with our individual creativity.

You don't need to put your setup in a commercial box. All you need is good ventilation, internal mounts and some bravado.  Use your own taste as guide, and build up the internals of "your box" with a motherboard tray, rails for the drives, fans, and mounts as needed.