August 2, 201114 yr I've started on the journey of making an unRAID server and have a few questions before proceeding. Here is what I currently have.... - 1 Antec One Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 1 BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - 1 AMD Sempron 145 - 5 HITACHI Deskstar 0S03230 3TB 5400 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s - 1 Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - 1 Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3 ...and here are the questions. 1. I've seen a few threads discussing that the AOC-SASLP-MV8 controller will work with 3T drives and unRAID 5.0-beta10 work together using the .21 firmware for the controller. From what I'm reading it kinda seems like the AOC-SASLP-MV8 is the standard, is there anything "better" out there that supports the 3T. I've also seen mention of the AOC-SAS2LP-MV8, should I consider holding off and seeing how the SAS2LP pans out? 2. I've read that if all your drives are 5400 RPM then having a faster parity drive doesn't matter, but if I went with a 7200 RPM cache drive along with a 7200 RPM parity drive would that be "faster" than having a 5400 RPM cache and parity? 3. (not a H/D and controller question) I'm new to cpu not on motherboard game, does anyone know if this http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Sempron-145-Processor-SDX145HBGMBOX/dp/B0040BPHJO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1312261199&sr=8-2 will include everything to attach the processor (the heat sink and thermal paste) or will I need to buy them? I had some other question but sure enough once I started typing out the post I'm forgetting them. I'm new to linux and although dealt with hardware have never built a server so I'm sure there will be a lot of questions to come. These forums have already been a big help, especially the input from Rajahal (Doesn't hurt for the new guy to kiss ass does it?)
August 2, 201114 yr No idea on the first question, but.. 2. Single writes to the parity protected array are as fast as the slowest drive, if you're doing writes to multiple data disks at once, a fast parity drive may have some benefit. On the other hand, if you're adding a cache drive as well, writes to the array happen during offhours anyway, so write speed probably isn't an issue at all then. Speed of the cache drive is completely unrelated, a faster cache drive will give faster writes to the shares. 3. The image and articlecode suggest that it's a boxed cpu, so that includes everything to mount it on the mainboard, including the fan. Boxed cpu's (at least the Intel ones, haven't touched amd for years) come with thermal paste attached to the heat sink.
August 2, 201114 yr Ultimately your speed is limited to the network bandwidth. So although a 7200 RPM drive may be faster, a 5400 RPM cache is normally fast enough to max out the network capacity.
August 2, 201114 yr Author Thanks to both of you for the input. bjp999 I meant to include you on my "ass kissing" you seem to be on the forefront of the 3T drives and unRAID and have been sifting through a lot of your post for help.
August 2, 201114 yr As far as #1 http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=14021.0 Right now I am running 6x 3TB Hitachi Green Drives (DATA) drives off of a AOC-SASLP-MV8 and 1 Parity 3TB Hitachi Green drive off my sata3 Motherboard Port. My speeds are extremely fast (40-60 MB/s Writes bypassing Cache drive) and the server seems quite stable. The "slower speed" of the SAS(1) vs the SAS2 really wont make a difference in unraid. Only true SAS2 drives and SSD's (and port expanded drives) benefit for the faster speed. I have run countless Parity checks and have had zero errors. There is a rumor that mixing 3TB and 2TB Hitachi on a AOC-SASLP-MV8 creates issues in Windows. I can not confirm this. Of course Your mileage will vary. I would love if anyone else can run the same setup and post additional results. As far as waiting for the next gen AOC-SAS2LP-MV8, I think a few places has it for special order now. I see no reason to not spend the few extra bucks and get one or 2? Especially if it claims to have native 3TB support (I did not see that listed as a feature, but it should) If that is not an option, I am having no problems with my Gen1 at all... so far.... I plan to buy 1-2 more for my ESX server now that they have the tweak to get them to do PCI pass-through.
August 2, 201114 yr Author I think I'll go with the AOC-SASLP-MV8, I tend to over think stuff. It's funny I have a question on the avsforum about everything fitting together (unRAID, ripping software, XBMC, etc.) and I mentioned today about using 5.0-beta10. I've had like 4 people over there say don't go near the beta even though I explained that pretty much everything I've read here says it's a real stable build, and that I've ever noticed some people recommending it over 4.7.
August 3, 201114 yr Author Cooking with gasoline now.... I finished up my shopping tonight and believe I have everything. Picked up 2 - HITACHI Deskstar H3IK30003272SW (0S03208) 3TB 7200 RPM 1 - SUPERMICRO AOC-SASLP-MV8 PCI Express x4 Low Profile SAS RAID Controller 1 - 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M 1 Unit of .5M Multi-lane Internal (SFF-8087) Serial ATA Breakout Cable 1 - D-Link DIR-655 802.11b/g/n Xtreme N Gigabit Wireless Broadband Router I went with the two 7200 RPM in the hopes of gaining a little speed by using them as the parity and cache, been using Rajahal's prototype thread as a blueprint and it calls for 2 of the breakout cables but if I'm understanding right the motherboard I have has 4 SATA ports directly on the board and I only plan to go with 7 drives total. So I'm assuming I'll have the 7200s directly on the board and one of the 5400s on the board with the rest being hooked up via the breakout cable. On a side note if anyone has access to a tax ID number neweggbusiness.com is offering $50 off $250 by using ENT250 until 8/22/11. Was planning to use it until I realized I didn't have a tax ID
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