New Unraid server build

[pras1011]

I am thinking of changing my setup entirely so that I can use 10 x 3tb drives in a Fractal Design R3 case. The reason for this that the Xcase RM420 (Norco 4220) is big and ugly and takes up alot of space. I currently am using 15 x 2tb drives with it.

 

My new build will look like this:

 

Fractal Design R3 case

M4A89GTD Pro/USB3.0 Mobo

Corsair TX550 Modular PSU

4GB Corsair XMS3 Ram

Supermicro SASLP MV8

3Ware SAS forward breakout cable x 2

2GB usb stick

WD Green 3TB HDD x 10

AMD Athlon 245 CPU

 

The above parts are what I use in my current server and therefore I know that they work perfectly with Unraid.

 

I have to somehow transfer nearly 20TB of data from one server to the other!

 

Opinions?

 

Thanks.

[Rajahal]

That motherboard has the dreaded Realtek 8111E NIC, though I expect you already know that.  I believe the latest beta supports it.  If you don't want to run unRAID Beta, then you'll need to invest in an Intel PCI NIC and disable the onboard one.

 

The motherboard is also full ATX sized.  While it technically will fit in the Fractal Design R3, it will be a much tighter fit and will present some cabling challenges.  Since you already trust the hardware I won't dissuade you from using it, but be prepared to spend adequate time on the cabling to ensure adequate airflow.

 

That is certainly a lot of data to transfer.  I personally would do it the slow, steady, and safe way - in batches through TeraCopy on a Windows desktop.  If you enable the 'test after copy' option, TeraCopy will run CRC checks on the data to make sure that it transferred correctly.  This will make the transfers take longer, but you'll have piece of mind that there was no data corruption introduced by the transfer.  If you prefer to speed up the copy, one option is to initiate a transfer from one server to another via command line (I believe rsync will work, but you would have to look up the specific syntax) and then run your own CRC or MD5 checks on the data manually after the transfer is complete.  If you have the luxury of keeping the data on the old server for a while after the transfer, I would recommend you use it to make sure that the data transferred correctly.

[pras1011]

Thanks for that. I have the fractal design r3 case for my gaming pc and I am very impressed by it and that's why I want to move away for the xcase. I don't have any major issues with he realtek but I have just realised that the mobo may not be able to run 3tb drives anyway!!

 

I want to stay with asus and amd and I was wondering what is a good 3tb compatible mobo?

[Rajahal]

Since you already have the board, maybe buy a 3 TB drive and try it yourself?  I haven't found a single motherboard or SATA controller that is incompatible with 3 TB drives in an unRAID environment.  Many motherboards cannot boot from 3 TB drives, but unRAID doesn't care about that since it boots from a flash drive.

[Johnm]

with the price of hard drives what they are right now.... Personally, I would either move your existing drives (with the data) to the new case (i am assuming that they all fit) or wait for the drive prices get back to normal.

 

But i can totally understand the desire to get rid of the norco..

 

I will admit that once i silenced mine and racked them, they don't bother me so much