Proposed new build - new to unRAID

[Hoopster]

I am finally ready to come out of research/lurking mode and ask some question of the community experts.  Obviously, after much research, I have determined that I want to build my NAS with unRAID rather than some of the other alternatives.  I will be keeping it small as, although, one can never say X amount of storage will always be enough, I am currently anticipating not needing to go beyond the limits of a Plus system with 5 data drives, 1 parity and 1 cache drive.

 

I am looking at the Lian Li Pc-Q25 case

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=584&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=67&g=spec

 

This case can hold up to 7 3.5" drives (5 hot swappable) and one 2.5" drive

 

Because that case requires a power supply that is no longer than 140mm, my options are limited.

 

I currently have a Thermaltake TR2-550 power supply lying around that is 140mm in length; however, it is not modular and has dual 12v rails (not recommended, I know).  Should I not use this PSU and look for something else that is 140mm and modular?

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1172&ID=1540

 

I plan to use my unRAID box primarily for the following:

- Storage of documents, photos (my wife takes a ton of photos), music and ripped DVD/BluRay discs

- Media streaming to DLNA TVs, tablets, laptops, etc. over my dual-band router

 

I would like remote access/management as I travel a lot.

 

Of course, given the case selection, I am looking for a good mini ITX motherboard with at least 6 SATA ports and an eSATA port.  A lot of the current mini ITX boards seem to have the Realtek 8111E NIC which is problematic.  I will search the MB forums for good candidates.

 

How much RAM and CPU do I need for my intended uses?  I know unRAID only needs ~512 MB but do I need more for streaming? Can I get by with dual-core Atom 525 or AMD E-350 type CPU?

If I decide I need to encode video for streaming, how much RAM/CPU do I really need (I have seen some suggestions of at least 4 GB RAM and a dual core 3.0 GHz Intel e8400 and I happen to have one of those lying around unused)?  That would require a socket 775 mini ITX MB or should I go socket 1156/1155 and a core i3/i5/i7?  My current desktop video editing build uses a core i7 socket 1156 CPU (time to upgrade to socket 1155/Sandy Bridge)

 

I have two unused sticks of 2GB DDR2 RAM available.

 

Does the cache drive need to be as large as the largest data drive (as is the case with the parity drive) or can it be smaller?  I have an unused 400 GB drive in addition to an assortment of 750 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB drives which I will use for data drives.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you may offer.  Although I have built my own computers for years, this is my first foray into the Linux/NAS/UnRAID world.

[fatal]

Hey,

 

Funny you should mention the PC-Q25B (cant resist how good it looks plus it has the hot swap bays), as I am currently looking to build a semi cheap, small unRaid box as well and have been reading these forums myself trying to figure out the hardware, esp motherboard + psu for this case.

 

So far I've come up w/ the following:

 

• Newegg Parts Wishlist (mobo/cpu/case/etc)
  
• Sata2 Controller
  
• Extra Sata Cables
  

 

My only real concern is the Zotac board, as I've never used that brand before but I see a lot of people here have been using it, so hopefully it will be ok for an always on unraid box.

 

As far as PSU, the one in my wishlist is the only decently priced recommended psu i've found, although it is also not modular...other modular PSUs that might fit that case get expensive, hitting the $100 mark.

 

To answer some of you questions, although note that I am no expert:

 

With the cheap price of ram, 2GB should be the minimum you should put in your unraid box.  If you are planning on live encoding/streaming (ie AirVideo) then it is recommended to go atleast 4 GB RAM and a cheap Dual Core processor (AMD Athlon II X2 255 Regor 3.1GHz would go fine w/ the mobo in the wishlist)

 

The cache drive can be of any size, so you can use your spare 400gb HDD as the cache drive, just have to be careful that you don't fill up the cache drive by transferring more data than it can hold.

 

Take Care

[Rajahal]

The Thermaltake PSU that you already have is just barely enough to power 7 Green drives.  If you plan on using any 7200 RPM drives, then you will need a beefier PSU.  Unfortunately I don't know of any that are 140mm or less, so you'll have to do some research.

 

2 GB of RAM should be your minimum, since RAM is so cheap these days.  I agree that 4 GB or more is appropriate if you want to run any add-ons, such as video encoding or transcoding.

 

Remote access is a tricky thing since unRAID isn't really a very secure system when connected directly to the internet.  Unless you are a sysadmin and know how to configure your own VPN, I recommend using TeamViewer or similar to access an always-on Windows/Mac/Linux box which you can then use to control unRAID.

 

Fatal's wishlist looks good to me.  I've personally tested that Zotac board and found it to be perfectly reliable.  It is a great value for such a small board.  It does not have an eSATA port, but you could always convert one of the internal SATA ports into an eSATA port with something like this.  This board also limits you to 6 SATA/eSATA ports, which looks like it isn't enough for you.

 

An Atom/AMD E Series CPU is fine for basic NAS usage (storing and streaming media).  If you want to run heavy add-ons such as video encoding/transcoding, then you'll want an i3 or AMD Dual Core.  i5/i7 or quad core will be overkill in pretty much any scenario except maybe ESXi or VMs.

 

Chances are you won't be able to use your DDR2 RAM, since all of the other features you want will lead you to a DDR3 board.

[Hoopster]

Here's what I just ordered (Obviously, I abandoned the idea of using old hardware)

 

Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339

 

MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138335

Newegg Desc. says it has a Realtek 8111DL NIC - Biostar site says 8111E :-(

 

CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

 

RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139659

 

PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

It's not modular, but, it is 140mm (5.5") in length and will fit the case; also has a single 28 amp 12v rail.  Should handle 7 drives even if they are all 7200 RPM (not that they will be), right?  With the rebate and promo code it's only $18 so its no big loss if I have to go with something bigger/modular.

 

I'll eventually need a PCIe 4-port SATA controller to get to 7 drives since the MB only has 4 SATA ports.  Is this one still a good choice?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816103105

 

I'll probably not worry too much about remote management.

[Rajahal]

Fingers crossed that the mobo doesn't have the Realtek 8111E NIC!  Not the end of the world if it does, but you'll need to run the latest unRAID Beta instead of the stable version.

 

I'm not sure about the Adaptec controller.  It may work just fine, but I think you'll just have to test it to be sure.  If it doesn't work, look for a SIL3132 or SIL3124 controller instead.  Both work very well with unRAID, and are generally very cheap as well.

[Hoopster]

I was planning on running UnRAID 5 beta 14 anyway since I believe that is necessary for the Plex media server which I want to try.  I will also be running unMenu and CrashPlan as well as, potentially, a few other plugins.

 

Since both the Biostar product page and the manual for the motherboard claim it is a Realtek 8111E NIC (which I only discovered after purchasing the board), I am assuming that is what it is.  Actually, I bought this board because the Newegg product description claimed it was an 8111DL and I was hoping to avoid the 8111E problems; however, since I will be running the 5 beta, maybe it is not such a big deal.

[Hoopster]

The components for my build arrived yesterday.  Confirmed that the LAN chip on the BIOSTAR MB is the 8111E  (Since its printed on the LAN chip, that's a fairly safe bet  ).  Newegg product description is incorrect, it is not the 8111DL.  Hopefully I won't have too many issues since I will be running v5 beta 14.

[Rajahal]

Thanks for letting us know.  You should send Newegg an email telling them that their product description is wrong.

[BobPhoenix]

Thanks for letting us know.  You should send Newegg an email telling them that their product description is wrong.

Just be prepaired for canned response that they are just posting what the manufacturer gave them like I got.  They went ahead and fixed the description anyway just covering there arse!

[dinggus]

The components for my build arrived yesterday.  Confirmed that the LAN chip on the BIOSTAR MB is the 8111E  (Since its printed on the LAN chip, that's a fairly safe bet  ).  Newegg product description is incorrect, it is not the 8111DL.  Hopefully I won't have too many issues since I will be running v5 beta 14.

 

Can't wait to see pictures.

[Hoopster]

Thanks for letting us know.  You should send Newegg an email telling them that their product description is wrong.

Just be prepaired for canned response that they are just posting what the manufacturer gave them like I got.  They went ahead and fixed the description anyway just covering there arse!

I sent them an email about the mistake, but, I also told them I had confirmed the NIC revision at the BIOSTAR product page and in the NIC documentation - both state this MB has the Realtek 8111E

 

I am just preclearing disks now, so, I won't know if I have one of the problem 8111E chips/drivers until I start moving my data to the disks.  I read the entire "8111E is a problem" thread and it seems the problems appear most often when moving large files.  I have lots of large video files to move, so, it will get stressed soon.  I hope it's OK as I really don't want to swap the MB.  Given that this is an ITX board, I cannot just buy a NIC and put it in a PCI/PCIe slot.  The one PCIe x16 slot on this MB is reserved for the additional 4-port SATA II controller when I move beyond 4 drives.

[Hoopster]

The components for my build arrived yesterday.  Confirmed that the LAN chip on the BIOSTAR MB is the 8111E  (Since its printed on the LAN chip, that's a fairly safe bet  ).  Newegg product description is incorrect, it is not the 8111DL.  Hopefully I won't have too many issues since I will be running v5 beta 14.

 

Can't wait to see pictures.

Actually, I did take some pictures.  Will post them soon.

[BobPhoenix]

Thanks for letting us know.  You should send Newegg an email telling them that their product description is wrong.

Just be prepaired for canned response that they are just posting what the manufacturer gave them like I got.  They went ahead and fixed the description anyway just covering there arse!

I sent them an email about the mistake, but, I also told them I had confirmed the NIC revision at the BIOSTAR product page and in the NIC documentation - both state this MB has the Realtek 8111E

So did I.  And after reading the email again I see he actually said he would look into it.

 

Here is the email I got back:

Dear Robert,

 

Thank you for contacting Newegg.

 

Thank you very much for bringing that to us. We apologize, but all the information we get from the manufacturers has been posted on the website. If you need more details, please contact the manufacturer for an accurate answer. Here is their contact information: 1-510-651-8868. Also, I will send request to check this issue and make any necessary changes. Thank you very much for your patience and understanding.

 

If you have any further questions or concerns, please visit our FAQs page. If you still require any assistance, please feel free to reply directly to this email.

 

Thank you,

 

Victor Li

Newegg Customer Service

The MB is deactivated now but I did look and they did fix the description.

[Hoopster]

Here are some pictures of my unRAID server build using the Lian-Li PC-Q25 case which can hold up to seven 3.5" hard drives and one 2.5" hard drive (Two 3.5" drives and the 2.5" drive mount on the tray in the bottom of the case):

 

Lian-Li case with BIOSTAR TH61-ITX MB, Intel i3 2100 CPU and 4GB RAM installed

 

Corsair CX430 PSU and two hard drives installed (I have two 2 TB hard drives on order and will be using a third - total of 5 drives to start - after I get the data migrated off it to the unRAID disks)

Note: This short PSU provides plenty of room to tuck in the unused cables without impeding airflow through the drive cage and out the back over the MB as the they fit right behind the PSU. I'll be using another PSU cable for the SATA power once I fill the case with hard drives on the bottom tray. One SATA power cable and the PCie power cable will remain unused.  Also, this PSU has some very thick branding stickers on each side that I had to peel off in order to get the PSU in the case.

 

Back side of hot swap bays with drives installed.

Note: Power to the hot swap drives is 4-pin Molex.  On two of the three molex I have an adapter that splits off a 3-pin connector to power the two case fans.

 

Angle view showing the Molex power connectors and SATA cables connected to hot swap bay.  I labelled the SATA cables with a Sharpie with S1-S4 so I would know which SATA port they are connected to.  You can't use right-angle SATA cables as they are too close to the Molex connectors.

 

It's been a fun build so far and after pre-clearing the disks (a 1TB and 750 GB I had laying around unused), I am now moving on to creating shares and transferring files.  This is where I will see the Realtek 8111E NIC choke if it's going to have a problem. So far, so good!

[dinggus]

Looks good and crowded. How much money is into this build so far? I'm still debating if I want to build my own or not.

[Hoopster]

Case: $130 ($120 + $10 shipping)

MB: $65 ($75 - $10 rebate)

4 GB RAM: $25

PSU: $18 ($45 - $20 rebate - $7 with Newegg promo code)

CPU: $125

 

4-port PCIe SATA controller: $63 from eBay

2 2TB Seagate Green hard drives: $270 ($135 each from Amazon); you could probably get cheaper drives by buying a 2TB external drive and removing it from the case as all the HDD deals these days seem to be on the external drives.

(Other HDD I already had - 1 Seagate 750GB, 1 WD 1TB, 1 WD 2TB)

 

Total so far: $696

[dinggus]

Not bad, I have 3 externals with data on them. I didn't know I could just rip them out of the case and use them.

 

2TB external, 2(1TBx2) external.

 

Now, are you using any of those 5x3 cages?

[Hoopster]

Not bad, I have 3 externals with data on them. I didn't know I could just rip them out of the case and use them.

 

2TB external, 2(1TBx2) external.

 

Now, are you using any of those 5x3 cages?

I am not using any 5x3 cages and you really can't in the Lian Li PC-Q25 case.  There are no external 5.25" drive bays on this case which is what the 5x3s use (Five 3.5" drives in three 5.25" bays).

 

This case is limited to 8 drives (Five 3.5" in the hot swap bay; two 3.5" on the bottom tray and one 2.5" on the bottom tray).  With the MB I used, that is really the limit anyway as it has 4 SATA ports plus one PCIe slot in which I added a SATA controller with 4 more SATA ports.  Even if you used one of the Supermicro SAS/SATA controllers for up to 8 SATA drives, you can't get 12 drives in this case.

 

I intentionally went with the smallest case I could for my planned use which will not be more than 8 drives.  If my storage needs expand beyond the 12 -18 TB I can cram in this case (assuming six 2 or 3 TB data drives, one parity and one cache drive), I'll have to move to a larger case and beefier PSU.

[andi mack]

4-port PCIe SATA controller: $63 from eBay

 

Hi,

 

I am planning a build using the same case & motherboard.

 

If you don't mind, could you please post the make & model of the controller card you are using?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Andi

[Hoopster]

4-port PCIe SATA controller: $63 from eBay

 

Hi,

 

I am planning a build using the same case & motherboard.

 

If you don't mind, could you please post the make & model of the controller card you are using?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Andi

 

I used the SYBA SY-PEX40048 controller which is an x4 PCIe controller and has 4 SATA II ports.  It's based on the Marvell 88SX7042 chipset.  Other PCIe x4 controllers using this same chipset are the Rosewill RC-218 and the Adaptec 1430SA (you can find both at Newegg).

 

I have a bit of a problem right now with drives attached to this controller in that write speed to these drives is significantly lower than to drives attached to the MB SATA ports.  This is not a general problem with all Marvell 88SX7042-based controllers as all three of the above mentioned cards have been used successfully by unRAID users with no issues.  I am trying to find a way to check the BIOS configuration/update the BIOS etc.  You also have to be careful in selecting a mini-ITX MB as some only support video cards in the x16 PCIe slot.  There is no mention of this restriction in the Biostar TH61-ITX manual, product page or support forums, so, I hope that is not the problem I am having right now.

[andi mack]

You also have to be careful in selecting a mini-ITX MB as some only support video cards in the x16 PCIe slot.  There is no mention of this restriction in the Biostar TH61-ITX manual, product page or support forums, so, I hope that is not the problem I am having right now.

 

Yeah that's the problem i'm finding with mini-ITX boards and this thread brought the board to my attention, hence my post.

 

I really hope the x16 PCIe slot is not the problem.

[Hoopster]

You also have to be careful in selecting a mini-ITX MB as some only support video cards in the x16 PCIe slot.  There is no mention of this restriction in the Biostar TH61-ITX manual, product page or support forums, so, I hope that is not the problem I am having right now.

 

Yeah that's the problem i'm finding with mini-ITX boards and this thread brought the board to my attention, hence my post.

 

I really hope the x16 PCIe slot is not the problem.

 

Although I have not yet determined that the PCIe slot on the Biostar board is a problem, I have been looking at alternatives just in case.  I contacted Intel regarding the DH67CF mini-ITX board

 

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/desktop-board-dh67cf.html?wapkw=Dh67CF

 

According to Intel, although the x16 PCIe slot is designed primarily for graphics cards, it will support any industry-standard PCIe card and not just graphics cards.  It also (obviously) has an Intel NIC controller (82579V) and not the Realtek 8111E.

[andi mack]

Cheers Hoopster,

 

I've been looking for alternatives and have come across this MSI board as an possibility http://www.msi.com/product/mb/H61I-E35--B3-.html#/?div=Basic H61I-E35 (B3).

 

4x sata II

a mini PCi-e 2.0 x1 slot

Although it does have the Realtek 8111E NIC

 

And i've found it in stock for around £45 (GBP)

[mr-hexen]

while right-angle cables might hit the molex connectors, left-angle (yes, they make them) should be ok no?

[Hoopster]

while right-angle cables might hit the molex connectors, left-angle (yes, they make them) should be ok no?

Yes, there is plenty of room on the other side of the SATA connector for an angle connector in that direction.  The standard right-angle connector would not fit because the SATA port is right next to the Molex power connector.