Fully Functional Rackmount 24 Bay Server (Alternative to Norco 4224, 4220, ect.)

[mikechy]

Finally found the time to make the big move from the old 4U modded case to the new SuperMicro 24 Bay. 

 

I did a final parity check on the array, made a screenshot to record disc order and shut it down.  Discovered that my internal USB ports on the SuperMicro are so close to the side of the case that my USB adapter wouldn't fit   If you are planning on using an internal USB adapter make sure you get one that is a slim as possible. Mine is actually a dual so it's too wide.  For now, by USB drive is plugged into the back but I'm on a search for a slim USB adapter.  If anyone knows where I can get one, please reply! 

 

Powered it all up and no problems.  Assigned drives checked out ok.  Powered it down and added two new drives I had waiting for their new home.  Powered it up, assigned new drives and re-ran parity.  Everything is perfect.

 

Awesome 24 Bay that works perfect with just a few mods.

 

Thanks TAMS!

[bnevets27]

These look like a steal. So whats the catch? What cons do these have? I read the 4U's are noisy and that the psu's are the cause so once they are replaced they are a lot quieter. I also read the 2U's they were offering were a lot quieter. Aside from that, anything else I'm missing? Are they "too old"? Only con I can see is that from what I can tell they can't do hardware pass through on EXSi, and I was considering getting into that.

[lainie]

These look like a steal. So whats the catch? What cons do these have? I read the 4U's are noisy and that the psu's are the cause so once they are replaced they are a lot quieter. I also read the 2U's they were offering were a lot quieter. Aside from that, anything else I'm missing? Are they "too old"? Only con I can see is that from what I can tell they can't do hardware pass through on EXSi, and I was considering getting into that.

 

I have the 4U (see in my sig for pics of my mods). It was quite loud when power up with the redundant power supplies. It is not whisper quiet now, but it is comparable to a standard desktop for noise with the new power supply. Can't comment on the 2U as I don't have one. If you can stick the server in the garage, under the stairs, in a neighbor's house, etc... then it doesn't matter that it is loud. If you live in an apartment & do not want to have to open the case (let alone change anything) then this is not the system for you.

 

For unRAID they are great. More than enough processing power & RAM for stock unRAID & multple plugins.

 

I wish the motherboard support VMware. Thought of replacing it, but went through my budget getting this much... & I feel I got a great deal. A workaround for VMware is to use VirtualBox (links to this also in my sig). VirtualBox running on unRAID is not the same performance as ESXI, but it works for what I wanted reasonably well.

 

The eBay seller is great at handling any issues. They did not post every system they received. Instead they held some back as spares in case there were any bad units. My unit had an odd issue. The power button (which is threaded like a screw through the case to be press able from the back) was damaged & had come loose & fallen back inside the case in a very small difficult to reach area of the case. I initially could not power mine up. Through e-mails with the seller & a little research on my own, I was able to verify everything worked (that the system would power on) by touching a screwdriver to 2 jumpers on the motherboard. I was able to set up IPMI to power up/down my system remotely through my desktop PC while tamsolutions mailed me a replacement power button. I can power the system up normally now or through IPMI.

 

If tamsolutions has any systems still available, I highly recommend them. They seem to get new batches with varying system specs in fairly often. If you have any questions about my system, let me know (I enjoyed getting my system setup & modifying it).

 

As far as "what's the catch?"... they are pre-owned systems. A company either went out of business or decided to upgrade their data center servers all at once. Because of being rack mounted, there are likely to be scratches on the outside of the case. The systems are packed well for shipping, but I saw many people remarking that the front handles got bent (the seller sent out many replacements from the spare servers for this). If you want a shiny, unblemished new system with that new car electronic(?) smell... this is not the deal for you.

 

If you want to run lots of virtual machines at once & expect great performance, I do not think VirtualBox will manage that. My 2 VMs run ok, but ESXI could do it better. The motherboard can be replaced & this would still be a great deal. How important is ESXi to you?

 

It is a power hog. The way I received it (redundant PSUs) my UPS displayed it was pulling around 300 W. After my mods, the UPS still shows a little over 200 W. I would like it to be less & there are many systems that will need less power out there. For me this is acceptable (I'd spend a lot of money to try to lower the power usage than I would be able to save by making changes). How important is power consumption to you?

[jeff.lebowski]

snip

 

Nice write up.

[DiggsNC]

These look like a steal. So whats the catch? What cons do these have? I read the 4U's are noisy and that the psu's are the cause so once they are replaced they are a lot quieter. I also read the 2U's they were offering were a lot quieter. Aside from that, anything else I'm missing? Are they "too old"? Only con I can see is that from what I can tell they can't do hardware pass through on EXSi, and I was considering getting into that.

 

I picked up one of the 2U servers and have been very happy with it. Be warned, it is NOT quiet by any means. I plan on doing some modifications to try and help that. Will likely require 3 new fans and replacing the Power Supply as well. So if you are looking for something quiet without modification, this is not for you. But, if you don't mind going under the hood and replacing some of the noisy parts, then it is like you said, a steal! Mine is hanging out in an unused bedroom in my house, so the noise right now is not a problem. But I will need to work on that before it moves into its permanent home.

 

Running the most recent release of V5 with 6 drives, need to upgrade my license, and it works perfectly. I am not interested in a VM setup, just unraid with a few added packages. The hardware is more than capable to handle that. The only concern with these that I can see is the VM restriction and noise. I also had to order a bag of short screws to mount the drives to the trays. Cost me around $8 if I remember correctly for 100 screws shipped. The only other expense I have in it so far are the drives and the unraid license. The only work I have put into it is installing the drives onto the trays, preclearing the drives, installing and configuring unraid. If you remove the waiting time for the preclears, I have spent probably 30 minutes doing the install and configuration to get it fully functional. I haven't priced a power supply replacement yet, but will likely just use a standard desktop style PS and not mount it inside the case. It will live in a closet, so it doesn't have to be pretty. I am guessing $100 or so for replacement fans and a good PS.

 

I have no problem recommending one of these if you are ok with the noise and lack of VM support.

[progrocktv]

These look AWESOME! I MUST get one! Can you post a link to who is selling them?

 

Thanks!

[lainie]

Here is a link to the seller's, tamsolutions, ebay store: [rul]http://stores.ebay.com/tamsolutions[/url] & their own website: http://www.tamsolutions.com/. Their website contains a Contact page with address, phone, hours of operation & e-mail. I would recommend e-mailing them to see what they have that is similar & see what they have to say.

[BLKMGK]

200watts isn't bad and is about what my ESX server runs with drives all going. Honestly I'd have gone this route if I'd thought he had systems I could've used when I built my setup. As I recall his price for the full system was around what my chassis cost so a good deal for sure IMO. Wish he had his store or website fully up to date with his stock...

[mexicanmike]

The 2U servers are a steal, but def not as modifiable as the original 4U units.

 

With the 4U servers you were looking at 120MM fans, and a standard desktop PSU. This set-up could be made to operate at very low volume levels, comparable to a Desktop.

 

With the 2u unit it is more difficult, because most of the PSU with enough power to drive all the 3.5inch drives, in a 2u form factor, will be much louder. Most 2u PSU's are designed for enterprise solutions, where server rooms are used, and noise is not a factor.

 

The Stock PSU's on either of these units could be modified to run quite, but you would need to get new fans, and the fans for 1u PSU's are generally 20mm which means they run at high RPM's and are LOUD.

 

I have a few of the 4U units, and have not modified them at all, as I keep them in a rack in my garage.

 

Happy to see so many people are finding these servers to be useful.

[tr0910]

 

I have a few of the 4U units, and have not modified them at all, as I keep them in a rack in my garage.

 

I picked up 3 of the 4u AIC Intel Xenon units.  My only mods were to unplug the 2 - 60mm screamer fans on the back.  I only use these servers to back up daily running servers so the noise and the 300W power draw is not an issue as they only run for 1 hour per day.

 

I would like to find a source for the rails for a rackmount.  Mine came with the rails on the side of the server, but missing the other half that bolts to the rack.

 

Did you find some rail mount solution or is your garage using Frankenracks? 

[heffneil]

Has anyone bought any of these machines lately from this company?  Just curious if any of the 24 bay units have been available lately.

 

Thanks,

 

Neil

 

[lainie]

Someone could have just purchased their last available unit or there could be a newly arrived shipment...

Best way to find out would be to contact tamsolutions directly as their stock changes regularly.

Multiple ways to reach them on their site http://www.tamsolutions.com/contact

[heffneil]

I might have offended them 

 

They offered a few without the trays and I explained it was a pretty awful deal and they would be in touch.  That was about 4 months ago  so I am thinking they don't want to deal with me  <shrug>

[mexicanmike]

I did find the rails for these units. They were however overpriced from all the sources, and they were no exactly smooth ball bearing rails or anything.

 

I have one of the units on a shelf inside my racks. The other one I have placed on "Shelf Like Rails". These shelf like rails are similar to Apple RAID rails.

[mexicanmike]

I might have offended them 

 

They offered a few without the trays and I explained it was a pretty awful deal and they would be in touch.  That was about 4 months ago  so I am thinking they don't want to deal with me  <shrug>

 

Yea, the super micro units without the trays, or really any of them without the trays, aren't really a deal. The trays cost too much too replace. If you were buying 5 or 6, and not stripping them down, it would be useful. Even then, if the innards fail, the hardware is so outdated you are better off just redoing the internals.

 

 

[screwonbudnik20]

 

This unit racks into any standard sized server rack.

 

 

 

There are no "standard size server racks".  Yes, 19" width is typical, but racks can range from 20-40" deep.  The server itself is 26", so by the time your cables stick out the back, you better make sure the rack you use is at least 28" deep.  The rails for the server are adjustable for 26-36" racks.

 

You cannot use a two-post telecom rack for a server like this.

 

Actually you can if you do it properly.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[litlgi74]

I Have News!!!

 

It's Good... If you have been on the waiting list...

 

I just spoke with Jason from TAMSolutions... They've received about 50 SuperMicro servers last week! They are in the process of making sure that all the units are in working order. Twenty have been tested an verified... with about thirty more units to go.

 

If you have been on a waiting list (50-70 people) you will be getting an email on Tuesday...ish. If you would still like to purchase one of these incredible machines... Please respond to the email! The units we be sold on a first come first serve basis.

 

Again... there are only really enough units to fulfill the current people on the waiting list... If those people do not respond or have changed their mind... The units will be sold to any to new or repeat customers.

 

Hope this helps...

 

PS... make sure you check your junk mail!

[mobias1313]

I am hoping my name was on that list. Any idea on what the internals were on the servers? Not that I am being overly picky.

[litlgi74]

I am hoping my name was on that list. Any idea on what the internals were on the servers? Not that I am being overly picky.

 

I believe the servers are very similar if not the same... no disappointments!

[jtech007]

I e-mailed him in December to be added to the list. Still no e-mail. Bummer, I was hoping to get in on this round!

[jeff.lebowski]

I e-mailed him in December to be added to the list. Still no e-mail. Bummer, I was hoping to get in on this round!

 

Nothing in my inbox, as well.

[mobias1313]

Has anyone heard anything about these yet? No email here. I did see one 24 bay unit go up on their ebay store for a day, but it was listed at $599.

[pinion]

I saw someone mention that shipping was $60- $100. Can anyone with the 24 or 12 (or both) units tell me what the shipping was like?

[lainie]

I saw someone mention that shipping was $60- $100. Can anyone with the 24 or 12 (or both) units tell me what the shipping was like?

 

This is the one I bought: Custom Xeon Dual Core 1.86GHz 8GB DDR2 Internal 160 IDE 24 Bay SATA Server. Total w/ shipping to FL was $292. You can view my signature link for pictures & more details on my customization of it... but yes, shipping was just under $100... it is very heavy.

[mexicanmike]

 

 

This is the one I bought: Custom Xeon Dual Core 1.86GHz 8GB DDR2 Internal 160 IDE 24 Bay SATA Server. Total w/ shipping to FL was $292. You can view my signature link for pictures & more details on my customization of it... but yes, shipping was just under $100... it is very heavy.

 

This is the older one that was available. If new buyers are lucky the super micro ones are the ones they got in. The supermicro ones use 2 larger PSU's that are quieter and easier to mod for a standard PSU.

 

The AIC case based one above is a fantastic unit for the price, if you can tolerate more lengthy modding, or the sound of the 20mm fan whining.

 

I bought two of the above units, they run great. I also bought 6 of the supermicros. All of them run great, but are loud. I have a isolated space for them, so for me it is not a factor.

 

Tamsolutions was great to deal with, but they do not have the supply currently to meet the demand generated by various internet forums(I dont talk to them, litlgi74 would know more). Be patient, as they seem to get various additional units at regular intervals.