Hi everyone. I have been trying to read through posts to get some ideas but honestly I am not seeing any builds similar to what I have in mind. What I am looking for is the ability to run 20-24 drives and the only add-ons I am interested in are UnMenu, MySQL, and an add-on for APC UPS's to power down the server. My budget is realistically as cheap as possible but I will be willing to spend extra for better performance. I will be looking to serve 1080p24 mkv's to 3 XBMC boxes. I do no transcoding. I am also ok with used parts and purchasing older parts. I am not partial to any specific brand unless there is a benefit to using a specific brand. I am thinking I will need to use 3 IBM M1015's to accomplish this goal but have not seen any other builds using 3. Any tips or suggestions are completely welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

Current Parts I Own:

24 Bay 4U Server Case (On Order) I believe it is an AIC but I won't know for sure until it arrives.

7x WD Green 2TB SATA 6.0 gb\s

IBM M1015 flashed as LSI SAS2008

Gigabit Ethernet Throughout House

Essentially I am looking for MOBO/RAM/CPU suggestions and whether anyone has any experience using 3 M1015's or should I look at a SAS Expander instead?

I'd go for the Core i3-3220 and the Supermicro X9SCM-F-O. That will give you the slots you need for all those cards. That CPU is powerful but also cool running and energy efficient. I'm currently running that board with the previous generation Core i3. With that board you need ECC RAM. 8GB is more than sufficient for your needs.

 

As for the IBM cards I seem to recall someone on here running 3 of them but can't remember who. In any case there's no reason it should be a problem.

Thanks I appreciate the tip. I will definitely look into those components. Do I even need 8gb of ram honestly?its not a big deal but I just wondered.

There are lots of members running 3 SAS cards together. IBM M1015's and/or SM AOC=ASALP-MV8's

the Supermicro boards are the logical choice for this. the X9SCM the new popular one.  The older X8SIL is still a strong board IF you can pick one up dirt cheap.

 

There are also Tyan C202 and C204 chipset boards that work fine. several people use these when the SM board is not an option.  Asus has some also. I don't think to many (if any?) have the Asus here so I can not comment on it.

 

The I3 will be perfectly fine if you are not doing transcoding (and might still do light transcoding fine). If you plan to heavy transcode with these boards a Xeon CPU "might" be needed.

 

You can build a 20 drive system with only 2 SAS cards and the 6 motherboard connectors.  you could then add the additional card once you expand past 20 drives to save up front build costs.

 

I would bypass the expander for a baremetal unraid system. most people that use them with unraid use them because of hardware limitations of number of PCIe slots available or because they have virtual unraid builds. usually 3 SAS cards is more cost effective then a SAS card plus expander.

 

IF you do go with the C20x chipset from any vendor, be aware that many cheaper PSU's don't work.

The only thing that concerned me about the X9SCM-F-O, was that one of the PCI-E slots runs as 4x but I believe the M1015 is an 8x card. I have also been looking at the MSI890FXA-GD70 and an AMD Sempron 140. Is there any reason this would not work for me?

This is the case I have to work with. I am fairly certain it is an AIC but if anyone knows for sure what model it is and can provide me a link that would be awesome.

The I3 will be perfectly fine if you are not doing transcoding (and might still do light transcoding fine). If you plan to heavy transcode with these boards a Xeon CPU "might" be needed.

 

Not sure what you mean by "light" but I transcode uncompressed 1080p bluray disks on the fly all the time with my previous generation version of this chip. Lots of guys on here do.

The only thing that concerned me about the X9SCM-F-O, was that one of the PCI-E slots runs as 4x but I believe the M1015 is an 8x card. I have also been looking at the MSI890FXA-GD70 and an AMD Sempron 140. Is there any reason this would not work for me?

 

But the board has four 8x size slots so you can just run them in the other 3. I believe the M1015 will work fine in a 4x slot as well, it will just run at 4x speed. That isn't a problem either as the AOC-SASLP-MV8 that lots of people, including myself, on here is only a 4x card. The only instance you may run into any kind of a slower speeds with a 4x card is during a parity check.

Did that server come out a flood? it looks like it went for a good swim.

 

 

Yes. the C204 chipsets have 2x PCIe2 8X slots and 2x PCIe2 4x slots (in 8x from factor)

some boards have a different arraignment (like an *x slot in 16 form factor). but the same speeds.

 

this will not bee a problem, the SaSLP-MV8 cards are PCIe1 4x and fast enough for unraid.  running an M1015 at PCIeV2 4X wont saturate it with mechanical consumer drives.  technically you only need 1 channel of that controller anyways.. until unRAID supports more then 24 drives.

 

 

EDIT.. I think you might want to reconsider that case. id hate to see you fry a bunch of hard drives from shorted out backplanes.

 

Mounting a standard PSU in there might be a bit tricky as that thing is meant to have 1 hot-swap PSUs.

 

then again, I'm the kind of guy that chops up Mac Pro's into X86 PC cases... So sandblasting it down and spray painting it a new color sounds like something I'd do just to say I did it..  Lime Green unRAID chassis..

Yeah I got completely screwed on the case. Its a PATA not SATA and the shipping did lots of damage. They shipped itin a box too small for it with other boxes for cushioning and lots of tape. I am ffighting to return it but it looks like I am losing that battle. Anyone have any thoughts on how to make this case still work?

that sucks.

 

I did convert a vintage supermicro SCSI server to to SATA a while back by just removing all of the backplanes. once all of that was gone. I was able to use the SCSI bays as standard SATA (individually wired drives). I lost all hot swap ability. it basically just became a normal case.

 

I then had to fabricate a fanwall for it since i had to remove the old fan brackets that were were attached to the SCSI backplanes.. (it is still running as a windows server in my farm)

 

EDIT: fixed typo

That was essentially what I was thinking about doing. I don't really care about the hot swap feature anyways. Plus I was already going to replace the back window and install the fan wall. So I guess it's not too bad. I did get a good price but I wish it was lower now. Lol

I did some measurements on the case after work and it looks like I can mod the current back window and shift the motherboard tray down, then put the psu above it. It will just require a few cuts with the fans out. I'm not sure what to do with the bottom section where the redundant psu's were supposed to go. I may just block it off. Either way the case will probably be getting sanded down and painted with a lot of one off mods.

How much did you pay for this thing if you don't mind my asking?

Unfortunately it was 200. Which I thought was a good deal if it had actually had the SATA backplanes. I am still trying to fight with the seller but it still not working in my favor.

Did you file a PayPal dispute? If the seller misrepresented what he was selling you have a right to.

Not yet. I have been fighting with the seller first. He is claiming it is a norco 4224 but I have never seen one that looked like this one. A few of the guys I work with think I could get the money back just by showing the pictures of all the damage from the terrible shipping.

lol there is no way that is a Norco 4224 in any incarnation.  I would definitely file a paypal dispute.

You are looking at another $60-$100 in modding not counting time to get it up and running just ok.. If you got it though ebay. ebay will undo the sale. thats not even close. if it was a paypal deal. work with them next.

 

While its can be a good base for a mod project not at that price. that thing was a boat anchor at one point. Wrong part, and if he didn't mention it was water damaged, that's grounds for a refund. Even your bank might refund the transaction..

 

 

Did you get it from new jersey or new orleans? I saw a lot of servers like this after both Katrina and Sandy.. they spent a few days/weeks below water level.

It came out of Pennsylvania. He is still trying to claim it is a 4224. I have told him countless times it is not, honestly he could just do a Google search at that point and see its totally different. I did figure out a way to make it work without spending any cash and I took measurements so I know it will work. It's unfortunate that some people are so dishonest.

i hope you have all of this in writing. don't let this seller strong arm you. 

 

It is an AIC chassis.. i just found a couple of AIC RMC5E's in our graveyard at work. it is the same Chassis as yours except the AIC RMC5E is the SATA version.

 

a few people did do mods on a similar AIC chassis (sata version) on the forums here.

Johnm, you sir are my savior and new found best friend. Thank you so much for your help. I sent them the model number you provided and he immediately changed his tune and is now supposed to be refunding all my money and paying for the return shipping. That seriously made my day. Now I can keep an eye out for the correct case and I will certainly be more picky the next time. I seriously can't thank you enough sir.

That's awesome

I'd love to see a picture of how bad the inside is if you have not packed it up..

 

I'm honestly surprised he is asking for it back.. I had a Mac pro get mangled in shipping. it would have cost like $50 to ship it back. the guy just said keep it and funded the money ..  they knew they would never have made a dime on it after the shipping costs and just gave up.. it sounds like he deserves to pay the extra cash...

 

anyways.. now you have another $200 budget for your server.. 

 

 

I attached some pictures of the inside of the case. I took pictures when I opened the package so I could document the entire thing in case I had to go to ebay or paypal for my claims. The case definitely seems like it has been water damaged on the outside. Possibly salt water due to areas where the paint has a white dusted corrosion. I mentioned that to the seller.

 

I am definitely happy I can get the cash back so I can put it towards a better case. I contacted the guys at tams to see if I was still on their waiting list for one of the 24bay used servers they periodically have. Waiting to hear back tomorrow.

 

I was also surprised that the seller wanted it back. They will lose around $100 in shipping total and the case is damaged enough that i doubt they will get much for it.