February 16, 201313 yr Hey guys, So I have an HP N36l right now with 6 drives. I love this little box and it has served me well. But I was able to fill the space quicker than I though (all 3tb drives at the moment). I would like to expand. Any ideas on how to do it without spending a ton and just building an unraid server from scratch? This thing has been working great. -Is there just a box that I can get that can support 10 more drives or so, and just connect it to the esata port on the N36l and use the n36l processor, etc... Would really appreciate your help and some ideas. Thanks
February 16, 201313 yr Even if that port is capable of connecting to a port multiplier (I don't think it is but I could be wrong) your parity check speeds would be slow. I would suggest a card like this in the x16 PCIe slot then just go to an external expander. If you want to just use an external encloser with 4 drives you could then use this.
February 21, 201313 yr Author Oh wow, that card is almost the same price as a brand new HP N40 server. I wish there was a way to link 2 unraids together somehow. But anyway, let's say I go with that card, which expander can I get? Can you guys recommend some please? In order to get a good bang for my buck I would hope it could store 10 drives or so.
February 21, 201313 yr This might work with unRAID but the only ones I KNOW will work with unRAID 5.0 are LSI based with similar configuration to M1015 so I recommended the card I did. If you don't mind used you could get a M1015 off ebay and one of these to convert internal SFF-8087 to external SFF-8088. Then in another case (almost any case would work if you can power it without a MB and switch it on/off on the case) one of these. I haven't used the Chenbro that has the external ports only the IBM RES2SV240 so hopefully someone else can confirm if the Chenbro will work as it may only have a single external input port just don't remember for sure.
February 26, 201313 yr Author Ughh, why does this have to be so confusing? Any other suggestions for me guys? I am looking for some advice. Basically, another Hp n40l would be ideal as they can be had for around $250 and can fit 6 drives! Is there a way that I could buy another n40l and perhaps buy some kind of expansion card so that I could just use the other n40l just as a case to hold the drives, and have my "master" n36l running everything? It would be cheaper than buying those 8-unit RAID cases that are like $400? *EDIT* From what you posted above seems like I should be able to use any case without a mobo and use that card. But I have never seen a case that allows you to power it on with a PSU, WITHOUT a mobo... What would I plug that card into if I don't have a motherboard? Lastly, am I correct in thinking that the most drives a port multiplier can support is 5? If what I'm saying is incorrect what do you guys think of this? And perhaps using it with eSata? Or would that be too slow? What do you guys think of this option? http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-H82-SU3S2-ProBox-External-Enclosure/dp/B005GYDMYG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
February 26, 201313 yr Ughh, why does this have to be so confusing? Any other suggestions for me guys? I am looking for some advice. Basically, another Hp n40l would be ideal as they can be had for around $250 and can fit 6 drives! Is there a way that I could buy another n40l and perhaps buy some kind of expansion card so that I could just use the other n40l just as a case to hold the drives, and have my "master" n36l running everything? It would be cheaper than buying those 8-unit RAID cases that are like $400? *EDIT* From what you posted above seems like I should be able to use any case without a mobo and use that card. But I have never seen a case that allows you to power it on with a PSU, WITHOUT a mobo... What would I plug that card into if I don't have a motherboard? Lastly, am I correct in thinking that the most drives a port multiplier can support is 5? If what I'm saying is incorrect what do you guys think of this? And perhaps using it with eSata? Or would that be too slow? What do you guys think of this option? http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-H82-SU3S2-ProBox-External-Enclosure/dp/B005GYDMYG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top Port multipliers work fine if all drives are healthy and you are just reading and writing from them individually. But when all drives are accessed at the same time like when doing parity checks or simulating a failed drive - access speeds drop significantly. I use port multipliers and expansion cases for my Windows VMs since I don't need simultaneous access. I don't know how much the speeds are reduced with a port multiplier but if parity checks on unRAID drop below double digit MB/s it would just be too slow for my needs. But maybe that would be alright for you. As to number of drives: I always thought that 5 was the max with a port multiplier but I've seen 8 bay expansion cases that only have a single eSATA port so unless they are limited to 5 drives when using eSATA it might be possible for more than 5. Here is a similar/same model at newegg to what you posted with better pictures. It only has a single eSATA port on the back but from the reviews it might be limited to RAID not JBOD like unraid wants. You could also get a SIL3132 or a Hightpoint 622 controller to your N36L to add more eSata ports. Then use multiple 5 bay cases like I have or an 8 bay like this. Here is a VEEERY expensive server case that would power on without a MB and has the expansion hardware built in. Personally I would just buy a PC case, MB, memory and CPU for what it would cost to expand your N36L and maintain your speeds on simultaneous access.
March 9, 201313 yr Author Thanks so much for explaining everything. Wow this kinda sucks, I wish there was a way to link 2 unraids together. Another small server like this which would be the n40l now would only cost about $250 and come with a motherboard, processor and everything! Wish I could just link up those 2. I can't believe there is no real solution for this other than spending almost $1,000 on a new server now.
March 9, 201313 yr Why would it cost 1000 to build a new server? Using brand new components you could do it for under $500 without drives. With used components even cheaper. If you aren't looking for lots of expansion it is even cheaper.
March 9, 201313 yr Thanks so much for explaining everything. Wow this kinda sucks, I wish there was a way to link 2 unraids together. Another small server like this which would be the n40l now would only cost about $250 and come with a motherboard, processor and everything! Wish I could just link up those 2. I can't believe there is no real solution for this other than spending almost $1,000 on a new server now. As mobias1313 says (below) it wouldn't have to be $1000s. Also Tom mentioned combining multiple unRAIDs as a single server so you might be able to go with your idea in the future - but there have been many features mentioned that may never see the light of day and that could be one of them. In the interim could you not split your shares up Movies on one box, Series on another, Backups on a third, Music and miscellaneous on a fourth. The N36L/N40L doesn't draw any power itself without drives - isn't it like 25 watts with no drives? So running multiple servers is only a problem if you need to upgrade networking hardware or your applications must have a single server to connect too. Why would it cost 1000 to build a new server? Using brand new components you could do it for under $500 without drives. With used components even cheaper. If you aren't looking for lots of expansion it is even cheaper.
March 10, 201313 yr I can't believe there is no real solution for this other than spending almost $1,000 on a new server now. There's a used server available for a lot less than that: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=26178.msg231473 I built almost the same thing a couple of years ago for under $200 without the drives or drive cages.
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