I'm writing this for anyone buying new parts that want a painless experience. I'm focusing on the hardware side of things so people can get past that and be happy. My recommendations for hardware are only that MY recommendations. There is of course many options out there that will work. The below hardware is what I'm currently using and what has worked for others. I recommend the below hardware only because it has given me long term reliability and zero headaches. It just works, Isn't that what we all want?

 

Here is what I recommend for hardware:

 

1)A cheap 4U case (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27944&vpn=RA455A00&manufacture=Compucase)

   -Lots of working room in the above case (fits Two 5-in-3 Drive cages allowing 10 drives total). If you need more room there are more expensive options. This is probably fine for MOST home users.

   -I recommend a 4U case because you might find yourself going crazy with computers and expanding beyond a simple file server. It's nice to stack your PC's like drawers in your basement.

2) Power Supply

   -Don't skimp on this item. Buy high quality trusted power supplies. Buy one large enough to handle up to 10 or so drives 650 - 800W maximum.

   -Brands (Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic)

3)Motherboard

   -Gigabyte is my preference. I recommend Gigabyte because of the quality put into them. Tough and reliable

   -Pick a gigabyte board with an older chipset than the most current one. So lets say as of writing the latest Intel Chipset is ICH10. Get an board with ICH7,8,or 9. Mind you ICH10 probably works just fine.

   -Some of the gigabyte boards support up to 8 Drives onboard, try getting one of them.

4)Processor

   -Intel is the most compatible with Linux. 32-bit is also better supported.   

   -Unraid now supports multi-core processors. I would recommend 2ghz dual core as a minimum to handle future server software enhancements

5)USB stick

   -Search the forums for popular sticks that work. A 2Gb stick is fine (Corsair is well supported)

6)Network Card

   -Disable the onbaord network card in the bios.

   -Buy and install an Intel PCI-E 100/1000Mbit Network card. Fastest card out there with rock solid driver support.

7)Hard Drives

   -Seagate for their warranty and little hassle.

   -SATA 2 drives

   - Buy the drives that are the cheapest per Gb. So if a 500gb drive is $50 but a 1000gb drive is $125, buy two 500's since its cheaper per GB

8)Video

   -Disable onboard video. Get a cheap Nvidia card for it.

9) 5-in-3 Drive cages

   -Look into using these. They make it easier to add drives to your array.

 

Okay now for the setup:

 

1) http://www.giga-byte.com/Support/Motherboard/HowToReflashBIOS.aspx

   -Go to the above link and download the PDF that reflects how you want to upgrade the BIOS

   -Or go to this link if you use an alternate motherboard http://www.techpowerup.com/printarticle.php?id=34

2) After the bios flash, disable what you don't need in the Bios (onboard nic,serial port,parallel port,onboard video etc)

3)Follow this guide word for word  http://lime-technology.com/wordpress/?page_id=46

 

Any questions please PM me.

 

Looks good couple of points:

 

this reaks of being a wiki page.

 

"Buy the drives that are the cheapest per Gb. So if a 500gb drive is $50 but a 1000gb drive is $125, buy two 500's since its cheaper per GB" is a false economy IMO. Heat, power, spin up times, actual cost per drive includes the cost of the whole server divided by the number of drives you can support. i.e. if you spend $500 on a server that can support 10 drives each drive you add costs you $50 in hardware costs. A ballacne still needs to be struck but its more complicated than the example you cite.

 

Good work.

Good points, NAS.

 

$/GB needs to include energy costs.  So if a 500GB and 1TB drive each use five watts on average (assuming a typical mix of read, write, idle, and spun down) and power is $0.10/kwh (reasonable estimates, feel free to recalc with better numbers), the energy cost per drive is $22 over five years, meaning that the example of $50 and $125 really becomes $144 ($50x2 + $22*2) and $147 ($125 + $22) so fewer spindles counters some of the upfront cost differential.  Add to that needing a smaller power supply, fewer fans, ... and the cost "savings" of the simplistic calculation quickly disappear.

 

Yeah, I could adjust for NPV to make it a bit more accurate, but interest rates are so low it doesn't make much difference.

 

To be fair, there is a savings re: parity drive since you wouldn't be "wasting" a 1TB drive, just a 500GB, but then we can get into the significant cost penalty incurred when you grow out of the drive limit of the software/case/power/etc. - probably $400+ to build a second system (sans drives).

 

 

Bill

Good points guys. I'm alignment with both of you.

 

I would also comment on this.

 

8)Video

  -Disable onboard video. Get a cheap Nvidia card for it.

 

I don't agree here. If the board has video, it doesn't make sense to disable it and fill a slot with another device absorbing more power.

Chances are even though the onboard video is disabled in bios, the chip is still absorbing power, so why introduce another power absorbing card into the system.

I go with the approach, use what is available onboard unless it does not serve you well enough.

If the oboard video or ethernet serves well enough, use it.

If you need more performance, then by all means add what improves performance.

 

Some good thoughts, but after running unRAID for 9 months and upgrading once, my advice would be slightly different.

 

1)A cheap 4U case (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27944&vpn=RA455A00&manufacture=Compucase)

   -Lots of working room in the above case (fits Two 5-in-3 Drive cages allowing 10 drives total). If you need more room there are more expensive options. This is probably fine for MOST home users.

   -I recommend a 4U case because you might find yourself going crazy with computers and expanding beyond a simple file server. It's nice to stack your PC's like drawers in your basement.

 

This looks like a good case.  The most important thing is to have a case that allows you to mount lots of drives and keep them cool.

 

2) Power Supply

   -Don't skimp on this item. Buy high quality trusted power supplies. Buy one large enough to handle up to 10 or so drives 650 - 800W maximum.

   -Brands (Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic)

 

The most important thing about a PSU is that it be SINGLE RAIL!  Look for one that gets good comments on newegg.  Amount of power seems reasonable (I'd say 600W - 850w max).

 

3)Motherboard

   -Gigabyte is my preference. I recommend Gigabyte because of the quality put into them. Tough and reliable

   -Pick a gigabyte board with an older chipset than the most current one. So lets say as of writing the latest Intel Chipset is ICH10. Get an board with ICH7,8,or 9. Mind you ICH10 probably works just fine.

   -Some of the gigabyte boards support up to 8 Drives onboard, try getting one of them.

 

The motherboard is the single most important decision you make.  Buy one that people have had good luck with here.  The BEST motherboard for unRAID is the Asus P5B VM DO.  Its not because it is such a great MB, but because its the one the author uses and is very well tested.

 

4)Processor

   -Intel is the most compatible with Linux. 32-bit is also better supported.   

   -Unraid now supports multi-core processors. I would recommend 2ghz dual core as a minimum to handle future server software enhancements

 

The processor is likely the least important decision you will make.

 

5)USB stick

   -Search the forums for popular sticks that work. A 2Gb stick is fine (Corsair is well supported)

 

I'd go with 4G given some of the interesting addons that are starting to become available.

 

6)Network Card

   -Disable the onbaord network card in the bios.

   -Buy and install an Intel PCI-E 100/1000Mbit Network card. Fastest card out there with rock solid driver support.

 

Most MBs have onboard Gb ethernet.  It should be part of your MB decision to pick one that has a functional Gb chip.  Using one of your PCI-E slots for this instead of an add-on SATA controller is a mistake IMO.

 

7)Hard Drives

   -Seagate for their warranty and little hassle.

   -SATA 2 drives

   - Buy the drives that are the cheapest per Gb. So if a 500gb drive is $50 but a 1000gb drive is $125, buy two 500's since its cheaper per GB

 

I love the Seagates, but they are hotter and draw 2x more power than the slower WD GP drives.  The decision comes down to a combination of PSU, cooling, and cost.

 

I would recommend getting the largest drives that you can that is close to the $/gb of the cheapest size.  2 750G drives draw twice as much power, cause (almost) twice as much heat, and cost almost twice as much as a single 1.5T drive.  I'd pay a slight premium for the larger drives.  If you are a good shopper, you'll find the larger drives on sale.

 

8)Video

   -Disable onboard video. Get a cheap Nvidia card for it.

 

Why?  If you have onboard video, use it.  Just turn the monitor off!

 

9) 5-in-3 Drive cages

   -Look into using these. They make it easier to add drives to your array.

 

These types of devices add cost to your array.  Some also cause airflow problems.  This is very much a personal choice.

 

Okay now for the setup:

 

1) http://www.giga-byte.com/Support/Motherboard/HowToReflashBIOS.aspx

   -Go to the above link and download the PDF that reflects how you want to upgrade the BIOS

   -Or go to this link if you use an alternate motherboard http://www.techpowerup.com/printarticle.php?id=34

2) After the bios flash, disable what you don't need in the Bios (onboard nic,serial port,parallel port,onboard video etc)

3)Follow this guide word for word  http://lime-technology.com/wordpress/?page_id=46

 

Any questions please PM me.

1)A cheap 4U case (http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27944&vpn=RA455A00&manufacture=Compucase)

  -Lots of working room in the above case (fits Two 5-in-3 Drive cages allowing 10 drives total). If you need more room there are more expensive options. This is probably fine for MOST home users.

  -I recommend a 4U case because you might find yourself going crazy with computers and expanding beyond a simple file server. It's nice to stack your PC's like drawers in your basement.

 

Instead of getting that case and having to buy 2x$100+ 5-in-3 drive cages, I'd rather go with the Norco RPC-4020 which already has 20 built-in 3.5" hotswap bays. More bays than unRAID can handle but it's cheaper than getting a case and filling it with 3x 5-in-3 drive cages.

 

2) Power Supply

  -Don't skimp on this item. Buy high quality trusted power supplies. Buy one large enough to handle up to 10 or so drives 650 - 800W maximum.

  -Brands (Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic)

 

Agreed, a decent quality, high efficiency power supply is a must. Also, it's not only the wattage that's important, the power supply needs to have enough amperage on the 12V rail to handle drive spin-up during start-up. From memory, WD Caviar SE16's and Seagate 7200.11's use max 2.8A, and Samsung Spinpoint F's max 2.4A on spin-up. However, buying too large of a power supply can also be detrimental. Power supplies run at their rated efficiency at 20+% load w/peak efficiency at ~80% load. Your unRAID server will likely be only using less than 100W for the most part when drives are spun down. You don't want to get a power supply that's either too small or too large. For a 10-drive system, 450W is enough. for a 17-drive system (1x parity, 15x storage, 1x cache), 650W is sufficient.

 

3)Motherboard

  -Gigabyte is my preference. I recommend Gigabyte because of the quality put into them. Tough and reliable

  -Pick a gigabyte board with an older chipset than the most current one. So lets say as of writing the latest Intel Chipset is ICH10. Get an board with ICH7,8,or 9. Mind you ICH10 probably works just fine.

  -Some of the gigabyte boards support up to 8 Drives onboard, try getting one of them.

 

As mentioned, the best choice is the ASUS P5B VM DO since it's what the developer tests on. Since it's pretty scarce, I would suggest looking at other motherboards that a lot of the people on this forum have also used and tested. Needless to say, going with bleeding edge technology is a risk.

 

4)Processor

  -Intel is the most compatible with Linux. 32-bit is also better supported. 

  -Unraid now supports multi-core processors. I would recommend 2ghz dual core as a minimum to handle future server software enhancements

 

Choice of processor, imho, is not that important but it's a good idea to choose one with a low TDP.

 

5)USB stick

  -Search the forums for popular sticks that work. A 2Gb stick is fine (Corsair is well supported)

 

There's a list of supported USB flash drives in the wiki.

 

6)Network Card

  -Disable the onbaord network card in the bios.

  -Buy and install an Intel PCI-E 100/1000Mbit Network card. Fastest card out there with rock solid driver support.

 

Better yet, mayhaps buying a motherboard with a gigabit Intel Network Controller might be more prudent?

 

7)Hard Drives

  -Seagate for their warranty and little hassle.

  -SATA 2 drives

  -Buy the drives that are the cheapest per Gb. So if a 500gb drive is $50 but a 1000gb drive is $125, buy two 500's since its cheaper per GB

 

I agree with the other posters. Buy the biggest drive you can that's still within a reasonable price/GB ratio. Not only does it save you some electricity, it also gives you a bigger total storage capacity.

 

8)Video

  -Disable onboard video. Get a cheap Nvidia card for it.

 

For a desktop system, yes, this would have been my initial recommendation, too. For a server that you likely won't ever access directly and only manage via web management or via telnet or command-line, you'd want to use onboard video if the motherboard has it. It saves you some power and the cost of a video card, not to mention integrated graphics have come a long way from what it was before.

 

9) 5-in-3 Drive cages

  -Look into using these. They make it easier to add drives to your array.

 

Unnecessary with the Norco RPC-4020. Otherwise, a good idea. I like the iStarUSA trayless models.

Some good points about energy consumption.

My suggestion about cost per GB for hardrives was a quick general guide for people. I'm just helping out the people that may want 3 Terabytes of data and instead of going out and paying a high price for two 1.5 terabyte drives they could save some money buying six 500GB drives. In actual fact they would end up using 1 of the 1.5 terabyte drives as parity leaving them only 1.5 Terabytes usable disk space vs 2.5 terabytes of usable space had they gone with the 6 drives. This is how they get "more for their money".

There are many angles that one can take but in my opinion buying more drives and spreading the data across them leaves less chance of a single point of failure. I value my data and the time spent building it more than the minimal energy/cost savings over the course of 5 years. Yeah, we aren't all rich, but I think most of us using media servers in our homes aren't living paycheck to paycheck. And my advice for those that are barely paying their energy bills, remember. "Watching movies in the dark is nice, but eating dinner with the family in the dark is frowned upon"

 

Good points all around.h

ahh the parity drive that definately factors into cost.

 

I am fighting the temptation to do a spreadsheet here

I am fighting the temptation to do a spreadsheet here

 

Don't fight it.. just do it. 

 

In my mind, 3 TB of data is best done with 4 1TB drives

 

 

6 * $69 (500GB drives) + $69 (parity) = $483 + shipping.

3 * $129 (WD 1TB green drives) + $129 (parity) = $516 + shipping

2 * $189 (1.5TB) + $189 (parity) = $567 + shipping

 

Now it costs slightly more but then you need to factor in possible rebates, mechanics (slots/hardware), Power, Heat, Sata Ports.

Last week there was a price drop on the 1TB wd drives to 109 with free shipping.

If you goal was to create a 9T array, here is the breakdown.

 

With 750G drives you would need 12+parity @ $100 each = $1300

 

With 1T drives, you would need 9+parity @ $120 each = $1200

 

With 1.5T drives you would need 6+parity @ $190 each = $1330

 

I'd definitely be tempted to go with the 1.5T. You'd likely not even need an addon controller!

If you goal was to create a 9T array, here is the breakdown.

 

With 750G drives you would need 12+parity @ $100 each = $1300

 

With 1T drives, you would need 9+parity @ $120 each = $1200

 

With 1.5T drives you would need 6+parity @ $190 each = $1330

 

I'd definitely be tempted to go with the 1.5T. You'd likely not even need an addon controller!

 

Nice comparison. There's a $10 off coupon for the 1.5TB from Newegg currently. Limited to one drive, though...

 

Cost of parity drive is levelled as array size increases. For that large an array, going with 1.5TB drives truly is more cost effective, especially when the cost of an add-on controller is factored in. The biggest benefit for me, though, is there are still a bunch of free slots for additional drives (potential 22.5TB storage capacity).

If you goal was to create a 9T array, here is the breakdown.

 

With 750G drives you would need 12+parity @ $100 each = $1300

 

With 1T drives, you would need 9+parity @ $120 each = $1200

 

With 1.5T drives you would need 6+parity @ $190 each = $1330

 

I'd definitely be tempted to go with the 1.5T. You'd likely not even need an addon controller!

 

Yes, great comparison.

 

For 9TB, If I were purchasing all at once, I would go with 1.5's also.

Hmmm,  where does it become "even"?

 

 

I learned to only purchase what I need + 1 more as a warm spare.  Prices are always dropping.

 

As far as the warm spare, that's a personal choice. I like having it around but not part of the array for the moment I do need it.

(and there have been times I've needed it and merly stopped the array, assigned and started the array and was online safely a few hours later).

 

For 9TB, If I were purchasing all at once, I would go with 1.5's also.

Hmmm,  where does it become "even"?

 

That depends on the price/GB.

500GB @ $70 = 14 cents/GB

750GB @ $100 = 13.33 cents/GB

1TB @ $120 = 12 cents/GB

1.5TB @ $190 = 12.67 cents/GB

 

Doing some fuzzy math (cost of controllers , power supply, etc not taken into account):

500GB vs 750GB -> break even at 4.5TB

500GB vs 1TB -> break even at 2.5TB (nearest common multiple, 3TB)

500GB vs 1.5TB -> break even at 9TB (500GB exceeds unRAID drive limits)

750GB vs 1TB -> break even at 1.5TB (nearest common multiple, 3TB)

750GB vs 1.5TB -> break even at 13.5TB (750GB exceeds unRAID drive limits)

For obvious reasons, going with 1TB will be less expensive than going with 1.5TB at any total storage capacity.

 

At the above price points, 1TB drives offer the best value, but I really don't appreciate the associated storage limitations.

IloveJedd. Great breakdown man. Your breakdown of costs was exactly what I meant by "whatever is cheapest per gb." Its about finding the sweet spot in raw data costs. I more or less posted this for the new guys looking to get started, the thread is becoming a great summary for people breaking into the technology.

You have to also take into account how often you need to add drives. if you only add drives one every three months by the time you get to your 4th drive it will be half the price. Then you have to take into drive size increase. Theres not point buying 5 1TB drives this now if you wont fill them up for 12 months as the money it costs will likely be more than replacing the parity and adding less bigger drives later on.

 

If parity could be made up of 2 or more drives then the math is simple. Choose the cheapest per MB drive and upgrade capacity with more drives at the very last second.