Need to build new unraid server- sick of my build being unstable for years


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Hi-

 

For years I have had unRaid running on a 3G Intel P4, with 1G RAM, on an ASUS mobo (I forgot the number, but it is the one where the GigE port always dies- which it did after about a year).  I have 1 parity and 13 data drives (many SATA, and several 500G IDE PATA, for a total of about 9TB total storage.  I've had it with this build- it has been unstable since birth.

 

Can someone please recommend a solid motherboard with a gig port that can support multiple drives- no IDE, all SATA.  I am thinking i3 would be fine.  I am also looking for corresponding memory (probably 1G, unless more would be better), and of course a rock solid power supply.  I will be looking to populate with 2TB drives, and maybe some of the older 1TB drives I have in my current build (after pulling data from them).  And also a new boot USB thumb drive recommendation.

 

If you can help me, thanks!

 

 

 

 

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The SuperMicro D525 board is an excellent choice UNLESS you need more "horsepower" to run plugins.  I used the D525 in my server, and am very happy with the choice.  It's a bit less expensive here than in the link above:  http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X7SPA5

 

My favorite case for a "Plus" system is the Lian-Li PC-Q25B, which supports up to 7 drives and has VERY good cooling for the drives, with 5 in hot-swap bays.

 

If you want a more powerful CPU than the Atom, you can use this board:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131841

... with an i3/5/7 as you choose (an i3 is plenty for most plugins)

 

I would not, however, use that case/board/CPU combo if you're serious about using older small-capacity (1 & 2TB) drives.  It makes much more sense with 3TB or 4TB drives.  Mine has 6 3TB WD Reds ... for a protected capacity of 15TB.

 

 

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By the way, the Seasonic power supply recommended above will NOT fit in the Q25B case.  There are a couple of ATX units that will fit ... but do NOT buy one larger than 5.5" long (the 3.4 x 5.9 width and height are standard).    An SFX unit is a better choice for that case.

 

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The SuperMicro D525 board is an excellent choice UNLESS you need more "horsepower" to run plugins.  I used the D525 in my server, and am very happy with the choice.

 

+1......I've been using a SM D525 board for about two months and it's been working well. My usage is pretty moderate and I'm very happy with the power and noise reduction. Supermicro's IPMI is a very good remote management interface especially if you run headless.

 

I'm waiting for that Lian Li case to go on sale. The 'Q25B has a great set of features!

 

Good luck with your new build!

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The SuperMicro D525 board is an excellent choice UNLESS you need more "horsepower" to run plugins.  I used the D525 in my server, and am very happy with the choice.

 

+1......I've been using a SM D525 board for about two months and it's been working well. My usage is pretty moderate and I'm very happy with the power and noise reduction. Supermicro's IPMI is a very good remote management interface especially if you run headless.

 

I'm waiting for that Lian Li case to go on sale. The 'Q25B has a great set of features!

 

Good luck with your new build!

 

I bought the PSU extender and it fits nicely in the Q25b case.

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Thought I would chime in about the motherboard, I have been running:

 

SUPERMICRO MBD-X7SPA-H-O, Lian-li pc-q08, 6x 2TB drive, unraid 4.7 pro

 

which is the older board, but it ran sab,sic and couch without any issues for the last few years.

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The SuperMicro Atom board is now on its 3rd verson ... they originally made it with the Atom 330;  then the D510 (what I suspect Markb has); and now the D525.

 

All are superb, rock-solid boards.  I built mine almost a year ago, and it's never had so much as a "hiccup."  With all the RC's that have come out in the past few months, it's probably averaged 4-6 parity checks a week as I updated the versions, "played" with the tunable disk parameters to maximize performance, etc. => and they've always been perfect.    It streams at full network speeds ... ~ 120MB/s, and does a parity check on my array (6 3TB WD Reds) in 7:41

 

... and is VERY efficient => with the drives spun down it draws ~ 20 watts.  [With all drives spun up and running a parity check it still only draws 48-50 watts.]

 

Unless you want more CPU "horsepower" to do transcoding or other CPU-intensive tasks, I wouldn't use anything else.

 

 

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Thanks all for the responses- So here comes the idiot question-  Does the D525 come with Atom CPU and memory preinstalled?  It seems like it, but I have never build an "all-included MOBO," and didn't know they made them.

 

The Q25B case looks pretty nice (form factor wise).  I am using the old silver Coolermaster that I believe the retail unRaid systems used to be delivered on- it is build like a tank, and huge.  I thought about going rack-mount with a Norco, but everything I have heard is that they are noisy.  And my rack is in the open.  (I use unRaid for movie storage- no plugins.  Just pure dumb storage).

 

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The Atom processor is soldered onto the motherboard, you won't be able to upgrade it or remove it.  It has SO-DIMM memory slots which is what laptops use, not desktops.  No memory comes with it so you'll have to buy that separate.

Get the  Lian-li pc-q08 case it is very quiet.

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The Q08 case is nice ... but the Q25B is nicer IMHO  8)

 

If I wanted an optical drive, I'd use the Q08;  but for UnRAID the hot-swap bays in the Q25B far outweigh the loss of a 5.25" bay.    And it's VERY quiet [i've actually built systems with both of these cases, and they're equally good with regard to noise level].

 

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All- thanks for the responses

 

Is anyone using this PS?

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-026&SortField=0&SummaryType=2&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2

 

It looks like it will fit

 

yes i am, and a lot of other people too, i got 8 green drives currently connected to it and its working fine, current calculations are it should support approx (depending on cpu/expansion card/mobo) 10 modern green drives.

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So I got all of my components and constructed my new server.  I am having some issues getting unraid to a place where it can start.  Here is what I have done-

 

1) I reformatted my micro USB boot drive, copied over the 4.7 release, and copied my pro.key to the config directory

2) The box would not boot into unRaid- so I brought the micro thumb drive back to my windows pc, and ran as administrator the batch file like "make bootable"

3) Unraid boots, and my 4 drives are recognized (1 parity, 3 data)- they are listed under devices

4) I assign them, BUT NOTHING HAPPENS.  I cannot start array, as "No Array Disc Devices Have Been Assigned."  ... but this is untrue

5) Log file indicates the following:  "could not read superblock from /boot/config/super.dat

6) super.dat is not there, so I "touched" it to create one.  The size never changes, and stays at zero, no matter how may times I try to assign devices

7) Perhaps some kind of permission error?

 

Also,

These drives have no jumpers installed- should they?

 

Thanks for the assistance-

 

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The Q08 case is nice ... but the Q25B is nicer IMHO  8)

 

If I wanted an optical drive, I'd use the Q08;  but for UnRAID the hot-swap bays in the Q25B far outweigh the loss of a 5.25" bay.    And it's VERY quiet [i've actually built systems with both of these cases, and they're equally good with regard to noise level].

I picked the lian li q08 for a couple reasons .  First off I cut the wire to the blue led on the fan.  It has more options/vents (top, front, bottom and sides) for cooling. I don't care about hot swap. I have the seasonic 400 watt fanless that fits fine.  I turned it towards the outside of the case since the q08 has vents on the sides.  The 6 screws on the sides suck if you're in there alot. You can fit 6 drives +1 in the 5.25 and a 2.5.  The q25 can fit 2 more 2.5.  There is plenty of room on the bottom for more.  Wish they had put a mount on the bottom like the q25. But the main reason was the $30 difference.  Both are great, it just came down to hot swap vs $30

 

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