I am looking to put together a unRAID server to store/stream my Blu ray rips to various media devices across my home (WD TV Live, Roku 3 (plex), HTPC. This will also server to backup family photos and videos. I currently have a old Windows Home Server v1 that isn't cutting it. After much research it is clear to me unRAID is the solution I am looking for. Here is my build list in progress, comments and suggestions welcome:

 

Norco RPC-4220 (Newegg has a sale currently, 15% off all Norco products!)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219033

 

Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101792

 

Supermicro MBD-X10SLL-F-O

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819

 

Intel Core i3-4130

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116946

 

OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular (Currently own and plan to reuse)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

 

Norco 8087 to 8087 x 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133034

 

Western Digital WD Green WD30EZRX 3TB x 3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136874

 

The current plan for the hard drive setup is (1) 3TB parity and the other (2) 3TB drives as data. I own other miscellaneous drives currently in my WHS that I plan on  incorporating, (1) 1TB WD Black for cache, (2) 1.5TB Seagate ST31500541AS data, (1) 2TB HD154UI data, and (1) 1TB Seagate ST31000340AS .

 

One question I had was do you all recommend I transfer the data from my existing WHS over my 1GB network or install the drives in the unRAID array and transfer them first before preclear?

 

I've heard the 4220 case comes with very loud case fans. I plan on installing this in my home theater rack in my basement and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on replacement 80mm and 120mm fans?

 

I am starting out with 8 hard drives and I may just go ahead and buy a second Supermicro SAS card or buy a reverse breakout cable to use the sata ports on the motherboard. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions before I pull the trigger. A newegg preferred account is a very dangerous thing to have!

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looks nice.

 

I do not have NORCO case I got the SuperMicro setup from TAMS

but from what I heard it similar.

once you get the case take a cerefull mesure of the fan wall.

in my case I used 3x120mm fans zipped-tied  together to replace the whole fan wall.

you can see it  here :  http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=28671.0

 

as it turns out (since I also removed the stock PSU in-favor of regular ATX PSU ) I could have used 3x140mm fans for a better fit.

I also replaced the 2x80mm at the back wall with a low noise 80mm

 

as of now I have 3x120mm fan wll + 2x80mm back wall + 2x120mm CPU fan(had to use Cooler Master HYPER T4 CPU coolers that come with 120mm fans on them)

there are actually 2 models that look almost the same but one is 1/4 inch shorter

 

 

 

 

 

Have you considered using the Supermicro MBD-X10SL7-F-O, obviating the need for the MV8 card?

looks nice.

 

I do not have NORCO case I got the SuperMicro setup from TAMS

but from what I heard it similar.

once you get the case take a cerefull mesure of the fan wall.

in my case I used 3x120mm fans zipped-tied  together to replace the whole fan wall.

you can see it  here :  http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=28671.0

 

as it turns out (since I also removed the stock PSU in-favor of regular ATX PSU ) I could have used 3x140mm fans for a better fit.

I also replaced the 2x80mm at the back wall with a low noise 80mm

 

as of now I have 3x120mm fan wll + 2x80mm back wall + 2x120mm CPU fan(had to use Cooler Master HYPER T4 CPU coolers that come with 120mm fans on them)

there are actually 2 models that look almost the same but one is 1/4 inch shorter

 

Good to know about zip ties for the 120mm fans! I will definitely look into that during my build.

Have you considered WD Red drives instead of greens?

 

Nothing wrong with Greens, but the Reds are superior, have a longer warranty, and aren't that much more money.

 

I have 2 greens in my setup, no issues with them (though I did make sure to set the firmware to not park the head as fast as greens want to).

 

Just that IF i'm buying drives now, I am much more likely to spend my money on the nas versions going forward.

well I was looking into getting the 120mm fanwall , many posts suggested that it will fit into my case with minimal mod. but when I got the fans and removed my fan wall

the 3 120mm side to side fit perfectly in the space.

I wish that I did the PSU mod first and got the 140mm fans instead though.as I do have a gap on one side now :-)

maybe when I find new use for the 120 mm fans I will get the 140 to replace them.

Have you considered using the Supermicro MBD-X10SL7-F-O, obviating the need for the MV8 card?

 

Question regarding the MBD-X10SL7-F-O, with its 8 built in SAS ports how would I connect them to the Norco backplane? When I eventually go to 8+ drives I will need an a MV8 card correct?

Have you considered WD Red drives instead of greens?

 

Nothing wrong with Greens, but the Reds are superior, have a longer warranty, and aren't that much more money.

 

I have 2 greens in my setup, no issues with them (though I did make sure to set the firmware to not park the head as fast as greens want to).

 

Just that IF i'm buying drives now, I am much more likely to spend my money on the nas versions going forward.

 

It is definitely something I will consider and thank you for the advise. I have seen lots of people on the forum using the WD green drives without any issues and I was trying to keep my costs down. I may be better off paying more per gigabyte for the Reds though to get the longer warranty. I did notice the 3TB red drive has worse reviews on Newegg versus the 3TB green drive.

Note that your power supply does NOT have a single 12v rail.  You'll need to be very careful at distributing the power to ensure you've spread the load across both of the rails -- otherwise you're likely to have power issues as your drive count grows.

 

It would be a good idea to just buy a high-quality single-rail PSU and avoid this issue altogether 

Have you considered using the Supermicro MBD-X10SL7-F-O, obviating the need for the MV8 card?

 

Question regarding the MBD-X10SL7-F-O, with its 8 built in SAS ports how would I connect them to the Norco backplane? When I eventually go to 8+ drives I will need an a MV8 card correct?

Going from MB SATA ports to SFF-8087 backplane port requires "Reverse" breakout cables.  If you had a card like an M1015 with an SFF-8087 port to discrete SATA ports then you want "Forward" breakout cables.  If you were going from M1015 SFF-8087 port to SFF-8087 backplane port then you need the 8087 to 8087 cables.  The X10SL7-F has 8 SAS ports and 6 SATA ports so you could go to 14 drives before needing a MV8.  You could also use a SAS expander and plug the 8 built in SAS ports to the SAS expander with a "reverse" breakout cable and use 8087 to 8087 cables from the SAS expander to the norco and control 24+ drives just off the 8 SAS ports built into the MB.

Note that your power supply does NOT have a single 12v rail.  You'll need to be very careful at distributing the power to ensure you've spread the load across both of the rails -- otherwise you're likely to have power issues as your drive count grows.

 

It would be a good idea to just buy a high-quality single-rail PSU and avoid this issue altogether 

 

Thanks for catching that. I will buy a 750 watt Seasonic power supply with a single 12v rail.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

Have you considered using the Supermicro MBD-X10SL7-F-O, obviating the need for the MV8 card?

 

Question regarding the MBD-X10SL7-F-O, with its 8 built in SAS ports how would I connect them to the Norco backplane? When I eventually go to 8+ drives I will need an a MV8 card correct?

Going from MB SATA ports to SFF-8087 backplane port requires "Reverse" breakout cables.  If you had a card like an M1015 with an SFF-8087 port to discrete SATA ports then you want "Forward" breakout cables.  If you were going from M1015 SFF-8087 port to SFF-8087 backplane port then you need the 8087 to 8087 cables.  The X10SL7-F has 8 SAS ports and 6 SATA ports so you could go to 14 drives before needing a MV8.  You could also use a SAS expander and plug the 8 built in SAS ports to the SAS expander with a "reverse" breakout cable and use 8087 to 8087 cables from the SAS expander to the norco and control 24+ drives just off the 8 SAS ports built into the MB.

 

14 ports out of the box, very nice. I don't foresee growing my server to that many drives for a few years, but I do like being future proof! I'll add the reverse break out cables to my build list, thank you!