I've been working on the builds for my first two unraids and I pretty much was done when a friend of a friend mentioned he has a Dell Poweredge T330 he needs to sell and the price is good enough that I'd take it if it would work for unraid.

 

This is the specs http://www.storagereview.com/dell_poweredge_13g_r230_r330_t330_and_t130_review

 

Things I think would matter:

 

Network controller: Broadcom 5720

 

RAID controllers: S130, H330, H730 -1GB (internal slot), H830

 

Chipset: Intel C236

 

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Also the drives are hotswap -- I already bought a bunch of WD Reds. Would I be able to use those or would I need to buy special drives from Dell?

 

If I use the Reds do I still need to buy some kind of Dell specific tray for the drives?

 

Thanks in advance. This forum has been incredibly helpful. Hopefully have my first build ready mid-next week.

 

 

 

I don't see a reason why not. I'm using a modded Dell T20 without issues. I'm using a mix from WD Reds to Seagate of various sizes. As for the hot swapping I'd say no for the array but can be done using that "Unassigned Devices" plugin.

Butt please don't count me 100% I'm just getting started with unRaid and hardware is always something different.

 

I'd say as long as the price is good go for it, even if there's something minor not working this forum got some amazing people who for sure can help you fix everything.

 

good luck,

Matt

So I think the H330 should do JBOD but I am not so sure about the H730 or H830, if they wont recognize drives individually or do JBOD then they aren't really useful for UnRaid.

Thank you both.

 

I called Dell to ask about the JBOD and that was an experience -- I should know better than to expect useful help from customer service.

 

Anyway from the Dell site---- RAID: No RAID with Embedded SATA

 

According to a review I found the rack version has 8 SATA on the board so since the tower is apparently identical except for enclosure I assume it has 8 as well.

 

I'm new to all of this but if it isn't in RAID then it must be running as individual disks.

 

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I still don't fully understand what hotswap implications -- I know I can change the drives on the fly and that isn't really important to my use but whatever it isn't a bad thing. My confusion is that from Dell's site it has the option to add drives and the cost is about double what I'd expect for loose drives. I've already bought a bunch of WD Reds for these builds and it is unclear if I can just put them in some kind of cartridge or even just put them in normal bays?

 

If I can use the Reds are the cartridges something that will come with the server or do I have to buy them from Dell?

I would really suggest you don't look at Dell, its designed and priced for enterprise use which is not what you need, if you are not comfortable building your own system from scratch that is one thing, but running UnRaid on named brand servers like Dell or HP is not for the faint of heart. Don't get me wrong, it an be done, but why take the harder path when there are easier routes?

I started off somewhat apprehensive about building my own but that faded quickly -- except with respect to Windows VM / passthrough stuff where I'm still unsure of myself.

 

The main reason for considering the Dell is I can get it at a discounted price. Normally I'd avoid Dell based on one bad experience with a business-class convertible that I bought a few years ago but the price is right in this situation for me to at least consider it. Especially as in Canada ordering the parts for a DIY build isn't as easy as the States. Before the Dell option presented itself I was thinking of just buying everything in the States but that adds time and hassle.

I live in Canada too and I'm not sure about your comment 'ordering the parts for a DIY build isn't as easy as the States'? I order from lots of different stores and go to some as well, what difficulties are you encountering? I understand if you can get Dell hardware at an attractive cost that that is appealing, but ultimately in the end if is just going to mean you having one problem after another where you are pulling your hair out in frustration, is is worth it?

I use unraid on a old dell vostro 230 mini tower with a q9550 and it work fine. It has gigabit lan.  I use 2 Wd red 2tb and it work fine.

A Dell workstation like the Vostro you use is very different and much less complex then a server. Its much easer to get a workstation running UnRaid than a server, and I'm not saying it can't be done with a server, just that it can be a pain.

When I considered it I was kind of hoping it wouldn't be frustrating -- obviously not having issues is more important than anything else.

 

Problem I'm having is part availability -- I'm doing two unraid servers with completely different parts lists + two new desktops. Newegg.ca is turning out to be the best option but even they had a few items that were not listed. Canada Computers and NCIX had less. I think I could get everything but it was getting frustrating. In the end I think I was able to source everything but I had really hoped to just go to one of the local Canada Computers and walk in and get the parts. When I asked about ordering and just having them assemble them I was told 3-4 weeks. I rather assemble at least one myself just because I've installed upgrades but never built a system from scratch and I want to have done that at least once but I wouldn't mind dumping off the others just to save time which I'm desperately in short supply of.

 

The other thing is price. Switching between the US and Canada option on PC Part Picker I'm getting ~30% more for Canada with some parts being ~50% more -- that is after you factor in CAD/USD. I'm not overly price-sensitive and before I knew I thought the Canadian price was reasonable but once you see the US price paying more for the same items is annoying -- especially since we already order a lot of US items for the business and have them shipped to one of those boarder town dropoffs for Canadians who want US stuff. I do a pick up every two weeks anyway so it would just make sense except if I then need to return anything it is a bigger hassle plus it adds time.

 

I was really hoping it would be done last week and this weekend was the new deadline -- that is why the Dell was appealing -- good price plus I hop in the car and drive 45 minutes each way and I have it. The desktops I can find parts for locally at B&M stores even if that are a few dollars more than Newegg. The second unraid I'd build at a more leisure pace as I'd have the other pieces already in place. The need for proper file storage / network / backups was something that has been needed for a long time but neglected and now I'm doing it rushed because an outside tech trashed everything and we're operating a fast growing business with some computers I duck-taped back to life.