February 7, 201016 yr Author I did some testing today with some surprising results (at least surprising to me). When playing with different UNRAID systems I have experienced some extremely slow boot times, depending on the configuration (for example, an Atom 330 system I built took over 3 minutes to load UNRAID and my personal system does it in about 40 seconds). I always thought the speed of the USB Flash had a lot to do with this. I was wrong. Today I benchmarked my collection of Flash drives to pick out my fastest and slowest: Fastest: Patriot XT Boost 8GB Burst Read: 35 MB/s Average Read: 30.9 MB/s Random Access 0.6 ms Write Time for a 660MB File: 43 Seconds Slowest: Kingston DataTraveler 2GB Burst Read: 11.4 MB/s Average Read: 11.4 MB/s Random Access: 3.1ms Write Time for a 660MB File: 184 Seconds I was building a PC today which used a Core2 Quad CPU and 4GB of RAM on an ICH10 Intel Motherboard, so I decided it would make a good testbed to evaluate any difference the USB flash makes on boot time. Long story short: The boot time between the two flash drives was nearly identical. In fact, the 2GB Kingston actually booted faster by 3.8 seconds for reasons unknown. Kingston 2GB Boot Time: 53.3 s Patriot XT Boost 8GB Boot Time: 57.1 s Note - this was with completely stock BIOS settings and Unraid install (fast boot not enabled, prompt screen for memtest vs unraid boot delay was still in place). Less surprisingly, there were also no measurable performance differences in over-the-wire UNRAID speed. Just for kicks, I also benchmarked an SD card using a generic USB 2.0 card reader since we had talked about booting from this earlier in this thread: PNY 1GB MicroSD in Dell USB Card Reader Burst Read: 8.6 MB/s Average Read: 8.3 MB/s Random Access 2.3 ms Write Time for a 660MB File: 223 Seconds Painfully slow, but based on the above analysis, you should see no difference in UNRAID boot speed or transfer performance if you want to boot from this device. Apparantly, the processor was really driving the boot speed differences in my historical example.
February 7, 201016 yr Speed of reading and unpacking the initramfs can be very CPU and mobo sensitive ..... It can also depend on the flags used when running syslinux.
February 7, 201016 yr Author Not a steal, but the best price on that Chenbro with 180W PS is $189.99 with Free Shipping at www.superbiiz.com. They will give you an additional 3% cashback with Microsoft's Bing cashback. Total out of pocket would be $184.29 delivered. Looks like a sale because they are limiting to QTY 1 per customer: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-3406918&src=FR&pid=0f2d93574b6f005aff084f2cf2af52597a4629efb79238f4777cb4b131635ca0 Newegg is $219 delivered for this case/PS.
February 7, 201016 yr Author For the SuperMicro X7SPA-H motherboard, here are the best deals going (I'm not posting in the GOOD DEALS area because these aren't unbelievable deals and are really only pertinent to this discussion): SuperMicro X7SPA-H: $174 (Free Shipping) - 2% Bing cashback available = $170.52 This version does NOT have IPMI, Intel GMA3150 Video http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote.asp?part_no=X7SPAHO&vid=428&src=F SuperMicro X7SPA-HF: $200 (Free Shipping) - 2% Bing cashback available = $196.00 This version DOES have IPMI, Matrox G200eW Video http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote.asp?part_no=X7SPAHFO&vid=428&src=F I'm still baffled by their use of the Matrox G200 graphics chip. This architecture dates back to 1998... Intel has the GMA 3150 graphics core integrated into the Atom processor which I'm guessing is more capable and more power efficient than an off-package G200 series GPU.
February 8, 201016 yr Matrox G200e graphics card has very low power consumption and has drivers on most platforms, very popular as an onboard video solution especially on server boards. HP has been using them for many years.
February 8, 201016 yr Matrox G200e graphics card has very low power consumption and has drivers on most platforms, very popular as an onboard video solution especially on server boards. HP has been using them for many years. I think the video has to be redirected to work with IPMI. I have a few supermicro server boards. The ones with embedded video ATI/Matrox usually can do KVM over IP with IPMI. The boards with external video usually cannot. I don't know the logistics of the Intel GMA3150 Video, but there's probably a reason it cannot be redirected over IPMI.
February 8, 201016 yr Author I think the video has to be redirected to work with IPMI. I have a few supermicro server boards. The ones with embedded video ATI/Matrox usually can do KVM over IP with IPMI. The boards with external video usually cannot. I don't know the logistics of the Intel GMA3150 Video, but there's probably a reason it cannot be redirected over IPMI. WeeboTech - your logic makes the most sense. Supermicro also integrated an external I/O controller with this board which may also be a mitigating factor. There must be something related to the interconnects that makes the on package video incompatable with the IPMI feature. I would still like to get power data from anyone who is using one of these boards and has the ability to take idle power measurements with the hard drives and any other peripherals disconnected. I was pleasantly surprised this weekend with idle power consumption results from the modern i3 and Core2 platforms running UNRAID. The real world idle wattage was surprisingly close to the Atom 330 system I had benchmarked last month.
February 14, 201016 yr Author Just found this case option: http://hivelogix.com/cases/case-qmicra I really like the simple, small, industrial look of it. I do not like the price. My work has me migrating toward a Micro ATX case since I have decided I want something a little more powerful than the mini-ITX ATOM boards for the server I am building. So, I'm back to finding a good case to match. This is the only one I have found that is both small and supports my need for a 5 in 3 backplane. Has anyone else found a compact Micro-ATX with (3) adjacent 5-1/4" bays?
February 19, 201016 yr Author After searching many times, I simply COULD NOT find a good quality Micro ATX case with (3) 5-1/4" bays. Newegg.com had a deal today on this low cost Rosewill at $23 DELIVERED. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it has 3 full size 5-1/4" bays and also seems to be the smallest Micro-ATX case you can buy that does (15" x 7.5" x 13.8"). I picked one out to give it a go. It is so compact, I am concerned that a 5 in 3 may not fit, but at this price, I don't have much to lose. Discounted price and free shipping ends tonight (2/18) if anyone else wants one. Use PROMO CODE EMCYNZN36 for the free shipping! Bing.com cashback for an additional 2% rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111
February 19, 201016 yr I like that case myself. I'm not sure it will fit a 5in3 module with a micro-atx board. A flex-atx is a possibility (The supermicro Atom flex ATX would do nicely). An ITX should give you the room also and maybe a lil more.
February 26, 201016 yr Author Just for the record - I received the Rosewill micro atx case mentioned earlier and don't like it at all. The top 2 3.5" bays are "stealthed" for hidden Optical drives and this front facade is part of the entire front panel and cannot be removed. The plastic parts also break easily (poping out the one standard 5-1/4" cover resulted in broken tabs). As suspected, the 5 in 3 backplane is also too deep for the enclosure. The included fan is also very loud. I'm not out much, but this isn't a good unraid box. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111 I'm back to the drawing board on a good small micro-ATX enclosure with minimum of (QTY 3) 5-1/4" bays. I may have to go full ATX to assure that the 5 in 3 backplane can fit. It needs about 7.25" of depth from the front of the drive bay.
February 26, 201016 yr Just for the record - I received the Rosewill micro atx case mentioned earlier and don't like it at all. The top 2 3.5" bays are "stealthed" for hidden Optical drives and this front facade is part of the entire front panel and cannot be removed. The plastic parts also break easily (poping out the one standard 5-1/4" cover resulted in broken tabs). As suspected, the 5 in 3 backplane is also too deep for the enclosure. The included fan is also very loud. I'm not out much, but this isn't a good unraid box. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111 I'm back to the drawing board on a good small micro-ATX enclosure with minimum of (QTY 3) 5-1/4" bays. I may have to go full ATX to assure that the 5 in 3 backplane can fit. It needs about 7.25" of depth from the front of the drive bay. Which 5in3 module did you use? What motherboard did you use? I thought a flex-Atx or ITX board might allow the 5in3 to fit. This was the one I had looked at a while back. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112 If this one were on sale I would have jumped on it. Edit: On further review the other case may require nibbling the i/o shield if the motherboard does not fit that spec.
February 26, 201016 yr Author Which 5in3 module did you use? What motherboard did you use? I thought a flex-Atx or ITX board might allow the 5in3 to fit. This was the one I had looked at a while back. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112 Edit: On further review the other case may require nibbling the i/o shield if the motherboard does not fit that spec. I have the IcyDock 5 in 3. I ultimately purchased a Micro ATX i3-530 / H55 board because of the combination of performance, 6 SATA ports and power efficiency. It may very well work with a Mini-ITX, but if I had landed on a mini-ITX case, I would have just went for the Chenbro or the other case we had identified earlier in this thread (smaller still and no obstruction for the 5 in 3 bay). Unfortunately, this configuration was not available in MicroATX form factor. This case appears to be the same case as the one I purchased only with a different front plastic assembly (this one is better because it lacks the stealthed drive bays).
March 7, 201016 yr Author Sadly, I have never found a good small Micro ATX case. I did just stumble acrost this little Mini-ITX with built in PSU and 2 5-1/4" bays. This would make a good unraid server for those who are sticking to unRAID basic (3 drives) with a 3 in 2 enclosure... http://www.amazon.com/Apex-MI-100-Desktop-Silver-ATX12V/dp/B000WCQYU6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top EDIT - Though the picture shows two 5-1/4" bay covers, it looks like onloy one is actually a full size bay.
March 12, 201016 yr http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=480&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63 This looks ideal for a low power server... min-itx case with six 3.5" drive bays behind a 140mm fan. Whack in one of these 6 sata atom boards and six 2tb drive and that's a pretty decent portable server with 10tb of usable space..
March 12, 201016 yr Author http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=480&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63 This looks ideal for a low power server... min-itx case with six 3.5" drive bays behind a 140mm fan. Whack in one of these 6 sata atom boards and six 2tb drive and that's a pretty decent portable server with 10tb of usable space.. The new socket 1156 H55 Zotac board would probably fit nicely in there too. I like the lian-li cases and had exhaustively searched their offerings. I really wanted an option that would support a hot swap backplane, but no luck. Ended up buying the Chenbro Mini ITX server case with 4 hot swap bays.
March 13, 201016 yr http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=480&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63 This looks ideal for a low power server... min-itx case with six 3.5" drive bays behind a 140mm fan. Whack in one of these 6 sata atom boards and six 2tb drive and that's a pretty decent portable server with 10tb of usable space.. Oh that is spiffy.. but where to get one?
March 13, 201016 yr http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=480&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63 This looks ideal for a low power server... min-itx case with six 3.5" drive bays behind a 140mm fan. Whack in one of these 6 sata atom boards and six 2tb drive and that's a pretty decent portable server with 10tb of usable space.. Very good find!! When I get my own house I am looking to move to smaller, separate unRAID servers that will will be dedicated to different tings. I will probably end up building 3 separate servers and they will not need to be the huge towers like I have set up now. I will probably be using mini-itx boards and cases like the one you just linked! Bookmarked and saved, thanks for the link!
March 13, 201016 yr Oh that is spiffy.. but where to get one? They've only just gone up on the lianli site in the last week or two so prolly another week or two at least before they start filtering into stores.. Very good find!! When I get my own house I am looking to move to smaller, separate unRAID servers that will will be dedicated to different tings. I will probably end up building 3 separate servers and they will not need to be the huge towers like I have set up now. I will probably be using mini-itx boards and cases like the one you just linked! Bookmarked and saved, thanks for the link! Ive currently got a 15 drive server that is as compact as I can get for 15 drives (pic linked below).. I would probably consider moving to these atom boards and 6 drive cases as it would be easier to hide the tiny cases around the house. http://i35.tinypic.com/sy19c0.jpg
March 13, 201016 yr Ive currently got a 15 drive server that is as compact as I can get for 15 drives (pic linked below).. I would probably consider moving to these atom boards and 6 drive cases as it would be easier to hide the tiny cases around the house. http://i35.tinypic.com/sy19c0.jpg Nice setup you have there. The point about being able to hide them better is a good one. I plan to dedicate a rack/shelf in a room or basement to all my computer sutff, but I like the idea of having stuff on different machines. One dedicated to Movies, TV Shows and the like; another dedicated as a backup machine via cloning software on my end and Crashplan for my parents, and yet another that will be dedicated to miscellaneous files and storage.
March 13, 201016 yr Ive currently got a 15 drive server that is as compact as I can get for 15 drives (pic linked below).. I would probably consider moving to these atom boards and 6 drive cases as it would be easier to hide the tiny cases around the house. http://i35.tinypic.com/sy19c0.jpg Nice setup you have there. The point about being able to hide them better is a good one. I plan to dedicate a rack/shelf in a room or basement to all my computer sutff, but I like the idea of having stuff on different machines. One dedicated to Movies, TV Shows and the like; another dedicated as a backup machine via cloning software on my end and Crashplan for my parents, and yet another that will be dedicated to miscellaneous files and storage. It depends on what you need to segregate and why. Multiple small arrays will cost more in the end. Both in time to build, cost to separate, hardware & electricity (unless you can turn certain ones off). I run two, one for movies which houses many drives, and a smaller one for the most used small files, images, music, Downloads, backups, home directories, etc, etc. In this case it makes sense to have more then one. The massive movie server can be shutdown and woken on lan from XBMC, where as when I need files or want to listen to music, I want the smaller machine up and accessible in a split second.
March 13, 201016 yr It depends on what you need to segregate and why. Multiple small arrays will cost more in the end. Both in time to build, cost to separate, hardware & electricity (unless you can turn certain ones off). I run two, one for movies which houses many drives, and a smaller one for the most used small files, images, music, Downloads, backups, home directories, etc, etc. In this case it makes sense to have more then one. The massive movie server can be shutdown and woken on lan from XBMC, where as when I need files or want to listen to music, I want the smaller machine up and accessible in a split second. I understand the more up front cost and am expecting it. I know I want to segregate my setup into at least 2 boxes. One for movies to play via XBMC and allow that box to WOL. The other box for miscellaneous storage might be on all the time, not sure yet, but the crashplan and backup machine probably will be on 24/7. The drives will spin down but beyond that I won't be doing WOL on those machine.
March 13, 201016 yr I understand the more up front cost and am expecting it. I know I want to segregate my setup into at least 2 boxes. One for movies to play via XBMC and allow that box to WOL. The other box for miscellaneous storage might be on all the time, not sure yet, but the crashplan and backup machine probably will be on 24/7. The drives will spin down but beyond that I won't be doing WOL on those machine. It's exactly what I'm doing, only I'm building a 20 drive array for video w xbmc wol and a small machine for everything else.
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