I've been running Unraid for a couple of years now and am very happy with the product. However, I've noticed that my server is not as reliable as I need it to be, and I'm looking at something in the hardware that might be causing this.

 

A while back I had some problems bringing up the web interface. It turns out I had a HDD that was intermittently failing. As soon as I replaced it the problem went away. I ran into a similar problem yesterday, and when the web interface finally appeared, it showed drive 4 as being uninstalled (I think that was the word used). I telnetted in and ran a short SMART test, checked the report and the drive was all OK. Anyway, I shut the server down, reseated the SATA cables & powered it back up again. I then followed the procedures for the "Trust my Array" and did a full parity check. I got 52 sync errors the first time. I've just started another and it's found 1 error so far, so I might have to initiate a 3rd parity check after the 2nd one has finished.

 

Anyway, this got me thinking about whether I could make some hardware improvements to either eliminate these kind of issues, or at least make them easier to troubleshoot in the future.

 

I currently use Promise Superswap 1100 drive enclosures. While they do a good job of keeping the drives relatively cool they are also rather noisy and, even thought Unraid allows the drives to spin down after a user-selected period of inactivity, the fans in the drive enclosures still keep spinning regardless.

 

What I'm thinking of doing is removing the drive enclosures altogether. It's yet another "possible point of failure" which is what I'm trying to eliminate. I do realise that if I remove the drive enclosures I'm going to have to arrange another form of cooling, but I'm not sure of how best to do this. I'm using a CM Stacker case - which I think were quite commonly used in Unraid builds a while back. So the questions I have at this stage are as follows:

 

 

1) Where can I mount a fan to ensure all the drives (I have 8 including a parity drive) have adequate airflow, and what kind of fan would work best? Alternatively is there another cooling solution?

 

2) Are there GOOD makes of SATA cables available that are more reliable than others? At this point I do suspect my problem is either the SATA cable itself or the SATA connections on either the drive enclosure or the Promise SATA TX150 cards I'm using.

 

I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions!

 

What about a cooler master 4in3 hard drive rack?

 

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2542

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817993002

 

At this point I do suspect my problem is either the SATA cable itself or the SATA connections on either the drive enclosure or the Promise SATA TX150 cards I'm using.

Have you eliminated the RAM as potential cause of the problems?

You can run memtest for awhile, just to make sure. (from the unRAID boot menu)

 

Weebotech,

 

That device looks like a REALLY good idea! Hopefully I can fit a couple of them in my Stacker case! Do you use these or know of anyone who does?

 

Purko,

 

Yeah, when I had my major issue a while back I ran a memtest for a full 24 hours - the memory was fine.

I recently installed one of the 4in3 units in my backup box. Seem like a good product - well made - i do like the isolated mounting. I am monitoring drive temps because the airflow seems low (4 drives are close together). I really like the airflow from the 'Thermaltake iCage A2309' available at amazon, but that is only 3in3.

 

There are a lot of comments on the forums lately about the Cooler Master units. I havent had to clean the air filter - that may be the biggest hassle with them.