New to unRAID...a few questions...


stevep94

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Well that's more than a little annoying! >:(

 

There is a number on the "SAS controller" says "D 33002", which when you Google it comes up with a "Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller" - how would I check that this is limited to 2TB drives?

 

To be honest I'd happily plug the new drives in to the usual SATA connections on the motherboard but there doesn't appear to be any way to power them as the power connectors also utilise the data connection part too!?!? (also, why might the motherboard not detect more than 2TB itself??)

 

I guess I ought to cancel my order for the 4TB drives until I've got this sorted!!

 

Thanks for the continued help!

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13 minutes ago, stevep94 said:

There is a number on the "SAS controller" says "D 33002", which when you Google it comes up with a "Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller" - how would I check that this is limited to 2TB drives?

 

That looks like a SAS6/ir controller, based on an LSI SAS1 chipset, only SAS2 chipsets support >2TB.

 

The onboard SATA will probably work correctly.

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1 minute ago, johnnie.black said:

The onboard SATA will probably work correctly.

 

I've got no issue at least trying - but I can't seem to figure out how to power the drives - the existing power connectors plug into the data connection slot too?? Should there be some different power leads somewhere??

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I've had a look and the power cabling and there is the following small square connection that (I assume?) can be unplugged and replaced with a regular hard drive power connector?

 

20170921_214521.thumb.jpg.0e9cb517c7bff6a9e73cfacdfbaedba8.jpg

 

There are two "normal" power connectors, one of which I'm using for the SSD as follows!

 

20170921_214542.thumb.jpg.d36be39512bd86accf7f71841823e1c0.jpg

 

Can anyone tell me what new cable I need that will fit into the above small square connection?

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39 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

It's probably a custom cable, you can use a splitter or two on the existing SATA power connectors.

 

Thanks for the continued help - so if I bought a couple of these and plugged them into the two existing SATA power connectors, this would give me 6 power connectors and I can then just rig up the drives as I would usually would by plugging them into the SATA ports on the motherboard?

 

Is there any detriment to running that many devices off a single cable from the PSU?? (as opposed to finding some sort of cable that would use one or both of the "spare" 4-pin connectors?

 

The only other cable I can see is this one that goes for a 4 pin ATX to what looks like a molex connection - which in turn can be made into a SATA power cable - the only thing is voltage - I assume because these fed the hard drives before, albeit with the aid of the SAS controller, should it be OK??

Edited by stevep94
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47 minutes ago, stevep94 said:

Is there any detriment to running that many devices off a single cable from the PSU??

 

SATA connector is the weak point, the cable can handle it, each can be split in 2 without issues, 3 is usually OK but it could push it.

 

50 minutes ago, stevep94 said:

The only other cable I can see is this one that goes for a 4 pin ATX to what looks like a molex connection - which in turn can be made into a SATA power cable - the only thing is voltage - I assume because these fed the hard drives before, albeit with the aid of the SAS controller, should it be OK??

 

I doubt that adapter works, it's most likely a Dell custom plug.

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17 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

I forgot to say that you should be able to split the power part of the SAS connector with normal SATA splitters, as they are backward compatible with SATA.

 

Sorry but I'm not following what you mean here? I can't seem to see a SAS -> SATA connector that would do the job!?!? (or do you mean something else?)

 

I did stumble across an old thread here with the same problem but it doesn't look like the OP solved it! :S

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2 hours ago, johnnie.black said:

The SATA splitters you bought should fit on the power side of the existing SAS connectors since they're backward compatible with SATA.

 

Oh wow - I can't believe I didn't think of that! So I basically leave the SAS power ribbon as it is but then plug a SATA power splitter into one of the existing plugs and in turn into the HDD's and use a regular SATA cable to the motherboard? (with the end connector that usually goes into the RAID card just left unconnected or would I still need the card plugged in?)

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43 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

Correct.

 

Great stuff, thanks for all the help!

 

I'll pick up a couple of the splitters to see if they work! Although most seem to have a couple of "guide notches" at either side of the 15 pin connectors - a I presume I'm OK "hacking off" these so they will fit into the moulded power/data SAS connection?

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13 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

 

SAS connectors are backward compatible with SATA, there shouldn't be any hacking off needed.

 

Here is a pic of the existing connections off the power ribbon:

 

SAS.jpg.4613611f086143ceebb2c5b7480d669b.jpg

 

And here is the male connector from the splitter:

 

59c4f3b1a8f17_SATA2.jpg.33c6bfe2da2d3796a9d3aedf724fc458.jpg

 

I could be wrong but the "notches" either side of the 15-pint connections don't look as though they will fits in/around the moulded part on the SAS connection?? (or am I completely getting this wrong and have got hold of the wrong end of the stick all together??)

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12 minutes ago, stevep94 said:

I could be wrong but the "notches" either side of the 15-pint connections don't look as though they will fits in/around the moulded part on the SAS connection?? (or am I completely getting this wrong and have got hold of the wrong end of the stick all together??)

 

OK, I thought you were talking about the L notch on the SATA plug, one or both of those notches may need to be removed, but it's not a problem as long as the adapter stays firmly connected.

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2 hours ago, stevep94 said:

SAS.jpg.4613611f086143ceebb2c5b7480d669b.jpg

 

 

Is it just my eyes or the image, but that connector looks like it's more than just aged by time but almost like took heat damage or electrical arc at one point in it's life.

 

The pictures have been fantastic BTW. You're on the right path @stevep94. It takes clever solutions for a computer like that to do things their maker didn't allow for. My first unRAID system was also a Dell, much like that one. I also had to buy the same power spliters you're now buying.

 

I used that Dell computer for many years, growing from 3 drives and gradually adding up to 10. The case never had room for ten, it looked much like yours,  so I cut out the existing mounts and added in a my own mounting rails using some aluminum L-bar I bought at he local hardware store. 

 

As you've not doubt noticed...Dell, in order to save costs, purpose build's each of their computer to not provide extra power or other things more commonly found in custom or after-market PCs. I found that same cost saving mentality goes for their motherboards too, or at least did for the one I happened to have. My Dell motherboard had a PCIe 1.0 16x slot, however turns out that it was somehow restricted in the Dell firmware/bios to only allow for VGA / Graphics cards only. My point is to beware, right now you see the physical limits and you're overcoming them, some might not be visible as you try to expand out on that platform.

 

 

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Thanks for the advice (it's all welcome, believe me!)

 

I appreciate that this particular machine might not let me expand too far but I was able to pick it up relatively cheaply and so I'm happy to work within it's boundaries for now - if it gets to the point where it won't (or can't) do something I want it to then I'll have to look at a more bespoke option!

 

Even if my (or more accurately johnnie black's) solution of using a SATA  splitter doesn't come off, I assume I can always revert back to leaving the RAID card in there and simply sticking some additional 2TB drives in to work with in the time being (I managed to cancel my order for the 4TB drives until I was a bit more certain they would work!)

 

My main aim is to get an array set up (probably with a new single 2TB HDD, somehow mount my Synology drive within unRAID so I can copy across my data and then slot the 2 x 2TB drives currently in my NAS into the array so I can enjoy 4TB of storage space and a 2TB drive as a parity drive.

 

Once this is all set up and working I can start looking at installing Plex and whatever else I can get my head around!

 

Thanks again for the support - it's very daunting when you start messing with something that you have no experience of and having a responsive community is very comforting!

 

Is there an "idiots guide" that I should be reading through in respect of unRAID?? (oh and I've no idea if the machine has suffered any sort of short - the connectors don't look charred as far as I can see tho!)

Edited by stevep94
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12 hours ago, BobPhoenix said:

I'm asking because I don't know but wouldn't the notch on the Sata power cable fit into the notch I'm pointing to with the arrow on my graphic?

 

Notch on Sata power.png

 

Sadly it doesn't - but on the up-side all I had to do is chop off the notch nearest the "L" shaped end and it slots in beautifully! :D

 

However, now I've taken the RAID card out completely and connected the HDD via the splitter and a regular SATA cable into "SATA B" on the motherboard - unRAID still seems to want to find the drive via the "PERC" adapter in the "Disk 1" slot!?!?! (as seen below!)

 

Devices.jpg.d42af43ecac0e9cbd9ee361a28e2f490.jpg

 

I can't seem to remove it - although it does find the drive fine and I can assign it to "Drive 2" no problem - I know this is just a niggle  but it's the sort of thing that will bug me - is there any way to remove the original configuration??

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Great stuff!

 

Now I can hopefully crack on with getting the server set up correctly rather than having to worry about the hardware side of things!
 

Next job is to purchase a new 2TB drive (unless the mood takes me and I go back in for the 4TB setup!) - ideally then I'll put the 2TB drive into the server, figure out how to mount and access my Synology NAS and copy over what I want to the new drive - then I'm assuming I should be free to take the 2 x 2TB drives from the Synology, slot them in to the unRAID server, format them and add one to the array, giving me 4TB of usable space and then set the other up as a parity drive - does this sound like the best way to get everything transferred over to the new setup?

 

 

Edited by stevep94
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OK, now I think I've got my hardware/power issues in hand I want to start preparing my next steps in anticipation of a new 2TB drive landing tomorrow! (I was going to go higher but it occurred to me that since I'm going to (hopefully) slot it in on its own to be able to copy data from my Synology NAS, it had to be no bigger than the existing drives since it can't be the parity drive!)

 

Anyway, I've installed Krusader by following this guide (although I have to admit I simply followed it rather than understanding much of it!) and so now I want to be able to mount my Synology NAS so I can copy from it to the new 2TB drive - can someone point me to a decent guide or give me some pointers??

 

I understand that using Krusader is far quicker than using a Windows PC for example as the data is written directly from drive to drive as opposed to going via the PC - is this right?

 

My other query is am I netter having the NAS and unRAID on the same physical cabling? (at the moment the NAS is downstairs and the unRAID server in my top room connected via homeplugs - I'm looking into getting my house wired up properly with Ethernet cable soon!

 

I guess what I'm asking is should I cart the server downstairs for the purposes of the initial copy to take the homeplugs out of the equation?

 

As always.....thanks! 9_9

 

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On 9/20/2017 at 10:26 PM, stevep94 said:

To answer a few queries, yes I am in the UK - the fuse in the plug I'm using is a 13 amp fuse - simply not sure whether it need to be this high?? (can't seem to find much in the way of info on the Dell website and T410 manual!)

 

Not sure if this has already been answered but the tech specs show the PSU in a Dell T410 is a 580w so max power draw on the UK 240v would be about 2.5A therefore a 5A fused lead would be sufficient.

 

I know there have already been several responses, but it sounds to me like your system is quiet like mine (although I acquired an HP MicroServer with a Xeon E3-1220 CPU) and I went through the slow process of migrating from older disks to newer ones. The basic plan was use my second largest HDD as the first installed (this will make sense later) and format it as a single drive in unRAID. Copy across my local network from other systems to free up my next largest (always keeping the larges drive outside of unRAID). Each time a drive was empty I formatted it and added it to unRAID as an additional array drive increasing the capacity. When all data was on the unRAID server array I added the last drive (which was the largest I own) and configured that as the parity drive (see told you it would make sense).

 

I have since failed and replaced drives in the server to gradually to increase capacity but otherwise little has changed. I run Plex and a few other dockers to run my media life on the server and everything is quite stable and simple.

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