Hi all, looking to upgrade my UnRAID rig, as i'm physically out of places to put drives in it.  Looking to go from a 2U, loud-as-hell, 12-bay server with drives ranging from 3TB reds to 8TB reds/whites, to a 24-bay box.  I'd be transplanting the 12 drives in the existing box and then scaling up from there (and probably keeping the 12-bay as a "backup box").  Looking at this one i just dug up on ebay:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro-24-Bay-Chassis-SAS846TQ-Server-AMD-QC-2-1GHz-2372HE-16GB-H8DME-2/202174284803?epid=1403640796&hash=item2f1286c403:g:2ggAAOSwkvFaTs00

 

Can anyone take a look and see if there's any potential issues with this box?  I'm looking to just run vanilla unraid, no docker or VM outside of a couple of very low-footprint apps, and it will be serving content to a plex server with about 6 users, running on a separate box.

My first thought is that processor is pretty under-powered. CPU benchmark gives the 2374HE a score of 2951. I'm not familiar with the old Opteron numbering scheme, but I assume it is one step up from the cpu in that box (2372HE)

 

Controller cards are Marvell-based. Even though the Marvell bug seems to only be an issue when running VMs, I would stay away from any Marvell based controllers. Also, some reports of those controllers having issues with newer drives...

 

Personally, I would pass on it.

 

EDIT: After further thought, I suppose as purely a file server, the CPU would be adequate, but the Marvell cards still make me nervous. I had some significant data loss from Marvell cards (though I'm running VMs), so I tend to avoid them at all cost...

Edited February 1, 20188 yr by DoeBoye

Sound advice.  Figured the price was too good to be true.  I'm mostly concerned about the controllers and the chassis - everything else i was probably going to rip out and replace anyway.  Any recommendations for something that would accomodate 24 drives around that price point?  (trying to spend 500 or less, and avoid Norco if i can - had a norco case wreck 13 drives simultaneously).

Looks like i can get 3 SAS9201-8I LSI for like $80 on ebay, so that at least solves the _controller_ problem.  One step in the right direction!

Here's a great thread talking about them. Sounds like it may have some value. Backplane may only support 4TB drives though... .

 

Maybe someone who has one running can comment on HD support. If they can support over 4TB, and you're willing to replace the internals, still cheaper then getting a Norco (and better quality)...

 

Looks like, assuming the backplanes support over 4TB, you would need to be getting:

 

CPU

mobo

ram

controllers

Casefans (Reports seem to state they're loud)

 

The seller from your listing is actually in that thread I linked to. I think he's fairly well respected around here. You could always ask them about drive support and ripping out parts...

Edited February 1, 20188 yr by DoeBoye

Thanks for the tip!  I'll head over there.  I figure even if the backplane is good and i can rip out the rest of the internals, i'm still coming out ahead.  Thanks again!

3 minutes ago, jfeeser said:

Looks like i can get 3 SAS9201-8I LSI for like $80 on ebay, so that at least solves the _controller_ problem.  One step in the right direction!

 

Be careful when ordering these used though. Try and stick with server pulls from the states. There's a lot of Chinese knockoffs that can be problematic on Ebay. Fireball3 has a great thread on cross-flashing LSI cards.

 

 

 

No Problem!

 

Be sure to report back if you buy one and upgrade it.

 

And who knows? The seller might even be willing to offer you a small discount to buy just the chassis/backplane/psu. I doubt it would be much, but maybe there's still a market for that old mobo/ram/cpu... Doesn't hurt to ask . Saves you a few bucks and the hassle of pulling out the parts/recycling them...

 

It's funny, i didn't even think to ask but that's a great idea.  I figure i can transplant my existing hardware for now (which works fine but was just built on a cheapy single-core, single-thread CPU i had laying around - parity checks take literally a day and a half!)

Don't forget to confirm 4Tb+ drive backplane support! Especially since you already have drives bigger than 4TB. It would suck to buy the chassis and then not be able to use it because of no 8TB support!

 

Yep - i was actually researching that after your last reply.  Apparently all of the SuperMicro backplanes that end in "TQ" are just straight passthroughs, which would explain why on the back of it there's no SAS or breakout connectors - there's just straight up 24 sata ports.  Which is fine, i've already got plenty of reverse breakout cables laying around.

Another issue you may want to look into is the PSU fans may also be extremely loud. If they use the same fans as this model sold by newegg, it sounds like you might have to replace the PSUs as well (unless sound is not an issue)...

 

 

Oh sound is definitely an issue.  I've seen a bunch of posts about modding that case to remove the housing for the server-grade PSUs and putting in a desktop one (which is actually what i'm doing with my current one as well).  Going for as close to silent as i can get, considering my home office and my rack share a room

Sounds wise!

 

Thought you'd like to know i just pulled the trigger on this over the weekend.  Believe it or not, the passmark of the CPU in the ebay server is _more than double_ the one that's in my fileserver now (a sempron 145!)

 

I guess the benefit of "this thing is a fileserver and nothing else" eases a lot of my CPU needs

1 hour ago, jfeeser said:

Thought you'd like to know i just pulled the trigger on this over the weekend

Congrats!! Enjoy the new server!!

 

Did the seller give you a discount if they pulled all the stuff you didn't want, or did you have to buy everything?

Had to buy everything, but considering after looking at the processor vs. my current one, it's an upgrade anyway.  Snagged 3 of the LSI cards in a separate deal to replace the ones in the server, and i'm off to the races.  Should all be in next week! 

Exciting!!!

 

Make sure to post back and let us know how it works out!

 

If you're up for it, you might want to make a thread on the steps you took to convert the case into a consumer friendly server (with Pics!! ).

 

@jfeeser How's the new build working out for you?

Working really well!  It's been humming along without a hitch pretty much since i last posted, and since then i've added a _second_ unraid server that handles all of my docker/virtualization duties.  Working on moving away from ESXI and over to that and setting up a good workflow there.  All in all, really happy with how everything is turning out!