Spare Parts Build - Advice please


riff.79

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Hey there!   

 

So I'm looking to build a new UNRAID server to replace my N40L.

 

I have these parts sitting around - I'm slightly concerned the power supply might not be enough wattage. 

 

OS at time of building:Latest Stable 
CPU:AMD A4-4000 
Motherboard:Asrock Fm2A85X - https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A85X-ITX/ 
RAM:8GB DDR3 
Case:Silverstone DS380 
Power Supply:Silverstone 300W SFX power unit - http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=458&area=en 
Fans: Stock 

Parity Drive: 2 x WD RED 4TB 
Data Drives:6 x WD RED 4TB 


Primary Use: 24/7 File Server, no transcoding  

 

This server would be on 24/7 - just a file server - no transcoding etc.

 

Thanks!

Edited by riff.79
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  • 2 weeks later...

A file server is typically very efficient. Power (wattage) is not the main criterion when selecting the PS.

It's the inrush current that has to be supplied at start-up.

The PS delivers ~25A on the 12V rail. Luckily it's a single rail PS!

Now assume 5A for Board and things.

Remaining 20A/8 drives = 2.5A / drive

The WD red is rated at 1,75A peak current.

So your PS is sufficient. You might even go up to 10 drives.

 

Also consider the PSU thread for information.

Edited by Fireball3
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23 hours ago, Fireball3 said:

A file server is typically very efficient. Power (wattage) is not the main criterion when selecting the PS.

It's the inrush current that has to be supplied at start-up.

The PS delivers ~25A on the 12V rail. Luckily it's a single rail PS!

Now assume 5A for Board and things.

Remaining 20A/8 drives = 2.5A / drive

The WD red is rated at 1,75A peak current.

So your PS is sufficient. You might even go up to 10 drives.

 

Also consider the PSU thread for information.

 

Thanks mate! much appreciated.

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  • 2 years later...

I have never built a computer.  I'm a photographer with no IT staff, and I've got lots of giant files I need to store someplace.  My Drobo just died and I need to replace it, but it looks like Drobo is going belly up, and I'm stuck.

 

I like what I read about unRAID, but I'm at a loss for how to implement it.  In the spirit of ignorance, could I buy something like an OWC 8-bay enclosure and use it with unRAID?  I see JBOD as an option in some of these DAS and NAS enclosures, so maybe that's a possibility?

 

I really don't have the mental fortitude to learn about mother boards and power supplies.  I kinda need something that plugs in and switches on.  

 

Thanks in advance. 

  • Like 1
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Unraid is an Operating System, so it needs its own computer to run on. Typically that will be a computer that can have disks installed in it. Some people have used external enclosures as a way to add space for drives to their computer that is running Unraid, but this approach can have some complications of its own.

 

  • Like 1
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  • 1 year later...

I just took a Thinkcentre M625q for file storage. Seems a little bit low spec for <some other storage operating systems>. It has 8GB RAM and E2-9000e CPU. With a USB HDD enclosure or m.2 SATA splitter + external power supply seems as a viable option. Any recommendations how to add many drives via USB or m.2 splitting? Will this work fine with unraid?

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USB not recommended for array or pools. You might get away with it if the pools are single disk, and the array has no parity. Otherwise, disconnects will make things out-of-sync.

 

Another thing with USB enclosures is the bottleneck caused by accessing multiple disks through one connection. Parity operations require accessing multiple (even all) disks simultaneously.

 

USB also can have other drawbacks, such as no SMART information Unraid uses to monitor drive health, not presenting drive serial numbers so Unraid can keep track of disk assignments, presenting non-standard drive sizes, probably others I can't remember.

 

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