Need to Upgrade, But Lost

[MattHirschfelt]

Hello Unraid Family!

 

The time has come that I need to start looking to upgrade my current Unraid server, but I feel so lost with what the recommendations are for builds these days or what I should even be looking at. When I made my current build, Frankunraid, 7.5 years ago this seemed so much simpler. I'm hoping someone can point me down a path with some recommendations so I can get an upgrade planned and purchased before my current machine bites the dust.

 

My current equipment is as follows:

 

Unraid: 6.8.3 (Plus Key)

CPU: AMD A10-6700

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A85X-ITX FM2 AMD A85X (Hudson D4)

RAM: 2 x 8GB Patriot Memory Signature (DDR3 CL11 PC3-12800 (1600MHz))

Case: LIAN LI PC-Q25B

Power Supply: CORSAIR CX430M

Parity Drive: 4TB Seagate ST4000DM000 (5,900RPM)

Data Drives: 2 x 4TB Seagate ST4000DM000 (5,900RPM), 2 x 4TB HGST 0S03359 (5,400RPM), 2 x 4TB Seagate ST4000NC001(5,5900RPM)

Cache Drive: 480GB SSD (Inland Professional)

Total Drive Capacity: 8 (All Used!)

 

Currently running: Shinobi, Sonarr, Radarr, Bazarr, Plex, SABnbzd (VPN), Deluge (VPN), OMBI, Tautulli, Jackett, Unifi-Controller, JDownloader, InfluxDB, Glances

 

This build as served me well since July 2013, but there is no room left in it for me to experiment with new things or even run what I currently have without occasional hiccups. The four cores are basically running at full utilization at all times which is generating a ton of heat and stressing the rest of the system as well. When I build the server originally it was supposed to just be Plex storage and playback, but my usage has changed.

 

Here is what I'm hoping to accomplish with my upgrades:

 

The server will primarily function as downloaded/storage of media files for playback via Plex, ROM storage for usage with emulators on the network, CCTV via Shinobi, Database storage to make pretty graphs for all of my little projects floating around on my network, and basic storage.

 

With the upgrade I'd like to have a new CPU so that I have more overhead to play with and more storage capabilities. Right now I'm maxed out on SATA usage on my current Motherboard and case. I'd like to be able to support 12 to 16 drives in the long run so that I have an SSD Cache Pool, the main Array with at least one parity drive (probably two in the future). Bonus points if the face fits in a server rack.

 

I have no understanding of all the VM talk on the forums so I don't have any requirements for that, but maybe if I understand it in the future I'd want to try it?

 

With all that said, what route should I be looking at? I assume AMD if not my best route anymore because of the need to also add a GPU to the case with most of the builds. So should I believe looking at like an i7, i9, or Xeon build? How do I get the number of drives that I want to work with the boards I find?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[Decto]

On 10/11/2020 at 3:38 PM, MattHirschfelt said:

Hello Unraid Family!

 

 

With all that said, what route should I be looking at? I assume AMD if not my best route anymore because of the need to also add a GPU to the case with most of the builds. So should I believe looking at like an i7, i9, or Xeon build? How do I get the number of drives that I want to work with the boards I find?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

There are many options open, an idea of budget for hardware (ex drives) would be a good start.

 

Do you plan to buy a case to hold 12-16 drives? 

Larger drives seem to need a lot more direct cooling than 4TB so really need to be in directed airflow, which can be an issue to arrange when you have a lot of drives. Usually it is better to go with larger drives for less spindles and more simplicity.

 

The 'wasted' cost of a single large parity drive will likely be a lot less than a larger case, bigger PSU, more cooling, more controllers and cables etc.

Currently the 12TB and 14TB WD externals are very cheap in the prime day deals (ends today) but are likely to be similar for black Friday.

A pair of drives + your old drives would give you significant upgrade storage even with a modest number of SATA ports available and you would then gain 8-10TB for every one of your 4TB you replaced over time. 

 

For lots of drives the mainboard needs a spare PCI-E 2.0 x4 (electrical) x8 /x16 physical or better slot available for a LSi SAS HBA which will give you 8 extra SATA ports above whatever the board supports. This can be picked up used for $30. If you just need a couple of extra ports, a $10 Asmedia dual SATA PCI-E x1 card is fine.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2020 by Decto

[MattHirschfelt]

Thanks Decto.

 

In the spirit of my original build, I continued recycling parts from other computers I had access to to 'modernize' the build. The plan is as follows:

 

Unraid: 6.8.3 (Plus Key)

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G

Motherboard: ASUS Prime x370-Pro

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4 3200 

Case: Fractal Define 7 XL

Power Supply: CORSAIR CX430M (If it can handle initial boot, this should be barely sufficient. I may need to upgrade it.)

Parity Drive: 10TB Western Digital Red Plus (5,400RPM)

Cache Drives: 2TB Western Digital Blue SSD, 480GB Inland Professional SSD (may be decommissioned)

Data Drives: 2 x 10TB Western Digital Red Plus (5,400RPM), 3 x 4TB Seagate (5,900RPM), 2 x 4TB Hitachi (7,200RPM), 2 x 4TB HGST (5,400RPM)

PCIe Card: LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA 9240-8i IT Mode

Total Drive Capacity: 48TB Array, 2.5TB Cache

 

Hopefully from the CPU side of things, this holds for another 7-8 years like my first Franken-build. But with the space, I'll shove more drives in there and stop being so conscious about my data hording.

Edited October 14, 2020 by MattHirschfelt