From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Nov 30 15:38:52 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 51AD11065670 for ; Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:38:52 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from valentin.bud@gmail.com) Received: from wf-out-1314.google.com (wf-out-1314.google.com [209.85.200.173]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 20A118FC08 for ; Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:38:51 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from valentin.bud@gmail.com) Received: by wf-out-1314.google.com with SMTP id 24so2258058wfg.7 for ; Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:38:51 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to :subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type :content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; bh=eWc4otiuEpm0TGClF18ygPC3noivwDGl47Cn9g5vrWE=; b=A1k/iYIPCIKrKYrvBrPt7g2SirUlOMenU+rKVBKRX7nnpsDNjfGWkci+oAKKexrT4D lzLw9tmKyCrXmYbhgGU2Bo7mpnBtvJ/XgT2bKMXD9i75xLZR9q1tJCODH5b4WPMYsXPA EGwvPxLqmVRmZh+nl72m0TvpYgZhU9qWsJ8JQ= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version :content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition :references; b=UCyyNGuaJIgQclSr42Nxm1QzfIlXDKLloFd3NxqIe2IFvyECY1w63A9ZwUdnC3jSPc i86EicqazQv0u9WVpQN/wZawmAn+R81XChmdfLkWS4q6PdbrZqJrthxrTkOslxMdfk5S W4Ua1z9jSYj8e0TznxEjKU6cfkPG5b7+BTNZo= Received: by 10.142.163.1 with SMTP id l1mr4123477wfe.263.1228059531675; Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:38:51 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.142.180.17 with HTTP; Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:38:51 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <139b44430811300738h36c1febahe74d8d992f8820d@mail.gmail.com> Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:38:51 +0200 From: "Valentin Bud" To: Modulok In-Reply-To: <64c038660811281038ld6e20dcq81a1a98b7e9f7ce@mail.gmail.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: <139b44430811280548x36915301i766bfb15f162c8ca@mail.gmail.com> <64c038660811281038ld6e20dcq81a1a98b7e9f7ce@mail.gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 5 TB server X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:38:52 -0000 On Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 8:38 PM, Modulok wrote: > On 11/28/08, Valentin Bud wrote: >> Hello community, >> >> I have to come up with a solution for a company that has as we speak >> 4 TB of data spread among 3 computers with lots of HDDs. Of course >> i've recommend >> them to buy a server for that storage capacity and for data organization. >> >> I thought of going on the ZFS way (on FreeBSD of course) with some >> raidz. One of the problems >> is that the server will stay in their office so it has to be quite silent. >> >> I honestly don't know what hardware to look for so if you have any >> suggestions >> i'm more than open to hear them. >> >> a great day, >> v > > I'm not sure what kind of fans everyone here is running, with all > these complaints about noise... > > For a single server sitting in an office, use a regular desktop case > with some good 12cm fans. Get a few fan-speed-controllers to reduce > the RPMs a little and you can have a computer with several disks in it > that is damn near silent, even when it is sitting right next to you. > Put a good power supply unit, with a slow 14cm fan in it and you can't > hear the computer at all. As far as heat goes, a well ventilated > aluminum desktop case disperses heat very, very well, permitting the > reduction of fan speed. > > I have a server built this way sitting not 2 feet from me, which > contains 5 hard drives providing 24/7 file storage via samba for the > entire local area network, and unless one puts their ear against the > case, it's difficult to tell if it is even running...even under heavy > load. (This is in a quiet room.) As far as heat goes, the case blows > out room temperature air and all components are cold to the touch. > Built for around...$800-$900 USD. (I'm not exactly sure on the figure, > as some components have been upgraded over the years.) > > Case: Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Mid Tower. Best case ever. Cheap. > Simple. Roomy. Very well ventilated. I now personally own 4 of these > cases. No regrets. Ditch the factory fans though. Replace them with a > few Zalman 12cm fans. These usually come with a resistor so you can > reduce the fan speed (and noise). > > Processor: Whatever. I went with a cheap dual core Opteron at the time. > Board: I usually stick with Tyan. whatever fits your processor, your > budget and provides you with enough SATA headers. For a simple file > server, stick with a lower-end single-socket board. Unless you plan to > do some serious number crunching or have a lot of money to spend, you > don't need the extra processors sitting around doing nothing, with > their fans making noise. > > Memory: Start with a few (say 2) gigs, it's cheap. > Power Supply Unit: I've had good luck with Thermaltake W0144 Purepower > RX. They use 14cm fans which are silent, but move a lot of air and > I've had zero problems with them. The ability to only plugin the power > components you require helps maintain good airflow in the case. > > Network: Not all network cards are created equal! Go with one (or two) > PCI Intel network cards. If it's based on the Intel PRO/1000GT, it > will be supported by the em(4) driver on FreeBSD. I use the Intel > PWLA8391GT. Zero problems. > > As far as hard drives go, I've found recently that Western Digital > drives are quite silent, even under heavy read/writes, but I haven't > tried Seagate or any of the other major drive manufacturers in a long > time, so they may be about the same. Thanks for sharing. I'm just wondering what is the maximum number of hard disk a motherboard can support, i mean desktop motherboards. And is it easy to attach a storage unit in case you want more space? This company i'm talking about is growing with 1 Tb per year. I have talked to them to archive the data but it's out of discusion because they almost always need random parts of old projects and they want to access it ASAP. a great day, v > > With a little work, your goal of a silent, high-capacity server is > quite attainable. It can be pretty cheap to build too. > -Modulok- >