Server Death - need build advice (thinking Unraid)

[Stu Gare]

I am in the process of replacing an old amd setup in. sonata Antec case with one of these :

http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Pr...pt=ABU&sel=DTP

Should work for me , ssd for os/sage and separate 2 TB drive for recordings.
Currently testing it in parallel before I fully switch to this new pc. Using HD homeruns to test initially.
My old Sonata case was taking up too much space, and this will be easier to conceal.
New server setup with V9 using the new installer which worked perfectly for me.
Full cutover likely to take place next weekend where the HD PVR and quad tuner pcie will be transferred. Loving the speed of boot up via WOL and also the recording interrupts from standby on the new sage server.
Much more responsive than the old setup :-)

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by wayner

Maybe we are not talking about the same thing but why would you care about file size when you are streaming in real time, as the file won't be permanently stored, other than to minimize data usage?

We were talking about different things. Fuzzy was talking about the live transcoding done by OpenDCT which writes the file transcoded to H.264. I made the assumption that you were talking about transcoding to files.

You might also care about the size of the video stream produced if for example you were placeshifting, but in a home environment, it would matter a lot less. I realize you kind of just said this.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk51

I will need to research this more on the unraid forums, but here's some options I'm looking at. Any input?

• Lot of 2 pcs SR0KX Intel Xeon E5-2670 2.6GHz 8 Core Socket 2011 CPU
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-pcs...MAAOSwv-NWZxoZ
  
  Would this be a good Motherbaoard? :
  http://www.natex.us/Intel-S2600CP2J-...p2j-custom.htm

Then to determine if I can recycle my Antec Sonata III case and fit this stuff
http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=...5022021&lan=nz

And if so, if a powersupply like this would fit. Not sure if crazy overkill, but thinking of investing for scalability if needed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139142

Ram - I'll figure that out later!

That is exactly what I have. Natex should have a combo that is both CPUs, board and RAM for less than $500 last time I looked.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Very case-by-case I've found. And some boards with the exact same chipset may work and may not with a given hypervisor. The board I have was one of the few AMD based boards at the time that supposedly supported full IOMMU support, but it took 2 versions of ESXi since release for it to actually detect it. When I tried unRAID a couple months ago, I was very pleasently surprised that it jumped right in with everything working - but then it turned out I don't virtualize a single piece of hardware right now.

Honestly, in my use case, about the only thing I can potentially see using full IOMMU/VT-d support for would be to add a couple mid-level video cards for hardware assisted transcoding, assuming any of the transcoding jobs out there support it (not sure if the ffmpeg transcoding that openDCT does would, but I'm guessing with the right combination, it could be made to work).

I was speaking to specifically the chips mentioned in the thread on unRAID's site. They are supported in unRAID without issue (using them now). I checked intel's site before purchase just because of the issues you mention.

I purchased an intel motherboard that also stated support for all the necessary virtualization tech as well. Humming along nicely for about 6 mo.

With more and more dockers that do what I need I'm finding little use for my Windows server VM other than hosting my colossus cards and playon.

[Tomahawk51]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

With more and more dockers that do what I need I'm finding little use for my Windows server VM other than hosting my colossus cards

Wait, let me understand this better. Are you running SageTV as a docker, and then a VM to capture? How does the Sage interact with the colossus VM? Or, is it that the VM is running Sage as well?

If the latter, then that was my plan (a VM w/Sage also controlling a HD PVR). And, I'd go to Docker eventually (when blasting is locked down).

[Tomahawk51]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

That is exactly what I have. Natex should have a combo that is both CPUs, board and RAM for less than $500 last time I looked.

Guessing this: http://www.natex.us/Intel-S2600CP-Mo...64gb-12800.htm

Thanks for pointing it out. Ideally, I'd like to get a motherboard that has 8+ Sata connections for Unraid, but I suppose adding cards is really not a big deal to get that extensibility...

Maybe buying a combo like this vs a bunch of ebay components is a good idea ...

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk51

Wait, let me understand this better. Are you running SageTV as a docker, and then a VM to capture? How does the Sage interact with the colossus VM? Or, is it that the VM is running Sage as well?

If the latter, then that was my plan (a VM w/Sage also controlling a HD PVR). And, I'd go to Docker eventually (when blasting is locked down).

Pretty sure he's using the latter (SageTV in a Docker as his 'server', SageTV running as a network encoder in a windows VM with the Colossus and blaster passed through to that VM). FWIW, I have an HD-PVR 1212 running directly on my Docker server for my cable box, and it works well. I also originally had a Windows VM as a network encoder for a colossus, but with the 1212 being supported in the 'alternate' unRAID kernel, and with Stuckless rolling LIRC into the sagetv install, I was able to move everything into docker there (using a USB-UIRT via LIRC to blast to the cable box).

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Pretty sure he's using the latter (SageTV in a Docker as his 'server', SageTV running as a network encoder in a windows VM with the Colossus and blaster passed through to that VM). FWIW, I have an HD-PVR 1212 running directly on my Docker server for my cable box, and it works well. I also originally had a Windows VM as a network encoder for a colossus, but with the 1212 being supported in the 'alternate' unRAID kernel, and with Stuckless rolling LIRC into the sagetv install, I was able to move everything into docker there (using a USB-UIRT via LIRC to blast to the cable box).

You are correct. I have 3 colossus cards in a windows VM as network encoders. Unraid SageTV docker picks them up and I tune with gentuner. Works great. I've looked, but can't find any linux drivers for the colossus. It works now so I'm not going to mess with it.

[Tomahawk51]

I had forgot about the Network Encoder capabilities of Sage. This is an interesting option in the toolkit. Hmm...

[Tomahawk51]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Check this thread. Very powerful stuff if you can get a good MB. RAM is cheap also. I did it and am very happy. Lots of power to spare.

Used stuff, but good stuff.

For new, I'd go with server boards and ECC memory (not really needed, but not really any more expensive depending on what you get)

If you don't want to go the used route I can put together a server config based on your budget if you want.

OK, coming back for more advice

After much research, I bought similar to you:

Motherboard

• Intel S2600CP2J Motherboard Dual E5-2670 SR0KX 64Gb. PC3-12800R
• http://www.natex.us/ProductDetails.a...12800&CartID=1

Power Supply

• Corsair RM 850x (gives me 2x motherboard power plugs)

Here's where I could use advice:

Case: This is going to sit in a shelf in a utility room in my basement. I'm thinking I should go for a Rack case.

• This one seems affordable, but a real pain to swap HDDs. Not something I plan to do regularly, but I'd pay more to avoid big frustration. https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Serv...0091IZ1ZG?th=1
• Then there is this one, but *seems* pricey, and both seem pretty big https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Serv...00N9CXGSO?th=1

CPU Fans

• I just want to ensure they will fit a case and aren't noticeably loud (though would guess case fans would overpower that. It seemed these might be affordable and not huge. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hmt...r-rr212e20pkr2

I realize I could take this to the Unraid forums at this point to ask, but thought I'd see if input was available here.

[KeithAbbott]

Personally, I would purchase a rack mount case that has a drive backplane with SAS connectors, and a motherboard with SAS connectors and/or an expansion card with SAS connectors. 12-15 drives with SATA cables? No thanks...

[EnterNoEscape]

If you're really going to just go for it, and you have a rackmount case in mind, the price is a little high but, I think you get a very good bang for your dollar on the Norco RPC-4020. I own an earlier version of this model and it has served me very well as initially my primary file server and now my backup file server. Ever since I started buying cases with hot-swap bays, it's hard to go with anything else. Also most cases with hot-swap bays have an LED for each drive which unraid can use to help you find a specific hard drive a little faster.

[Tomahawk51]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

Personally, I would purchase a rack mount case that has a drive backplane with SAS connectors, and a motherboard with SAS connectors and/or an expansion card with SAS connectors. 12-15 drives with SATA cables? No thanks...

I guess too late on that given I bought the motherboard I did. I really don't plan to use more than 6 drives anyway, but would be happy to scale if needed. Yes - I realize I'd need to use expansion cards for more SATA connectors.. I think I could probably deal with the SATA for anticipated future use.

[Tomahawk51]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

If you're really going to just go for it, and you have a rackmount case in mind, the price is a little high but, I think you get a very good bang for your dollar on the Norco RPC-4020. I own an earlier version of this model and it has served me very well as initially my primary file server and now my backup file server. Ever since I started buying cases with hot-swap bays, it's hard to go with anything else. Also most cases with hot-swap bays have an LED for each drive which unraid can use to help you find a specific hard drive a little faster.

I was actually just meandering into this Tower case in browsing for options
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-004-_-Product

I was surprised to find out how big those rack cases were when I went down to measure my shelf (I don't have a rack). I guess I could always set it down sideways though...

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

If you're really going to just go for it, and you have a rackmount case in mind, the price is a little high but, I think you get a very good bang for your dollar on the Norco RPC-4020. I own an earlier version of this model and it has served me very well as initially my primary file server and now my backup file server. Ever since I started buying cases with hot-swap bays, it's hard to go with anything else. Also most cases with hot-swap bays have an LED for each drive which unraid can use to help you find a specific hard drive a little faster.

The problem with the 4020, and most the norco cases, is their depth is pretty insane. 26" I think deep seriously limits where I'd be able to put the thing.

That said, I am thinking of looking for a case that could house one or two Norco SS-500 enclosures.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

The problem with the 4020, and most the norco cases, is their depth is pretty insane. 26" I think deep seriously limits where I'd be able to put the thing.

That's one of the reasons I went with this case: http://www.norcotek.com/product/rpc-4308/

15 1/4 inches deep, but can still take eight hot-swap drives with SAS connectors.

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

The problem with the 4020, and most the norco cases, is their depth is pretty insane. 26" I think deep seriously limits where I'd be able to put the thing.

That said, I am thinking of looking for a case that could house one or two Norco SS-500 enclosures.

That's true, but if it wasn't so big, you'd have a hard time getting a normal motherboard in there. The real surprise is how heavy the thing gets once you have have it completely loaded with hard drives.

I have a few cases that uses the SS-500 enclosures and they work well. The only suggestions I have are they are often cheaper overall when they come with a case and their design makes them only work with bays that don't have any shelves. I suppose you could always bend the shelves out/cut them off, but not everyone wants to do that and there are products out there that will accommodate normal cases.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

That's one of the reasons I went with this case: http://www.norcotek.com/product/rpc-4308/

15 1/4 inches deep, but can still take eight hot-swap drives with SAS connectors.

It's a nice compact arrangement, but airflow looks terrible (no ventilation for the drives) and doesn't come with the miniSAS cables for the backplanes. I usually make sure my server uses filtered air for as much of the intake as possible, to minimize dust buildup (current case has 2 exposed filters on the front, takes 10 seconds with a vacuum cleaner hose to clean them off, and the inside remains clean).

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

It's a nice compact arrangement, but airflow looks terrible (no ventilation for the drives)...

You're right, if you are looking for better airflow for the drives, you'd probably need to stick with one of the 26" deep models. For me though, considering the majority of the time my drives are all spun down, and when the server is being used, probably only one or two drives are spinning. And since my rack is in my basement where it's nice and cool, keeping my drives cool does not seem to be an issue.

But you're right, you probably would not see that case in a data center for exactly the reasons that you listed (maybe minus the miniSAS cable argument)...

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk51

I was actually just meandering into this Tower case in browsing for options
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-004-_-Product

I was surprised to find out how big those rack cases were when I went down to measure my shelf (I don't have a rack). I guess I could always set it down sideways though...

Whatever you decide to do just be sure to get something that has easy access to drives and good airflow. My friend bought that rosewill hot swap case and has issues with the hot swap bays. Some have never worked for him. I will say airflow is really good with those cases though.

I got one of the big norco cases (24 drives) and love it. When they say the case is huge and heavy, they aren't kidding. I have a rack in a closet so it fits just fine.

The thing about a good case is that you really shouldn't ever have to replace it.

The CPU coolers you listed look good.