Byggeprojekt lukket/starter forfra: mITX stoejsvag NAS

Da det her er en copy-paste session fra mine to engelske build logs saa er den ja, paa engelsk.

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Update 21st September:

Resetting the whole setup for the purpose of building a Hackintosh Server running OSX instead... Will make a completely new build log when I am done (just so it's not getting as cluttered as this one).

For now you can follow the new build on my blog - Hackingtosh.info

(yes, it has a G in it...)
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I have for about a month now wanted to build a NAS/Home server and finally I have seriously started.

The past month I have researched a lot about various details, an have to say Bit-tech users are awesome, you have been so much help!

My initial idea was something super small, mITX and absolutely silent.
After giving that some thought I found out that super small is a bad idea for future expansions and absolute silent could mean the death to most hardware if not done with enough care.

So the idea I had gone with instead was a mATX chassis with a integrated mITX motherboard inside.

I want to keep everything fairly pro/high-level because of reliability so it's not going to be a cheap NAS to build. You might ask why I even bother to build one - well, I have had NAS before and they all ended up dead within fairly short time for one reason or the other... I want to see if I can make a better one, in terms of quality.

Also I have a two requirements it has to be able to do which very few NAS can:

Backup to the cloud!
Run Plex mediaserver

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The build so far, these pictures will be regular switched out to the newest edition:

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Shopping list:

MB: Super Micro X7SPA-HF-D525 (Low power, many expansion possibilities and supports IPMI for perfect headless operation)

RAM: Hynix 2x2GB DDR1333 running at 800MHz (because thats the limit of the MB, have them from my now upgraded Mac)

Case: Lian Li PC-Q11A, small, stylish and very practical without the need for major surgery.

Fans: NoiseBlocker NB-Multiframe 1x M12-P (to make the air move, but not actual cool, I want it to be super low noise)

PSU: Seasonic X400 (fanless! 80+ GOLD! and have 33Amp on the 12v rail! AWESOME!!)

Movie drive: Hitachi 5K3000 3TB version (Hitachi 5K3000 is apparently the most reliable drive at the moment)

Music + other data drive: Hitachi 5K3000 2TB so I can go all Hitachi = high reliability

OS drive: After a long hunt I have gotten two Integral Memory Endurance SLC based 4GB and 8GB SD cards and a Kingston MobileLite G2 card reader.

Optical drive: Will disassemble my trusty Lacie D2 DVD burner and mount the drive in the server.

Just to mention, I will mount the M12-P fan somewhere in the case in a Lian Li BS03 and blow down on the hard drives below it. The SATA cables themselves will be 5x (because the case can host 2x 2.5 drives also) 12" latching SATA III 90' cables (if they are long enough) from the brand Startech.

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I have to say this is not a super fast build, I don't have enormous amounts of spare time so posts will come as I build along in a slow and steady pace.

(!) My primary language is NOT English, so please bare over with me if I write things a little strange sometimes - I am a Viking from the tiny in size but mighty in awesomeness - Denmark.

Lastly a little about me, I have used computers since I was like 6 years old and was playing Commodore 64 with my brother, loading games off casette tapes!
For close to 15 years I have been a PC user, builder and slightly starting to mod - until I a few years ago had enough of Windows Vista and wanted something that just worked - so I switched to Mac and will never go back...
Have now owned a Mac Mini version 2.1 2007 model that I turned to the dark side as the http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=182066"]Black Mini[/url], I have had a Mac Mini version 4.1 2010 Server I tuned to be epic fast with two Seagate Momentus XT in RAID0 and 8GB of snappy fast RAM. Lately I have tuned my newest Mac Mini 5.2 2011 model to be http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=227726"]one of the fastest[/url] on the planet (of it's breed/modeltype) with 8GB DDR1866 and two Intel Series 520 240GB SSDs!
My day job have nothing to do with either PCs or Macs but if I told you more I would have to silence you - for good...

So for short, thats why I call my self a Mac Mod'er

Citat fra RTM

Det ser umiddelbart fint ud, selvom jeg personligt syntes at det kabinet er for stort.

Et alternativ til det bundkort, kunne være et baseret på AMDs fusion serie, f.eks. dette fra Asus

Kabinettet er et kompromis af mange ting:

* Jeg kan bl.a. bruge en passiv stroemforsyning som er kraftig nok til at traekke 4-5 harddiske samt har kabler nok, pico psuer har som regel kun 1 sata stik og er ikke meget kraftigere end op til 150w hvilket er lige paa graensen.
SFX PSUer har smaa irriterende blaesere der fiser rundt med et hoejt antal RPM og kan derfor umuligt blive saa stoejsvage som jeg gerne vil have det.

* SFX kabinetter har enten ikke plads til nok harddiske eller ogsaa har de ikke god nok koeling til at holde holdbarheds niveauet oppe paa det plan jeg gaar efter.

* Jeg har maksimalt set en hoejde paa 25,5cm da det skal vaere under min sofa, saa der er ingen af f.eks. Lian Li's laekre smaa kasser der kan passe ind.

* Jeg vil have et alu kabinet da det bliver stortset passivt koelet, kun med ekstremt stoejsvage blaesere der faar luften til at cirkulere og ikke egentlig koeler den ned, alu er i sig selv et "koldt metal" og ikke som plast der ekstremt nemt bliver varmet op og holder paa varmen.

Naar det saa er sagt, hvis du falder over et andet kabinet der passer ind i min beskrivelse, saa er jeg meget aaben overfor forslag

Jeg har faktisk overvejet netop det MB du linker til, men det er mere end dobbelt i pris fordi jeg saa ogsaa skal ud og have andre RAM.
Hvis jeg en dag faar brug for noget HTPC saa klarer jeg det nok med en Apple TV og en iPad, de kan begge streames til fra NAS (skal lige siges jeg har ingen af delene pt).
Jeg er ikke fan af at have en rigtig PC staende ved sit TV, det bliver lidt for meget computer og kompliceret. Min kone skal ogsaa kunne bruge det. Saa er det bedre med en NAS som det "bag scenene" er koblet op paa, det er der ingen andre end mig der kommer til at pille ved (og saa goer det ikke noget det er lidt kompliceret).

Citat fra rasm401i

Kig evt. Lidt her

Kender godt den butik, de har igaar sendt mig 2 kilo blaesere
Anede ikke 4 blaesere var saa tunge, men det er de aabentbart...

Jeg kiggede faktisk paa deres passive kabinetter for noget tid siden men der er to ting jeg ikke kan bruge - for smaa stroemforsyninger og for lidt plads til harddiske. Ellers er de helt sikkert fine.

Modtog pakke med blaesere og kabel adaptere igaar.
CaseKing.de fik heldigvis aendret ordren saa nu kan jeg koere 2 eller 3 blaesere via molex og dermed undgaa jeg evt. faar braendt MB af
Fik ogsaa lige smidt en pose selvklaebende kabel clips med, saa jeg kan router kablerne paent rundt uden at genere det allerede begransede airflow.

Jeg har ikke mere tid foer weekenden, saa regner ikke med jeg faar koebt noget HW foer engang i naeste uge.

The news, jeg har idag bestilt en foerste WD RE4-GP harddisk efter jeg for nogen dage siden modtog en mail fra WD support der sagde at jeg ihvertfald havde fat i noget rigtigt:

"Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is Joel A.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We absolutely recommend that drive for your NAS at home.
That model is the latest one we have in our raid edition drives, it will work perfectly in what you're trying to build.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Joel A
Western Digital Service and Support"

Jeg endte med at bestille den fra Dell Computers her i Danmark, da de pt. har den bedste pris - de har dog desvaerre ogsaa en af de laengste leverings tider, op til 4 uger...
Jeg kontakter dem nok imorgen for lige at hoere om det kan vaere rigtigt?!?

Idag har jeg snakket med Dell omkring min nye WD RE4-GP harddisk som pludselig tog dobbelt saa lang tid at skaffe.
Den er aabentbart i serioest restordre how WD, saa meget at Dell har nu slettet den fra deres hjemmeside.
De har dog lovet jeg gerne skulle faa den inden der er gaaet en maanede!

Anyway, jeg fik den til en rigtig god pris (2000,-) saa jeg maa bare vente

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Saa nu hvor jeg venter paa den foerste harddisk skal ankomme, saa har jeg ikke travlt med at bygge videre.
Idag har jeg kigget lidt paa hvordan jeg kan goere min NAS endnu mere pro of mere paalidelig.
Jeg overvejer nu serioest at skifte MB, tilfoeje flere HDDer og et andet OS.

Helt praecist er det det her jeg taenker paa:

Super Micro X7SPA-HF-D525
Fordi det har onboard USB port inde paa selve PCBen saa jeg kan gemme USB noeglen OS ligger paa, extrem god software support for stortset alle OS systemer, tager mine DDR3 RAM, har to GigaBit porte for senere brug (hvis jeg evt. vil bygge en HW firewall), PCI-E x4 for senere brug og intet mindre end 6 SATA porte! Det betyder jeg ikke skal taenke paa at skaffe en RAID controller naar jeg tilfoejer flere diske.

Ang diske saa har jeg nu kigget naermere paa hvilke systemer der findes og stoette i flere omgange paa ordet unRAID. Det viser sig at vaere et super snedigt NAS OS jeg absolut overvejer at bruge!

Det det bl.a. goer er at det bruger sin egen specielle udgave af RAID4 som giver ekstremt god sikkerhed til en absolut lav pris bl.a. fordi man kan blande diske og selvom en disk gaar i stykker kan data genskabes udfra hvad der ligger af info om den paa de andre.

Det vil dog goere NASen en hel del dyere men derimod ogsaa en hel del mere holdbar, sikkerhed er i sidste ende mit ultimative maal!

Jeg har nu konverteret hele traaden og oprettet den i et mere passende forum, nemli hos unRAID.

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Jeg opdatere stadig af og til herinde, en af de seneste updates er dog desvaerre at Dell har maatte annullere min WD RE4-GP fordi den er umulig for dem at skaffe pt

Mit NAS projekt er tilbage paa Tweak og opdateret med seneste aendringer

Se den endelige indkoebsliste i post nummer 1 og giv meget gerne jeres kommentare!

PS: Jeg har to overskydende blaesere til salg her paa Tweak, sig til hvis I kan bruge dem

Citat fra LeetDonkey

Jeg startede som dig med et atom board og nåede frem til den konklusion at CPU'en ganske enkelt var for langsomt til mit brug.

Software RAID 5 + download af RAR filer med tilhørende PAR filer gjorde at mit NAS var op imod 18 timer om at reparere og udpakke et 50GB RAR-set :-O

En hardware RAID controller hjalp betragteligt på regnestykket, men den var stadig ret langsom.

Jeg endte med at købe et Supermicro X9SCM-F sammen en E3-1220L - IPMI funktionen i det omtalte board er guld værd når man gerne vil tilgå serveren fra en anden PC

Desuden har jeg en Adaptec 52445 til at håndtere RAID-setuppet og samme strømforsyning som du kigger på - Den kan jeg ihvertfald sagtens anbefale.

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Jeg kommer til at koere det via unRAID OS, det bruger en speciel form for RAID4 og traekker stortset ingen system kraefter til at koere selve OS - saa haaber paa jeg har fint overskud.
Det er trodsalt bare en helt almindelig NAS, ikke noget fancy (hvis man kigger paa det HW der sidder i faerdigt byggede NAS saa er jeg allerede LANGT over hvad de fleste har).

Den skal bare streame lidt 720p BD rips (og naar jeg gider vente paa BD drevet tygger faerdig sniger der sig ogsaa 1080p med), musik til noget Sonos system, mine billeder og mit iTunes bibliotek - ingen af delene noget der traekker taender ud mht regnekraft. Eller tager jeg fejl?

Modtog idag mit parity drev fra MM-Vision, de er blevet indekseret forkert paa EDBPriser, saa istedet for at modtage den WD20EADS jeg havde regnet med at faa, saa er det en WD20EARX der dukkede op

Endte med det ikke blev en saerligt god handel after all, overvejer at sende den retur...

Fra min build log:

Am really looking forward to receive everything and begin building!

Just checked with my three suppliers: The 2TB Hitachi data drive should arrive most likely already tomorrow, so should the MB / 80mm fans / card reader - but the 3TB parity Hitachi drive is not yet shipped and maybe it was not in stock after all and will not be shipped until monday next week
Send them a mail to hear what status is.

Before I close up for today and go to bed I better live up to a promise I made some time ago: Pictures!

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First package

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It's a Seasonic X400 fanless 400Watt power supply!

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Unboxing

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The beautiful box in all it's black and gold

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First look inside

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Fully modular

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Indeed my NAS will be Powered by Seasonic

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Second package, this time from Germany

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I have fans! ...and a few other tidbits

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My two SLC SD cards for OS, one 4GB and got the other 4GB upgraded to a 8GB with a preinstalled Linux distro for the same price (am not going to use this Linux, but it was the last card they had)

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Apparently they are made by Toshiba, worlds biggest MLC maker :p

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Next package came from Netherlands, and I tell you it is HUGE! ...and heavy

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Compared to a regular sized soda can (if you can call my wife's Vanilla Cola soda?)

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Inside the big box there was a slightly smaller box...

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...and some styrofoam

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And finally, a Norco RPC-430 old model!

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Big & mean and really looks like it means business!

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HUGE...! and they even call it short-depth...

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Nice details like flush push rubber buttons that clicks firmly when pressed + dual NIC LEDs to show network activity on the front

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I really like the front pattern... Have a plan about doing a little mod here, more about that later

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Inside there is a good deal of space, and a good deal of work to do before I am done...

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Have to remove the two default fans and switch them out to some much better and seriously low noise Noise Blockers

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Unscrew all the unused MB stand offs

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Will do a little mod on the drive cage, more about it later...

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By the way, this case is build like a tank! There is SO many screws......

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Let's end with a question: Is this how the HDD mounts should be fitted?
Will of course make more sense when I have a drive, but they should start arriving tomorrow so have to wait...

I am going to bed now, see ya all later

One last thing... The pictures are all taken with a phone, a thing made to call other people - so if you think the quality is a little sketchy thats why (if you as me think the quality is extremely good taken into consideration it's a phone camera, then thank you)

Haaber det er ok jeg bare copy paster
Er blevet lidt traet af at skrive de exact samme ting paa baade dansk og engelsk...

More parts is on it's way as I have decided I will mount parity disc and cache disc in the 5.25 room via a Raidon iS1010-2S-S2B. Just to be sure about noise levels I will swap out the 40x40 fan on the back with a NoiseBlocker BlackSilent XM2.

Funny fact is that there apparently is two different companies that mak pretty much the same stuff, but with little bit different features. Here is another similar brand with a similar product, but wich have JBOD support - I don't want that, I want them to be two separate drives so if this is the case I get then I hope the JBOD is optional.
The thing I like about their model is the name: InTank! Because mine will definitely be mounted in something very familiar to a tank....