Don't read this post. Read below first where it is quoted.
I also posted this thread here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252655-32-storage-server-questions-raid-hardware#t1779771.
This is my first time posting on Tom's. I built my own gaming computer in July of 2008 for my birthday as a high schooler. I've done some smaller projects along the way, and I have been looking at computer parts for 2 years now (started to become thrilled just looking at video cards at TigerDirect) and Tom's since 1 1/2 years ago. I've been reading most of the front page articles for a couple months now and check Tom's everyday.
A friend of mine shoots a lot of video at 1080p and racks up 1 GB for every 1 minute of footage. In just a short hour, he has 60 GB of data. He wants something like 16 GB of storage. I tried to find the storage system he was going to buy; that's not important, but I know it was 16 TB of storage for $2500. I know I can do that for cheaper, so I want to build him a server.
My best stab at this is to buy a motherboard with 10 SATA connections. In it I want to put 10 1.5 TB hard drives for a (theoretical) total of 15 TB which is very close to his want of 16 TB.
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131326
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163
Hard Drives: I am going to use (8) 2 TB hard drives now.
Case: Antec 1200
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127436&cm_re=4350-_-14-127-436-_-Product
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019&cm_re=ocz_700w-_-17-341-019-_-Product
Disk Drive: I'll just a DVD drive and will connect it via IDE (not very important).
Reasons for the parts:
I don't think this computer needs a crazy processor though the above dual core should be sufficient; furthermore, a C2D (or better) is necessary for any motherboards with 8+ SATA connections.
2 GB of RAM is OK, right? What about 4 GB for an extra $30?
I think that 700w is OK for all the hard drives (I did check Newegg's wattage calculator which is probably a bit pessimistic, though for this system it was under 600w). They should be WD Green or the Samsung 5400 RPM.
The Antec 1200 will house 10 hard drives nicely, don't you think?
The motherboard, again, has 10 SATA connections, gigabit ethernet, and RAID support. My friend needs to access the video files when he edits them on his MacBook Pro. This also has gigabit ethernet which is important for connecting to the sever quickly. Backup is another important thing for all this video. I believe RAID 5 is best in this situation; it will take 15 TB and make 10 TB so that any one disk can fail. This motherboard should be able to take all 10 hard drives and make them into one disk with a RAID 5, right?
Now, that storage center I mentioned that had 16 TB of storage cost $2500. I've seen units which cost just that much with no hard drives included. Even if that's the case, I will be well under $2500 with this 15 TB setup (16 with an external, so add $100 or so).
Cost Analysis:
120 (processor)
180 (motherboard)
~1000 (10 1.5 TB hard drives - notice that deal for the Samsung 1.5 TB hard drive was $95, a deal I found on Slickdeals.net)
40 (2 GB of RAM - add $30 for 4 GB)
75 (700w OCZ power supply before rebate)
35 (4350 before rebate)
140 Antec 1200 (I can save $30 if I get the 1200 with the same Samsung I found a deal on)
$20 for extra SATA cables
100 (external 1 TB HD)
I am getting about $1710. Add $30 for shipping maybe. I don't plan on ordering the hard drives until I find Green 1.5 TB for $100 or less (I already saw one today on Slickdeals so this shouldn't be a problem).
Anyways, that is substantially less than $2500 of the aforementioned storage center... I don't even know if that includes hard drives. Thoughts?
Forgot to ask: Can/should I use Linux for this (to save money)? Should I connect the server with Gigabit ethernet to my friend's MacBook Pro through a Linksys router or the sort? Are 1.5 TB hard drives good for RAID? I found that the Seagates may not be the best but is this true of all 1.5 TB hard drives?
And I just read the sticky...
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Uh, as soon I get the go-ahead. Late October, early November 2009
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Server
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (e.g.: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS): I'm pretty sure it just needs to hook up to a MacBook.
PREFERRED WEBSITE: I live in the US. Newegg is good though I do check around.
PARTS PREFERENCES:above
OVERCLOCKING: Not important.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: I have a Samsung 23". My friend has 2 24" monitors I believe at 1920x1080. I think his will be like mine. I have two computers hooked up to my monitor, one via VGA and the other DVI (thus the 4350 I chose with both).
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: above
I also posted this thread here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252655-32-storage-server-questions-raid-hardware#t1779771.
This is my first time posting on Tom's. I built my own gaming computer in July of 2008 for my birthday as a high schooler. I've done some smaller projects along the way, and I have been looking at computer parts for 2 years now (started to become thrilled just looking at video cards at TigerDirect) and Tom's since 1 1/2 years ago. I've been reading most of the front page articles for a couple months now and check Tom's everyday.
A friend of mine shoots a lot of video at 1080p and racks up 1 GB for every 1 minute of footage. In just a short hour, he has 60 GB of data. He wants something like 16 GB of storage. I tried to find the storage system he was going to buy; that's not important, but I know it was 16 TB of storage for $2500. I know I can do that for cheaper, so I want to build him a server.
My best stab at this is to buy a motherboard with 10 SATA connections. In it I want to put 10 1.5 TB hard drives for a (theoretical) total of 15 TB which is very close to his want of 16 TB.
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131326
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163
Hard Drives: I am going to use (8) 2 TB hard drives now.
Case: Antec 1200
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127436&cm_re=4350-_-14-127-436-_-Product
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019&cm_re=ocz_700w-_-17-341-019-_-Product
Disk Drive: I'll just a DVD drive and will connect it via IDE (not very important).
Reasons for the parts:
I don't think this computer needs a crazy processor though the above dual core should be sufficient; furthermore, a C2D (or better) is necessary for any motherboards with 8+ SATA connections.
2 GB of RAM is OK, right? What about 4 GB for an extra $30?
I think that 700w is OK for all the hard drives (I did check Newegg's wattage calculator which is probably a bit pessimistic, though for this system it was under 600w). They should be WD Green or the Samsung 5400 RPM.
The Antec 1200 will house 10 hard drives nicely, don't you think?
The motherboard, again, has 10 SATA connections, gigabit ethernet, and RAID support. My friend needs to access the video files when he edits them on his MacBook Pro. This also has gigabit ethernet which is important for connecting to the sever quickly. Backup is another important thing for all this video. I believe RAID 5 is best in this situation; it will take 15 TB and make 10 TB so that any one disk can fail. This motherboard should be able to take all 10 hard drives and make them into one disk with a RAID 5, right?
Now, that storage center I mentioned that had 16 TB of storage cost $2500. I've seen units which cost just that much with no hard drives included. Even if that's the case, I will be well under $2500 with this 15 TB setup (16 with an external, so add $100 or so).
Cost Analysis:
120 (processor)
180 (motherboard)
~1000 (10 1.5 TB hard drives - notice that deal for the Samsung 1.5 TB hard drive was $95, a deal I found on Slickdeals.net)
40 (2 GB of RAM - add $30 for 4 GB)
75 (700w OCZ power supply before rebate)
35 (4350 before rebate)
140 Antec 1200 (I can save $30 if I get the 1200 with the same Samsung I found a deal on)
$20 for extra SATA cables
100 (external 1 TB HD)
I am getting about $1710. Add $30 for shipping maybe. I don't plan on ordering the hard drives until I find Green 1.5 TB for $100 or less (I already saw one today on Slickdeals so this shouldn't be a problem).
Anyways, that is substantially less than $2500 of the aforementioned storage center... I don't even know if that includes hard drives. Thoughts?
Forgot to ask: Can/should I use Linux for this (to save money)? Should I connect the server with Gigabit ethernet to my friend's MacBook Pro through a Linksys router or the sort? Are 1.5 TB hard drives good for RAID? I found that the Seagates may not be the best but is this true of all 1.5 TB hard drives?
And I just read the sticky...
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Uh, as soon I get the go-ahead. Late October, early November 2009
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Server
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (e.g.: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS): I'm pretty sure it just needs to hook up to a MacBook.
PREFERRED WEBSITE: I live in the US. Newegg is good though I do check around.
PARTS PREFERENCES:above
OVERCLOCKING: Not important.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: I have a Samsung 23". My friend has 2 24" monitors I believe at 1920x1080. I think his will be like mine. I have two computers hooked up to my monitor, one via VGA and the other DVI (thus the 4350 I chose with both).
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: above