# Hardware of choice for a Storage Server + few other tasks

## LordVan

Hi.

I am currently thinking about what hardware would be good to use for a (home) storage server.

My plan at the moment is to definitely use Raid1 (I doubt Raid5/6 is worth it but if you can convince me maybe  :Wink: ).

I need to start out with at least 2-3 TB but want to be able to still have space (and SATA plugs) to upgrade.

The next thing is that unfortunately - since I am also a bit of a gamer - I still need windows on my box to dual boot  :Sad: 

-> having a 2nd box with linux has more than one advantage since I don't have time to try to mess with Xen+VgaPassThrough at the moment (also my hdd is too full hehe)

So the idea is to have a linux box with a fast CPU, lots of RAM and disk spaceand some Graphics card useful enough for day to day graphics (gimp, some video cutting,.. - blender usability would be a plus but I don'T do too much with it so not a priority). Of course this means that also of high importance is that the whole thing is stable (so no FGLRX for sure - open source ati radeon drivers are working ok for me at the moment, but I heard that nvidia/intel work well too/better. -- on another note I found there are still some serverworks mainboards with Matrox cards  :Very Happy:  ) -- oh HDMI out would be good then I use it as "media center" for the tv too but it'll have to be quiet-ish for that

Also want to offload things like compiling and/or video encoding (which is what I want the fast CPU for)

anyway to make a list of things I want/need (in order of priority):

0) As many RAM slots and SATA plugs as possible on the mainboard for extensibility + fast CPU

1) Stable system (no crappy binary only drivers or half-supported hardware) 

2) As quiet as possible - I will be putting this in the living room for now (until new flat is done then we will see)

3) I should be able to afford it  :Very Happy: 

4) useful case -- if i can'T find one I build it myself so that is not the big issue I suppose

Anyway since I got an AMD Bulldozer CPU in my work pc at the moment I was considering getting one of them as the performance is quite good and they are cheap, but I'm not sure if maybe an Opteron would be better -- also willing to consider Intel CPUs (not the high price range though I guess) but I'm not too familiar with Intel's current cpus as I only got AMD CPUs at the moment.

The next question is that should I go for some sort of server mainboard which are good for what I want to do (mostly referring to the graphics chip at the moment but I guess even those should support enough opengl, accel for some graphics editing / video cutting)

This is just "first" - real - brainstorming .. any comments/suggestions/.. would be greatly appreciated

----------

## VinzC

If you want to consider network file sharing for your storage needs, that's what I'd do. There are pretty net and clean storage boxes like Netgear; they have multiple slots with disks that range to 2 TB maybe even more. You also have RAID 1/5. They can work as NFS and CIFS share boxes and are well known to be open source minded. (There is a development kit that is based on Debian, IIRC.)

Just my 2¢.

----------

## LordVan

 *VinzC wrote:*   

> If you want to consider network file sharing for your storage needs, that's what I'd do. There are pretty net and clean storage boxes like Netgear; they have multiple slots with disks that range to 2 TB maybe even more. You also have RAID 1/5. They can work as NFS and CIFS share boxes and are well known to be open source minded. (There is a development kit that is based on Debian, IIRC.)
> 
> Just my 2¢.

 

yes that is one option, but I'd like to also do things like run Xchat/vuze/ .. to download on the box and then I thought well if i do that I might as well make it powerful enough for some video cutting & encoding too  :Wink: 

----------

## cach0rr0

I honestly think youd be better off - and not even necessarily financially worse off - by not trying to roll too many functions into this single piece of hardware. 

You can get a sick little HTPC for ~$500 (or less)

You can build a damn nice storage box, running only NFS, hooked to Gbit switch, for $500 or less

You could go cheaper on both too, mind you. But if I were in your position - which i somewhat am, but i have other things i want to buy first - that is the route I would go. I think it will get very old and annoying having to take down your NFS server every time you want to reboot and play a game, for example.

...and then if you want to build out a new desktop, gradually? Have at it. But I tried doing what you're suggesting on my current "monster" desktop, and a few years later it's a bit of a schizophrenic mess, a box that just really doesnt know what it's supposed to be doing. SO this next time I'm doing my gear much more specialized. 

But then that's me, if you want a more multi-role box, about $1300 here in the US gets you an 8-core AMD, 32GB memory, 5x1TB Samsung drives, a nice-but-not-amazing nvidia card, mobo with 8 sata channels (6 of them are 6G/s SATA), and all of the other bits (PSU, case, etc). 

For me, i never have to boot to windows, so my desktop can stay running all the time without reboot, and so it is usable as the NFS server for my network. 

Then there is my TViX which streams videos via NFS. It does all of the nifty 1080p awesomeness, supports HDM1.3a, does matroska, does .iso, everything i could ask for. And its existence doesnt interfere with anything else  :Smile: 

Up to you, I am just thinking out loud.

----------

## LordVan

Well I wouldn't reboot as I do not plan  to put windows on that box at all - which is why I intend to keep the one I have now for games and 3d stuff

just thought maybe a fast pc as htpc , storage and for some desktop use would be a good idea maybe.

Of course what you suggest also has it's advantages (and I've been considering that too)

----------

## VinzC

As far as I've tried video encoding (if we're not talking about running a GUI, which is a bit different... although...) I can witness the speed of the disk doesn't matter for it's mainly a CPU-intensive lot of computations. (I'm referring to transcoding a video file into DIVX or whatever, which made my box process the output file @ almost the same rate as the one required to play the movie. The CPU is a Core2 Duo, much slower than the one you have but... well.) So as cach0rr0 and I suggested, you might be very well served with a network file system box.

----------

## cach0rr0

 *LordVan wrote:*   

> Well I wouldn't reboot as I do not plan  to put windows on that box at all - which is why I intend to keep the one I have now for games and 3d stuff

 

ahhhh...ok, makes sense. I'd read it as you intending to put Windows on the new box. 

if you're looking at new hardware that wont ever see windows, to be honest, the way *I* would do it at least, is grab a dedicated pre-built HTPC and keep the budget under $500, and build out something that's a dedicated server+storage for ~$800. Very doable. 

The reason I'm so keen on the dedicated pre-built HTPC is the form factor. If you try to get a case that looks nice below your TV, you either end up with one that's slightly oversized and loud, or one that's underpowered. The big issue with a pre-built HTPC is finding one that supports all of the formats you plan on using, as well one that supports network filesystems (that is, of course, why I bought a TViX, and cant speak highly enough of their M-6x00 models). If you do get the small chassis and build one of your own, that's not really a concern of course, but it may not be as "polished" as something pre-built on the UI side. 

Dunno. I mean ive seen some larger cases that looked quite nice, but the price of "quiet" parts seems to add up. And even then you dont get more than 2 or 3 disks in there. So you end up slapping on eSATA drives, and eventually your pretty home theater system is a bit of a mess  :Laughing: 

disclaimer again being that's *my* personal preference. I'd rather have a storage server in another room (as i do now), and run a string of cat-6 to the small form factor dedicated HTPC in my TV room.

EDIT: so instead of speaking in generic terms, if it were mine to plan, here's what I'd do

Living room under TV

http://www.tvix.co.kr/ENG/products/HDM6600.aspx

Run a line of cat-6 from that, to the gbit switch in my spare bedroom (aka my computer room)

Then build out a capable but not overpowered storage server with a simple quad-core AMD, tolerable but not amazing graphics card, 3x1TB Samsungs in RAID-5 (which i could add to later). Something like these components:

Something like this: http://ompldr.org/vZHF6NQ

That can be easily expanded. That will handle the new 8-core AMD chips whenever you have the cash. You can swap out the 2x4GB dimms for 4x8GB DIMMS later, you would have 4 free 6G SATA channels for more SATA drives. 

Buy a short strand of cat-6, hook it up to the same gbit switch as your HTPC, set up NFS, good to go  :Smile: 

----------

## VinzC

Well, I'm no longer certain I understand your needs but if you're looking for a small HTPC powerful enough, I can tell you about what I have. It's a Giada N20. It comes with a built-in 320GB hard drive but I'm using it only to boot OpenElec (a XBMC spin-off). Other than that I have a 1TB USB disk that I plug with all my media files, which I play from there.

----------

## cach0rr0

 *VinzC wrote:*   

> Well, I'm no longer certain I understand your needs but if you're looking for a small HTPC powerful enough, I can tell you about what I have. It's a Giada N20. It comes with a built-in 320GB hard drive but I'm using it only to boot OpenElec (a XBMC spin-off). Other than that I have a 1TB USB disk that I plug with all my media files, which I play from there.

 

these atom based nettops are very tempting. i have no idea what id use one for, if I had a SAN they'd make great little servers.

----------

## LordVan

 *VinzC wrote:*   

> Well, I'm no longer certain I understand your needs but if you're looking for a small HTPC powerful enough, I can tell you about what I have. It's a Giada N20. It comes with a built-in 320GB hard drive but I'm using it only to boot OpenElec (a XBMC spin-off). Other than that I have a 1TB USB disk that I plug with all my media files, which I play from there.

 

interesting device - though the problem is that i hate the apple-ish design  :Wink: 

----------

## VinzC

 *VinzC wrote:*   

> Well, I'm no longer certain I understand your needs but if you're looking for a small HTPC powerful enough, I can tell you about what I have. It's a Giada N20. It comes with a built-in 320GB hard drive but I'm using it only to boot OpenElec (a XBMC spin-off). Other than that I have a 1TB USB disk that I plug with all my media files, which I play from there.

 

 *LordVan wrote:*   

> interesting device - though the problem is that i hate the apple-ish design 

 

 :Very Happy: 

What about Taiwan-ish Apples?  :Wink: 

----------

## kimmie

Old laptops make good home servers. Built-in UPS, low power, quiet. Just add external storage, even USB-2 speeds will keep up with your network.

----------

