Dell PowerEdge T330 - 4x1tb hdd wd Red / Red Pro / RE?

D1erri · Dec 2, 2016

I'm getting a Dell T330 with 2x200gb ssds for the OS with a H330 controller and trying to decide which hdds for the data. I only need 1tb of storage, but it seems like 4x1tb in RAID 10 (2tb storage) is the way to go.

I was thinking the WD Reds but now I'm questioning that. Our business is just starting off, just 2-3 users, probably not even concurrent with minimal read/write (just text - no images or videos). So my main concern is surviving the 24x7 environment.

If recommending the REs, could you provide the model number/link? WD1003FBYZ / WD1003FBYX / Other?

I definitely want to stick with new drives, no refurbs.

kanewolf · Dec 3, 2016

If you only need 1TB, then a RAID 1 with two disks and TWO separate volumes for backups would be my recommendation. The WD Red are 5400RPM disks, the Red Pro are 7200 RPM. The Red Pro will be faster access with the higher RPM. You could do two Red pro for the RAID 1 and two Red for the two backup volumes.

RAID is NOT a substitute for backups. Read these two articles for some more info
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-features/31745-data-recovery-tales-raid-is-not-backup
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-features/32168-data-recovery-tales-prepare-the-right-way-for-raid-failure

D1erri · Dec 3, 2016

kanewolf :

Thank you for your response kanewolf - I intend on still backing up nightly.

So you feel reds/pro are good enough and not to bother with REs?

I do really like the idea of having 2 hot spares.

On Amazon I'm seeing 1tb Reds for $65 and the smallest Red Pro is 2tb for $140. So it seems like these are my options:
A) Reds - 2x1tb in RAID 1 + 2 hot spares = 4 drives * $65 = $260 - then later add 2 more for RAID 10 when/if speed is an issue
B) Reds - 4x1tb in RAID 10 + 2 hot spares = 6 drives * $65 = $390
C) Red Pros - 2x2tb in RAID 1 + 2 hot spares = 4 drives * $140 = $560

Just curious, given the rpm speeds and RAID variance between options B and C, which do you think would be faster? And would it even be negligible? In addition, the users are remote in different states, so that might make it even less noticeable.

kanewolf · Dec 4, 2016

I don't think there is a significant difference between the Red Pro and the REs. You haven't identified which RAID controller you are configuring in the T330. That could change the choice of drives. You may need SAS vs SATA depending on the RAID controller chosen.

Choosing to purchase your drives from Dell when you purchase the server has the advantage of one-stop for problem resolution. If a disk fails you call Dell and they send you a new one, assuming you keep a service contract up with them.

D1erri · Dec 4, 2016

kanewolf :

It's a H330 RAID controller.

The price from Dell was just insane, ~$300 for a 7.2k RPM SATA hdd 1tb.

For now it's a small, part-time business. What's important to us is having a safe back-up. If the server was down for 3-4 days even twice a year it wouldn't put us under - if we lost the data, that's another story.

Once we begin to grow it (~2-4 years) and up-time becomes more critical I plan to invest much more heavily for that reliability.

kanewolf · Dec 4, 2016

I don't know if you got the battery backup for the H330 (of if it supports one). If not, I would make sure you have a GOOD UPS with automatic shutdown software installed and tested.

I recommend you TEST your rebuild and backup processes BEFORE you have any important data protected by the processes.

D1erri · Dec 4, 2016

kanewolf :

I don't believe the raid controller has a battery, but I did order the CyberPower CP1500AVR 1500VA 900W for our UPS, which has some great reviews. Only the one server and modem will be on it. I will have about a month with the server and new software before we begin using it, I am planning to testing the UPS and how it shuts down. I will definitely test the backups with dummy data before we go-live.

A little background, we are currently using software that is a cloud hosted web app and albeit it's very easy and stress-free, it's very expensive. We want to try a new software that is significantly cheaper but just as effective and is hosted on-prem. Starting off we will only have 2 small clients on it - if all goes well then in about 6 months-1yr we'll see about transferring over larger clients. Once we do this we can justify investing more into the server.

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Dell PowerEdge T330 - 4x1tb hdd wd Red / Red Pro / RE?

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