Server Build

[ice_kill1]

Hi. I got a gift of 12 1TB enterprise SATA II Drives and I want to use all of them on a server for my home. I am going to use windows home server for it and I have a computer that I am not afraid to take parts out of if need be. I can build a new one from scratch also if that is required. I was just wondering what case, motherboard, processor, memory and other essentials will be the best for this build. I plan on spending a max of $2000. Any help on this is appreciated.

 

[WR2]

Help us out and use our *How To Ask For New Build Advice* format.
Helps to know what you're going to use that 12TB of storage for - it's not sounding like a typical gaming build, don'tcha know?
Go ahead and list your salvage parts and we'll see if we can fit them into your next build.

 

[ice_kill1]

Help us out and use our *How To Ask For New Build Advice* format.
Helps to know what you're going to use that 12TB of storage for - it's not sounding like a typical gaming build, don'tcha know?
Go ahead and list your salvage parts and we'll see if we can fit them into your next build.

Sorry about that. I just joined the site today because I was told you guys have a lot of good advice and are very helpful. This is what I have

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: March 2011
BUDGET RANGE: (up to $2000) Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Server for Applications, Movies, Pictures, Files, Music, TV shows (right now approximately 5 Gb of space)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (hard drives)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (newegg.com, tigerdirect.com)
PARTS PREFERENCES: by brand or type (Intel preferred)

OVERCLOCKING: No
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: (Monitor will be used for setup only and then web interface to access)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I have a computer that I will be willing use parts from for this build. Here are the specs.

1 x COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
1 x EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
1 x Antec TPQ-850 850W Continuous Power ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
1 x Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601920
1 x G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ
1 x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive 1 x EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Thanks for the help in advance

 

[WR2]

Not a problem. You can see that form covers most of the things that help us help you better. Glad I asked you to fill it out 'cause I probably would have headed off in a different direction.

How many users will be sharing the application server? How important is energy efficiency to you?
If the services required were just file serving media you actually get by with just a nice dual core CPU.
And with the parts you're willing to donate to the server $2000 is a lot more than needed.

-> I'm thinking you might be hoping to cannibalize that i7-920 system to have an excuse to get a new Gulftown system in March?

You could actually just replace the HAF 932 case and be in good shape. New Antec DarkFleet-85 Case 9 Internal 3.5" Drive Bays

Since we are talking eight months out it's really too early to into too much detail.

 

[ice_kill1]

Energy efficiency is not really an issue and I will have 4 people sharing the resources of the server. I really want to have my desktop and the server, but I wouldnt mind upgrading the desktop in the process. I am in Afghanistan right now and I am kind of out of touch with the new technology coming out. I wouldnt mind upgrading my desktop with a motherboard, ssd and a new CPU. I have never built a server and just dont know what kind of motherboard i am going to need for all the drives. If you give me an idea on what you would build, then i will know what direction to look. Thanks for the help you have given already.

 

[WR2]

If you were going to buy a prebuilt server (always an option) for up to 10 people you could go with something like this:
ML150 G6 Server $840 It has just a single 250GB HDD and only 4HDD total capacity. You can get an optional 4HDD drive cage as an option.
To get a server that can up to 16 HDDs HP has ProLiant ML350 G6 Special Tower Server $1310

 

[ice_kill1]

WR2,
You have been most helpful with this so far. I hope you don't mind if i run some questions through by you. I think i have found the case i want, the XCLIO 2000 Black. It has the capacity for all the hard drives that i need. I have never built a server so I dont know how i am going to get all the drives since motherboards dont have that number of SATA connectors. What would you advise as the mobo? I think I will be able to figure out all the other stuff if I get help on what I have to do for the SATA connectors and the mobo. I am going to use windows home server and I know that it will have some effect on what I am trying to do. Sorry for taking up your time with this.

 

[WR2]

Nice find on the XCLIO 2000 case. It is HUGE though.
I had been looking at other options like a NAS or external enclosure to move 4 drives outside a standard full tower case.

Not even server motherboards have 12 (13 counting an optical drive) SATA ports.
You can get expansion cards with extra SATA ports. Example: Vantec UGT-ST310R PCI Host Card - 6 Port, 4 Internal SATA, 2 External eSATA expansion card
What I don't know and can't find out from the Vantec website is if there is any performance penalty for the 4 SATA HDDs attached via the PCI slot.

For a motherboard the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 1366 X58 MB has 8 SATA 3.0 and 2 SATA 6.0 ports. Thats an optical drive and 9x HDDs.

Im sure we could also squeeze 3 more HDDs into your HAF 932 tower as well. WHS won't care where the server HDDs are on the network. A networked HDD is just about the same thing as a local HDD to a server. (mostly the reason why server MBs don't have huge numbers of HDDs. The HDDs are located elsewhere on the network.)

 

[ice_kill1]

Thanks for the assistance. I think I am going to wait processor wise and take you advise on the mobo. I am going to use the mobo out of my computer now and just add 2 of those cards to make sure I have enough SATA ports. I am not going to do the optical drive, I will just install the server using a USB key. Thanks once again for all the help!!!!

 

[WR2]

The interface on that Sata port expansion card is just SATA I 1.5GB/s not SATA II 3.0GB/s.
I don't think this is a problem in the over all scheme of your build.
I'd order just one of those cards starting out and do some testing. Free Trial of HDTune

Rosewill RC-222 PCI SATA Controller Card SATA I. 4 Ports no-eSata external connector.

SATA II 4 port adapter cards:
PROMISE SATA300 TX4 PCI SATA II 4-Port Adapter
Rosewill RC-218 PCI Express x4 (x8 /x16 slot compatible) SATA II 3G Controller Card

 

[ice_kill1]

Best answer selected by ice_kill1.

 

[mastermesmer]

Hey WR2,

I am building a server myself and could use some advise on what to purchase in the way of parts so I actually build what I need.
I have needs here that are specific foremost, and everything else is just a bonus after that.

I need to run an application that I have designed an coded myself.
The server is going to be connected to the internet of course but it is going to be filtering incoming data in real time. This data (packets) will be cross referenced against a database (which I hope can be part of this system, not a separate server) in real time and then, "if" there is a match, the application moves forward with that data, "else" if not, it passes the data downstream to another server as unrecognized.
This system also needs to run an SMS application to send a generated message as my application will need to access and use SMS to terminate with success. Each incoming packet of data will execute the application program so in reality the application program could be running 100's, if not 1,000's of times simultaneously at varying points of progress. It all has to be done as fast as possible and delays in the process are unacceptable. Just smooth and quick is all I need....

I just feel it in my bones that I am going to have to configure a server that has something special/specific in the way of hardware, software, or both to pull this off.

Any advise is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

~Mesmer
mastermesmer@yahoo.com