I'm building a new system to be my home media server (as well as web,
mail, etc.) I already have a terabyte of data so I'm aiming at about a
three terabyte capacity. My tentative plan is to use 8 of the new Hitachi
Deskstar 7K400 400 GB SATA drives in a RAID-5 configuration, and 2
additional drives in a RAID-1 configuration as the boot device and higher
priority data storage. I'd like to use debian unstable and kernel v2.6.
I've never built anything like this before though so I'm a bit nervous
I'll make unwise hardware choices. So I appeal to the locals for any
specific or general advice you may care to offer. Once it's running I'll
document my setup for fellow degenerate home multi-terabyte data amassers.
I did not find the web overflowing with instances of people building such
large linux RAID servers in non-business settings.
Important:
* top-notch linux support for { RAID card, gigabit ethernet chipset, ??? }
* components with proven linux functionality/reliability
* easy expandability
* no bottlenecks if I want to stream video to up to four locations
* doesn't demand rack-mount
Would be nice:
* open source drivers for all components if possible, or most if not
* all things being equal, the quieter and cooler-running version
Not particularly important:
* endless oodles of CPU (I'd think 2x3GHz would be megaplenty)
* hot swap
* uptime > 99.9%
* drive reliability (willing to keep spares handy and drop them
in as the occasion warrants)
* price (not cost-unconscious, but not spend-averse)
Other matters of interest:
* Would RAID-6 be overkill? I doubt I'll be backing up the big array,
ever. Losing it would suck a lot but not end my existence.
* Is EVMS mature enough to use if I'm bleeding edge averse in that
area? I'd never heard of it before reading this list.
* Software vs. Hardware RAID? I imagine this is a good place for
Hardware if I buy the right card, but maybe Software would require
less expertise and fiddling to get running in peak form.
* Would I be smarter to settle for kernel 2.4 at this time?
* I'm probably failing to consider the five most important factors...
Examples of the items I might land on if I had to buy this today without
wise feedback:
* Chassis: http://www.baber.com/cases/mpe_ft2_black.htm
* RAID: http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata9000.asp
* 10 Disks: http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/desk/7k400.html
* MoBo: ???
* CPU, RAM: TBD based on MoBo
Many many thanks for all replies.
--
Paul Phillips | All zork and no slay makes Jack a troll boy.
Analgesic |
Empiricist |
pull his pi pal! |----------* http://www.improving.org/paulp/ *----------
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