On Sun, 17 Jun 2007, greenjelly wrote:
I am researching my option to build a Media NAS server. Sorry for the long
message, but I wanted to provide as much details as possible to my problem,
for the best solution. I have Bolded sections as to save people who don't
have the time to read all of this.
Option 1: Expand My current Dream Machine!
I could buying a RAID-5 Hardware card for my current system (vista ultimate
64 with a extreme 6800 and 1066mb 2 gig RAM). The Adaptec RAID controller
(model "3805", you can search NewEgg for the infomation) will cost me near
$500 (consume 23w) and support 8 drives (I have 6). This controller
contains a 800mhz processor with a large cache of memory. It will support
expandable RAID-5 array! I would also buy a 750w+ PSU (for the additional
safety and security). The drives in this machine would be placed in shock
absorbing (noise reduction) 3 slot 4 drive bay containers with fans ( I have
2 of these) and I will be removing a IDE based Pioneer DVD Burner (1 of 3)
because of its flaky performance given the p965 intel chip set lack of
native IDE support and thus the Motherboards Micron SATA to IDE device. Ive
already installed 4 drives in this machine (on the native MB SATA
controller) only to find a fan fail on me within days of the installation.
One of the drives went bad (may or may not have to do with the heat). There
are 5mm between these drives, and I would now replace both fans with higher
RPM ball baring fans for added reliability (more noise). I would also need
to find a Freeware SMART monitor software which at this time I can not find
for Vista, to warn me of increased temps due to failure of fan, increased
environmental heat, etc. The only option is commercial SMART monitoring
software (which may not work with the Adaptec RAID adapter.
Option 2: Build a server.
I have a copy of Windows 2003 server, which I have yet to find out if it
supports native software expandable RAID-5 arrays. I can also use Linux
(which I have very little experience with) but have always wanted to use and
learn.
To do either of the last two options, I would still need to buy a new power
supply for my current VISTA machine (for added reliability). The current
PSU is 550w and with a power hungry RADEON, 3 DVD Drives and a X-Fi sound
card... My nerves are getting frayed.
I would buy a cheap motherboard, processor and 1gig or less of RAM. Lastly
I would want a VERY large Case. I have a 7300 NVidia PCI card that was
replaced with a X1950GT on my Home Theater PC so that I may play back
HD/Blue Ray DVD's.
The server option may cost a bit more then the $500 for the Adaptec Raid
controller. This will only work if Linux or Windows 2003 supports my much
needed requirements. My Linux OS will be installed on a 40mb IDE Drive (not
part of the Array).
The options I seek are to be able to start with a 6 Drive array RAID-5
array, then as my demand for more space increases in the future I want to be
able to plug in more drives and incorporate them into the Array without the
need to backup the data. Basically I need the software to add the
drive/drives to the Array, then Rebuild the array incorporating the new
drives while preserving the data on the original array.
QUESTIONS
Since this is a media server, and would only be used to serve Movies and
Video to my two machines It wouldn't have to be powered up full time (My
Music consumes less space and will be contained on two seperate machines).
Is there a way to considerably lower the power consumption of this server
the 90% of time its not in use?
Can Linux support Drive Arrays of Significant Sizes (4-8 terabytes)?
Yes, some reports of over 40-60TB.
Can Linux Software support RAID-5 expandability, allowing me to increase the
number of disks in the array, without the need to backup the media, recreate
the array from scratch and then copy the backup to the machine (something I
will be unable to do)?
With a recent kernel, yes.
I know this is a Linux forum, but I figure many of you guys work with
Windows Server. If so does Windows 2003 provide the same support for the
requested requirements above?
I hear Windows 2003 SW raid is extremely slow.
$ /usr/bin/time dd if=/dev/zero of=file bs=1M
dd: writing `file': No space left on device
1070704+0 records in
1070703+0 records out
1122713473024 bytes (1.1 TB) copied, 2565.89 seconds, 438 MB/s
$ time dd if=100gb of=/dev/null bs=1M count=102400
102400+0 records in
102400+0 records out
107374182400 bytes (107 GB) copied, 172.588 seconds, 622 MB/s
Sure its cached, and I could use the direct flag, but I do not use my
disks with the cache turned off.
Most important thing is cooling IMO, make sure you get a good case.
^^ That is with 10 raptors and software raid5. I'd use a separate Linux
box with MD SW raid and have your dream machine separate. If you use XFS
make sure you buy yourself a UPS and then you'll have yourself a nice
stable box.
Justin.
Thanks
GreenJelly
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