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My Rackmount Server


Christopher (Drashna)

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To get this started apparently:

 

My server was kind of piecemeal constructed.

 

 

I recently purchased a 42U HP Rack from a local company (via Craigslist), for super cheap ($50, so literally couldn't pass it up)

 

Sophos UTM (Home): 

Case: Antec ISK 110 VESA case,

Mobo (SoC): ASRock RACK J1900D2Y

RAM: 4GB of non-ECC RAM

OS Drive: Samsung 850 Pro 120GB SSD 

 

 

Storage Server:

Case: SuperMicro 847E26-R1K28LPB

OS: Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials

CPU: AMD FX-8120  Intel Xeon E3 1245v3 (link)

MoBo: ASRock 990FX Extreme3  Supermicro MBD-X10SAT-O (link)

RAM: 2x8GB Crucial ECC

GFX: nVidia geForce 9400  Intel HD 4600 (on processor GFX)

PSU: Built in, 2x redundant power supplies (1280W 80+ Gold) 

OS Drive: Crucial MX200 256GB SSD

Storage Pool: 146TB:  4x 4TB (Seagate NAS ST4000VN000) + 8x 4TB (WD40EFRX) + 12x 8TB Seagate Archive (ST8000AS0002), 2x 8TB Seagate  Barracudas (ST8000DM004), 2x 128GB OCZ Vertex 4s

Misc Storage: 500GB, used for temp files (downloads)

HDD Controller card: IBM ServeRAID M1015, cross flashed to "IR Mode" (RAID options, used to pass through disks only), plus an Intel SAS Expander card 

USB: 2TB Seagate Backup Plus for Server Backup (system drive, and system files) using a WD Green EARS 

 

 

NVR (Network Video Record, aka IP camera box) via BlueIris:

Case: Norco ITX-S4 

OS: Windows 10

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130T

MoBo: ASRock Rack E3C226D2I 

RAM: 2x8GB G.Skill 

GFX: ASPEED 2300

PSU: 450W 1U 

OS Drive: 128GB SSD, Crucial M550

Storage Pool: 2x4TB Toshiba HDD

 

HyperV VM Lab:

Case: Supermicro SYS-6016T-NTF (1U case) 

OS: HyperV Server 2012R2

CPU: Intel Xeon 5560  (x2, hyperthreading disabled)

MoBo: Supermicro X8DTU 

RAM: 64GBs (8x8GB) Hynix Registered ECC (DDR3-1333)

GFX: ASPEED 2300

PSU: 560W 1U 

OS Drive: 160GB HDD 

Storage: 500GB Crucial MX200 SSD, using Data Deduplication for VMs

 

 

Emby Server: 

Case: Unknown (1U case) 

OS: Windows 10 Pro x64

CPU: Dual Intel Xeon x5660's (hardware fairy swung by)

MoBo: Supermicro X8DTi 

RAM: 20GB (5x4GB) Samsung Registered ECC

GFX: Matrox (Onboard)

PSU: 560W 1U 

OS Drive: 64GB SSD,

Storage: 128GB  (cache, metadata, transcoding temp) 

 

 

Netgear GS724T Smart Switch

24 port, Gigabit, Managed Switch (one port is burned out already, but it was used). 

 

 

Dell 17" keyboard and monitor tray (used, damaged, propped up). 

 

Images here: http://imgur.com/a/WRhZf

 

 

8zIjiOu.jpg

Here is my network hardware.  Not a great image, but that's the 24 port, managed switch, a punchout block, waaay too long cables, cable modem and Sophos UTM box.

 

D2ipgDU.jpg

Misc drawers and unused spares. 

 

uCBdIWA.jpg

 

And my servers. HyperV system in the 1U, and my storage server in the 4U. And the Cyberpower UPS at the bottom. 

 

What you don't see is the NVR box, as it's been having issues, and I've been troubleshooting those issues. 

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drashna,

I had a jail broken AppleTV 2 and had a horrible experience with it. Lots of crashes with it and XBMC. I've gotten to a point that I want my devices to work and not have to work constantly to use them. My configuration works flawlessly with iHomeServer, which is key to running a large iTunes installation. I will admit that there was a initial learning curve but once you move past it there is very little up keep needed.

 

Having all my media consolidated under iTunes is nice. I have all the iPads and iPhones doing nightly backups and a easy point to sync any movies, tv shows or music on them. Additionally it's a central location for having CrashPlan to backup my media.

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Stability is definitely an important thing. No good if you have to fight with it every five minutes. 

Though, I'm using XBMC on Windows, using AMD APU systems.

That, .... and I avoid all things Apple when I can. I'm not a fan would be an understatement. But it looks like you have a solution that works very well and that you like. And there is a lot to be said about that. :)

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Since you asked, I'll add to the thread even though it is not a rack mount system. 

 

Case - Rosewill Blackbone - http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Steel-Plastic-Computer-Blackbone/dp/B004A9XB6W

PSU - Seasonic 80+ Platinum 460w, fanless (I wanted as low power use as I could get)

CPU - AMD Athlon II X4 610e, 45w TPD  Had to upgrade last week, now is a Phenom II X6 1090T, more on that at the end of post.

Cooler - I don't remember, I built this thing several years ago. It's huge and the giant fan is quiet.

Memory - 8GB (I don't really care about brands, it's Corsair though I think)

OS - WHS 2011

NICs - using an Intel Pro gigabit for the network, onboard Realtek gigabit for video cameras

Drives:

1x Hitachi 500GB boot drive

1x WDS WD5000AAKS - boot backup drive, and yes it's PATA

2x Samsung ST32000542AS 2GB

1x WD WD30EZRX 3GB (Yes, that's a green drive, and it's been solid as a rock)

1X ST3000DM001 3GB (yes it's been replaced once)

 

No, it's nothing special, but it works for what I'm running on it.

MediaBrowser Server 3

BlueIris 4 controlling 8 3MP cameras

Plex

Subsonic Server

SabNZB

SickRage

CouchPotato

 

And of course, DrivePool and Stablebit Scanner.

 

BlueIris is quite the processor hog, even with everything optimized to be as efficient as possible. I was having some CPU overload issues when SabNZB went to unpack files, so I upgraded the processor.

 

My plan in the near future is to build a second server, run ESXi, and start working with some of the open source data center tools. I have a long IT background, but moved into IT security audit about 3.5 years ago. My home stuff is the only thing that keeps me hands-on current. This server will get the 610e back, remain my disk space server, and will most likely keep BlueIris until I add so many cameras that it can't keep up. 

 

New server is going to be an i7 4790 based system on an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 board. Gobs of memory, ESXi, and solid state drive.

 

I won't go into all the network gear, but it is all enterprise stuff - lots of APs (long 1954 ranch style house dictates it), Juniper gear throughout, etc. Cameras and some of the APs are PoE, you get the idea.

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have you considered a Xeon for a server im building mine with a Xeon 1246 V3 for 273.99 for the cpu and a gigabyte micro mobo for Ga-z97-Mx gaming 5 mobo with 3 pci 16 slots u can get that board and xeon chip for roughly 400..



also consider the fractal design Node 804 if you are willing to go micro atx .... this case can easily support 10 3.5 inch hdd 2 2.5 inch HDD and a slot load dvd drive. I own it and love it.



im running my home server with 3 1TB drives for now... and looking at some 6 TB drives also using win 8.1 pro as my os for now with drivepool ....this machine rocks with my phenom and when I get my xeon next month there will be no stopping it...

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BlueIris is quite the processor hog, even with everything optimized to be as efficient as possible. I was having some CPU overload issues when SabNZB went to unpack files, so I upgraded the processor.

 

 

 

New server is going to be an i7 4790 based system on an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 board. Gobs of memory, ESXi, and solid state drive.

 

I won't go into all the network gear, but it is all enterprise stuff - lots of APs (long 1954 ranch style house dictates it), Juniper gear throughout, etc. Cameras and some of the APs are PoE, you get the idea.

Yeah, BlueIris is a CPU hog. Even without using HD cameras.

I've found that it's better to run it on a dedicate system (or even in a VM...) to help curb it's CPU usage.

 

As for the hardware, a Xeon and a server board (SuperMicro or ASRock RACK) may be a better buy. But that's personal preference. 

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Yeah, that's why I am considering a second server with VMs. 

 

I've read a lot about the SuperMicro boards and machines. I used to use a lot of SuperMicro machines back when I was still in operations (I moved to Information Security, then to IS Audit a few years back) but haven't really considered them for home use. I know a bunch of the HTPC server backend guys use them.

 

There are some fairly cheap rigs out there that would be great for BlueIris, I am just reluctant to throw such a good PC into service just for BlueIris. Yes, I can build one cheap enough but there are some pretty fantastic pre-built systems out there for around $500.

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I'm using an A8, I think and haven't been maxing the CPU at all. And the same with my Xeon (stats why is very similar to the i7-4770).

 

However, I'm using the "Direct to disk" method and not converting the files (you can do that later).

So it really depends on the number of cameras you're using, the quality and if you're transcoding the files).

 

But yes, best bet is to overshoot on hardware, that way you have room to grow, if needed.

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attachicon.gifimage.jpgHere is my configuration along with a custom built rack.

 

Server

iStarUSA D-412S3-MATX 4U Rackmount microATX Server Chassis

Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core

Intel Media DQ77MK Desktop MB, Intel Q77 Express Chipset, w/TPM

Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Intel 80GB 330 Series Maple Crest SSD

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D, 380W

Noctua Ultra Silent CPU Cooler Cooling NH-U9B SE2

3x Noctua NF-R8 PWM 80mm Case Fan

LSI 9200-8e SASController Card, 2 x SFF-8088 mini-SAS External Connectors, JBOD only

Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2

Stablebit DrivePool v2.1.1.561

Stablebit Scanner v2.5.1.3062

IHomeServer v3.1.73.0 (iTunes 12.0.1.26) feeding 3x AppleTV 3

Crashplan

 

 

Array

NORCO DS-24E 24-3.5" JBOD Enclosure

 

Pooled Drives - 39.1TB

1x 4.0TB WD Red

7x 3.0TB WD Red

5x 2.0TB WD Green

1x 2.5TB WD Green

3x 1.5TB Seagate

1x 1TB WD Green

Non-Pooled drive

1x 1TB WD Green - OS Backup drive

 

UTM

ARK IPC-1.5U1525 Black 1U Rackmount Server Case

Intel S1200KP Mini ITX Server Motherboard LGA 1155 Intel C206 BIOS

Intel Core i3-2120T Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz, 35W Dual-Core

Stock Intel cooler

Noctua 60x25mm A-Series Blades with AAO Frame, SSO2 Bearing Premium Fan

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Intel 60GB 330 Series Maple Crest SSD

100gb 2.5 HD

Intel Dual Port Pro 1000 PCIe NIC

picoPSU-160-XT, 160w output, 12v input DC-DC Power Supply

Ubiquiti Networks Unifi UAP-Pro Enterprise Dual Band AP

Untangle v10

 

Dell PowerConnect 2824 24port GB managed switch

Dell PowerConnect 2724 24port GB managed switch

 

VMware ESXi 5.5 Home Lab server

ARK 1U125 Black 1U Rackmount server case

Supermicro A1SAi-2750 mini ITX MB

Supermicro PWS-203-1h 200W 80 Plus Gold

Intel Atom C2750 2.4GHz Avoton 8 core CPU

32gb Kingston DDR3 1600 ECC memory

LeefSupra 16gb USB 3.0 flash drive

1x 480gb Intel S3500 SSD

2x 240gb Seagate 600 Pro SSD (200gb 

1x 128gb Samsung 810 SSD (cache)

1x 64gb Intel 330 SSD

 

APC Smart UPS SMT1500RM2U 1000W 2U rackmount

 

*Updated with new hardware/software additions

 

Ctopher

What rack is that? Been looking for a nice short 4 post rack for my gear

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I built this system a couple weeks ago to replace a HP MediaSmart EX485 with 12 TB storage.  This is used to provide full client PC backups for 5 PCs, network storage for user files that need to sync across our desktop and notebook PCs, bulk file storage and media streaming (temporarily Mezzmo for DLNA but am migrating over to Plex Media Server).  The biggest issue I've had so far was intermittent drive errors getting logged in Windows' Event Log.  I finally got it resolved yesterday by disabling IntelliPark on the Red's using wdidle3.

 

Fractal Design Node 304

Silverstone Strider Gold 550W + short cable kit

ASRock E3C226D2I

Intel Xeon E3-1265L V3

Corsair H90i AIO

2x 8GB Crucial DDR3-1600 ECC

Plextor M6e 256GB PCI-E SSD (OS and programs)

6x 6 TB WD Reds (for storage pool)

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials

Stablebit Drivepool + Scanner to combine the 6x Reds into a single drive pool with selective folder duplication.

 

g72Rfwal.jpg

O1hX32gl.jpg

FLngtJQl.jpg

QsaQ9vDh.png

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I have had my setup for a while, but it works really well:

 

Chassis: Norco 4220

Power Supply: Corsair 750W

Motherboard: Asus KCMA-D8

Processor: AMD Opteron 4180 x2

Memory: Kingston DDR3 1333 8GB Kit x4

Add-On: PIKE 2008

Add-On: iKVM

Add-On: LSI 4 port mini-SAS

Operating System: ESXi 5.1

OS Drive: 60GB OCZ Agility 2

VM Drives: 240GB OCZ Agility 3 x3 (RAID 0)

VM Backup Drive: Samsung 1TB in a dual USB dock

DrivePool VM: WHS2011

DrivePool Drives: Seagate 3TB x14 (RDM to WHS2011 VM)

DrivePool Drives: Hitachi 2TB x6 (RDM to WHS2011 VM)

 

Other Services on VMs: Web, TeamSpeak server and music, MySQL (For XBMC and Web), DNS, DHCP, TACACS+/RADIUS, Fault Management, MRTG, Unified Communications

 

I updated my setup about 6 months ago and thought I would share as it works better than ever:

 

Chassis: Norco 4220

Power Supply: LEPA 1600W

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X9DR7-LN4F-O

Processor: Intel Xeon E5-2660 x2

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB x4

Add-On: HighPoint RocketRAID 2760A

Operating System: Hyper-V Server 2012 R2

OS Drive: 480 GB Mushkin SSD

VM Drives: 240GB OCZ Agility 3 x3 (RAID 0)

VM Backup Drive: Samsung 1TB in a dual eSATA dock

DrivePool VM: Windows Server 2012 Essentials

DrivePool Drives: Toshiba 3TB x9 (Pass-Throughto WS2012E VM)​​

DrivePool Drives: Seagate 3TB x8 (Pass-Through to WS2012E VM)

DrivePool Drives: HGST 6TB x3 (Pass-Through to WS2012E VM)

 

Other Services on VMs: Web, TeamSpeak server and music, MySQL (For Kodi and Web), DNS, DHCP, RADIUS, IM, E-Mail/Webmail, Video/Music conversion for mobile​

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I built this system a couple weeks ago to replace a HP MediaSmart EX485 with 12 TB storage.  This is used to provide full client PC backups for 5 PCs, network storage for user files that need to sync across our desktop and notebook PCs, bulk file storage and media streaming (temporarily Mezzmo for DLNA but am migrating over to Plex Media Server).  The biggest issue I've had so far was intermittent drive errors getting logged in Windows' Event Log.  I finally got it resolved yesterday by disabling IntelliPark on the Red's using wdidle3.
 
Fractal Design Node 304
Silverstone Strider Gold 550W + short cable kit
ASRock E3C226D2I
Intel Xeon E3-1265L V3
Corsair H90i AIO
2x 8GB Crucial DDR3-1600 ECC
Plextor M6e 256GB PCI-E SSD (OS and programs)
6x 6 TB WD Reds (for storage pool)
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
Stablebit Drivepool + Scanner to combine the 6x Reds into a single drive pool with selective folder duplication.
 

Very nice!

Looks great!

 

I updated my setup about 6 months ago and thought I would share as it works better than ever:

 

Chassis: Norco 4220

Power Supply: LEPA 1600W

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X9DR7-LN4F-O

Processor: Intel Xeon E5-2660 x2

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB x4

Add-On: HighPoint RocketRAID 2760A

Operating System: Hyper-V Server 2012 R2

OS Drive: 480 GB Mushkin SSD

VM Drives: 240GB OCZ Agility 3 x3 (RAID 0)

VM Backup Drive: Samsung 1TB in a dual eSATA dock

DrivePool VM: Windows Server 2012 Essentials

DrivePool Drives: Toshiba 3TB x9 (Pass-Throughto WS2012E VM)​​

DrivePool Drives: Seagate 3TB x8 (Pass-Through to WS2012E VM)

DrivePool Drives: HGST 6TB x3 (Pass-Through to WS2012E VM)

 

Other Services on VMs: Web, TeamSpeak server and music, MySQL (For Kodi and Web), DNS, DHCP, RADIUS, IM, E-Mail/Webmail, Video/Music conversion for mobile​

And very nice upgrade. I'm sure the dual CPUs are serving you well in that setup!

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I built this system a couple weeks ago to replace a HP MediaSmart EX485 with 12 TB storage.  This is used to provide full client PC backups for 5 PCs, network storage for user files that need to sync across our desktop and notebook PCs, bulk file storage and media streaming (temporarily Mezzmo for DLNA but am migrating over to Plex Media Server).  The biggest issue I've had so far was intermittent drive errors getting logged in Windows' Event Log.  I finally got it resolved yesterday by disabling IntelliPark on the Red's using wdidle3.
 
Fractal Design Node 304
Silverstone Strider Gold 550W + short cable kit
ASRock E3C226D2I
Intel Xeon E3-1265L V3
Corsair H90i AIO
2x 8GB Crucial DDR3-1600 ECC
Plextor M6e 256GB PCI-E SSD (OS and programs)
6x 6 TB WD Reds (for storage pool)
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
Stablebit Drivepool + Scanner to combine the 6x Reds into a single drive pool with selective folder duplication.
 
g72Rfwal.jpg
O1hX32gl.jpg
FLngtJQl.jpg
QsaQ9vDh.png

 

 

 

Nice compact build. I am also trying to keep a small box, I would post some pictures later.

 

One question : what kind of disk events were logs? Because on my build I get 1 disk event 153 each time I reboot. I wonder if it is hardware relate or maybe Windows side or DriverPool side.

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Nice compact build. I am also trying to keep a small box, I would post some pictures later.

 

One question : what kind of disk events were logs? Because on my build I get 1 disk event 153 each time I reboot. I wonder if it is hardware relate or maybe Windows side or DriverPool side.

Please do!  :)

 

The 153 event is a "retried" error.  This may be harmless (it's rather normal, actually), and if you're only seeing it during boot, it may just be a timing issue with the drive controller.

 

Check the disk number it mentions with Disk Management (run "diskmgmt.msc") and check which drive it is.  

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I will check again, but from what I can remember the disk was DrivePool disk, not a physical one

 

EDIT : checked again and yes it is DrivePool disk.

The error started after I did made a lot of firmware/bios/driver change for my IBM M1115, a lot of reboot, and now the error won't go away and appear each time the server is shut down or restarted. But no other issues so far.

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I will check again, but from what I can remember the disk was DrivePool disk, not a physical one

 

EDIT : checked again and yes it is DrivePool disk.

The error started after I did made a lot of firmware/bios/driver change for my IBM M1115, a lot of reboot, and now the error won't go away and appear each time the server is shut down or restarted. But no other issues so far.

 

If that's the case, it may be "non critical" and may be an issue with how the controller is being handled.

Worst case, enable boot logging and reboot the system.

http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Boot_Time_Log_Collection

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logs uploaded but I don't know if there is any info in the logs since the event 153 is recorded at shutdown, not when booting.

Ah, okay. If that's the case you want to do this then:

http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Log_Collection 

Just enable the logging and reboot (it's disabled after a reboot by default)

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