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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 2:07 am 
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Hi all,

A few years back I purchased a HP Mediasmart EX495. I have gradually expanded the drives to the point where I connected up an external set of drives via e-sata. As my media collection grows, I have now reached the point of 6 2TB drives being filled, and want to build a new server and migrate the data to the newly built server. So my questions are twofold, the first being I have some left over bits and pieces that I would like to base the build on, and two, how do I then migrate the data?

The hardware I have to make the build (does not have to be these things, if not powerful enough please advise):

Case: Antec NSK-1300
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: Unidentified am2 something (no marks on cpu so have no idea!)
CPU fan: Stock AMD fan
Power: Antec AR-350
RAM: Happy to buy some more, how much does a server build warrant?

Plan is to buy a ssd for the OS (size?), and 4 4TB drives to house the data (in the external case connected via e-sata).

Which OS to use?

Once built, what will be the simplest way to move the 12TB of data off the ex495 and on to the new build (keeping in mind the same external casing will be used for existing and new build)?

Appreciate any advice,

Sean


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:44 am 
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This is a hard question to answer.
assuming all your existing parts are compatible.

I guess the key is what is the cpu.

What os do you plan to use

is the esata box compatible with 4tb drives,
when you fill it up how to expand.
You did not say how many drive slots it has.

is 350watss enough for what is planned.

To transfer data you could use a external usb docking port and copy the data back to the new drives

Also you need a way to install the os , so if it is on a cd you will need a optical drive

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 4:23 pm 
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Hi tiger6969,

I do not see this planned build as something that will improve your situation over your current EX495 because it only supports 1 x 5.25 and 3 x 3.5 drives which means your still going to be expanding outside the box using external enclosures something I personally would try to avoid to reduce the risk of drive drop out issues.

It looks like your about to repurpose an older system which is fine but what I would look at is a larger enclosure to accommodate all your storage needs.

This is a WHSv1 thread but are you looking to install WHSv1 or another Server OS?

I would also recommend you review your current and future storage needs and again this comes down to a proper enclosure to house all those drives. Keep in mind that if the OS can support the larger then 2TB Drives you will not need as many if you going with 3 or 4 TB Drives but if your looking to use all the current drives you have and then add more then you really want a much larger enclosure to house all the drives and also to provide you with some future growth. Simply put the enclosure you have listed will not do that. Also the PSU would have to be looked at because when your looking at a large compliment of drives the PSU will need to be big enough to power everything otherwise you will be burning them out and if the PSU is of low quality it could take out your components when it fails.

As for the unknown CPU well you could simply power up the motherboard and look in the BIOS to see what CPU you have and then determine if that CPU is appropriate for your planned build. If your going to be doing a lot of media streaming then a Quad Core Processor is the way to go.

The RAM Question can not be answered until you post which OS your looking to install then someone could recommend how much RAM you should use but I think 4GB is more then enough unless your planning on running tasks which utilize a lot of RAM but if your just going to be doing file serving, backups and some media streaming then 4GB is plenty.

The last thing to look at is the motherboard you have listed which has like 5 SATA ports so if you need more drives then you will need to pick out a drive controller and you have an x16, x1 and a couple PCI ports. Using the x16 and x1 slot I can see you easily getting 12 more drives and the PCI slots well there are still controllers around you can use with those but I will leave that one alone for now.

I personally do like the Small Form Factor Builds and you can actually squeeze 10 drives in a small enclosure but you will need completely different components to do this. Going with something larger makes the build easier as the SFF builds can be a challenge to build because of the tight space but also good air flow is needed to keep everything cool so that too can be a challenge.

So give it some thought and look at your needs and that will determine what you will need to build and its best to build something that will support those needs for several years rather then having to reinvent the build over and over.

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tiger6969
PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:37 pm 
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Thanks for taking the time to write such an amazingly detailed response.

I have no idea which OS to use, I have read many conflicting reports about the various WHS versions, and even windows 8 server builds, so any advice greatly appreciated.

As to the build itself, am not fussed if I use none of the parts I have left over, budget not an issue, so if there is a particular enclosure that you think would work that holds 10 drives would love to hear about it! I have had a lot of drop out issues with the external enclosure...Sounds like 4gb ram will be good regardless of build, so I need to find a mb with 10 sata connectors?, a quad core cpu (yes, I do media streaming from the sever).

So if you could recommend the appropriate os, mb, cpu, psu and enclosure, I will buy and build and report back!

Based on the feedback, this would allow me to move the six 2tb drives from the existing server in to the new build, and add the 4 4tb drives, which would future proof me for many years.

Thanks,

Sean


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:00 am 
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Most of the components people use are typically of personal preference that will of course get the job done. Things worth looking at is where the server will be located because if its in your living room then noise will become a big factor yet you will need to balance the noise level with the ability to keep the server components cool. Some enclosures actually have foam lining to assist with noise reduction and one such enclosure I have coming in is a Fractal Design Define R4 which I found to be an interesting enclosure but sometimes that opinion changes once you put the enclosure to use. This enclosure supports a wide range of motherboards, 2 x 5.25" External Drives, 8 x 3.5" Drives, 1 x 3.5" External Drive and 2 x 2.5" Drives under the motherboard tray which would prove to be a PITA to change since you would have to remove the motherboard to get at them. It has filters, good cable management potential and plenty of spots for fans.

If you want a Small Form Factor build then the Lian Li PC-Q18B is very nice and can accommodate 1 x 5.25" Drive, 2 x 2.5" Drive mounted under a couple 3.5" Drives in the drive rack, 7 x 3.5" Drives although I believe only 4 or 5 are in the drive cage with a backplane which is very nice too.

As for the motherboard you do not need one that has 10 SATA Ports as most will have 4, 6 or 8 depending but depending on what your going to build you also need to know that not all motherboard SATA Ports support JBOD as they are for RAID. JBOD just means Just a Bunch of Drives and this is useful if you want to run a storage pool like your currently doing with WHSv1 in your server. If you want to go down the RAID route then you will need to figure out what type of RAID you want to go with. Anyway to get to the 10 Drives I previously mentioned you would need to install a drive controller on the motherboard. Again here you will need to figure out if you want JBOD, RAID or a controller that will support both. You will also want to review the motherboards chip set to see what the drive controller can support. Often this is over looked. Also pay close attention to exactly what processors the motherboard will support or better yet which processors are known to work well with a particular motherboard.

Some people prefer Intel over AMD and visa versa I have both Intel and AMD based servers and so I do not have a preference anymore as to which to go with as I had in the past with Intel. So if you have a preference for whatever reason it is then go with it.

I have multiple servers at my house some are just part of my collection but I do run Small and Large Servers and its not to brag because its sort of an insanity thing because these things can get addictive so lots of thought is needed on your part to figure out what you actually want to do with the server, where it will be located and it appears the 10 drive requirement is good enough as I believe it is for most home users but if your going to be storing movies on your server then you will need to calculate the storage space needed to store those movies and any future movies you will buy in the future.

One of the big deciding factors to look at when selecting your hardware is the OS you plan on running to make certain that you will be able to obtain drivers for the hardware your about to purchase. So choosing the OS is and important decision you need to make before running out and purchasing the various components you plan on using. Drivers are a PITA at times so whatever hardware you purchase you want to make certain it will work with the OS you chose to run on your server.

The other thing to do is take some time and read about the builds others have shared in the DIY Build Forum. You will learn a lot from some of those message threads where others share their experiences with the builds and some of the issues they had to over come. It may cause you to thing about things very differently but the more thought you put into your planned build the better your build will be. I am not saying you will not run into issues because they could occur.

I will help you anyway I can and I am certain others will too but my point here is simply to get you to start thinking about things to help you determine what will work best for you. Keep in mind what works well for me may not work well for you so there is no real perfect solution that will work for everyone and sometimes we all use the components that not only get the job done but are of personal preference. Sometimes we spend more then we need to other times we never spend enough and tried to take a cost cutting measure only to have to replace certain things which never quite got the job done in the first place.

Good Luck its always fun doing a build and best when it works right.

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Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8


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