SS wrote: > Timely discussion. I too am trying to build a stable yet inexpensive storage > server for my home lab mostly for playing in the VM world as well as general > data storage. I've considered several options ranging from the simple linux > based NAS appliances to older EMC SANs. I finally decided to build an > NFS/CIFS/iSCSI/(even FC target?) box going the opensolaris route with ZFS. > What I'm trying to decide on is the appropriate hardware to build the storage > server. I have: > > - A couple of Dell Pentium 4 boxes > - A couple of old Ultra SPARC (ultra80 and ultra 10) > - D1000 array (but alas with old 36G drives) > > Other options are that I build a whitebox or buy a new PowerEdge or Sun X2200 > etc use some kind of DAS such as Dell MD1000 (?) and use this box as the one > and the only system (i.e. storage for PCs and my VM host). Of course this > will be an expensive option. > > Any recommendations on a decent setup for my purposes as well as a good SATA > DAS? I haven't build a PC for at least 4 years so I'm not up to date on the > processors, mobos, controller cards etc. > > PS. Question for the gentleman who bought the external SATA disk array...how > are you planning to connect it to the server
Well, a couple of things: (1) we need to know more about your expected performance and use requirements before making a real recommendation (2) You want a 64-bit CPU. So that probably rules out your P4 machines, unless they were extremely late-model P4s with the EM64T features. Given that file-serving alone is relatively low-CPU, you can get away with practically any 64-bit capable CPU made in the last 4 years. (3) As much as I love them, the ultra80 & ultra10 are boat anchors now. Way too slow, way too power hungry, and not really useful. (4) High capacity on a budget means SATA drives. You can use small SCSI drives for certain performance-sensitive applications and not get creamed in the pocketbook (the D1000 is kinda interesting for this), but you need some form of SATA to get the big GB/$ benefits. (5) external cases/enclosures are expensive, but nice. The bang-for-buck is in the "workgroup server" case, which (besides being a PC case) generally holds 8-10 drives for about $300 or so. There's lots of not-quite-optimal-but-still-really-good solutions out there on the used/recycled market, so if you don't need something perfect (or a warranty), the price is really nice. If the solution you really want is an external disk enclosure hooked to some sort of a driver/head machine, check out used/off-lease IBM or HP opteron workstations, which tend to go for $500 or so, loaded. Sun v20z and IBM e326m 1U rackmount servers are in the same price range. -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-123 Phone: x17195 Santa Clara, CA Timezone: US/Pacific (GMT-0800) _______________________________________________ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
