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Barebone server: what else do I need to complete it?
40hz:
I try not to scream ... But I die inside, just a little, each time it happens.
-Stoic Joker (September 28, 2012, 04:00 PM)
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Oh, I do too! But then I take comfort in the sure knowledge that they will learn a valuable lesson and gain a great deal of understanding about why it's not good to disregard proven advice and best practices when running an internal data center. A lesson that gets further reinforced when they receive the bill for the services required to get them back up and finally running correctly.
It used to bother me a lot. But not quite so much any more. I'm learning (albeit slowly) to not waste excessive sympathy on people who can't be bothered to learn about things critical to their businesses. Or run them in a responsible manner.
Personal computer users and small Mom & Pop operations I can feel bad for. (And I almost always cut them some slack and give them a huge break when it comes to billing. At least the first few times it happens.) But I have zero sympathy for bigger SMBs that are making money and should know better. Especially when their top management is ten years younger than I am, and should therefor be somewhat knowledgeable about this technology. (I've often seen far more managerial attention paid to leasing a photocopier, or buying a turnkey phone system, than was ever given to setting up a mission critical internal data network.)
If I feel bad for anybody, it's the rank & file employees whose jobs might be on the line as the result of a company's system crashing too hard. And I have seen a business tank shortly after its "summer intern-built server" (kept in an overheated storage closet) went mobo up - taking their general ledger and AR system with it.
When it comes to IT, management gets what it asks for. Good thing for them they don't (too often) also get what they deserve. :-\
superboyac:
I do like the idea of going with towers. I initially wanted to do it this way, but where I ran into issues was finding a tower box that could hold more than 8 drives. So then the question is, if a tower is holding 10-15 drives, why would that be any less heat or noise than the aforementioned rack server? Whatever, I trust you guys on that.
I was also glad to see the backblaze guys using some addonics products. i could never tell if addonics made quality equipment or not, so that probably means they are good. Also, Addonics makes configurations where you can put 15 drives in a single tower if you use their customized 5-drive banks. I like that. I'll work on a setup and post it here, see if it makes sense.
40hz:
So then the question is, if a tower is holding 10-15 drives, why would that be any less heat or noise than the aforementioned rack server?
-superboyac (September 29, 2012, 04:09 PM)
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It can be as loud. But it doesn't have to be. You're not cramming as much into as small a space - and you can take noise into consideration. Something the rack case designers definitely do not. ;D
The other problem with rackmount is the form factor. Out of the rack, they're the size of a mutant pizza box -as this snapshot of a 1U server from one of "Levi the Computer Guy's" videos shows:
Barebone server: what else do I need to complete it?
They look pretty svelte in the rack. But out of it they're something like 17"x28." And once loaded, they're unwieldy and drop prone if you're not expecting the weight or really weird balance. I'm no wimp when it comes to lifting things. But the first time I pulled a 3U ProLiant server completely out of it's rack, I almost lost it. And that puppy only had 6 drives in it.
One thing that complicates your design spec is needing to have removable drive caddies because you anticipate so much swapping in and out. If you get away from that slightly, the Lian Li "A" series has been a popular go-to choice for multi-drive server configurations. These cases are specifically designed for this purpose so they've engineered for adequate cooling and airflow. The Lian Li PC-A70F and similar are good choices. That could give you 3 externally accessible slots for tray mounted drive bays along with seven internal bays for the more permanent drives.
Lian Li makes a nice case. But they're expensive.
Something you might want to consider since you're an engineer...maybe design your own and have a sheet metal shop fab it for you?
If you're not doing a data center, why bother cramming stuff into the smallest case possible? You're only going to have one of these, right? (Right? ;D)
I always though a case with staggered and spaced drives with large slow fans on top and bottom would provide vastly better cooling and less noise than traditional drive array cases. Possibly even metal grill (less heat build-up) if it didn't dissipate the airflow too much before it passed over all the drives...
Something like this very rough sketch:
I once joked I'd like to use one of those Dysan bladeless fans for it.
Hmm...not too much a joke now that I'm thinking about it.
:)
f0dder:
I once joked I'd like to use one of those Dysan bladeless fans for it. -40hz (September 30, 2012, 07:51 AM)
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Interesting idea - Dyson makes some pretty awesome stuff. The first time I saw one of those bladeless blowers, it was almost indistinguishable from magic :-)
PS, SuperBoy... check YouTube for stuff like "my home server room", and pay attention to the noise in those videos.
40hz:
check YouTube for stuff like "my home server room", and pay attention to the noise in those videos.
-f0dder (September 30, 2012, 10:23 AM)
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+1! There's one where some guy has this absolutely beautiful setup in what looks like his garage. According to the vid this is just the first stage of his planned installation. (He's a small private ISP.) You'd think you were sitting on an airport runway with the amount of wind noise in there.
:tellme:
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