Buying soon, does this spec look good?

[Doctor McNinja]

I'll be purchasing the parts soon but I'm still kind of new to the world of home servers. So I was hoping you guys and girls would give the following spec the once over and answer a few questions. I've split the spec into two parts as I'll be buying the second group of parts a month or two (at the most) after the first group. This is partly due to being busy at the mo' and partly to give me time to do some spring cleaning of my data. Oh, and things marked with an * have already been purchased

*Case - Fractal Design Define XL R2
CPU - Intel Xeon E3 1220-V3
Mobo - Supermicro X10SL7-F
RAM - 2x8GB... haven't decided on the exact make or model yet.
*SSD - 120GB OCZ Vertex 2E
*HDD's - 2x2TB WD Red's, 1x2TB WD Green and 1x3TB WD Red and Green... only the Reds will be used in RAID
PSU - I'll either reuse my trusty Corsair AX650 or more likely get a SeaSonic 660XP2

At a later date, I will buy...

HDD's - at least 3x3TB WD Red's for RAID 6.
Accessories - and additional HDD cage and possibly better fans for the XL R2
Other - A UPS if I have the money.

• So, how does the spec look?
• Is it a good idea to space out the purchases of the additional HDD's to get stock from different batches?
• I know that RAID isn't intend as a backup solution. What's the best way to backup my data locally? It'll be backed up online but that's just the belt, I want (localised) braces to... I draw the line at suspenders though.
• I'm pretty sure I know the answer but it was difficult to verify so... Do I need to worry about the number of ranks the RAM has? Is it preferable to have more or less ranks? I know this can be an issue for much higher end servers.
• I'm currently leaning toward ZFS, why should I change my mind?

 

[Frozennova]

Spec looks fine, are you virtualising or going bare metal os wise?

Localise backup best bet would be to an external kept somewhere safe, depending on amounts of data something like Dropbox.

Number of sticks of ram makes no difference.

Either get 3 2tb red or 3 3tb not a mix as you will be limited to the capacity of the smallest drive in a raidz1 array. You won't be able to move to raid6 (raidz2) with ZFS but you can add another raidz1 vdev to your existing pool. Not quite as resilient as raidz2 but still better than 6 drives in raid5

 

[Doctor McNinja]

Spec looks fine, are you virtualising or going bare metal os wise?

Localise backup best bet would be to an external kept somewhere safe, depending on amounts of data something like Dropbox.

Number of sticks of ram makes no difference.

Either get 3 2tb red or 3 3tb not a mix as you will be limited to the capacity of the smallest drive in a raidz1 array. You won't be able to move to raid6 (raidz2) with ZFS but you can add another raidz1 vdev to your existing pool. Not quite as resilient as raidz2 but still better than 6 drives in raid5

I'm not 100% certain whether I'm going bare metal or virtual at the moment. I'm heavily leaning toward bare metal though. I must say though, that this is all very new to me and I'm in a little over my head so any advice, no matter how basic, is much appreciated.

Everything will be backed up online using Crashplan. Dropbox just doesn't have enough space and the price is much higher than Crashplan. Crashplan isn't perfectly reliable though, so I will be keeping a local backup of my truly irreplaceable data. I am considering some kind of protected storage unit for external HDD's... maybe one of those insulated, water proof cases they keep broadcast cameras in. It would be kept either by the front door or in my shed. Should the worst, I'd just be able to pick it up and get out of the house.

I am also leaning toward ZFS. It'd have to be at least a RAID 6 setup for the added amount of redundancy (I'm not sure if that's the right word) it has over RAID 5. As for the drives, it doesn't make sense in my mind to go with 2TB drives when the added expense of 3TB drives isn't too big. Is there a good reason why I should go with 2TB drives?

One more question. Supermicro's hardware compatibility list for RAM (which I'm having trouble viewing) only has a very small selection of RAM sticks on it. Until recently, the list included RAM made by Kingston but it has since been removed do to issues when all four slots on the X10SL7-F were fully populated with the maximum 32GB. The RAM still listed on the H.C.L. is very pricey when compared to near identical RAM from the same manufacturers. With that in mind, how wary should I be of purchasing RAM that isn't on the H.C.L.? Is it a bad idea to the point that even a 40% premium for the listed RAM is worth it?

 

[Frozennova]

Nothing wrong with opting for 3tb over 2tb but you will need to match the drives size across every drive with ZFS. Because you are set on RAID6 rather than two RAID5 vdevs in a pool will you need all 6 drives when you create the array due to the way ZFS works.

Unless you buy 3 drives and run them in RAID5 until you have 6 drives. Backup the pool and recreate it in RAID6.

Not sure of the RAM issues as I don't use server class hardware. That would be better answered by someone with more knowledge in this area

 

[Doctor McNinja]

Nothing wrong with opting for 3tb over 2tb but you will need to match the drives size across every drive with ZFS. Because you are set on RAID6 rather than two RAID5 vdevs in a pool will you need all 6 drives when you create the array due to the way ZFS works.

If I use ZFS, I won't be mixing and matching capacities or RPM's. I'm not set on RAID 6 particularly, I just don't want to use RAID 5, have a disk fail and lose the array because of an unrecoverable write error on one of the other drives. Regarding "you need all 6 drives when you create the array due to the way ZFS works", could you elaborate please? What 6 drives are you referring to?

Unless you buy 3 drives and run them in RAID5 until you have 6 drives. Backup the pool and recreate it in RAID6.

It seams like unnecessary work to me, to go from RAID 5 to RAID 6 when I can just buy the drives and go straight to me desired RAID level (be that RAID 6 or something else).

Not sure of the RAM issues as I don't use server class hardware. That would be better answered by someone with more knowledge in this area

Thanks anyway.

 

[Frozennova]

If I use ZFS, I won't be mixing and matching capacities or RPM's. I'm not set on RAID 6 particularly, I just don't want to use RAID 5, have a disk fail and lose the array because of an unrecoverable write error on one of the other drives. Regarding "you need all 6 drives when you create the array due to the way ZFS works", could you elaborate please? What 6 drives are you referring to?
It seams like unnecessary work to me, to go from RAID 5 to RAID 6 when I can just buy the drives and go straight to me desired RAID level (be that RAID 6 or something else).



Thanks anyway.

Just based on the way I had interpreted your OP but rereading and reading your replies it has become clearer you won't be purchasing your drives over a period of time.

To extend on the point of needing all 6 drives. When you create an array with ZFS you must have all of the drives you intend on using from the start as you cannot add additional physical devices ie more drives in a simple manner. You simply have to plan and buy your hardware in one go.

again the second point is moot if you intend on having all the hardware from the get go

 

[Ricimer]

Built something similar a few months ago for a small home server, but I went for the 4770T and an Asus CS-B board because Q87 was something I really wanted, for a decent bios level KVM *that isn't java* with the AMT.

Remember ECC, and I'm not sure I could put an OCZ in a server

UPS is a good idea, especially without bbwc RAID controller (not that you need one with ZFS) as you want a nice clean shutdown.

 

[On Holiday]

 

[Doctor McNinja]

Just based on the way I had interpreted your OP but rereading and reading your replies it has become clearer you won't be purchasing your drives over a period of time.

To extend on the point of needing all 6 drives. When you create an array with ZFS you must have all of the drives you intend on using from the start as you cannot add additional physical devices ie more drives in a simple manner. You simply have to plan and buy your hardware in one go.

again the second point is moot if you intend on having all the hardware from the get go

I think I know where I'm getting confused re: "all 6 drives", sorry to flog a dead horse but are you including the 2TB Red's? If I go RAID 6/RAID-Z2, it'll be all one capacity of drive. Most likely all 3TB's.

I won't be purchasing the additional HDD's over a period of time but it will probably be at a later date. As I said, I need to do some spring cleaning of my data first (I'm also gonna be really busy in late Spetembre/early October). So I don't need the drives right away... I don't really need the rest of the hardware right away but seen as though the mobo price is the lowest I've seen it, I thought I'd strike whilst the irons hot.

I didn't realise that you couldn't add drives to a VDev... I'm embarrassed to admit it but I've only just learnt exactly what a VDev is. Am I right in saying that I can add a VDev to my ZPool at a later date?

Get rid of the OCZ Vertex 2E seriously

Kingston KVR16E11 for RAM.

I've had a 120GB 2E since OcUK sold them of for £40 and I've never had an issue with it but I'd like to stress that it'll never be used for anything even remotely critical to the stability of the server or any of the data in the drive pools... It'll only be in there because I've got nothing else to do with it. I might just end up using it as another Steam drive in my gaming rig, or pop it in my creaky old netbook.

As for the RAM, I'm pretty sure that's the model number of the RAM I was referring to when I said-

Until recently, the list included RAM made by Kingston but it has since been removed do to issues when all four slots on the X10SL7-F were fully populated with the maximum 32GB.

 

[Frozennova]

Yea sorry for the confusion. I'd assumed the drives listed where the ones you we're going to be using.
Exactly that. You could create a raidz1 pool with 3 drives, then 6 months later you realise you need more space add another raidz1 pool to double your disk space with it remaining one logical device/array/pool