How to put up to 23 Sata Hdds in a file server???

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Ok, its as simple as the title says.

I am building a new file server that I want to have the capability to take up 23 Sata hdds as thats as many as the case I am buying tomorrow can take. Now I am not putting 23 in straight away, as can't afford to do that, but I will be putting enough in to take it up to 2.4 Tb.

What I need to know is how am I to do this. From what I have read, I am looking for a fabled 'Port Multiplier' to multiply the number of output ports from on SATA PCI cards. However I don't seem to be able to find any of these things.

Anyone feel like helping out a rather confused deity? ;)

Cheers

Ian...
 
Hey,

That last one was exactly what I was after.

As much I would love to be able to afford 2 12 port cards, the costs are just far to prohibitive. I do however see a major problem with the port mulitiplier, and that is the weakness it adds to any raid setup that I have. i.e. where it thinks there is only 1 drive there is in fact now 5.

Is there anyway I can work around this, or at least reduce its effects. Assuming I have no knowledge of Raid, which I don't... :)

Ian...
 
Sigg said:
Why not just use 5 cheap 4 channel cards? You can get a 4 port RAID card for cheaper or the same price as the bridge cards. Together with a 4 channel motherboard that gives you enough capacity. Use software RAID instead of the on-board RAID & you can build arrays spanning different controller cards, you could also extend the arrays as you add more capacity. I might be missing something (does anyone know if you can use that many controller cards together??), but it seem like the cheapest solution & adequate for a home media server.
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What is the software for combining this many/any cards together, and what are the major problems with this over hardware solutions?

Ian....
 
That explains my confusion over PCI/PCI-X cards.....

However due to the case I have chosen, it looks like I am going to have to go down the IDE route now, or have to replace 23 hot swappable bays...

But I am not 100% sure yet, not until I have the case in my hands.

So the question should maybe now be How to put up to 23 ide Hdds in a file server???

Ian...
 
Case arrived this morning, and it doesn't have IDE caddies so it looks like I will be able to stick to my original SATA plan.

So I can definatly stick this PCI-X/PCI card in my mobo and it will work as long as there is space?

I am planning on using an Epox EP-9NDA3+ Motherboard, and it appears to have lots of space behind the PCI slots. Any comments on this?

Ian...
 
Dimension said:
I forgot to mention. you will have to buy a RAID controler and drives that support staggered spin up, as 23 drives powering up at once will overload even a high end 500W psu

once their spinning they only use a few milliamps, but at spin up it can be upto 2 amps each. you would need around 46amps on the 12v rail for the drives alone.

If you stagger the spin up you will get away with a normal psu
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Hmmm... Looking at that SATA card i mentioned earlier I don't think that does staggered spin ups.

Is there anyother way of getting round this i.e. without spending loads on a RAID card which I can't afford to do? Can I use a software setup to split between 3 cards (Between 8, and 7 drives on each card) and stagger the cards instead of the drives?

Ian...
 
Whats the best way to connect 2 PSU's together?

A few years ago I did it by soldering some link wires between the atx plugs to make both turn on at the same time. Is this this the only way, or is there a Y lead or something you can buy?

Ian...
 
a1ex2001 said:
Not meaning to be rude or insulting but this does seem to be a bit of a crazy way of going about things, your clearly building this giant file store for something and given the effort/expense I'm assuming it's slightly more important than storing your giant MP3 collection. You don't seem to have planned it very well and taken into account things like performance and reliability you just seem to have decided to wack as many hard disks as possible in one box. If I were you I'd stop spending money now and go back to the drawing board and do a porper researched desing and build based around the case you have purchased. Start by working out exactly what the server will be used for and try and get some load estimates and acceptable down time allowances. Talk to suppliers and manufacturers buy things you know will work not hope will work and be prepared for it to cost more than you think.
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I haven't spent anything other than the case, and I bought that as it was exactly what i wanted. My research comes from the internet, these forums and others.

I agree with what you are saying if I was building a commercial unit, but as I am not what you are saying is pointless (Not meaning to be rude or insulting). This is for my home therefore it needs to be cheap (i.e. down time is not a huge issue) but at the same time as close to my wanted specification.

Now how about less of the negative and just some help please?

Ian...
 
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Whats everyones opinions on caddies?

I have been looking around and the cheapest I have found is £17 for a SATA caddie which for 20+ drives adds up!!!

I have also seen brackets which convert 5 1/4 bays into holding hdd's for about £4, but obviously I loose any benifit of Removeability. I do however gain increased airflow.

The case I have already has fans blowing over the hdd's, and the caddies would also have fans. So excluding the cost which is the best, or is it purely down to cost?

Ian...
 
Torch [P4] said:
servers2.jpg
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Those caddies look interesting what make are they?

Ian...
 
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