Media server / remote data transfer rate query

[Mike1983]

Hi all

I'm speccing up a new build (my first in many years) for a new media / data server rig. I have posted in general hardware forum but I have a very specific HDD query that I feel is better placed here.

My proposed build is pasted below and have the following query. If the system is connected to my network via a wired connection to a gigabit rated switch (as with the rest of my network), could I expect to see data transfer rates of 100 MB/s+?

Also, I intend to configure the 3TB storage drives in RAID 10. Can you see any problems with my proposal? Will the MOBO and WHS 2k11 handle this alright?

YOUR BASKET
4 x Western Digital Caviar Red 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD30EFRX - OEM £122.39 (£489.56)
1 x Gigabyte Z77-DS3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £75.98
1 x Cooler Master Silencio 550 Silent Tower Case - Black £69.98
1 x Intel Pentium G860 3.00GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 600W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020048-UK) £56.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £46.99
1 x Microsoft Windows Home Server 2011 64Bit (1 Server & 10 Client Licenses) - OEM (CCQ-00128) £39.98
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1333C9DC) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Loki SD963 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1) £14.99
Total : £890.45 (includes shipping : FREE).




Thank you for your time

Mike

 

[decto]

Hi,

I currently have a number of devices connected all through a gigabit switched lan. (Netgear 8 port) I'd be surprised to see speeds of 100MB/s. Typically I see around 40 MB/s (400Mbps) on large files ( 100MB+), much less on small files e.g. mp3. usage spikes up to 80% so quoting average transfer rate on a 5GB file.

I get similar figures between other networked PCs .... 2500k, Q6600 and AMD X3 so more a network limit than individual machines.

My config is WHS2011, 3 x WD 1TB RE2 and 1 x Seagate 3TB ST33000651AS using AMD 250U cpu and 8GB.

CPU usage at around 15% during transfers so not CPU limited. HDD to HDD is > 80MB/s so not HDD either.

Just about to rebuild my systems as well though looking at reusing parts and adding in some larger drives.

From my initial research WHS2011 does not play nicely with RAID and it is frequently not recommended to use Raid in reviews. WHS2011 also has a backup limit of 2TB for drives so you'll need to partition them appropriately if you want to back up using the internal functionality.

I'd recommend backup over raid for all but critical files as backup allows you to roll back to any time point whereas Raid is pure replication so replicates your errors too. E.g. if you corrupt a file then it's corrupt. With backup, you restore the original.

You don't state what you want WHS to do for you, there may be other options to better use the hardware. I'm currently looking at virtualising WHS on a HP proliant Microserver for machine backups and then using the existing system with PLEX as a media server hosted on windows 8.

I find WHS2011 is great for backup and restore but offerers nothing special as a file server. Win 8 is very cheap if you have an old key to upgrade and offers storage spaces as a good way to manage HDD space.

In my personal opinion Raid 0 (or 10) is an unnecessary complication on a server as network limits will negate the benefit. You can look at NIC teaming if you really need the speed.

Other obs ....
The board only has 5 SATA connections exposed internally, a B75 series with 6 Sata would be cheaper and offer an extra drive.

CPU cooler probably not needed. The stock one with speed fan control set in the BIOS to slow it down with be fine and near silent.

This PSU is Gold standard efficient though you will need at least 1 molex to SATA power converter. The whole system will use less than 100w so a small efficient supply is ideal.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Good luck

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[bremen1874]

When copying large files I often see around 100MB/s, on a good day 108MB/s isn't unusual.

I'm using Intel PT NICs at both ends (I had them spare) which made a significant difference compared to the original on board NICs.

 

[Mike1983]

Thank you for your posts.

I am reconsidering RAID as per your feedback. I think I may go with the inbuilt WHS features or scheduled robocopy commands perhaps. I also went with the seasonic gold rated PSU.

Bremen, please can you link / advise on a part number for the NICs you use or suggested alternatives? I will test before and after assuming I can build the base unit without problem!

Thanks