New server - check spec please

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 651465
  • Start date Start date

Deleted member 651465

Deleted member 651465

Hi guys,

Can you have a look at the following spec. I am replacing my current DroboPro with Mac Mini setup, for a single unit, and like the look of WHS 2011.

  • Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard
  • Fractal Design Array R2 Mini-ITX NAS Case
  • Intel Core i5-3450S 2.80GHz (Ivybridge) Socket 1155
  • Corsair Memory Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9
  • LSI MegaRAID SAS 9240-8i KIT Controller Card
  • MS WIN HOME SERVER 2011 64-BIT

I already have plenty of hard drives (6), and I know the RAM is excessive, but I want things to last :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jamesfreddie said:
1) What do you currently use the mac mini for?
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The DroboPro is connected to my Mac Mini as a massive storage array. Without the Mac Mini being switched on, I cannot access the storage.

jamesfreddie said:
2) The board you have put is MATX and the case is MITX.
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Can you spec a MITX board? My only requirement is that it can run 6 SATA HDDs.

ChileanLlama said:
Your motherboard is Micro ATX and the case is Mini-ITX. You need a bigger case or a smaller board.

What are you going to be running on the server, a 2500K might be overkilll.
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Just want it to run WHS 2011 and be able to stream HD rips across a gigabit network.
 
jamesfreddie said:
Where are you streaming the HD rips to? Does the device decode the rip?

What sort of backups are you going to have?
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By streaming, I mean, I want to be able to open the .MKV files from the NAS and play them on a PC or use AirVideoServer to transcode them to play on iPhones/ iPads etc.

For backup, I wanted to get a RAID card and run RAID 5.
 
jamesfreddie said:
You could use this motherboard

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H67I/

Or the H77 model http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-523-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071
Click to expand...

What is the difference? The H77 is significantly easier to come by!

jamesfreddie said:
Will you be streaming to more than one iphone/ipad at a time?

I would reccomend using Drive Bender or simular for backup/raid.
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Probably 2 iOS devices at any one time, not really thought about it. I just want to get the hardware up and running first.

When you say Drive Bender, do you mean to use that instead of the built in WHS backup utility? :)
 
I don't want an i5, but it seems like a decent CPU for the purpose, although I have been tempted to upgrade my main PC which could free up an i7 2600K :D

What is your view on hardware RAID?
 
So, would the system continue to run on 1 failed drive, using software RAID?

This may change my plans somewhat :)
 
Thanks for the input guys.

I've made up my mind now, I will buy a hardware RAID card and run 6 drives off that, then use a smaller SSD as a boot drive from the motherboard. In effect, I will have the maximum number of drives that the case will fit, and I won't be stuck with limited motherboard options.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CC-003-LI&campaign=pcm/googleshopping

This is the card I've seen. It can handle up to 8 drives at 6GBps, so should be plenty.

Just need to decide on the i3/i5 route and I'll be ready to buy. One is almost double the price of the other, so that'll depend what I can sell the Mac Mini and DroboPro for :)

Thanks again!
 
Yeah. I like the monolithic look, and it's not a million miles away from what I had in mind when I originally got my Drobo.
 
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