[NEWS] - Building a budget storage server

CougTek

CougTek

Hairy Aussie
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I saw this article at Firingsquad. Haven't read it thoroughly, but since it's "storage" related, good or bad, it should be linked here.
At the most basic level, a storage server needs to be able to hold a lot of hard drives. To accomplish this, we could go out and buy a network attached storage device, but remember this is a budget system. Our goal is to maximize the functionality, reliability, and performance of the server, while keeping costs under control. It sounds like you could just add a bunch of hard drives to any networked PC and call it a “network attached storage device,” but if you want it to be reliable, you have to think about cooling, power, and anticipated usage.
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Overall, their proposed system cost more than 3400$ and IMO looks more like an enthusiast box than a dedicated server (Logitech MX700???). It would work though and the cooling seems adequate.

News source
 
I read it yesterday after seeing it linked from Anand's. It's really an app server with lots of space. Otherwise, why would a NAS-type box actually need a P4 3GHz?

On the cost & config:

- They didn't really cut corners. Beefy PCP&C PSU, for instance.
- But it doesn't include any software; OS or otherwise.
- The case needed mods.
- Stocked with 4 250GB drives with room for 4 more + 120GB Seagate boot drive.
 
I misread the overall cost at first : I thought it was 3410$, but in fact it was 3140$. So don't bother telling me that I made a mistake in the original post.
 
... proving once again that the people at firingsquad are morons in search of a clue. For that price they should be able to manage 2400GB and a high-end Escalade to put it on.
 
A Pentium 4 will draw about 100 watts, the video card another 70 watts, 40 watts for the motherboard, 64 watts for 1GB of DIMMS, 20 watts for a DVD-R, and another 15-25 watts or so for fans and accessories. This adds up to more than 450 watts.
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What!?

And an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB in a server?
 
Yeah, 'cause y'know? Rackmount cases need all the heat they can...

Oh. Wait.

They didn't use a rackmount case, either.

Pardon me while I point and laugh.
 
All you need to do is get a Dell SC400 on sale, and stuff a bunch of drives into it. That should save $1000 right off the top.
 
Mercutio said:
They didn't use a rackmount case, either.
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With the above I disagree. There's no need for rackmount for a budget system, even a server app. Rackmounts are needed when there are space constraints, which shouldn't be the case here.

Not that I approve the use of a modified case either...

In their defense, I want to point out that at least they tried to write an article, which we don't.
 
Conversely, it's fairly easy to get a 4, 5, or 6U chassis with support for lots and lots of drive bays, builtin temperature monitoring, and a drive bay arrangement that lends itself easily to dealing with cables that can only be 18" long.
 
Might I remind everyone of my offer:
Write an article, 1000 words, on a computer related topic, and I'll ship you a 256MB PC3200 DIMM from Crucial.
 
Mercutio said:
Might I remind everyone of my offer:
Write an article, 1000 words, on a computer related topic, and I'll ship you a 256MB PC3200 DIMM from Crucial.
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Does it have to make sense?
 
A couple of other thoughts:

They completely neglect the software aspect of this PC. Their stated goal is to use this machine as a workstation as well as a server, which suggests to me that dumbass who wrote this probably wants to put a dumbass OS on it, like 2000 Pro or XP Pro or worst of all, XP home.

If that's the case, their "workstation" would actually work better with Windows 98, given the connection limitations presented by Microsoft Desktop OSes.

If they're planning to use a Windows based OS that can accept more than 5 network connections, they're talking about 2000 or 2003 Server plus some CALs . If they get decent pricing and only, say, 10 CALs, that's about $800... something that seriously needs to be factored into their pricing.

If they're talking about using Linux or BSD, well, they really aren't talking about a "workstation", any more, are they? I mean, the people who visit Firingsquad for hardware advice generally need to use the Genuine nVidia PowerCheek Finding Wizard to locate their ass with both hands (no offense, Coug). How far are they gonna get on a Linux workstation? Again, I think they're remiss for not discussing software.

The other thought is, if they're talking about a high-performance server I might not fault them for the i875/800MHz bus decision. Faster bus speeds do tend to help disk performance. OTOH, they blow that thought out of the water by not using RAID.
 
Howell said:
sechs said:
Mercutio said:
Might I remind everyone of my offer:
Write an article, 1000 words, on a computer related topic, and I'll ship you a 256MB PC3200 DIMM from Crucial.
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Does it have to make sense?
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In an technical sort of way or an english sort of way. :D
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No giving the brits a free pass!

I'd like it to make sense, yes.

I've offered to write on the subject of HTPCs, but I'm fairly certain that the only other personhere who would be interested is Fushigi. Spending my free time - I don't usually have a lot of it in a stretch - writing about the other things I know about computer stuff would really be a lot like working. :)
 
There's obviously a market for knowledge about small storage servers like this one. The firingsquad article was linked on slashdot as well, where it got 300ish comments, which stands as a moderately popular article for the day (about like a thread that get 8 or 10 replies here).

I think there's worse subjects we could pick for an article.
 
For a server system, an ATI 7000 card would be just fine. You can pull that once the Linux OS is setup and you VNC to the machine. Also, where is the tape backup system? Did they plan on relying on their DVD writer for backups?
 
Buck said:
Also, where is the tape backup system? Did they plan on relying on their DVD writer for backups?
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What's wrong with that? It'll only take about 200 discs and a solid day (if no time is wasted) to back it up. Plus a few more for the boot drive.

Oh, that's per backup set. Add more discs if you grandfather / father / son your backups.
 
Fushigi said:
Buck said:
Also, where is the tape backup system? Did they plan on relying on their DVD writer for backups?
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What's wrong with that? It'll only take about 200 discs and a solid day (if no time is wasted) to back it up. Plus a few more for the boot drive.

Oh, that's per backup set. Add more discs if you grandfather / father / son your backups.
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:D
 
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