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Windows Home Server Project

edgedemon

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Hi Everyone,

Im looking at building a Windows Home Server NAS and could do with a reality check as I in two mind on which way to go

The whole projects was inspired by this device below (and the need to put my 400+ DVD and 1600+ CD collection onto disk for my newly built HTPC)

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/embedded/nsd7800/

I have been in contact with Via and this product, although released, is ‘project based’ so unlikely to appear soon. So I thought I would build my own!
I have been unable to find the case that they used, but did find quite a nice Coolermaster case – The itower 930 which has 4 x hot swap SATA bays and if I purchase 2 x 4-in-3 5.25 to 3.5 converter kits I can have 10 SATA drives maximum in this case

http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?act=detail&id=6 - bigger than I would like, but at least I can fit lots of drives in
http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?language=en&act=detail&tbcate=65&id=2542 – the 5.25 to 3.5 converter.

Unfortunately this case is ATX or m-atx, so my power draw is going to increase more than I would like, I have seen some 400W PSU’s with 9 x SATA connections so it is looking like that is the way to go. What would be the best PSU, mobo/CPU combination to use as I am looking to use a little power as possible for this. It will be on 24/7, so Im looking to keep the power down as much as possible
Dont AMD have a low power line of CPU's and mobo's? How big a PSU do I need to power upto 10 drives?

The other way I could go is the mini-itx route, tranquil PC’s do a nice line of barebones home server boxes, but they are pricey and only hold 5 drives. Reading up a bit, I know to get decent performance in WHS, it needs a large system drive, so that only leaves 4 drives for storage and I would lose even more storage as I do plan to have WHS replicating folders and laptop backups. I could extend the drives using e-sata, but how does it work, can I extend e-sata like usb, ie daisy chain barebone drive caddys off each other as I need more space, can I daisy chain more than one?
Im worried that if I go down this route I will hit space issues in a month or two...

Id be interested to hear what other people are using as their Home NAS solutions, any advice would be welcome

Cheers – I await your advice
 
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Have a look at Tranquilpc (sorry I'm at work atm and dont have access to the link)

IMHO they offer the best WHS solutions for low power/high exandibility (Single or dual core Atom CPUs)
 

edgedemon

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I've seen the link, I know that they can be extended via e-sata, but is this a one off thing, or can I add a 5 drive sata enclosure to the barebone unit and then add another 5 drive enclosure daisy-chained off the first enclosure?
 
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IIRC the base server can take 5 x sata drives and you can add an external sata drive cage that will accept 5 more drives. I will double check and update this post.


Update:

Server

HDD Extender

That would give a total of 15TB of storage if 1.5TB drives were used.

Update 2:

Video Review-a bit dull but good info
 
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edgedemon

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Cheers, I will have a look at the vid when i get in from work. Im curious to see if I can also add an additional extender
ie Server - HDD extender - 2nd HDD Extender
I will email their tech support and see what they say...
It might be the best option, but the thing is just so ugly..

Thanks for the help
 
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This server may be more suitable because:

T2e300

1. It looks better
2. It can take 2 PCIe cards for esata connectivity

On their site is also a live chat option to speak to their sales/tech people, that might be the best option for fast info.
 
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You can find many ideas/guides for a DIY NAS box here
 
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Software Win server 2008 / Win 7

edgedemon

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The problem with research is sometimes it increases your options rather than narrowing them!

I have read somewhere that mini-itx boards will fit into m-atx cases just fine, which has me thinking that I can use a dual core atom set up with a PCI card...

Can someone here confirm if that is true?

many thanks

Martin
 

edgedemon

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I have managed to source the mobo I want, and I think it will fit in the Chenbro NAS case :D

What a little beauty!

http://www.habeyusa.com/datasheet/MITX-6852.pdf

I am having problems sourcing an ULV celeron CPU (socket 479), can anyone point me to a site where I can get these as all I am finding is embedded systems or laptops, I just want the cpu!
Are there any other options for socket 479 that are really low voltage? As long as it powers Win Home server Im happy
 
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I have read somewhere that mini-itx boards will fit into m-atx cases just fine...

Can someone here confirm if that is true?

Yes, you can. I have been putting mini-ITX boards into mATX cases for years now. Many of our PCs at work are such systems.

Nice board. If you are just using this thing as a NAS, then you have more than enough power with a (cheaper) Atom 330 board. In fact, the Atom 330 has enough power for running some server services too.

The MITX-6852 is overkill (and a lot more expensive). Only do this route if you want the NAS to do a lot of work. But then, that's not a NAS anymore but a server. Complete overkill for a NAS device. Very nice as a platform running W2K3 server or higher.

Note that I recently commissioned an Atom 330 server on W2K3 and am more than satisfied with the performance. Details here: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=82785
 
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edgedemon

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the atom is OK, but not enough SATA ports and this has 4 + 2 e-sata for external NAS enclosures. The only problem is finding a low voltage cpu to fit the socket.
I did seriously look at the atom boards, but e-sata is a biggy for me, especially as I want to use the Chenbro NAS case, 1 drive for OS/storage, 3 for data and a 5 bay NAS off the e-sata port:D
 

edgedemon

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I have double checked, but the atom mobo's that I can find only have 2 sata ports..

Have I missed the boat and it is too late to buy ULV processors?

Via have some nice mobo's, but using the IDE slot disables the sata hotplug and raid functions :banghead:
 
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If you are happy to use mATX mainboard then there are more options. However, seems that most Atom based boards have limited SATA ports, HOWEVER, you could add a SATA controller with internal and external ports. In fact, why not a SATA RAID controller http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a101005.html for extra data robustness...or JBOD?

http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a378655.html << this one with RAID controller would be my choice.
http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a267338.html
http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a345566.html (dirt cheap, but probably not good enough)

Perhaps your first suggestion wasnt so bad after all.

Also, check todays QNAP marketing news: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=84103 it might do all you need. If you want you could also put Windows on there.
 
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Joined
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Processor Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
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Display(s) 2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Audio Device(s) Audigy 2
Software Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation now migrated to W10 with regrets.
^^ thanks for the warnings.
 

edgedemon

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After going around in circles with so many options and just not being able to find a solution that will let me use the Chenbro case and have e-SATA at a reasonable cost I am now looking at a m-atx case such as the antec mini P180 or maybe either antec NSK4480 or foxconn TLM-436, which I can stuff with drives. This will lower the cost, increase the choice at the expense of having a tiny very quiet solution
I have a few questions and a request for some mobo's

If I am going down this route I can either go with a
mini-itx atom with multiport e-sata port expansion card
any mobo with a decent amount of sata ports and a e-sata card with a CPU that I will underclock/undervolt

what is the best solution for me with the lowest power draw?

Also, if I buy a mobo with 5/6 sata ports, will I hit any bandwidth issues, can each port hit the 3Gb/sec limit of SATA2 at the same time?

Can anyone give me some good mobo's/CPU's that are ideal for underclocking?

Im nearly there now, now that I have abandoned the Chenbro and picked a case, I just have to chose mobo/cpu and a multiport aware e-SATA card and I begin my build :)
 
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