A few things I notice right away: 1. nVidia raid. I dunno how good their HD controllers are, but since you're talking linux...
2. Redhat (or any linux) works best doing the raid in software. I actually do recommend OpenFiler in this case... 3. I see the Tyan has 8 HD slots, but only a 6 port Sata controller. You might want to opt for an 8 port card so you can get the extra expansion. Check for compatibility with whatever OS you decide on. 4. I recently purchased an ASUS server because it was cheap and fit our needs... I wish I would have stuck with our usual SuperMicro system for a few hundred more. The SATA plug did not line up exactly with the drive as you inserted it with the included tray. It took a little manual convincing to make it work, which means I probably won't ever hot-swap that drive. I'm sure Tyan is excellent (would like to hear some people confirm that) but find out if you can beforehand if people have had problems with it. Build quality counts. 5. If you're going to virtualize, then much of the above details don't matter to the VM. It's compatibility with your VM infrastructure that matters most. --Matt Ross Ephrata School District ----- Original Message ----- From: John Aldrich [mailto:[email protected]] To: NT System Admin Issues [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:11:51 -0700 Subject: RE: Home-brew SAN vs name-brand storage appliance > What do y'all think about this bare-bones machine: > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816152090 > > If I had 6x1Gb SATA and about 8 Gigs of RAM or so, do you think that would > make a decent home-brew storage appliance? I'm reasonably certain I could > get management to buy a copy of RedHat Enterprise O/S or something. The > thing I don't know is whether this is a "fake raid" controller or a real > RAID controller on-board. Also, could I use an add-on card to control the > RAID instead of the on-board RAID? I did see that it does not support RAID > 6, which I would like to do. :-) > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ben Scott [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 12:50 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Re: Home-brew SAN vs name-brand storage appliance > > On Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 12:06 PM, John Aldrich > <[email protected]> wrote: > > I don't know enough about server hardware and RAID > > controllers to be that comfortable with building my own. > > Given that, and your comments about where you live, etc., I think > that may be the deciding factor: You may be better off paying for > someone else (e.g., Dell) to give you a solution with service contract > and (extra-cost) technical hand-holding. > > -- Ben > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.423 / Virus Database: 270.14.27/2453 - Release Date: 10/23/09 > 06:56:00 > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
