New File Server

[Vaslo]

Hi all,

Looking to build a new file server to replace my aging HP Windows Home Server and looking for suggestions. Here's what I'd like to do:

-Full size case so I can add lots of space
-Would love hot swapping but at least ease to which I can install the drives
-Server Media to Media PCs/Raspberry Pi's throughout the house
-Fairly quick serving over mostly ethernet (a little wireless for laptops but obviously this will be slower)

What do folks recommend? I keep seeing the fractal design cases come up as a start...if you like those, what other hardware given this needs more serving capability and minimal graphics, etc.

I saw an article on Anandtech but its more than 3 years old some I'm sure some better options exist.

Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

How many drives are you looking at and what's your budget? The sky's the limit when it comes to hot-swappable server chassis.

 

[Vaslo]

500-1000? I'd eventually like to have 8 or so drives, but if the price gets steep, perhaps i can hold off. I can start with 1-2 drives and add over time.

 

[smitbret]

A Fractal Design R4 or XL R2 would be great to start. They both have 8 side mounted HDD slots and both have enough external bays that you could set up hot-swap bays later. They are easy to work in and really, very quiet. Watch NewEgg since either can often be had for less than $100.

If I were building right now, I would get an mATX AMD AM3+ motherboard from Asus. It will have integrated graphics and support ECC Memory. Then drop in a 95W CPU like a 4300 or 6300. My server with a 6100 and 9 HDDs idles under 60W. It will peak around 130W when I use it for video encoding but never really breaks 70 or 80W for normal file-serving.

Don't spend a lot of cash on a PSU. Something like a Corsair Builder Series C430 will be plenty for file server duties and should cost $30-40. Get a good one, but you don't need a big one.

 

[Vaslo]

Thanks for the recommendation - for my own understanding, why get a small motherboard for the big case...is it for power reasons, or just more space?

Thanks

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for the recommendation - for my own understanding, why get a small motherboard for the big case...is it for power reasons, or just more space?

Thanks

MicroATX boards are usually less expensive, and the physical size of it doesn't matter too much as long as it has the number of SATA ports that you want. Of course, there's nothing wrong with an ATX board if it fits the requirements and the price is right.

On your budget, going after actual hot-swap caddies is probably not cost effective. You can definitely get some cases that make swapping drives easy though (such as the ones that smitbret mentioned).

Here's what I would build:

A8-5600K $90 AP
Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H $65 - AMD FM2 gets the nod here because of how inexpensive a board with 8 SATA ports is
Crucial DDR3 1600 4GB $41
WD Red 3TB x3 $375
Corsair CX430 $45
Fractal Design R4 $80 - 8 3.5" bays
Total: $696 AP

You didn't mention what OS you were planning to run, but I put in 3 drives so that you could start with some sort of parity-based RAID instead of mirroring. You could do RAID5 (Linux NAS), RAID-Z (ZFS on FreeNAS), or a parity Storage Space (Windows 8.1/Windows Server 2012).