[olug] RAID chassis recommendations

[Jason N]

Here's an alternative.

Install VMWare ESXi Hypervisor (Free) on a memory stick and use all of the internal disk for RAID 10 storage.  You can install Openfiler/FreeNAS/etc as a VM, and use as much of the remaining space for whatever you like.

Short of the Openfiler install on the disks, you'd be getting at least 3 drives worth of space (in a RAID 10).

I've been running my ESXi machine from a memory stick for the past 3 years without a hitch.  Even if I do have a problem, I have a backup memory stick that is a duplicate of the original.  I can shut the system down, replace the stick, reboot and I'm good to go.

On a side note, here is a good article why you should not run RAID 5 (or RAID 6), especially at the sizes you are talking about.
http://www.datamation.com/storage/data-storage-the-myth-of-redundancy-1.html


---- Obi-Wan <obiwan at jedi.com> wrote: 
> I know this misses your requirement by 2 drives but I have a couple of
> Dell PowerEdge 2950s with FreeNAS  .... They are cheap, solid and I like
> them alot.
> 
> Here are a couple quick ebay examples....
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/POWEREDGE-2950-GEN-2-DUAL-2-66-DUAL-CORE-5150-8GB-1X73G-15K-SAS-RAID-DRAC-RPS-/170871894643
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-Gen-2-2950-2x-Dual-Core-2-66GHz-8GB-/180919031079
> 
> It is hard to beat for the money.

Yes, those look pretty slick, and I'm not against buying something like
this (except the drives) off eBay.  However, once I install mirrored
system drives, this only leaves me with 4 data drives, which just isn't
enough for the long haul.  At RAID 5 with 2TB drives, that only gives me
6TB of usable space.  I'd fill it before the drives were out of warranty.

Are there any other similar servers (with 8+ bays) that I should watch
out for on eBay?

>> Minimum requirements:
>>   * 2U tall
>>   * holds at least 8 hot-swap SATA drives
>>   * has at least 2 GigE NICs
>>   * external USB3 is a plus, but not required

-- 
Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth    obiwan at jedi.com    PrairieRimImages.com
   The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the
     Giver of all good things, so if I stand, let me stand on the
       promise that You will pull me through.  -- Rich Mullins
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