[OpenIndiana-discuss] Hardware advice on cheap homeserver

[Jim Klimov]

On 2014-02-17 23:54, alka wrote:
> I would prefer a mainboard based on an Intel serverchipset
> with 4 better 8 GB ECC RAM together with an i3 (Xeon as an option then for napp-in-one)
>
> If you look at http://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/#1150
> you get such boards that are perfect for ZFS and widely used with OI and OmniOS.

Given the modifications typically done to HP N40L/N54L boxes in
the ZFS community, I'd crowd-ask some other company that currently
makes hardware spec'ed to the demand in considerable volume to make
a barebone model similar to N54L, but with:
* 6-8*3.5" bays for data pool HDD so raidz3 can be a viable option
   to reduce the no-redundancy window in case of pool rebuilds with
   modern huge disks
* 2-4-6*2.5" bays for SSD/laptop HDD for OS/cache/fast scratch pool
* at least 16Gb ECC RAM officially supported
* HDDs not included, at least in barebones model; maxed RAM may be :)
* IPMI with KVM and dedicated LAN (preferably also with a small local
   storage to flash the Live Media onto for repairs/upgrades/initial
   setup)
* 2 or more GBit links
* LSI controller on board (8-16 internal ports) since many N**L rigs
   use them anyway instead of the MoBo ports, and they can be better
   monitored, and open the way for SAS disks to be used if one desires
* eSATA/eSAS port(s) for possible expansion, as well as USB2/3 ports
   (USB2 is a must for illumos now :) )
* Low-power and quiet, to the extent of passive cooling, and sensibly
   cheap :)

Or perhaps the experienced list members might just publish some
well-tested shopping list for such setup :)

As is, the HP N**L lineup does need the enthusiast to work on it quite
a bit with a hammer and chisel (at least figuratively speaking), and
many pieces are unused or thrown away (the default small HDD and RAM,
maybe the MoBo SATA ports if an LSI card is used instead, etc.)