[OpenIndiana-discuss] Hardware advice on cheap homeserver

[Gary Gendel]

On 02/19/2014 06:50 AM, Jim Klimov wrote:
> 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.)
>
I'd love to retire my aging V20z with an external disk cabinet. This 
sounds like a perfect replacement, just plug in my 6 disks and go. :)