My Unraid server is currently running out of a 4U rackmount PC case with 6x 3.5" drive bays (actually 5x 3.5" + 1x 2.5" since one bay interferes with the RAM…), and looking to increase storage capacity. It’s primarily a media server with some light NAS and PC/phone backup use.
Initially I was looking at something like a used Dell MD1200, since it seemed like a pretty straightforward expansion, just requiring a HBA card with external SAS ports. But then I stumbled across this basic DIY build (https://www.serverbuilds.net/16-bay-das) which seems obvious in hindsight. There are plenty of inexpensive 12-16 bay 4U PC cases, and I’ve already got a spare ATX power supply.
So question #1 is whether there’s any substantial reason to go for a used enterprise DAS over the DIY option, given that I’m not too worried about storage density in my server rack?
Question 2 is unrelated, but I recently upgraded my wife’s GPU and now have a 1070ti lying around. The i3-12100 in my media server seems fully capable of any of the transcoding tasks I’ve thrown at it, so is there any point in installing the 1070ti? Or is that just a waste of power/hardware?
Thanks in advance!
I posted this same question the other day, but after seeing no replies I checked and realized it was nowhere in my posting history, so not sure what happened there… sorry if this shows up as a double-post for anyone
The 1070 is probably a waste of power.
IF you’re going the secondhand enterprise gear route, check which drives you can actually use in them. The Dell will likely only take a dozen or so drive models, sometimes locked down to Dell-flashed firmwares. And those can be expensive.
Thanks, I didn’t realize the enterprise DASs could be locked down to certain drive models. That would definitely be a non-starter.
Especially older models from the second hand market can get tricky, as getting supported drives will be harder each year. Also, you cannot simply put 18TB drives in there and expect them to work. Also also, a lot of them require SAS drives.