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[OCLUG-Tech] Questions about a Linux file server I am about to build.

Hello,

I am looking to replace my 5 years old file server (based on a AMD Duron
2800) with something more powerful and I’d like to pick the brains of fellow
Linux user on this mailing list regarding a few questions I have.
I haven't completely decided what I will build but I am leaning toward an
AMD-based solution because SATA III on the SB850 chipset seems to be
integrated more tightly than the Marvell one the Intel platform. Nothing is
set in stone yet. I will use either Ubuntu Server or Gentoo as my
distribution.

My requirements are:
• Need to work reliably 24/7 with a minimum of maintenance.
• Need 8TB of storage (to be expanded in the future using an additional PCIe
SATA controller) to be exported using NFS and Samba (for my wife XP
laptops). I will use RAID 5 or 6.
• Support for my 2 SCSI cards in PCI slots to support my tape libraries
(using Bacula).
• I may also use the machine to run a few virtual machines for testing.
(using VirtualBox)

Here are my questions:
• Is SATA III really worth the price difference knowing that my server will
serve at most 3 clients and that I will run RAID 5 or 6? Right now I am not
focusing on absolute speed but on stability and responsiveness.
• Has anybody used “Green” drives (Samsung, WD, Seagate) with Linux software
RAID? I read that “Green” drives in RAID may be problematic because the TLER
delay is too short. The RAID may mistakenly consider a drive to have failed
and kick it out of the array.
• Does anybody know a Linux-friendly PCIe SATA controller that is NOT
RAID-enabled?
• Has anybody ever worked with a Supermicro X8SAX motherboard (
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/X58/X8SAX.cfm)? The
reviews I found on the web (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-182-165&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=100&PurchaseMark=true&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&chkPurchaseMark=on&Keywords=%28keywords%29)
tend to say that it is a flaky board. This is surprising knowing the good
reputation of Supermicro in the enterprise market. This is the board I’d
like to get if SATA III is not worth the investment in my situation because
it has PCI-X and PCIe slots and 2 integrated Intel network chipset.
• If SATA III is worth it, I am leaning toward the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UDH3
(2.1) (http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3516#sp)
motherboard. Has anybody used LINUX on this motherboard? What do you think
of it?
• How much RAM should I get for a file server like the one I am building?
Will more RAM means more cache and better performance or with a small number
of clients it doesn’t really matter? Is ECC-RAM really important in my
situation?
• Is the number of cores really important for a file server? If I am to go
with AMD, I am leaning toward either the Phenom X6 1055T or the Phenom X4
945. Are these overkill for a file server? I will not overclock my
processor.

Thank you very much for your answers/comments!

Charles
-- 
Charles Nadeau Ph.D.
http://charlesnadeau.blogspot.com/