Can i mix and match drives of same size?

[eddie200112]

like will this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147164 fit into this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215328 ?

 

[jgreco]

There are multiple depths that correspond to a number of different use models. Most server racks are typically quite deep because the gear tends towards depth, especially in a datacenter where it might have a door on the front and back.

You may be able to get by with a shallower rack if you do not need front and rear doors. However, also be aware that the railsets for a rack mount chassis may not fit a short shot rack. I have to order special rails for one of the racks here because it is unusually shallow.

This might help

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/quickReleaseRail_2U_above.pdf

 

[danb35]

Specs on the Rosewill chassis say it's 25" deep. Specs on the rack say "Supported Chassis Depth: 17" and under".

 

[jgreco]

like will this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147164 fit into this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215328 ?

That latter, by the way, isn't a server rack, regardless of what NewEgg or the manufacturer call it. It's a gear rack, more for stuff like portable rackmount audio gear. Nobody (smart) puts a server in a wheeled rack enclosure.

 

[eddie200112]

OK I wasn't sure if the unit could just have its "butt" stick out the back. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[jgreco]

OK I wasn't sure if the unit could just have its "butt" stick out the back. Thanks for clearing that up.

You sure can, but there's more of a danger of tipping.

Rack mounting starts with the two post rack (or "frame") where any significant amount of gear needs to be mounted with center-mounted brackets on the gear.

Servers are typically much longer and this is usually deemed impractical, so what you normally look at is a four post rack. That NewEgg link above isn't what I'd consider a true rack, it's a gear case.

Normally the rear end of a server is located well within the depth of a rack, so to mount a 30" deep chassis, you probably have at least a 36" deep rack.

 

[eddie200112]

OK so I bought this rosewill 4U case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7164&cm_re=rosewill_4u-_-11-147-164-_-Product
And im going to put 12 HDD's in it. Now it has 3 fans bringing in air in front of the HDDs and 3 behind them pulling air.
Now assuming the included fans are crap as they always are, I need new ones. Now usually my HDD's are idle so a low airflow has always kept them cool and they rarely had long active times to reach high temps.
What would you guys recommend for airflow (cfm) to go over HDD's in a freenAS setup? Do I need to get the fans that sound like a jet? I would like it to not be insanely loud as it will be kept in my office but I would rather have long lasting drives over a quiet setup. Thanks

I was looking at the Noctua which push ~50-70cfm depending on the model and are ~20-30 db, or some coolermasters that are half the price that do ~50cfm and are only 19db.
But not loyal to either of them.

 

[jgreco]

It really isn't so much about the CFM as it is about the temps, and making sure that a fan failure is handled appropriately. Idle hard drives and busy hard drive both burn substantial amounts of power.

The best way, by far, to manage fan speeds is to have a decent mainboard that is handling that aspect of things for you. A good quality board will ramp fans up and down as needed, and IPMI on the board can help monitor for a failure of the fans as well.

 

[eddie200112]

I always used cheap Sata cables that came with my MOBO's is there a better brand to use that is more reliable for NAS situations or whatever 2-5$ cable will usually do the trick?

 

[eddie200112]

My Super micro X10SRH-CF has some tiny heatsinks on the SATA and SAS chipsets, Do they get quite hot in a freeNAS setup? Should I think about putting aftermarket ones on?

 

[jgreco]

Only if airflow is a problem. A Supermicro chassis will keep air flowing across a majority of the board because of the chassis design.

 

[eddie200112]

So some thoughts.. Since im going to have 6 drives in each of 2 vdevs. does that mean everytime I access a file all 12 drives will spin up or just 6 depending on what vdev the data is on.
Also do the drives ever go idle when not doing anything like in a typical desktop or does freeNAS keep the spun up at all times?
Im also debating on a scrubbing schedule as I read it puts a lot of wear and tear on the drives, and since I will be using my freeNAS server for media, once all my movies are loaded the data wont change much so I was curious if I could get away with less than once a month or if that's still a bad idea..
Thanks

 

[Bidule0hm]

AFAIK all the drives will spin-up.

Unless you do something specifically for it the drives will not spin-down. There is tons of threads on the subject, search for them.

Scrubs interval and data changes have nothing to do one with each other. Personally I recommend once every two weeks for consumer grade NAS drives and I don't recommend to go over 1 month.

 

[jgreco]

Accessing data (what a scrub does) should not be "wear and tear" of any substantial sort for any hard drive. It may decrease responsiveness if it is competing with user requests.