- Dec 1, 2003
- 880
- 1
- 81
I’m building a server for a small law firm with 3 workstations. Its just a basic file server for Word and Excel files, QuickBooks and some other software that the law firm uses. This specific application does not demand performance but reliability, redundancy, and low-noise is a must. I’ve built many servers before but would appreciate any input on my hardware choices and concerns.
Case: iStarUSA D-213-MATX 2U
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME Snow Silent 550W
Redundant power supplies are not an option because they have loud fans. From my experience, SeaSonic PSUs are super reliable. This one is quiet and does not run the fan under low-load. A 12 year warranty speaks volumes about quality.
Fans: 2X Noctua NF-A8 PWM
These are quiet and reliable PWM fans. I expect them to run at low speed.
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCM-F-O
This is a server grade motherboard with IPMI which is find extremely useful for remote assistance
RAM: Crucial 16GB DDR4 or DDR4 ECC Unbuffered
CPU: Intel Xeon E-2124 or Core i3-9100
CPU Cooler: Noctura NH-L12S
Hard Drives: 2x desktop drives reused from workstations in RAID 1
RAID: Hardware, Inter eRST or Windows
And now for my concerns:
CPU & RAM:
The Xeon supports ECC but there is not a lot of data going through this server. It error correction necessary for this setup or with a regular desktop i3 be adequate? Are there any other advantages to going the Xeon-ECC route?
RAID & Hard Drives:
I want install Samsung 970 Pro NVMe drives into the workstations and reuse the 500GB desktop hard drives for a RAID 1 setup (I may use a 3rd drive as a hot-spare). I never messed with software RAID because of reliability concerns. In the past I’ve use controllers from Areca, LSI and Adaptec. I want to be able to put the drives into another system should the motherboard fail. I heard that is not possible with software/firmware RAID. All of the hardware RAID controllers are $300+ except for the HighPoint RocketRAID 2720A which is a brand I am reluctant to mess with. The motherboards supports Inter Enterprise Rapid Storage and I can also do software raid with Windows Server 2019 AFAIK. Will there be a significant performance hit if I do not get a dedicated controller? I would also like audible alerts if a disk fails and I would like the RAID software to send out e-mails to me alerting me of a disk failure. Please advise: Hardware $300+, Hardware HighPoint, eRST, or Windows Server 2019 RAID and why?
Case: iStarUSA D-213-MATX 2U
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME Snow Silent 550W
Redundant power supplies are not an option because they have loud fans. From my experience, SeaSonic PSUs are super reliable. This one is quiet and does not run the fan under low-load. A 12 year warranty speaks volumes about quality.
Fans: 2X Noctua NF-A8 PWM
These are quiet and reliable PWM fans. I expect them to run at low speed.
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SCM-F-O
This is a server grade motherboard with IPMI which is find extremely useful for remote assistance
RAM: Crucial 16GB DDR4 or DDR4 ECC Unbuffered
CPU: Intel Xeon E-2124 or Core i3-9100
CPU Cooler: Noctura NH-L12S
Hard Drives: 2x desktop drives reused from workstations in RAID 1
RAID: Hardware, Inter eRST or Windows
And now for my concerns:
CPU & RAM:
The Xeon supports ECC but there is not a lot of data going through this server. It error correction necessary for this setup or with a regular desktop i3 be adequate? Are there any other advantages to going the Xeon-ECC route?
RAID & Hard Drives:
I want install Samsung 970 Pro NVMe drives into the workstations and reuse the 500GB desktop hard drives for a RAID 1 setup (I may use a 3rd drive as a hot-spare). I never messed with software RAID because of reliability concerns. In the past I’ve use controllers from Areca, LSI and Adaptec. I want to be able to put the drives into another system should the motherboard fail. I heard that is not possible with software/firmware RAID. All of the hardware RAID controllers are $300+ except for the HighPoint RocketRAID 2720A which is a brand I am reluctant to mess with. The motherboards supports Inter Enterprise Rapid Storage and I can also do software raid with Windows Server 2019 AFAIK. Will there be a significant performance hit if I do not get a dedicated controller? I would also like audible alerts if a disk fails and I would like the RAID software to send out e-mails to me alerting me of a disk failure. Please advise: Hardware $300+, Hardware HighPoint, eRST, or Windows Server 2019 RAID and why?