HP Gen 8 + HDD Enclosure?

[neonplanet40]

Hi folks,

I have a few questions!

So, I just upgraded my N40L to the newer Gen 8. Primary use will be a media center Pc.

My other server (In sig) which has most of my data is getting long in the tooth. it is very unreliable (Probably because of the Windows Home Server OS).

Now, here is what I am thinking. Many of the HDD enclosures out now (4 and 5 Bay) can connect via USB 3. Are these reliable? Ideally I would like something which would list all 5 drives (In this external bay) as one big hard drive as I liked this feature of the home server. eSata isn't an option as HP removed it on the gen 8 and replaced it with 2 USB 3.

What are the pitfalls of this type of system? Is it possible? If so, any recommendations? I have the hard drives so want to keep the cost down. I don't want it to be one of them enclosures which randomly corrupts itself etc.

Likewise, if the above is not an option or this is just a similar price, is there any NAS boxes which would do the job for a low price?

Ideally, whatever I get needs to have the storage controller capacity for large hard drives e.g 6, 8 or 10 TB etc to future proof it. It must also have a minimum of 4 bays (the more the better really!)

Thanks for your help!

Mark

[DDY]

In the past I have run multi-drive external SATA USB enclosures on a long term basis without any issues, I'd be happy running one with the Gen8. I don't have any to recommend but I would suggest that you go up-market and branded for reliability sakes.

That said, have you seen the prices of 4/5 bay enclosures? It'd be as expensive if not cheaper to buy another £99 Gen8!

[neonplanet40]

Bah!! No idea what to do lol

[DDY]

Maybe, find a used Gen7 (if you haven't got one already) for about £50 and hook that up directly to your Gen8? Or heck, connect it to the network if it's just a file server.

[neonplanet40]

its only got 4 slots though (one of which would have OS). I really need one with more bays . . .

[DDY]

its only got 4 slots though (one of which would have OS). I really need one with more bays . . .

Flash the Gen7 with a modded BIOS and install the OS to a HDD connected to the ODD SATA port, or install an OS to a USB flash drive connected to the internal USB port.

That'll leave you with all four bays free to play with.

[neonplanet40]

Is there any other servers I could look for on eBay? Which have more bays? I know HP do bigger ones but I guess they would have Xeon cpus etc which add to the cost

[neonplanet40]

Maybe I could take my current box and upgrade the cpu, ram and mobo? No idea what software os to run on it thought as I am a bit of a noob software wise!

[shaithis]

I am a big fan of FreeNAS. It's got a very low overhead and lots of features....and it's free.

The problem you have with hardware is that apart from the Microservers, most (if not all) servers are pretty noisy. So it's a case of build your own unless you have somewhere to place real servers where they don't annoy the hell out of you.

[Bonebreaker777]

Second hand mATX server and under tune the hell out of it (to reduce noise pollution)?
Once again, we need affordable ITX motherboards with ECC support...!

How about a minimalist case with 5-6x drive support and some 775 platform for ECC support? (Can't imagine 1155/1150 with ECC for a reasonable price).

[neonplanet40]

Any hardware recommendations so that I can see how much it would cost? Ideally I want it to be powerful enough to do whats needed but also be low powered and price low . .

Not asking for much am I? haha

[b0redom]

I am currently very seriously considering a couple of these:

http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Lenov...UK/version.asp

They were under £200 inc VAT a while back, but hey seem to tick all the boxes for me for a ESX and a FreeNAS box (running some other bits too.)

[neonplanet40]

I am currently very seriously considering a couple of these:

http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Lenov...UK/version.asp

They were under £200 inc VAT a while back, but hey seem to tick all the boxes for me for a ESX and a FreeNAS box (running some other bits too.)

Nice but only 4 HDD slots. I would like more