Fellow server-builders out there, this is for you. :) I was trying to
build a cheap JBOD type storage solution running CentOS. Ended up
snagging a Supermicro SC826TQ-R800LPB 2U case (12 drives slots) and a
Supermicro X7DBE-O motherboard. Unfortunately, without thinking I
snagged a 3ware 9650SE-12ML SATA RAID card which is a full height card
and thus does not fit in my case.
I have a few options here:
- Go with a 3U case instead. Now I have a 16-drive case with only a
12-way card. :-)
- Return the 3Ware and order two of the 8-way cards which are
half-height. This means I love some of my space now however as I
have to have an extra spare drive per card.
- Get a PCI-E riser.
The riser option I like, except I also have the BBU unit for my RAID
card meaning I need to ensure that I have enough clearance and support
for it when the card is mounted horizontally. You can mount the
battery elsewhere, but not the logic module...
Most of the PCI-E 8x risers I've seen out there seem to be pretty small
profile and I'm not sure if they'd give the clearance needed (see the
Supermicro provided CSE-RR1U-E8). It looks like I need around 35mm of
clearance to get the card in sideways with the BBU attached...
Another solid option would looke to be a 2U riser, but I am having a
harder time finding somethign reasonably priced. The RSC-R2UE-A3E8
from Supermicro looks perfect and would definitely give me the
clearance I need, but is priced 10x higher than the 1U riser!
Any advice?
Apologies for the off-topic post.. this *will* be running CentOS
however and there doesn't seem to be a more appropriate mailing list
for general stuff like this.. :-)
TIA,
Ray
>Any advice?Only that PCIe in my experience needs a quality riser for signal interference. If this is a server running anything important, I would be leery about "engineering" my own setup from generic components. YMMV, jlc
On Fri, Dec 12, 2008, Ray Van Dolson wrote:>Fellow server-builders out there, this is for you. :) I was trying to >build a cheap JBOD type storage solution running CentOS. Ended up >snagging a Supermicro SC826TQ-R800LPB 2U case (12 drives slots) and a >Supermicro X7DBE-O motherboard. Unfortunately, without thinking I >snagged a 3ware 9650SE-12ML SATA RAID card which is a full height card >and thus does not fit in my case. > >I have a few options here: > > - Go with a 3U case instead. Now I have a 16-drive case with only a > 12-way card. :-) > - Return the 3Ware and order two of the 8-way cards which are > half-height. This means I love some of my space now however as I > have to have an extra spare drive per card. > - Get a PCI-E riser. > >The riser option I like, except I also have the BBU unit for my RAID >card meaning I need to ensure that I have enough clearance and support >for it when the card is mounted horizontally. You can mount the >battery elsewhere, but not the logic module...You might check with Silicon Mechanics as they build a lot of Supermicro boxes with 3Ware cards. I have a couple of 2U boxes here that I'm preparing to deliver to a customer which have them. http://www.siliconmechanics.com/ You may be able to find Supermicro parts on eBay as well. I have a 2U server here that I got on eBay which is working nicely. Bill -- INTERNET: bill at celestial.com Bill Campbell; Celestial Software LLC URL: http://www.celestial.com/ PO Box 820; 6641 E. Mercer Way Voice: (206) 236-1676 Mercer Island, WA 98040-0820 Fax: (206) 232-9186 Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly good ink and make the combination worthless. -- Milton Friedman