Small business server

[hrvojezg00]

Hi all,

We are about to upgrade our server due to bigger and bigger files, our current is simply not up to it. Now we have a WD EX4 on iwhich is painfully slow and makes it a pain in the b.. to have several people work on one project at the same time. We have a gigabit switch, so its not it. What kind of system/setup is best for 3-4 people office? What do you guys have?

Thanks,
Hrvoje

[hrvojezg00]

No one?

[Juraj]

Any true NAS will be better than generic storage like MyCloud, and any PC will surpass NAS. I am currently using i7 build repurposed as file-server, running a bunch of SSDs for system files, assets and projects, and few HDDs for storage only (photography,etc.. things that don't need instant access). I still use Synology NAS as back-up, but not for direct access.

10gbit network speeds things up brutally, and is already very cost effective. 10gbit RJ45 Intel cards costs 100 euros if you buy them from China, and 8-12 port switch starts at 800 euros, there are already few models since last week, some already unmanaged too ( Netgear, Buffalo,etc..).
 
Things (scene open, assets reload, DR start,etc..) are pretty much instantaneous.

[hrvojezg00]

Thanks Juraj. Synology is about to come out with DS1517+, all geared up over 1100mb read/write.
You run FreeNas on i7 server system?

[Juraj]

Thanks Juraj. Synology is about to come out with DS1517+, all geared up over 1100mb read/write.
You run FreeNas on i7 server system?

Nope, I run Windows 10 :- ) It's licence server, cloud server, runs multiple back-up and synchronizing apps, no reason to limit it into single purpose linux distro.

And god.. do I HATE those Synology apps. They might be the best in terms of user-friendliness out of other NAS systems, but they are so painfully slow.

[pokoy]

I invested in a NAS (Synology 1815+) and soon noticed that 1Gbit just isn't enough even if only 2-3 people work on it simultaneously. Whatever you do, go with 10 Gbit.

[hrvojezg00]

What kind of gigabit switch you have?
So you just need a 10g switch and that should do it? Or need to invest in ssd storage?

[pokoy]

For best performance, every part of your network should have 10 Gbit capability, NAS/Server, Switch, PC workstation or nodes.

[hrvojezg00]

Definetly not cheap. Thanks fot the info!

[pokoy]

Definetly not cheap. Thanks fot the info!

Make sure to ask someone who knows better. I'm not sure if having a 10Gbit NAS and switch will do fine with 1 Gbit PCs (I guess it should) but then again, why limiting bandwidth when you could multiply throughput without spending a fortune. I know I would've gladly spent more on a faster NAS and switch instead of losing time waiting for larger files to save or load.

[hrvojezg00]

Juraj, how much read/write are ypu getting on 10g with ssd's?

[Juraj]

Juraj, how much read/write are ypu getting on 10g with ssd's?

If it's between SATA SSDs like Samsung 850, then 500 +/- MB/s. If it's between PCI-e/(NVMe) SSDs (I use Intel P3600 and Samsung 960) than I saturate the link at 1200 MB/s. ( in both cases read/write)

I thought about truncating the server<-->switch to dual 10gbit just for fun :- ).

It was good investment.

[hrvojezg00]

Omg, and I am struggling to get 100/100. Which ssd's you have on server and which on pc's?

[Juraj]

Omg, and I am struggling to get 100/100. Which ssd's you have on server and which on pc's?

I am still using few older LGA-2011(2) chipsets so I can't use PCI-E SSDs on workstations as system drive (Asus never provided such bios fix, and I didn't want to manually fix this). So I using Samsung 850 almost everywhere.
The fileserver and nodes have 960 as system drives and the fileserver has Intel P3600 as file drives for projects&assets and 850 for everything else (photography, business,etc.. ).

But here is the thing: I would never waste money on PCI-E drives unless you get good price on them. The performance difference outside of copying full drive of photography is 0perc. Not 1,2perc... 0 percent :- ).

[hrvojezg00]

So that is the way to go, sounds reasonable. 4tb Samsung 850 ssd`s are not that pricy as I thought, I`ll just wait till ds1517+ comes out and reviewed. It supports 2.5"ssd as storage, so that sounds interesting!

[Juraj]

So that is the way to go, sounds reasonable. 4tb Samsung 850 ssd`s are not that pricy as I thought, I`ll just wait till ds1517+ comes out and reviewed. It supports 2.5"ssd as storage, so that sounds interesting!

Just mind the following:

Synology requires additional pricy 10gbe extension card. Not only does it cost 500+ euros, it has optical connection (SFP+ ) not copper RJ45. While SFP+ cards for end-clients(workstations/nodes) are very cheap, cabling and switches are not. It will not be compatible with your current network.

[hrvojezg00]

Damn, it sounded too easy. So which i7 have you made server? I have an i7 970 pc just standing aside, could be a decent NAS replacement? So the goal is to have all low power hungry hardware (graphic, cooler etc,power) in it with ssd storage (RAID5?).

[hrvojezg00]

Juraj, so you have RJ45 cards and cabling, not SFP+?

[Juraj]

Juraj, so you have RJ45 cards and cabling, not SFP+?

Yes, so I could keep everything compatible and hassle free. Copper cabling is no-brainer. I use Intel X520-T2 cards (OEM, buy them in bulk from China), CAT6A STP( shielded ) cabling, and Netgear XS708E v2 switch.

SFP+ cards are incredibly cheap to get (even for as low as 10 euro each hah !), but the switches are problematic as SFP+ optic is mostly meant as switch-to-switch connection only, so you will find corporate switches like 40x1gbit RJ45 + 4x10gbit SFP+ which is far less useful than having 8-16 10gbit RJ45.

Then, some people go for optic because it's easy to connect two computers directly these way.

Few notes: It's not often stated, but you can even use CAT5A cabling for 10gbit, although CAT6 and CAT6A (CAT7 is just side-grade to improve audio quality, not an actual new version, ignore it) will hold up better over longer lengths.

There is third option for affordable 10gbit network, Infiniband. I strongly suggest to ignore it.

[hrvojezg00]

Thanks, all ordered and waiting! RJ45 cards cost 5xmore in Europe then in China, unbeliavable.
Thanks for all the info!

[Philip kelly]

Makes you wonder what else you could buy in china at a low price if thats the case.
From what site do you buy from if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks

[hrvojezg00]

From ebay. I usually buy stuff there that don`t cost too much or when theres big difference in price here/ebay so it doesn`t hurt much if it brokes. And none did so far.

[Juraj]

From ebay. I usually buy stuff there that don`t cost too much or when theres big difference in price here/ebay so it doesn`t hurt much if it brokes. And none did so far.

Yup, same here, eBay. I also use regular postage (not UPS/DHL) as most of the time, it will come just slightly longer, but with no need to declare customs ( seller will write 22 euros, this trick does not work with DHL/UPS ).