Media Server Storage Solutions

Hi Everyone,

Hopefully this is an ok topic for this forum.

Currently I have a i7 windows server 2012 8gb ram computer running mezzmo with SEVERAL USB2 and USB3 external harddrives. A total of 25TB allocated for media files.

The problem is that most of these external drives were really only designed to run as backup devices and they just don't last that long.. maybe 5 years of powered on life. The second problem is that they take up a lot of desk space (8 drives). I also feel like if i could keep them cooler they may last longer, but all i can think to do is run a fan on them 24/7, which i do already.

My media server serves 4 tvs, 3 phones and 2 tablets with a minimum load of 2 tvs and one phone almost all the time. It does this spectacularly by the way!

So, what i'd love to know from other users out there is this.

What are you currently using as your data storage solution for your media that mezzmo serves? What is your dream setup?

Thanks in advance!!

I had the same issue so went ahead and bought a NAS (Network Attached Storage) server. Very pricey but small footprint wherever it is sitting and much more reliability than an external hard drive.

QNAP TS-869-PRO 8-Bay NAS

Synology is one of the other big names when it comes to NAS.

I've actually been looking into Synology..

They have a new(er) 4 bay option, i like how they have link aggregation and failover on their ethernet ports, even on this model.
Synology America Disk Station 4-Bay Network Attached Storage (DS415+)

and my dream one would be the 8bay 4 ethernet version..mmmmmm yummy... =]
Synology America DiskStation 8-Bay Network Attached Storage (DS1815+)

What factors had you choose the QNAP over a synology as they are pretty close in price?

Also what kind of drives are you using in yours?

From all my research the QNAP is much easier to configure and administor. Plus there is a crap ton of extra options to play with as far as software. I do have an IT background but believe anyone can use and configure the QNAPs via the webpage. When I bought my 8 Bay the WD Reds 3TB were as big as a drive they had. So i bought 8 and figured that would be all I need. Now the WD Reds are up to 6TB and seeing how I only have 3 out of 19 TB free, time to upgrade. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shutter

Hi Everyone,

Hopefully this is an ok topic for this forum.

Currently I have a i7 windows server 2012 8gb ram computer running mezzmo with SEVERAL USB2 and USB3 external harddrives. A total of 25TB allocated for media files.

The problem is that most of these external drives were really only designed to run as backup devices and they just don't last that long.. maybe 5 years of powered on life. The second problem is that they take up a lot of desk space (8 drives). I also feel like if i could keep them cooler they may last longer, but all i can think to do is run a fan on them 24/7, which i do already.

My media server serves 4 tvs, 3 phones and 2 tablets with a minimum load of 2 tvs and one phone almost all the time. It does this spectacularly by the way!

So, what i'd love to know from other users out there is this.

What are you currently using as your data storage solution for your media that mezzmo serves? What is your dream setup?

Thanks in advance!!

---

I have a Norco 4224 case with a Highpoint 24 port RAID controller. The Mezzmo video server has 32GB of memory with 96TB of storage in the 4224 chassis and an additional 36TB in an attached storage chassis. I have the ability to add more external storage chassis' as needed.

http://www.thebinks.com/jeff/computer/index.html

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jbinkley60

I have a Norco 4224 case with a Highpoint 24 port RAID controller. The Mezzmo video server has 32GB of memory with 96TB of storage in the 4224 chassis and an additional 36TB in an attached storage chassis. I have the ability to add more external storage chassis' as needed.

http://www.thebinks.com/jeff/computer/index.html

---

you have an awesome setup! there is a lot more money in that then I will be able to spend! lol but i'm definitely envious!
What make/model are your attached storage chassis? (Nevermind i found it =] Norco DS-12D storage chassis) That might be something i could add to my existing server, how are they connecting to the 4224's?

one more question, what temp do you keep that room where the servers are located? heat must be a constant point of concern?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shutter

you have an awesome setup! there is a lot more money in that then I will be able to spend! lol but i'm definitely envious!
What make/model are your attached storage chassis? (Nevermind i found it =] Norco DS-12D storage chassis) That might be something i could add to my existing server, how are they connecting to the 4224's?

one more question, what temp do you keep that room where the servers are located? heat must be a constant point of concern?

---

Overall things aren't as expensive as they might seem. Everything is off the shelf computer parts such as normal ASUS motherboards, AMD processors, regular memory, low cost Highpoint RAID controllers etc. One thing I did not skimp on is the power supplies. I use quality power supplies. The external storage chassis' are a combination of a Highpoint 2711 (or 2722) RAID controller which goes in the server and then a Highpoint 340 expander which goes in the expansion chassis and has an 8088 cable to connect back to the 2711/2722 host adapter. I used a Norco DS-12D because they are cheap and rack mounted but really you can use anything which has enough drive bays and a power supply. You also don't need to use all 16 ports on the EJ340 if you use a chassis which has less (i.e. 12 in this case).

This sits in the basement. It really doesn't generate as much heat as you might think. The newer drives only consume about 8 watts each and the temperature on them is generally around 90 degrees F.. I use Noctua fans due to their good cooling and being very quiet. If I am not careful fan noise can be a bigger problem than heat. Most of the power is for the motherboard processors and the RAID cards. All of the computers combined draw around 1100 watts of power. In the future I'll move to the newer Intel chips which draw much less power.

One additional thing I wanted to mention is that I have tested the new Seagate 8TB SMR drives in this setup. They work fine with the Highpoint controllers. I am not quite ready to move to them and Seagate says they aren't designed for RAID setups but folks are using them. For something like this I expect they would be fine. Right now there is no cost advantage over the 4TB units and I am not short on storage yet.