Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?
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Did you say what size the SAS drives are (2.5" or 3.5")? I missed it if so. I'm curious if the SSDs will fit in the Dell drive cage chassis properly if they are 2.5" and the SAS disks you have are 3.5".
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Spend the $15 to get a USB drive to be the install target for Hyper-V, and then boot the server from that USB drive each time. Like others have said, keep the SSD to give yourself some fast storage to play with and not to run a hypervisor.
If you're only playing with a single SSD you could even leverage it and use the free version of Starwind to accelerate the VMs running on the spinning disk datastore (I think). Someone else may want to verify this specific point.
I do have plenty of extra USB drives. I was considering that also but I don't know if I want a USB drive sticking out of the back of my server.
You can get a really slim USB stick online for cheap.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-008G-B35/dp/B005FYNSUA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506622655&sr=8-3&keywords=small+usb+drive -
@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Did you say what size the SAS drives are (2.5" or 3.5")? I missed it if so. I'm curious if the SSDs will fit in the Dell drive cage chassis properly if they are 2.5" and the SAS disks you have are 3.5".
SAS drives are 2.5" and I have some caddie spacers that let me use 2.5 in 3.5 caddie. I do already have one 2.5" consumer SSD running in this server, waiting for me to finish installing Hyper-V as we speak.
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@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Spend the $15 to get a USB drive to be the install target for Hyper-V, and then boot the server from that USB drive each time. Like others have said, keep the SSD to give yourself some fast storage to play with and not to run a hypervisor.
If you're only playing with a single SSD you could even leverage it and use the free version of Starwind to accelerate the VMs running on the spinning disk datastore (I think). Someone else may want to verify this specific point.
I do have plenty of extra USB drives. I was considering that also but I don't know if I want a USB drive sticking out of the back of my server.
You can get a really slim USB stick online for cheap.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-008G-B35/dp/B005FYNSUA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506622655&sr=8-3&keywords=small+usb+driveoh man.. yes, that would be a lot better. Maybe I will just install Hyper-v on my current USB just for S&G. I've never installed Hyper-v before so I don't mind having to do it again on a different, smaller USB later..
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Spend the $15 to get a USB drive to be the install target for Hyper-V, and then boot the server from that USB drive each time. Like others have said, keep the SSD to give yourself some fast storage to play with and not to run a hypervisor.
If you're only playing with a single SSD you could even leverage it and use the free version of Starwind to accelerate the VMs running on the spinning disk datastore (I think). Someone else may want to verify this specific point.
I do have plenty of extra USB drives. I was considering that also but I don't know if I want a USB drive sticking out of the back of my server.
You can get a really slim USB stick online for cheap.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-008G-B35/dp/B005FYNSUA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506622655&sr=8-3&keywords=small+usb+driveoh man.. yes, that would be a lot better. Maybe I will just install Hyper-v on my current USB just for S&G. I've never installed Hyper-v before so I don't mind having to do it again on a different, smaller USB later..
It never hurts to practice so you have the install down cold.
That way if this is used in production at some point (I mean Hyper-V and not your lab gear), you will be ready for a complete re-install if absolutely needed in a DR scenario. -
@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
I assume both will work fine but I've never really used consumer SSD's on a Dell server before.. input?
Don't do it. It's going to suck, if it even works.
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It is extremely ill advised to run Hyper-V from a USB or SD-Card.
It's not officially supported and prone to failure.
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
my plan is to use slot 0 and 1 for two drives in RAID1 for the OS, then use the rest for a RAID10 array for storage (at a later time).
Don't do that either. Do the OBR10, and just use a small partition for the OS, and the rest of the space as REFS for Hyper-V storage.
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@dustinb3403 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
It is extremely ill advised to run Hyper-V from a USB or SD-Card.
It's not officially supported and prone to failure.
Oh really? Oops. Ignore that then. Too much time running VMware I guess....
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@networknerd said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@dustinb3403 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
It is extremely ill advised to run Hyper-V from a USB or SD-Card.
It's not officially supported and prone to failure.
Oh really? Oops. Ignore that then. Too much time running VMware I guess....
Yeah, VMware is the only hypervisor today that fully supports and automates that approach.
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@dustinb3403 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
It would be like cooking a hot dog by standing behind a fighter jet as it preps to take off.
Love that analogy
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
I'm putting Hyper-V on a decommissioned Dell R510 for a general LAB environment and testing, etc. I'm trying to scrounge up some spare drives (I have a lot) for a stable/reliable config. I have 8x 3.5" drive bays on this thing and my plan is to use slot 0 and 1 for two drives in RAID1 for the OS, then use the rest for a RAID10 array for storage (at a later time). Yes, I know usually you'd just do OBR10 but I'm not doing it that way.
Right now, I'm trying to decide which would be better: a set of 300GB 15K SAS Dell Enterprise drives or a set of consumer-grade 128GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD drives.
I assume both will work fine but I've never really used consumer SSD's on a Dell server before.. input?
I own 2 R510's with 12 bays and the H700 card. I know from experience that while the newer generation servers (X20 and X30 generation) often reject drives, this server and card combo, as long as you've updated your firmware and drivers, will accept pretty much any SSD drives. I have a R620 that failed to power up with more than 3 of a specific SSD but 12 of those same drives in the R510 worked beautifully.
Edit: for spelling.
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@dustinb3403 I'll take a bag please, I'm going to the gym tonight so will probably be low when I'm done!
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Forget about 15K spinners. For consumer-grade SSDs make sure your SDS of choice is OK with them (StarWind is OK, VMware vSAN / S2D are NOT OK f.e.)
https://fojta.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/monitor-wear-and-tear-of-your-vsan-ssds/
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/filecab/2016/11/18/dont-do-it-consumer-ssd/
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I would also recommend you not to waste two drive slots for RAID1 OS partition especially if it's a hypervisor host. USB Flash/SD Card/SATADOM/whatever will do the job leaving you with 8 free bays for OBR10 or OBR5/6. Speed all the things up with StarWind (as mentioned above) and you are good to go.
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@net-runner said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
I would also recommend you not to waste two drive slots for RAID1 OS partition especially if it's a hypervisor host. USB Flash/SD Card/SATADOM/whatever will do the job leaving you with 8 free bays for OBR10 or OBR5/6. Speed all the things up with StarWind (as mentioned above) and you are good to go.
I was told that USB Flash and SD were no longer supported by MS and not to do it that way.
Anyway, I ended up just using 4x 1TB drives in RAID10 but I can't even install Hyper-V 2016 because that OS does not support the Perc S300 RAID card I have in m R510. Looks like I have to use 2012 R2 instead.
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Perc S300
Looks like someone found a work around for that controller - but then others really recommend replacing it.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/906/t/19997714
You can probably get an older RAID card on ebay pretty cheap.
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@dashrender said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Perc S300
Looks like someone found a work around for that controller - but then others really recommend replacing it.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/906/t/19997714
You can probably get an older RAID card on ebay pretty cheap.
lmao, I figured as much. I do think I'm just going to replace the card as it is a hunk of crap.
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@dashrender said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Perc S300
Looks like someone found a work around for that controller - but then others really recommend replacing it.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/906/t/19997714
You can probably get an older RAID card on ebay pretty cheap.
lmao, I figured as much. I do think I'm just going to replace the card as it is a hunk of crap.
Remember to get a lot of cache and battery backup.
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@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
@net-runner said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
I would also recommend you not to waste two drive slots for RAID1 OS partition especially if it's a hypervisor host. USB Flash/SD Card/SATADOM/whatever will do the job leaving you with 8 free bays for OBR10 or OBR5/6. Speed all the things up with StarWind (as mentioned above) and you are good to go.
I was told that USB Flash and SD were no longer supported by MS and not to do it that way.
It was never supported outside of some OEM use case that I have never spotted in the wild. Yes it can be made to work, but it is not supported.
@dave247 said in Enterprise 15K SAS drives vs consumer grade SSD in a Dell server?:
Anyway, I ended up just using 4x 1TB drives in RAID10 but I can't even install Hyper-V 2016 because that OS does not support the Perc S300 RAID card I have in m R510. Looks like I have to use 2012 R2 instead.
I thought the S300 was fake raid? I never buy anything but the H700.
