Building a Veeam backup target
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@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
I have a spare x3550m4 (64Gb of ram, single CPU, no raid controller), and I want to build a backup repository for our growing Veeam backups. I’m thinking about getting some Broadcom raid controller (any ideam of what can be the best fit for ~20Tb?), and I’m torn between using the 8 internal 2.5 slot or buying also an external JBOD, but I cannot find enclosure of my taste… any suggestion?
Using the internal 2.5" bays are out of the question, as it's hard to get a solid ~20TB RAID of that few 2.5" drives that are at lest somewhat reliable.
If it's just backups, I've so far had a lot of success with an old MD1000 with 8x 8TB HGST drives (RAID10). Even with the 3Gbps backplane limitation, I'm still able to do a full back up of about 12 TB in 14 hours. It's quite fast. If you need more speed, you can use more lower-capacity drives to hit your mark.
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@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
I have a spare x3550m4 (64Gb of ram, single CPU, no raid controller), and I want to build a backup repository for our growing Veeam backups. I’m thinking about getting some Broadcom raid controller (any ideam of what can be the best fit for ~20Tb?), and I’m torn between using the 8 internal 2.5 slot or buying also an external JBOD, but I cannot find enclosure of my taste… any suggestion?
Using the internal 2.5" bays are out of the question, as it's hard to get a solid ~20TB RAID of that few 2.5" drives that are at lest somewhat reliable.
If it's just backups, I've so far had a lot of success with an old MD1000 with 8x 8TB HGST drives (RAID10). Even with the 3Gbps backplane limitation, I'm still able to do a full back up of about 12 TB in 14 hours. It's quite fast. If you need more speed, you can use more lower-capacity drives to hit your mark.
AFAIK 2.5 drives have the same reliability as the 3.5 ones. There are 5Tb 2.5 spindles available, so I can get 20 Tb out of 8x5Tb in raid 10... but, of course, the JBOD alternative is much more scalable (and pricier).
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@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
I have a spare x3550m4 (64Gb of ram, single CPU, no raid controller), and I want to build a backup repository for our growing Veeam backups. I’m thinking about getting some Broadcom raid controller (any ideam of what can be the best fit for ~20Tb?), and I’m torn between using the 8 internal 2.5 slot or buying also an external JBOD, but I cannot find enclosure of my taste… any suggestion?
Using the internal 2.5" bays are out of the question, as it's hard to get a solid ~20TB RAID of that few 2.5" drives that are at lest somewhat reliable.
If it's just backups, I've so far had a lot of success with an old MD1000 with 8x 8TB HGST drives (RAID10). Even with the 3Gbps backplane limitation, I'm still able to do a full back up of about 12 TB in 14 hours. It's quite fast. If you need more speed, you can use more lower-capacity drives to hit your mark.
AFAIK 2.5 drives have the same reliability as the 3.5 ones. There are 5Tb 2.5 spindles available, so I can get 20 Tb out of 8x5Tb in raid 10... but, of course, the JBOD alternative is much more scalable (and pricier).
Yeah I suppose that'll work. I didn't know they made them that big at 2.5".
It's not that much more pricier. You can find a MD1000 box for well under a grand. The cable isn't much, not a factor. The RAID Card you need anyways, so that's not a factor either. Eight 5TB 2.5" drives are probably more expensive than 8x 6TB 3.5" drives (didn't look, but I imagine so). With the MD1000, you have 15 bays.
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@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
I have a spare x3550m4 (64Gb of ram, single CPU, no raid controller), and I want to build a backup repository for our growing Veeam backups. I’m thinking about getting some Broadcom raid controller (any ideam of what can be the best fit for ~20Tb?), and I’m torn between using the 8 internal 2.5 slot or buying also an external JBOD, but I cannot find enclosure of my taste… any suggestion?
Using the internal 2.5" bays are out of the question, as it's hard to get a solid ~20TB RAID of that few 2.5" drives that are at lest somewhat reliable.
If it's just backups, I've so far had a lot of success with an old MD1000 with 8x 8TB HGST drives (RAID10). Even with the 3Gbps backplane limitation, I'm still able to do a full back up of about 12 TB in 14 hours. It's quite fast. If you need more speed, you can use more lower-capacity drives to hit your mark.
AFAIK 2.5 drives have the same reliability as the 3.5 ones. There are 5Tb 2.5 spindles available, so I can get 20 Tb out of 8x5Tb in raid 10... but, of course, the JBOD alternative is much more scalable (and pricier).
Just a tiny bit more reliable, in fact. The smaller size lowers the mechanical wear and tear. But 3.5 are just a smidgen faster.
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So, you are pointing towards the external jbod solution? The Dell chassis seems a bit dated to me...
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@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
So, you are pointing towards the external jbod solution? The Dell chassis seems a bit dated to me...
It can't be any more dated than the MD1000. (though I didn't look up your server)
Do you want the possibility to expand (MD1000) versus having to replace 8 drives later?
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@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
It can't be any more dated than
I see your point and I agree with you, but I haven't found al that MD1000 chassis in the usual place (ebay &co), maybe the problem is that I'm in Italy?
Any alternatives? -
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
I'm in Italy
Ahh, I see. That changes availability and costs of things.
I use disctech.com. I know they ship internationally, but that may make them more expensive than somewhere else in Italy, or it may mean using the internal 2.5" bays are your best option.
Scott may have a lot more to add on international server hardware and related items availability or options.
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@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
I'm in Italy
Ahh, I see. That changes availability and costs of things.
I use disctech.com. I know they ship internationally, but that may make them more expensive than somewhere else in Italy, or it may mean using the internal 2.5" bays are your best option.
Scott may have a lot more to add on international server hardware and related items availability or options.
Thank you @Tim_G ! I think I'll go with RAID 6 on the JBOD.
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@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
So, you are pointing towards the external jbod solution? The Dell chassis seems a bit dated to me...
It can't be any more dated than the MD1000. (though I didn't look up your server)
Do you want the possibility to expand (MD1000) versus having to replace 8 drives later?
I found some posts talking about MD1000 being picky with drives, don’t accept >4Tb… what do you think about that?
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@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@tim_g said in Building a Veeam backup target:
@francesco-provino said in Building a Veeam backup target:
So, you are pointing towards the external jbod solution? The Dell chassis seems a bit dated to me...
It can't be any more dated than the MD1000. (though I didn't look up your server)
Do you want the possibility to expand (MD1000) versus having to replace 8 drives later?
I found some posts talking about MD1000 being picky with drives, don’t accept >4Tb… what do you think about that?
Well, considering I have 8x 8TB drives in mine, I'd say those posts are full of shit. I've had HGST and Seagate Ironwolf's in it.
It depends on the HBA you use, not the MD1000. The MD1000 is nothing more than a long cable attached to your server's internal RAID card.
Maybe there's a firmware or something for the MD1000, that may have been done when I did a system-wide firmware/drive update on the server via Dell Server Update Utility.
