Looking for AIO Storage solution for my servers.

[rkd29980]

I am currently looking for am AIO OS/Software solution for my servers.

I currently have a Norco 4224 that is running OmniOS and Napp-it.

I have three 36 bay Supermicro servers, a Chenbro 48 Bay, two old 16 bay Supermico, two old 8 bay Supermico and five old 6 bay SAS servers. All of which I am looking to manage with the same OS.

I have been testing out various NAS OS's. This has been my experience so far.

OpenMediaVault is a buggy mess. In order to use ZFS, you first need to install a plugin to install another plugin. Unlike other options like FreeNAS, OMV does not come with ZoL included and apparently, no one is in charge of the ZFS plugin. It is unknown who created the ZFS plugin for OMV but the one guy currently working on it doesn't know anything about ZFS. OMV also keeps loosing the zpool and you have to keep importing it. I just don't trust OMV.

OpenAttic, I could not get this to install and they only have a Google group for support. I posted my problem there and there has been no answer. OpenAttic doesn't seem to have a large community and when you need help, the developers are MIA.

FreeNAS, I was able to install FreeNAS just fine but it can't see any of my drives. One of the mods eluded to the problem being that FreeBSD does not have a driver for my Marvell based HBA's. I am not willing to spend money on different hardware.

I was going to try NAS4Free but since that is based on FreeBSD, I am likely to have the same problems as I did with FreeNAS.

OpenFiler. I was going to try this but it looks like it hasn't had any development in over 6 years and does not have a forum or community behind it.

ZFSGuru. I was going to try this but although it has a forum and (small) community behind it, it seems to be kinda basic and less mature and feature rich as OMV or FreeNAS.

Napp-it. I have been using this on one of my servers and while I have no problems with it. It just isn't what I am looking for. Unlike OMV or FreeNAS, it is not an esay to intall AIO operation. Installing OmniOS is beyond my skills and even for someone who is very experienced with Linux, was quite a pain in the ass to set up. Since I no longer have access to someone who can help with this, I can not use Napp-it. Also, Napp-it is not completely free. It is not worth paying for and some of it's more useful feature are only available in the premium version, features that are free in OMV and FreeNAS.

 

[WestSidaz]

Whatkind of end game do you have in mind? what kind of needs do you have for server? whatkind of usage do u have? do you need raids? do you need all boxes runned from one OS? Whatkind of hardware do you have?

I am in kind of samekind of boat myself.. lookin to run 88 hdds at the end inc. paritys.. i was thinkin about going with 3 x rpc 4224 "modded".. 1 master + 2 x slaves, coz i dont need speed, i was thinkin about atleast at this point with Windows maybe 7 x64 + Snapraid + GUI.. But all that is still in planning table..

Could this maybe work for you? ClusterFS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlusterFS

 

[rkd29980]

I don't really have an end game. I have these servers most of which are pretty old because I am cheap. Two of the 36 bay Supermicros will be used to store media with one as a mirrored backup. The Norco which is currently being used for media will be used for misc stuff. The Chenbro will be used as a master backup and the 16 and 8 bay Supermicro's will be used for porn. Three of the 6 bay SAS servers will be used as NVR's for IP cameras.

Many years from now when I outgrow my current setup, I will eventually replace all my old stuff with new servers filled with Helium drives or SSD's when they become affordable for us plebs to buy. At that point, I will set up a Fiber network.

My 36 bay Supermicro servers specs:
Supermicro CSE-847A-R1400-LPB.
Supermicro X8DTE motherboard.
Intel Xeon 5650 2,67Ghz Hex-core processor.
24GB Samsung M393B5170EH1-CH9 PC3-10600R RAM.
5 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 HBA's

My Chenbro

Chenbro 48 Bay Top Loader 4U Chassis w/Rail Kit
Supermicro X8SIA-F Bulk ATX 1156 Intel 3420
Intel Xeon X3450 2.66 8MB Quad Core 1156 Tray
4 Actica 8GB 1600MHz ECC/Reg DDR3 Samsung 512Mx8 2R 1.5v CL11
LSI 9211-8i Bulk LSI 9211-8i 6Gb/s PCI-Express

I built my Norco several years ago and I don't have the spec list on hand. All the other servers were bought in bulk from surplus. I don't know there specs.

I don't know how I would setup mirroring and all that but I figured I would install something like OMV or FreeNAS on each system and share them as a network drive with SMB. OMV has NVR plugins for security systems which was great. I thought about GlusterFS but decided if I wanted to go that route, I would set up a Ceph storage cluster instead. At this point though, my mind is set on servers running their own OS, shared with SMB, and using ZFS as the file system. The media servers will run a RAID-Z3 array, the misc servers will run a RAID-Z2 array and the porn and less important data storage servers will use RAID-Z1

The trick now is to find a stable, reliable and robust AIO OS that I can install on all my servers that will support my varying and often outdated hardware. OpenMediaVault and FreeNAS were the two prime candidates but OMV is not stable or reliable and FreeNAS does not support my hardware.

 

[_Gea]

Installing OmniOS is beyond my skills and even for someone who is very experienced with Linux, was quite a pain in the ass to set up. Since I no longer have access to someone who can help with this, I can not use Napp-it. .

Can you tell me, what was your problem installing OmniOS as All-in-One?
Its no more than downloading the ESXi template, import and the appliance is up and running.

Download the template: http://napp-it.org/downloads/napp-in-one_en.html
Howto: http://napp-it.org/doc/downloads/napp-in-one.pdf

Even a manual setup for one of the supported Solarish enterprise operating systems is not too complicated.
see http://www.napp-it.org/doc/downloads/setup_napp-it_os.pdf

regarding napp-it features.
napp-it is an optional add-on for easier management for a general use ZFS operating system.
It is compatible with GUI management ex the GUI version of OI/Solaris or CLI management.
The free version is not feature limited regarding OS/ZFS features, commercial use or capacity.
The Pro version mainly adds support and easier management of some Solaris features like network replication

btw
For ZFS, I prefer Solaris based systems where ZFS is origin and native with best integration of OS, ZFS and services
like iSCSI/FC, NFS or SMB as they are all maintained by the OS supplier Oracle or Illumos itself (no 3rd party tools needed). It gives you the best ZFS experience. Best performance and most features are on Oracle Solaris
but this is not free for commercial usage, The alternatives are the free Solaris clones OmniOS, OpenIndiana and SmartOS.