OSVDC Series: Cluster Hardware - rharmonson/richtech GitHub Wiki

OSVDC: Cluster Hardware

Revised: March 24, 2016

Article 4 of the Open Source Virtual Data Center Series

My primary considerations in selecting hardware is cost and technical requirements. I initial budgeted $4,500 but with the addition of a 10 Gb storage network and router, I spent just over $6,000 USD.

Grand Total: $5484 USD + tax or approximately $6,000 with tax

Pricing last updated February 2016

Storage Host

Total: $2,698 USD + tax

If you have access to enterprise servers like HP or Dell that meet the prerequisites, then by all means use them.

Case

  • 1 unit, $110.00 USD depending on model, Fractal Design Define R4 or R5 Gaming Case Cases, e.g. FDCADEFR5TI or FDCADEFR5BKW.
  • 1 unit, $12.00 USD, Fractal Design Case Fan Cooling FD-FAN-DYN-GP14-WT; note: must be used for R5 Front drive fan, however, unnecessary if using R4 case.
  • 2 or 3 units, $12.00 USD, Fractal Design Case Fan Cooling FD-FAN-SSR3-140-WT; note: cannot be used for R5 front disk drive cooling fans. Install in top positions.
  • 1 unit, $87.00 USD, Seasonic SSR-450RM ATX 12V/EPS 12V 450-Watt 80 Plus Gold certified PFC Power Supply

subtotal: $245 + tax

System

My preference is Supermicro system boards for they are designed for the intended purpose. A server!

  • 1 unit, $246.50 USD, Supermicro X10SL7-F uATX DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 Motherboard
  • 1 unit, $147.00 USD, Intel Core i3 Processor 3.8 2 NA BX80646I34370
  • 2 units, $116.50 USD, Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L-1600MT/s (PC3-12800) DR x8 ECC UDIMM Server Memory CT2KIT102472BD160B/CT2CP102472BD160B

subtotal: $626 + tax

OS Storage

  • 1 unit, $10.00 USD, SanDisk Ultra Fit™ CZ43 16GB USB 3.0 Low-Profile Flash Drive Up To 130MB/s Read- SDCZ43-016G-G46

subtotal: $10.00 + tax

Storage

I sought a balance between cost, capacity, and performance, but I advise using "NAS" disks versus green or energy saving models. Also, my preference is WD Red and WD Red Pro drives.

  • 4 or 8 units for RAID10, $135.00 USD, WD Red Pro 2TB NAS Hard Drive: 1 to 16-Bay Enterprise RAID: 3.5-inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, IntelliPower, 64MB Cache, WD2001FFSX
  • 1 unit for FreeNAS SLOG, $175 USD (used), Intel DC S3700 400 GB SSD, SSDSC2BA400G301

subtotal: $1,255 + tax

Network Interface Card

  • 2 unit, $209 USD, Chelsio T4/T5 10 Gb models; selected T520-SO-CR (ebay)
  • 2 units, $30 USD, Chelsio SM10GSR 10 Gb Transceivers (ebay)
  • 2 units, $42 USD, Chelsio SRCable3M (ebay)

subtotal: $562.00

Compute Host

Total: $2196 USD + tax

Cost per host: $1098 USD + tax

Case

  • 1 unit, $60.00 USD, Antec 300 Case
  • 2 units, $10.00 USD, Antec TrueQuiet 120 120mm Case Cooling Fan
  • 1 unit, $87.00 USD, Seasonic SSR-450RM ATX 12V/EPS 12V 450-Watt 80 Plus Gold certified PFC Power Supply

subtotal: $157.00 + tax

System

  • 1 unit, $160.00 USD, Supermicro Motherboard Micro ATX DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 Motherboards X10SLL+-F-O
  • 1 unit, $257.00 USD, Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell, 3.3GHz, 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150, 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31230V3
  • 2 units, $116.50 USD, Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L-1600MT/s (PC3-12800) DR x8 ECC UDIMM Server Memory CT2KIT102472BD160B/CT2CP102472BD160B

subtotal: $650 + tax

OS Storage

  • 1 unit, $10.00 USD, SanDisk Ultra Fit™ CZ43 32GB USB 3.0 Low-Profile Flash Drive Up To 130MB/s Read- SDCZ43-032G-G46

subtotal: $10.00 + tax

Network Interface Card

  • 1 unit, $209 USD, Chelsio T4/T5 10 Gb models; selected T520-SO-CR (ebay)
  • 1 units, $30 USD, Chelsio SM10GSR 10 Gb Transceiver (ebay)
  • 1 unit, $42 USD, Intel PRO/1000 Pt Dual Port Server Adapter

subtotal: $281.00

Network

Total: $590 USD + tax

Switching

Any of Ubiquiti Networks' EdgeSwitch products or a small business alternative.

  • 1 unit, $235.00 USD, Ubiquiti Networks EdgeSwitch Lite, model ES-24-LITE

Routing

Any of Ubiquiti Networks' EdgeRouter products or a small business alternative.

  • 1 unit, $325.00 USD, Ubiquiti Networks EdgeRouter Pro, model ERPro-8

Note:

The ERPro-8 has two 40 mm fans that run between 60 to 65 decibels. Loud! After paying $7 USD each for two Scythe Mini KAZE ULTRA 40mm Silent Mini Fans, model SY124020L, and replacing the stock fans, the ERPro-8 fan noise dropped approximately 15 decibels. I had hoped for more but it is a vast improvement.

UPS

  • 1 unit, $205.00 USD, CyberPower PFC Sinewave UPS 1500VA 900W, model CP1500PFCLCD; research carefully for your location and PSU compatibility

Next

Next article in the series is Network Services Build with Ubiquiti Networks.