Small (ITX) File Server Advice

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ilikecake

Gawd
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Feb 20, 2006
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I am making a small file server and have a few questions:

Some background: This server will be for home use and will be mostly for backing up my main computers and streaming movies and music. I would also like it to download torrent files occasionally, and possibly provide remote access to the server so I can access it over the web (SFTP or something like that). I am planning on trying Ubuntu Server for this, though I am also considering Windows Home Server. I am planning on using 4 drives in RAID5 to provide redundancy and run the OS off a separate hard drive.

I am planning to use these components

I have several questions about this setup

  1. I was originally planning on using a bitchin-fast (tm) hardware RAID card, but from reading other threads, it seems I may not see much advantage to this. Since I am going to be accessing this thing exclusively over gigabit ethernet, will I see any disadvantage to using a software RAID card in conjunction with Linux software RAID?
  2. Sort of related to the first: Will the processor be able to run the software RAID as well a a torrent client, SAMBA, and some sort of file server?
  3. Is there a recommended file system to use for arrays such as these? From looking around it seems that XFS is a good choice, is this true?

I am sure more questions will arise as I try to put all this together, but those are a few of the bigger ones. Any other advice or recommendations would be welcome. I have bought most of the hardware listed above, so unless something from the list flat-out won't work, I would like to stick with that hardware.
 
WHS sounds ideal for you, with an exception.

If you use WHS then don't bother with the RAID card, or software RAID. WHS has its Drive Extender (DE) that acts as a sort of "software JBOD RAID 5 ish" type of thing.

The exception is that until the corruption bug is fixed you'll have to put the torrents on a non-pool drive in the box, or run it from another computer. (You don't want to modify files that are in the drive pool managed by DE currently.) There is good news however, a release candidate is out for the bug fix and in a month or two it hopefully won't be an issue.

I'm in a holding pattern on torrents now, and will move that to my WHS box when the fix goes live.
 
Thanks for the reply. WHS was my original OS of choice, until I read about the corruption bug. It looked like a really user friendly way to get the server running, but I like to run stuff off mapped network drives, which sounds like a recipe for disaster in its current state. What torrent program were you planning on using with it? I have seen some with web interfaces for Linux, but haven't really looked for windows.

I figured I would mess around with Ubuntu Server (since it's free) and see if I can get it working. When they release the update for WHS, I will decide whether to switch over.

Also: The motherboard I have only has 2 SATA ports, so I need some sort of add-in card.
 
I was originally planning on using a bitchin-fast (tm) hardware RAID card, but from reading other threads, it seems I may not see much advantage to this. Since I am going to be accessing this thing exclusively over gigabit ethernet, will I see any disadvantage to using a software RAID card in conjunction with Linux software RAID?
Click to expand...

I went with a cheap RAID card and just used Software RAID to control the disk's, it means im more reliant on the OS im using, however it's cheaper and just as good as Hardware RAID imo.

Sort of related to the first: Will the processor be able to run the software RAID as well a a torrent client, SAMBA, and some sort of file server?
Click to expand...

The processor will be able to handle all that you mention with ease. Im running what you mention on a XP1700 clocked at 1Ghz to keep temps down and still don't notice any slow down.

Is there a recommended file system to use for arrays such as these? From looking around it seems that XFS is a good choice, is this true?
Click to expand...

I prefer ext3 however XFS seems to be the new file system of choice for most people.
 
tino said:
I went with a cheap RAID card and just used Software RAID to control the disk's, it means im more reliant on the OS im using, however it's cheaper and just as good as Hardware RAID imo.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I figured the software RAID would be easier to recover in the case of a hardware failure (not hard drive failure). I hear it is possible to move the disks to a different Linux system and remake the array. This seems like it would be a bit easier than the hardware RAID. Especially if it is the RAID card that dies.

Has anyone tried doing this?
 
ilikecake said:
Thanks for the reply. WHS was my original OS of choice, until I read about the corruption bug. It looked like a really user friendly way to get the server running, but I like to run stuff off mapped network drives, which sounds like a recipe for disaster in its current state. What torrent program were you planning on using with it? I have seen some with web interfaces for Linux, but haven't really looked for windows.

I figured I would mess around with Ubuntu Server (since it's free) and see if I can get it working. When they release the update for WHS, I will decide whether to switch over.

Also: The motherboard I have only has 2 SATA ports, so I need some sort of add-in card.
Click to expand...

I use uTorrent, just on my HTPC for now. There's a WHS plug-in available for it too when I move it to WHS when the bug is fixed.

Mapped network drives - yeah, this seemed strange to me that they are not supported. But once you work with the DE pool you'll start to appreciate it. I don't miss mapped drives a bit. The shares are pretty simple to use, and you can use UNC if you need to. On the client PC's I have shortcuts to Videos, Pictures, etc. and in Explorer instead of mapped drives I have shortcuts under My Network Places - so everything is accessible.

Here are a few screens of my setup on page 1 of this thread: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1262238&

I've got 4 ports on the mobo populated, a 2 port card, and a 4 port card - all filled.

Messing around with Ubuntu Server sounds like a good thing to try out. I'd be interested in your impressions - backing up client pc's, if there are any issues with Windows boxes, ease of setup.
 
I'm in the process of setting up a Nexenta system for this, mainly for the ability to use ZFS pools. Gonna use Clutch for the Torrent WebUI.
 
Thanks for the responses. The only other major part I need is the SATA card. It seems like a cheap SATA card is all that is needed. So I will probably go with the Highpoint 2310. Any more advice on setting up a Linux file server (Linux n00b here) would be nice.

Messing around with Ubuntu Server sounds like a good thing to try out. I'd be interested in your impressions - backing up client pc's, if there are any issues with Windows boxes, ease of setup.
Click to expand...

I will keep the thread updated with my progress, though it may be a bit slow. I hurt my hand and consequently have it in a cast for about a month, so we will see how well I can build one-handed.
 
I have a similar set up to what you're considering. It's a Ubuntu box running a 4x500GB software RAID5 array over Samba. With the hardware you're listing, you shouldn't have any trouble saturating a gigabit connection. Recent Ubuntu releases (particularly 7.10 and 8.04) are great for this purpose - the raid5 online expansion and hotswap support is mature (they were both supported to some degree in previous releases, but problems popped up here and there) - I did some real world testing of both recently.
A couple notes:
That case you list is pretty sweet, but it doesn't look like there are any expansion slots, which you're going to want in order to use that PCIe for a SATA card, so keep that in mind. An alternative would be using a standard case of your choosing, and getting a hotswap bay to install. Good quality 4in3 ones can be had for $60-70, so depending on your choice of case, you may be able to keep costs down, and get better expandability. On the other hand, if you value the small form factor, maybe you can check the clearances inside and just install a PCIe SATA card without any brackets.

For a web torrent client, check out Torrentflux-b4rt: http://tf-b4rt.berlios.de/
It's a fork of the Torrentflux client, designed to give more features and it supports using different clients for its backend, notably Azureus (which, say what you will about it, tends to be the best performing BT client around, save perhaps for µTorrent).

Also, in regards to your question about transplanting the array between machines, it can certainly be done, and quite easily. I did so recently when I goofed up and had to do a backup of my array onto a hodgepodge of other disks I had around (SATA and firewire externals). My NAS runs on pretty ancient hardware (Duron 800MHz era), so the only interfaces available to me were the 4port PCI card which was full with the array, 100Mbit ethernet, and USB1.0. Faced with days of transfer time for my backup, I decided that I would try to do a brain transplant. I downloaded a knoppix liveCD, put it into my desktop (which was equipped with extra SATA ports and firewire) and I was able to get the array up and running on new hardware with no problems. All I needed to do was boot the computer with the LiveCD, give one command to start the array, and another to mount the file system, and I was in business. Sold me on linux raid for life haha.

Needless to say, I strongly recommend it. I get reasonable performance out of an 800MHz Duron system, any modern hardware will be substantially better, you won't regret it.
 
Thanks for the response. It is nice to know I am not the only one crazy enough to do this. ;) Its also good to hear that the array can be rebuilt easily.

The Hunter said:
That case you list is pretty sweet, but it doesn't look like there are any expansion slots, which you're going to want in order to use that PCIe for a SATA card, so keep that in mind. An alternative would be using a standard case of your choosing, and getting a hotswap bay to install. Good quality 4in3 ones can be had for $60-70, so depending on your choice of case, you may be able to keep costs down, and get better expandability. On the other hand, if you value the small form factor, maybe you can check the clearances inside and just install a PCIe SATA card without any brackets.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I realize that choosing that case puts some limits on my hardware choices. But, I have been wanting to make an mini-ITX based computer for a while, and I found a pretty good deal on the mainboard and decided to go for it. The case seems to allow for mounting a single expansion card internally, so I should be okay on that front. (as long as the card isn't too long)


The Hunter said:
For a web torrent client, check out Torrentflux-b4rt: http://tf-b4rt.berlios.de/
It's a fork of the Torrentflux client, designed to give more features and it supports using different clients for its backend, notably Azureus (which, say what you will about it, tends to be the best performing BT client around, save perhaps for µTorrent).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I will keep this in mind when it comes time to install
 
Glad to help, don't hesitate to ask, and please keep us updated, especially with some pics :D I'd love to see that case in action, it's a really nice looking design.
 
The case came in today. Man is it small. I am glad I chose a small form factor SATA card.

I took a bunch of pictures, and will try to upload some tomorrow. Unfortunately, there are a few holdups (not the least of which my hand) so it will be a while before I can build it up.
 
I dunno if this thread would be better suited in the SFF section. Mods: feel free to move it.

Here are the pictures as promised.

mobons0.jpg

Motherboard

boxvv2.jpg

The box

openboxpy9.jpg

Inside the box

caseow6.jpg

The case.

casefrontwb5.jpg

With the front open

casebackxa3.jpg

From the back

sizecomparelq0.jpg

Side-by-side with my 'old' NAS

psuom4.jpg

The PSU (180W)

hsfyh8.jpg

Included HSF. Worthless for me, as it is for desktop processors.

sideopenrf2.jpg

Case with side open

trayoffbb2.jpg

With MB tray removed

mbtraywd7.jpg

The motherboard tray

The case seems pretty sturdy and such. The motherboard fits in the case despite the CF slot on the bottom. Unfortunately, Logic Supply forgot to include the I/O shield with the motherboard. :mad: Also, the included motherboard screw heads have too large a diameter, so when I tighten them, the screws start to squash some of the surface mount components near the hole. :eek: Needless to say, I did not fully install the motherboard. I can find other screws that will work, I just hope logic supply can help me locate a new I/O shield.

Finally, I leave you with my excuse for my slowness with this build, along with a cautionary tale about playing with swords.

handjb5.jpg
 
Intresting project. Very good pictures as well. Looking foward to the build and setup. This setup is quite impressive, one which I wouldn't mind having in my home as well. :)
Get better soon!!! ;)
 
Damn. So swords + alcohol is not a good idea? :)

Anyway, great project. When you get it up and running, can you please tell us how loud it is? Kinda curious about the noise level of that NAS.
 
AMD_RULES said:
Intresting project. Very good pictures as well. Looking foward to the build and setup. This setup is quite impressive, one which I wouldn't mind having in my home as well. :)
Get better soon!!! ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks, though I suppose I shoulda waited untill I had bolth hands to order this.

Danny Bui said:
Damn. So swords + alcohol is not a good idea? :)
Click to expand...

Heh, not even any alcohol involved (surprisingly) :p Just swords and carelessness.

Danny Bui said:
Anyway, great project. When you get it up and running, can you please tell us how loud it is? Kinda curious about the noise level of that NAS.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am hopeful that it will be quieter than the ReadyNAS, but we'll see with those two 70mm fans.
 
Too bad I'm just reading about this build now. I have that case, and I'm telling you it was made for the Albatron KI690-AM2 board. Your board has 2 sata ports; the Albatron has 4. (plus one IDE). That heatsink/fan that was included, was designed to fit on the KI690-AM2. Chenbro sells a angled PCI adapter for the KI690-AM2 too, but since your board only has PCIe and not PCI, you have to go find a angled PCIe adapter too.

The only weird thing that wasn't designed for the KI690-AM2 is the multiple HD led's and the audio mute switch. Unless the mute switch was intended for like a raid card to kill any audio alarm or something, idk.

The only thing that kind of sucks about the KI690-AM2 is that it will only take up to 2gb ram, is single channel, and is SODIMMs. But it has HDMI, dual-link DVI (Works on my 3007WFP!) and gigabit. It has optical and coax digital audio out. For an ITX board, it's pretty loaded.
 
That hardware makes me want to get a 1gb SAS drive 2.5" drive and 4x1tb drives in that Chenbro case to replace my 10-drive WHS box!
 
alcuin said:
Too bad I'm just reading about this build now. I have that case, and I'm telling you it was made for the Albatron KI690-AM2 board. Your board has 2 sata ports; the Albatron has 4. (plus one IDE). That heatsink/fan that was included, was designed to fit on the KI690-AM2. Chenbro sells a angled PCI adapter for the KI690-AM2 too, but since your board only has PCIe and not PCI, you have to go find a angled PCIe adapter too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am not sure about the PCIe riser. I don't know if the standard 1U risers that I see around would work. I may end up going with a flexible riser, but I don't know if it will fit. Once I get the SATA card, I will put it all together and see. Plus I am not that thrilled with the price.

alcuin said:
The only weird thing that wasn't designed for the KI690-AM2 is the multiple HD led's and the audio mute switch. Unless the mute switch was intended for like a raid card to kill any audio alarm or something, idk.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was confused as hell by the mute button. I don't think I have ever seen that in a case before. Good idea about using it to silence the alarm on the card. I don't know if the alarm can be muted that way, but I will see when it gets here.

alcuin said:
The only thing that kind of sucks about the KI690-AM2 is that it will only take up to 2gb ram, is single channel, and is SODIMMs. But it has HDMI, dual-link DVI (Works on my 3007WFP!) and gigabit. It has optical and coax digital audio out. For an ITX board, it's pretty loaded.
Click to expand...

I saw some mention to that board on the Chenbro website, but that board is hard to find online, and seems a bit more expensive then the one I got (I got it on sale :)).

Any advice on setting up the case? What hardware did you fit in yours?
 
A few more pics here:

arrayhddol1.jpg

Array drives

genhardmv0.jpg

CPU, motherboard, OS drive, memory, DVD drive

Now all I need is the SATA card and the PCIe riser card (and two hands :(). Also, someone asked about prices, here is a breakdown of the major components. Some of the prices include shipping, and some don't.
============================
Total: ~$1037.21
 
So, this is kinda turning into a worklog of sorts, so if this is the wrong section, mods please move it. I couldn't resist trying to build this thing, despite my injury.

mbstartuo6.jpg

Motherboard and CPU ready to install

mbcpuinke7.jpg

CPU installed

mbhsfondc4.jpg

HSF Installed

mbontrayai4.jpg

Motherboard installed on tray

hddmountlh8.jpg

Boot HDD Installed

dvdmountce3.jpg

DVD Installed

togethereg3.jpg

Motherboard tray installed

Clearances on this case are (necessarily) ridiculously tight. For example:

ramclearancecb0.jpg

Clearance between memory and DVD drive.

ppgclearanceqt2.jpg

Clearance between ATX Plug and DVD drive

Finally it is time to test it:

testbenchcr8.jpg

my 'test bench'

stillalivezz3.jpg

It's alive! *evil laugh*

So when tinkering in the BIOS, the CPU temp crept up to 45C. At that point I shut down -- not because of temperature, but I was done in the BIOS and didn't see a reason to keep it on. I know the CPU can take that kind of temp, but it seems high for idle. About the HSF mounting, am I supposed to screw the screws in until the springs are fully compressed? The HSF behaved differently than how I thought it would, and I didn't want to crush the exposed core, so I didn't fully tighten them.

Also, are there any tools that can be put on a bootable CD/USB stick that can load the CPU and read the CPU core temperature? I know the UBCD has prime95, but that is single core, and doesn't report temperatures. I would like to see how hot this guy gets under max load.

Concerning the noise, the CPU fan makes a kinda annoying whine. I am not sure how that will change when I put on the side panel, that might help some. I did not plug in the chassis fans because they only vent the 3.5" HDD cages, and didn't need that. I will report more on noise when I get it fully assembled.
 
jtg1993 said:
You should take that thermal pad off the heat sink and put some Arctic Silver 5. That will definitely lower the cpu temperature.
Click to expand...

Seconded. I was wondering from the beginning how you were going to manage the heat build up in such a small formfactor, its a sweet design, so i hope it all works out :)
 
jtg1993 said:
You should take that thermal pad off the heat sink and put some Arctic Silver 5. That will definitely lower the cpu temperature.
Click to expand...

I will consider that if I need to, but I think that may be a two handed job. :( I have seen copper heatsinks that might also help with temps if needed. When the CPU was running, I touched the heatsink, and it didn't feel hot. That is why I am suspecting the core is not making good contact with the HSF.

Looking around, it seems like my best bet to get core temperatures is making a BartPE CD with CoreTemp and prime95 v25. Unfortunately, that looks tricky. I guess I need to read up on that a bit.
 
ilikecake said:
I saw some mention to that board on the Chenbro website, but that board is hard to find online, and seems a bit more expensive then the one I got (I got it on sale :)).

Any advice on setting up the case? What hardware did you fit in yours?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's not an easy board to find, nor the cheapest; it set me back a very pricy $235, and the place I got it from (http://www.servercase.com/miva/miva...een=PROD&Store_Code=SC&Product_Code=KI690-AM2) hides the product url very well (impossible to find). But to me it was worth it to get a board that had every feature I wanted (gigabit nic, 4 sata, onboard DVI and HDMI); I could budget out the ram and CPU later if I wanted to.

I installed a slot load dvd writer. Be careful when you install it; since the included adapter is an IDE one, you'll have to figure out a way to route an IDE cable around there. I'll take pics of mine eventually so you can check it out. When removing the IDE cable from the drive though, be careful not to flex the adapter too much; if you hear a crack it may not be good.

The documented PCI riser and SD Card reader are now available separately from logicsupply.com. Both together came out to be about $35 shipped in my order. I just had to get them because I'm a sucker and I have to have a complete collection.

The standard way of routing the power and sata cable through that black rubber hole sucks. When assembling my case, the sata cage wasn't slid in properly on one side, which really annoyed me, so I drilled out almost all the rivets and reseated the cage. This had the one advantage that I could now route almost all power cables and sata cables through the sides of the sata cages. If I want to remove the motherboard tray, the only cable I need to remove is the motherboard power cable.

I was going to put a 3-pin fan resistor on the two lower 60mm fan's, but then was considering some SilenX 60mm fans. They have three models though. The review I read for the lowest speed one was that even though it was quiet, it just barely pushes any air at all, so I dont know if I should go for the fastest 60mm's or just use the stock ones with an adjustable fan controller (which is what I'm doing now.)

Currently I have it fully decked out; using a 120gb 2.5" drive as boot, the slot-load dvd burner, and four 1tb WD green drives. The whole thing feels like a block of lead, its so dense and heavy. But it's very cool to see and use.

I was going to use Windows Home Server, but it still has the multiple drive bug and Power Pack 1 isn't out yet, and I hate activation, so I'm running Server 2003 standard at the moment.
 
The standard way of routing the power and sata cable through that black rubber hole sucks. When assembling my case, the sata cage wasn't slid in properly on one side, which really annoyed me, so I drilled out almost all the rivets and reseated the cage. This had the one advantage that I could now route almost all power cables and sata cables through the sides of the sata cages. If I want to remove the motherboard tray, the only cable I need to remove is the motherboard power cable.
Click to expand...

You were able to route the cables behind the motherboard tray (as in by the 2.5" HDD mounting)? Is that what the second rubber flap is for? That would sure make things easier if I could do that.

I was going to put a 3-pin fan resistor on the two lower 60mm fan's, but then was considering some SilenX 60mm fans. They have three models though. The review I read for the lowest speed one was that even though it was quiet, it just barely pushes any air at all, so I dont know if I should go for the fastest 60mm's or just use the stock ones with an adjustable fan controller (which is what I'm doing now.)
Click to expand...

How is the cooling in the case, do the HDDs and CPU stay reasonably cool?

On an unrelated note, I would like to thank BWI for helping me locate a hard to find item. Their service is officially awesome. :D
 
ilikecake said:
You were able to route the cables behind the motherboard tray (as in by the 2.5" HDD mounting)? Is that what the second rubber flap is for? That would sure make things easier if I could do that.
Click to expand...
It's hard to explain. Once I get pics posted it'll become clear what I was trying to say. But no, I'm not using that front rubber flap hole either.


ilikecake said:
How is the cooling in the case, do the HDDs and CPU stay reasonably cool?
Click to expand...
Cooling for me is fine, but I'm using WD green drives, which are 5400rpm and stay pretty cool on their own. But the weather in Houston sucks, so I have to crank up the AC and keep the fans on medium speed.
 
This is the SD/Memory Stick card reader.


This is a back view of the Albatron motherboard IO ports; pretty much everything covered, component, VGA, DVI, HDMI, spdif optical input and output,spdif coax input, firewire, and gigabit nic.


This is a top view of the inside; it's pretty cramped. I put the PCI riser in there too.


I decided to route the psu cable behind the back of the cpu since it was so long, and there wasn't really much room on the PCI card side. Also note the 2gb of SODIMMs there.


It's kinda hard to see but the yellow cable is a 24" 80 pin IDE cable. I tried using an 18" but the distance between the master and slave connector was just too close together, and every time I tried to make my own cable only one drive would be recognized. From what I read there's something special about how a 80pin is created and the connectors are used that if you try to use the cable backwards, not all drives may show up. Inside the fold of the cable is a 120gb laptop drive.


Another shot of the PCI bracket. There is also a small metal bracket meant to hold the card up after you remove the back plate on the pci card.


This is what I was talking about earlier, how I routed some of the power cables through the sides instead of through the black rubber hole. So when you take the motherboard tray out, you don't have to push the cables back and forth through the hole after you disconnect them. The unplugged beige cable is the sd card reader before I plugged it in.



I do have an issue with the included SATA cables though; the plug is just a bit too long for my taste and the SATA ports on the mobo are right in the way of the DVD drive, so I'm shopping around for super flexible cables with tiny plug connectors.

 
Nice pictures! From looking at the placement of your 2.5" HDD, I think I mounted mine backwards. Oops. :p Nice job on the cable routing, it is a pain to try to route the cables thru the hole. Hopefully I wont have to do that very often. For the SATA cables, in my search for left angle cables, I came across these cables. I dunno how good they are as I have never used them, but they are called UltraFlex, so how can you go wrong? ;)

Can you do me a favor? Since you have the official riser card, can you measure the distance from the bottom of the goldfinger to the card slot? (pic attached to illustrate)

I need a PCIe riser card, and would like to avoid the flexible ones if possible. I am considering this one, but I don't know if it is the right height.
 
ilikecake said:
Nice pictures! From looking at the placement of your 2.5" HDD, I think I mounted mine backwards. Oops. :p Nice job on the cable routing, it is a pain to try to route the cables thru the hole. Hopefully I wont have to do that very often. For the SATA cables, in my search for left angle cables, I came across these cables. I dunno how good they are as I have never used them, but they are called UltraFlex, so how can you go wrong? ;)

Can you do me a favor? Since you have the official riser card, can you measure the distance from the bottom of the goldfinger to the card slot? (pic attached to illustrate)

I need a PCIe riser card, and would like to avoid the flexible ones if possible. I am considering this one, but I don't know if it is the right height.
Click to expand...
I've seen similar ultraflex cables before. There's a few annoying issues though.
1; I can't have the 90 degree angle on the motherboard end of the cable, because the way the four ports are stacked right on top of each other; so the motherboard cable end needs to be straight, then I'll just flex the cables around; either that or they need to invent some kind of stepped staggered sata connector.
2; Usually, 90 degree sata connectors are angled downward, so that they can install a locking clip on top. This means that if I were to use the 90 degree connector on the drive end of the cable, I would have to do a 180 flip on the cable because I need the cable to go up, not down.

The small end of this cable is kinda what I'm looking for; a cable with that connector on both ends though.
http://store.satacables.com/detail/index.cfm?nPID=72699

I like locking cables, but usually cables with a locking connector have a pretty long connector, so I'm probably going to have to go for non-locking cables. Since the thing is a set it once and forget it kind of setup, I don't think it'll be a big issue not having locking cables.

I looked at your pics, your laptop hard drive is installed right; I did a weird thing to route the cable so that it completely wraps the drive (goes under then over the drive). Yeah its probably not good for cooling, but it's a 5400rpm laptop drive. Like you said, wiring in such a small space is a challenge, so that was what I did to make it as clean as possible.

I'll have to measure the riser card when I get home later today.
 
So the backplane requires left angle SATA cables? Good to know. I was gonna get these, but I need the left angle for the SATA card I am using.
 
No, the backplane doesn't require "left"; but using "right" means you have to bend it backward. So use either "left" or "straight" on the backplane end at least. You should be able to use those cables you were looking at.
 
Not much to report yet. Tonight I will try to tighten the screws on the CPU HSF and hope that doesn't crush the core. :( Also, the SAS card came in.


The box

sascardfh7.jpg

The card
 
Im loving this little beast so much im gonna build myself a small 1.5TB ITX server and it only will cost me $296.
 
New sata cables came in.




Wiring through the sides.


Only thing through the black rubber hole is the 24pin psu cable.
 
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