[CentOS] low end file server with h/w RAID - recommendations

[m.roth at 5-cent.us]

hw wrote:
> Richard Zimmerman wrote:
>> DO NOT buy the newer HPE DL20 gen9 or ML10 gen9 servers then (especially
>> if using CentOS 6.x)
>
> What would you suggest as alternative, something from Dell?

Yep, Dell's are good. And I do *not* want to buy from HP, because their
support is nothing like good. And once you run out the warranty, they
don't want to even let you get things like firmware updates. Dell will.

Another company that's ok is ThinkMate, though their support ain't great,
I think they're better than HP...oh, sorry, for a server, it'll be HPE
(the company divided a year or two ago).

If you get a Dell, and one of their PERC cards, you're getting a rebranded
LSI, sorry, Avago, um, who bought it last? Those are good and reliable,
not super expensive.

Next question: you want RAID, how much storage do you need? Will 4 or 8
3.5" drives be enough (DO NOT GET crappy 2.5" drives - they're *much* more
expensive than the 3.5" drives, and smaller disk space. For the price of a
1TB 2.5", I can get at least a 4TB WD Red.

One more thing: if you go with a vendor like ThinkMate, know that most of
them are reselling Supermicro systems. We used to buy a lot of Penguins,
but their quality control.... At any rate, the direct names are cheaper:
if you go for Dell, find a reseller, who may get you a better deal than
Dell direct. If you go this route, email me offlist, and I'll recommend my
preferred reseller for Dell - the discounts are good.

       mark