AvatarAang
New Around Here
Hello! 
Total networking n00b here, in case it won't be obvious from my post, (it will be!).
DISCLAIMER: I am not good with brevity, so it is a very long post, but you might be able to skip to the end after it says "SO TO SUM UP, I NEED TO KNOW" if you don't need all the deets...
I am looking to set up a backup server using all my older hard drives, and after spending more than a few hours reading forums and other such stuff on the internet I have decided my best option is to buy a used Supermicro array with a bunch of drive bays and set it up with a Drivepool/SnapRaid setup. I am open to other suggestions but according to my research - ("Magic Schoolbus reference FTW!) - this seems the best option for my use. It will not only act as a physical (mostly offline) backup to the files on my primary hard drives but also use SnapRaid for the backups themselves.
Currently I have a Mediasonic Probox 8-bay hard drive enclosure (no RAID) that holds 8x 6tb hard drives, used as my primary storage. I will be upgrading them all to 10tb hard drives as soon as I set up a proper backup. (I have a bunch of other drives currently used as backups that I connect using an external hard drive enclosure to backup the files whenever I have new or updated files, but I ran out of extra hard drives for backups way too long ago and now I'm almost out of hard drive space in the Mediasonic Probox, hence why I'm upgrading... Also, the external backups are all different sizes than the primary disks so it's not a very efficient way to back up my files and is very prone to mistakes...)
Once I've upgraded the Mediasonic to the 10tb hard drives I would like to use all my older hard drives as backups by setting up a server that uses Drivepool with SnapRaid. I think this is a rather unconventional setup, but I have a bunch of hard drives from past years when I've upgraded to larger disks, plus the 6tb hard drives I'm going to replace with 10tb drives, and I'd like to use them instead of buying new drives, so this seemed a good option. I can plug all these hard drives of different sizes into a Supermicro array, use two or three of the biggest drives for SnapRaid parity disks, and only turn it on once a week or so to backup any new files.
So basically I would like to buy a used Supermicro storage array, copy all my files from the current drives onto the new 10tb hard drives, then put all these older drives into the Supermicro array to use as backup. It won't be used as an NAS for Plex or anything, (although it would be VERY nice if it had that capability for the rare occasions I use Plex. I almost exclusively use Kodi for media and I don't care for the Plex or Emby plugins for Kodi, so this server is only for backups and my primary hard drives need to be connected directly to my Windows 10 PC with the Mediasonic Probox, until I have the money and time to learn how to build my own PC that will house 8x 10tb hard drives in the tower itself!)
What I need to know is what should I look for in the server array? Some of the ones I found on ebay have some things, and others don't have those things, and not really being experienced with hardware I don't know exactly what I need for a server for this use. I'd prefer something that just comes ready to plug in the hard drives and go, but some of them sound like they require extra hardware to be ready to go, so I need to know what needs to be in the array for it to work so that if I buy one that doesn't have everything I can buy the other parts. I don't mind doing some technical work, but if I have to solder anything or do anything too technical this may not be a project for me at this time.
To show what a n00b I really am: if the server doesn't have an OS when I first get it, how do I connect to it at all to even install one? And how do I connect to the server once it's set up? I'm not super familiar with command line operations, (but not opposed to them), and have zero experience connecting to a server from a PC on a local network, and I just want to make sure it's within my very limited skill set to even use the server once it's set up.
As I understand it I should be able to connect to it via FTP, which I'm fairly familiar with, but apparently I can't just connect a USB cable to it from my PC and transfer the files like with my Mediasonic, or directly access it from the "This PC" section in Windows Explorer? To be honest I assumed that if I set up a server and used Drivepool on the drives it would connect to my PC through the local network and act just like any other disk drive in Windows Explorer and I could just copy and paste specific folders with new files onto it every week, and any new files would be added to the backup server. (I assume that because I'm using different sizes of hard drives in a Drivepool setup to back up eight individual 10tb hard drives that automatic backups would get complicated...) I learned this was not true when I read that a remote server cannot be used with Kodi without the Plex or Emby plugins. :/ But since I can still use my Mediasonic for the primary files I don't mind something slightly more complicated for a weekly backup as long as I know how to do it at all.
One of the things mentioned about these arrays is that they're "rack mountable", and I do not own a server rack, (assuming that's what it's referring to), so is it okay to just set this thing on a shelf near my router or is that dangerous as far as cooling or something? (Not from proximity to the router, but because of it being on a shelf and not in a rack...)
If I'm not mistaken, these arrays - as well as almost all of the hard drives I would be using in it, (most are WD Red drives) - are designed to be used 24/7 or close to it. Is there any concern with using the setup as a weekly backup, leaving it powered off all week but turning it on for an hour or so once a week just to transfer new files? It's probably a stupid question but I'd hate to harm my backups by turning the server on every week for an hour and leaving it off the rest of the week. Windows 10 was the first OS I've used since I last used an Apple OS that freaks out if you unplug or turn off a connected device such as a USB external HD enclosure without ejecting it first, so what procedure is there for turning off a server array with say 20 HDDs every single week?
Perhaps the most important question of all, (should've led with it!): Is this a totally idiotic way to approach this? (I'm well used to being told that about my ideas!) It's cheaper than buying hard drives to match my new 10tb ones, (I can't afford that many new drives), since it utilizes all my older drives. It's cheaper than buying more Mediasonic Proboxes to house all my older drives unless the Supermicro arrays I've looked at won't work at the prices I've looked at, (around $400 or less preferably). It's better backup than a RAID setup with the primary drives, or simple offline drives backed up through an external enclosure, because it uses BOTH. And it's easier than the offline option I currently use. It seems like the best option to me in nearly every way, unless it's just too complicated for me to set up or use, or if somebody has a better idea (don't be shy!).
I apologize for my n00b-ness and also for the length of this post. Also, thanks in advance to anyone who actually takes the time to read all that and responds to me with any helpful info or advice.
SO TO SUM UP, I NEED TO KNOW:
Can I buy a used Supermicro array, set it on a shelf, plug it in, put a bunch of random sized hard drives into it, and without much knowledge of networking or hardware set it up with whatever OS would work best for a backup using Drivepool and SnapRaid? And is this the simplest/cheapest/best solution for someone who wants to back up potentially 80tb of data using a bunch of different-sized hard drives and is not experienced with networking or servers?
POTENTIALLY RELEVANT STATS:
INTENDED SETUP: PRIMARY: Windows 10 PC with Mediasonic Probox External Enclosure with 8x 10tb HDDs installed -CONNECTED TO- BACKUP: Supermicro server array with varied HDDs, server OS is undecided as of yet (halp pls!), Drivepool and SnapRaid installed. Files to be backed up: varied and sundry, but mostly 1080p HD video files reaching a maximum of 20gb for a single file. I have recently started exploring 4k video though and if that is relevant I do need something that can handle 4k video files, unsure of max size, (this is for backup primarily, not streaming if that is an issue). Current max HDD size for server is 6tb as those are the HDDs I will be replacing with 10tb drives in the Mediasonic.
Total networking n00b here, in case it won't be obvious from my post, (it will be!).
DISCLAIMER: I am not good with brevity, so it is a very long post, but you might be able to skip to the end after it says "SO TO SUM UP, I NEED TO KNOW" if you don't need all the deets...
I am looking to set up a backup server using all my older hard drives, and after spending more than a few hours reading forums and other such stuff on the internet I have decided my best option is to buy a used Supermicro array with a bunch of drive bays and set it up with a Drivepool/SnapRaid setup. I am open to other suggestions but according to my research - ("Magic Schoolbus reference FTW!) - this seems the best option for my use. It will not only act as a physical (mostly offline) backup to the files on my primary hard drives but also use SnapRaid for the backups themselves.
Currently I have a Mediasonic Probox 8-bay hard drive enclosure (no RAID) that holds 8x 6tb hard drives, used as my primary storage. I will be upgrading them all to 10tb hard drives as soon as I set up a proper backup. (I have a bunch of other drives currently used as backups that I connect using an external hard drive enclosure to backup the files whenever I have new or updated files, but I ran out of extra hard drives for backups way too long ago and now I'm almost out of hard drive space in the Mediasonic Probox, hence why I'm upgrading... Also, the external backups are all different sizes than the primary disks so it's not a very efficient way to back up my files and is very prone to mistakes...)
Once I've upgraded the Mediasonic to the 10tb hard drives I would like to use all my older hard drives as backups by setting up a server that uses Drivepool with SnapRaid. I think this is a rather unconventional setup, but I have a bunch of hard drives from past years when I've upgraded to larger disks, plus the 6tb hard drives I'm going to replace with 10tb drives, and I'd like to use them instead of buying new drives, so this seemed a good option. I can plug all these hard drives of different sizes into a Supermicro array, use two or three of the biggest drives for SnapRaid parity disks, and only turn it on once a week or so to backup any new files.
So basically I would like to buy a used Supermicro storage array, copy all my files from the current drives onto the new 10tb hard drives, then put all these older drives into the Supermicro array to use as backup. It won't be used as an NAS for Plex or anything, (although it would be VERY nice if it had that capability for the rare occasions I use Plex. I almost exclusively use Kodi for media and I don't care for the Plex or Emby plugins for Kodi, so this server is only for backups and my primary hard drives need to be connected directly to my Windows 10 PC with the Mediasonic Probox, until I have the money and time to learn how to build my own PC that will house 8x 10tb hard drives in the tower itself!)
What I need to know is what should I look for in the server array? Some of the ones I found on ebay have some things, and others don't have those things, and not really being experienced with hardware I don't know exactly what I need for a server for this use. I'd prefer something that just comes ready to plug in the hard drives and go, but some of them sound like they require extra hardware to be ready to go, so I need to know what needs to be in the array for it to work so that if I buy one that doesn't have everything I can buy the other parts. I don't mind doing some technical work, but if I have to solder anything or do anything too technical this may not be a project for me at this time.
To show what a n00b I really am: if the server doesn't have an OS when I first get it, how do I connect to it at all to even install one? And how do I connect to the server once it's set up? I'm not super familiar with command line operations, (but not opposed to them), and have zero experience connecting to a server from a PC on a local network, and I just want to make sure it's within my very limited skill set to even use the server once it's set up.
As I understand it I should be able to connect to it via FTP, which I'm fairly familiar with, but apparently I can't just connect a USB cable to it from my PC and transfer the files like with my Mediasonic, or directly access it from the "This PC" section in Windows Explorer? To be honest I assumed that if I set up a server and used Drivepool on the drives it would connect to my PC through the local network and act just like any other disk drive in Windows Explorer and I could just copy and paste specific folders with new files onto it every week, and any new files would be added to the backup server. (I assume that because I'm using different sizes of hard drives in a Drivepool setup to back up eight individual 10tb hard drives that automatic backups would get complicated...) I learned this was not true when I read that a remote server cannot be used with Kodi without the Plex or Emby plugins. :/ But since I can still use my Mediasonic for the primary files I don't mind something slightly more complicated for a weekly backup as long as I know how to do it at all.
One of the things mentioned about these arrays is that they're "rack mountable", and I do not own a server rack, (assuming that's what it's referring to), so is it okay to just set this thing on a shelf near my router or is that dangerous as far as cooling or something? (Not from proximity to the router, but because of it being on a shelf and not in a rack...)
If I'm not mistaken, these arrays - as well as almost all of the hard drives I would be using in it, (most are WD Red drives) - are designed to be used 24/7 or close to it. Is there any concern with using the setup as a weekly backup, leaving it powered off all week but turning it on for an hour or so once a week just to transfer new files? It's probably a stupid question but I'd hate to harm my backups by turning the server on every week for an hour and leaving it off the rest of the week. Windows 10 was the first OS I've used since I last used an Apple OS that freaks out if you unplug or turn off a connected device such as a USB external HD enclosure without ejecting it first, so what procedure is there for turning off a server array with say 20 HDDs every single week?
Perhaps the most important question of all, (should've led with it!): Is this a totally idiotic way to approach this? (I'm well used to being told that about my ideas!) It's cheaper than buying hard drives to match my new 10tb ones, (I can't afford that many new drives), since it utilizes all my older drives. It's cheaper than buying more Mediasonic Proboxes to house all my older drives unless the Supermicro arrays I've looked at won't work at the prices I've looked at, (around $400 or less preferably). It's better backup than a RAID setup with the primary drives, or simple offline drives backed up through an external enclosure, because it uses BOTH. And it's easier than the offline option I currently use. It seems like the best option to me in nearly every way, unless it's just too complicated for me to set up or use, or if somebody has a better idea (don't be shy!).
I apologize for my n00b-ness and also for the length of this post. Also, thanks in advance to anyone who actually takes the time to read all that and responds to me with any helpful info or advice.
SO TO SUM UP, I NEED TO KNOW:
Can I buy a used Supermicro array, set it on a shelf, plug it in, put a bunch of random sized hard drives into it, and without much knowledge of networking or hardware set it up with whatever OS would work best for a backup using Drivepool and SnapRaid? And is this the simplest/cheapest/best solution for someone who wants to back up potentially 80tb of data using a bunch of different-sized hard drives and is not experienced with networking or servers?
POTENTIALLY RELEVANT STATS:
INTENDED SETUP: PRIMARY: Windows 10 PC with Mediasonic Probox External Enclosure with 8x 10tb HDDs installed -CONNECTED TO- BACKUP: Supermicro server array with varied HDDs, server OS is undecided as of yet (halp pls!), Drivepool and SnapRaid installed. Files to be backed up: varied and sundry, but mostly 1080p HD video files reaching a maximum of 20gb for a single file. I have recently started exploring 4k video though and if that is relevant I do need something that can handle 4k video files, unsure of max size, (this is for backup primarily, not streaming if that is an issue). Current max HDD size for server is 6tb as those are the HDDs I will be replacing with 10tb drives in the Mediasonic.
