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ds1812+ replacement


asheenlevrai

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Hi guys :)

 

I have an old ds1812+ (with 8 disks running in RAID5: 6 disks + 2 hot spares) that is used only as a backup destination (using hyperbackup) from other (more modern) Synology NASes. It was originally fulfilling a more important role but as time passed it became obsolete compared to other machines and thus ended up as a backup destination. The fact that it can hold 8 disks was obviously a big advantage here. Now this ds1812+ just died on me (all LEDs are off except for one or two disk LEDs. Fans spin as soon as the power cord is connected. Front panel is unresponsive), I tried to change the PSU since I had a spare one but it seems that it's the MB or something that went south...

 

I need to replace that ds1812+, but I have a hard time accepting the idea to buy a brand new ds1819+ for that purpose. That would be a waste. And I don't have another (less recent) 8-bay that could replace it either... So I was thinking, since I only need the limited features (backup destination) maybe it wouldn't be completely nuts to go the XPenology route this time. This would also be a good way to asses if XPenology could be a viable option for me for other purposes in the long run. Kind of a pilot experiment or something...

 

I guess I need to look into cases that can host 8 drives and a good amount of fans (I could probably repurpose all the rest of the hardware from older PCs or buy new parts if necessary). I was thinking ATX form factor but I'm open to anything that is not rack-mounted and that fits in a single box. Most modern ATX MBs have 4-6 sATA 6gbps ports, so I would thus need to buy an extra sATA3 controller in the form of a PCIe AIC (or should all drives be on the same controller for RAID5?). The main concern for me is that sleep works flawlessly since the machine would be sleeping most of the time (except during brief backup jobs from other NASes).

 

I bet you all have recommendations about what hardware I should get. Please refrain from recommending hardware that is not currently available, though.

Oh and obviously, the idea is to stay below the retail price of a DS1819+, not to have more perf for the same price since this machine would have a very limited duty anyways.

 

I am also wondering if I could use the disks that are currently in my DS1812+ and move then into the future XPenology rig (just as I would migrate them into a DS1819+ had I purchased one) or if I would need to setup everything from start and restart all of the backups (losing the current file versioning history). That wouldn't be the end of the world but if I could avoid it, it would be convenient. I believe on an XPenology rig the OS is on an USB stick (that sound unreliable...) while on a Synology rig the OS is distributed among the HDDs. Maybe that makes it impossible to do what I just asked. Or not?

 

Thank you very much in advance for your help and advice.

Best,

-a-

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@asheenlevrai Just a quick thought is the DS1812+ a victim of the Intel C2000 chip failure?

If so, it might be fixed with an added resistor.

 

To answer some of your Qs:

Yes, you should be able to move your drives, and do a "migration" to the selected XPEnology version.

Some of your apps *might* need to be reinstalled, but your data will be intact.

 

Just like on a real Syno, DSM will be installed on all drives, the USB is *just* used for the boot-process.

Edited by bearcat
Added some info.
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Some enclosures:

 

https://www.u-nas.com/xcart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17640

 

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-Itx-Computer-DS380B-USA/dp/B07PCH47Z2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=u-nas&qid=1606234858&sr=8-2

 

https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Pre-Installed/dp/B006TVQTHW/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=8-bay+case+computer&qid=1606234801&s=electronics&sr=1-2

 

There are many more options besides these.  I personally use the NSC-810A and it is extremely compact, virtually the size of your DS1812+ while still supporting a M-ATX motherboard, but it's a bit fiddly because of the limited internal layout.

 

And to echo @bearcat you can port your drives into the new system and do a migration install and all data will be intact.  It would be a Good Idea to trial run this with a plain vanilla XPEnology install, then a simulated drive set migration install before putting your real data in play.

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10 hours ago, bearcat said:

@asheenlevrai Just a quick thought is the DS1812+ a victim of the Intel C2000 chip failure?

If so, it might be fixed with an added resistor.

 

To answer some of your Qs:

Yes, you should be able to move your drives, and do a "migration" to the selected XPEnology version.

Some of your apps *might* need to be reinstalled, but your data will be intact.

 

Just like on a real Syno, DSM will be installed on all drives, the USB is *just* used for the boot-process.

What's the C2000 chip failure? I'll look it up...

 

 

Thanks for your replies :)

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6 hours ago, flyride said:

Some enclosures:

 

https://www.u-nas.com/xcart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17640

 

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-Itx-Computer-DS380B-USA/dp/B07PCH47Z2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=u-nas&qid=1606234858&sr=8-2

 

https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Pre-Installed/dp/B006TVQTHW/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=8-bay+case+computer&qid=1606234801&s=electronics&sr=1-2

 

There are many more options besides these.  I personally use the NSC-810A and it is extremely compact, virtually the size of your DS1812+ while still supporting a M-ATX motherboard, but it's a bit fiddly because of the limited internal layout.

 

And to echo @bearcat you can port your drives into the new system and do a migration install and all data will be intact.  It would be a Good Idea to trial run this with a plain vanilla XPEnology install, then a simulated drive set migration install before putting your real data in play.

Thanks a lot :)

The nsc 810A looks terrific but is probably very difficult to build into I guess.

The silverstone is unappealing to me.

I have the Antec already somewhere. but it can only hold 6 drives (without using 5.25'' ->3.5'' adapters. I might consider repurpose this case though.

 

In the meantime I found those from Fractal Design that seem affordable:

(this one is convenient)

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/define/define-r5/black/

(this one is compact and probably very inconvenient to cable manage, especially the drive bay above the PSU)

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/node/node-804/black/

Or the meshify 2?

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-2/black/

 

Tx

-a-

 

 

Edited by asheenlevrai
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