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Backblaze storage7/28/2023 ![]() If it is in a colocation datacenter and no tech is nearby, you may have hardware failure or worse. So if you purchase the Storage Pod to use in your own environment, you need to be aware that in the odd chance the OS powers itself down, you have a short window (minutes) to flip the switches on the PSUs before the hard drives overheat. The element of concern enters here, since the chassis fans don't turn on at this sequence yet instead they turn on when a user soft-powers on the motherboard later in that process. The way it is configured to work in their environment, physically turning on PSU1 will activate part of the hard-drive backplane, spinning up hard drives. While most servers don't activate components until the server soft-powers on (fans, drives, etc.), the Storage Pod does. There is one design element associated with the power supply configuration that does require special attention. That said, the cost differential between those two options is dramatically higher, as well as the R&D costs associated with integrating them. In the space leveraged by two of these units, you could probably fit 6 or 8 server PSUs. Off-the-shelf ATX power supplies are much, much larger than say, the power supplies found in a Dell, HP or IBM server. While not knocking the commodity bit, there are some limitations when using generic components over custom, which to a large extent include size. The added depth is key to fitting 60 bays into a 4U server, especially when you factor in that it's built with commodity components. One of the first things to notice about the Storage Pod 6.0 is that its chassis depth (which measures 35 1/16 inches inclusive of the lid) is deeper than most server racks, although not as long as some of the larger bulk-storage shelves we've seen come into the lab. SATA III Card: Sunrich 4 Port PCI Express A-540.Motherboard: SuperMicro MBD-X9SRH-7TF-O.RAM: HYNIX 4x8GB DDR3-133MHz HMT31GR7CFR4C-PB.Processor: Intel Xeon E5-1620 v2 Quad-Core 3.7GHz 0GT/s 10MB LGA 2011 CPU.Blueprints, STEP files, wiring diagrams, build instructions, and a parts list are available on the Backblaze website. By populating the Storage Pod 6.0 with 8TB drives, it’s possible to amass 4.8PB in a standard rack.īecause of Backblaze’s commitment to open-source hardware, there is an abundance of available information about the build and design of the Storage Pod 6.0. This means that a 40U rack composed entirely of Storage Pods can accommodate up to 2.4PB of raw storage. According to Backblaze, the Pod 6.0 is designed to allow administrators to get the price as low as $0.05/per GB when using 4TB drives. The Storage Pod 6.0 incorporates 60 commodity hard drives in a 4U-sized server built from parts that are commercially available. It offers read/write data at speeds in excess of 3 GB/s, and is capable of moving massive amounts of data in a very short time over high-speed connectivity. With 30, 45 or 60 hard-drive slot configurations, the Storinator provides massive amounts of storage with up to 600TB of raw data. The servers can be utilized as a NAS device, but offer the ability to transform into a hyper-converged solution for your chosen application. Storinator servers will also allow you to run cluster software such as Gluster FS, and object-store systems such as Caringo or Ceph. These servers offer the freedom to run any software you choose, including OS (Linux, CentOS, Debian, etc.), FreeBSD, Windows Server, as well as NAS software (FreeNAS, RockStor, etc.). The Storinator servers are software agnostic. Backuppods sells the stock Backblaze design, while 45 Drives took the approach of taking the Backblaze design, using it as a launch pad, and modifying it for a much broader audience into a product they call the Storinator. In fact, Backblaze only publishes open-source designs and parts lists for their Storage Pods, which means that those who do not wish to build their own Pods will need to purchase them from a third-party vendor like Backuppods or 45 Drives. ![]() ![]() The Storage Pod 6.0 design is the result of an open-source hardware-development process that allows administrators the choice of purchasing a pre-built server or building their own to the same specifications.īackblaze bills itself as a cloud-based backup and offsite storage service, but within the storage industry, they are also known as the originator of the Storage Pod series of storage arrays and the publisher of detailed reviews on the longevity of hard drives. The Backblaze Storage Pod 6.0 accommodates 60 hard drives in a 4U rackmount server, with an architecture that puts the emphasis on storage density and price-per-GB. ![]()
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