WimpyJan 17, 2024

Next up is one of my DIY 🛠️ single slot high capacity storage arrays 💾that I use as internal backup targets.

These use single slots PCIe adapters from Sedna with a pair of M.2 SATA SSDs. On typical consumer motherboards the single slots are on the chipset and shared with USB, WiFi/LAN. Using SATA SSDs on a 1xPCIe helps prevent I/O to this storage from contending with other peripherals and negates the need for power and SATA cables 🔌

Show threadWimpyJan 17, 2024
First I add 0.5mm thermally conductive silicon pads, not really for cooling but to create a base for the SSDs to prevent bowing and bending 🏹
Show threadWimpyJan 17, 2024

Next 2x4TB SATA SSDs are mounted. These Transcend MTS830S have DRAM so perform well given the SATA protocol.

I use Linux 🐧 mdadm to create a RAID0 from these drives as they are only ever used for internal Borg backups 🤖

Show threadHankBJan 17, 2024
@wimpy RAID0... At one point (years ago when NVME drives were so much more expensive than SATA SSDs) I ran 4x Samsung 850 EVOs in RAID0. Until one started playing up. When I got the warranty replacement and I bought a fifth and switched to RAIDZ1, sacrificing some performance for resilience.
Show threadWimpyJan 17, 2024
@HankB Yeah, as these are only ever used as backup targets I optimise for capacity not resilience 🙂
Show threadAaron has movedJan 21, 2024
@wimpy
What do you mean by "internal" backup? It looks really cool, but I'm curious what your use case is as I wouldn't normally buy SSDs for backups.
Show threadWimpyJan 21, 2024

@aaron I use Borg to make frequent incremental backups of my data (not OS) to this backup device.

If I "do a silly" 🤡 and accidentally delete/corrupt stuff then I have a local and recent recovery point. This is a safety net in the event I make of mess of things, and the fact I have such a setup tells you I must have learned a hard lesson in the past 😂

These local backups are in addition to remote archival backups 🙂

Show threadAaron has moved
@wimpy
Fair enough. I use ZFS and am a big fan of snapshots for the same reason!
Why SSDs and not spinning rust for a backup use case? Does it make a material difference to Borg performance for your use case or did you just have them/need to fit them in a small box or something?
Jan 21, 2024 at 6:43pmWeb
Show threadWimpyJan 21, 2024

@aaron I'm in the process (right now) of switching to bcachefs and actively prohibiting ZFS from being installed 😁

https://github.com/wimpysworld/nix-config/commit/fab0f931880326f2e0b604e1eb4beaa23e4e3af7

The disks I had available but I chose the PCIe SATA adapter approach, rather than NVME, because the PCIe slots used by the adapter are on the PCH. So backups are swift but not able to overwhelm general I/O. Also it's a low power and no cables solution. And they are fun to make😁

feat: add bcachefs support · wimpysworld/nix-config@fab0f93

Wimpy's NixOS & Home Manager Configurations ❄️. Contribute to wimpysworld/nix-config development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadAaron has movedJan 21, 2024
@wimpy
Ha. It does look fun!