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[bkenobi]

I checked the system again this morning and it's showing all good.  I have done nothing other than let it idle for the last couple days but for some reason the drive is back online.  I found the box for the 3ware card so plan on swapping cables around this weekend.  If the card is good and the drives are good then it must be cables/cable routing.  I found that the case I selected (Coolmaster 8 bay tool less of some kind) is not exactly great for a server solution as the "tool less" trays degrade and fall apart when looked at.  If the controller is good, the drives are good, and the RAID is simply an issue due to ergonomics, I may update the PC and case to something more like a NAS.  I've done almost no research, but it appears that there are some mATX cases that have external swappable bays and have a similar form factor to the Drobo and such.

I still need to determine a good option for the second storage/backup.  The initial look at SSD WiFi drives turned out to be faulty.  They all seemed to be either WiFi and HDD or SSD and not WiFi.  I did see a couple that were both, but they were $500+ for small drives.  I thought SSD had come down a bit more than that.  I suppose I could also consider a router that can accept USB and a SSD drive or some similar variant.  Heck, a RPi + SSD might even do the trick should I find a small enough enclosure.

EDIT:
Of course, I guess I could get a fire/water proof hard drive and skip the safe 
https://www.amazon.com/Fireproof-Waterproof-External-Recovery-SL1000GBUSB20/dp/B001TNR8EI

EDIT2:
I also was wondering what BeyondRAID and RAIDZ2 were as I've seen references.  This is a good link that shows what they are:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-standard_RAID_levels

[dhouston]

The initial look at SSD WiFi drives turned out to be faulty.  They all seemed to be either WiFi and HDD or SSD and not WiFi.

I have a WiFi enclosure for a HDD which might handle SSD - I'll have to check.

[Tuicemen]

  Heck, a RPi + SSD might even do the trick should I find a small enough enclosure.

There are other SBC options you may wish to look into like the ODROID Home Cloud 1 or Home Cloud 2.
They offer cases and I believe 3D images so you could print your own case

[bkenobi]

I just realized that it's still possible to purchase a drive enclosure and install your own internal drive in it.  I assumed that things had changed but not so.  There are a number of options for WiFi enclosures for fairly cheap.  I even found one that is a router + enclosure that can be flashed with open source firmware (OpenWRT for example).  I actually have a router/enclosure that I've never used, but it's only 802.11b, so it won't likely ever see usage.  Then again, since this is for backup and not serving, 802.11b may be fast enough and sufficient for testing.

https://www.amazon.com/SunRise%C2%AE-Streaming-External-Enclosure-BlackColor/dp/B0142JFDWY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Also, I just realized that the cable that may be faulty in my setup is a standard SAS to SATA cable.  I assumed it was proprietary to 3Ware and not available.  The reason it failed (assuming that's the issue) is due to a hard 90° bend to fit the drive into the case.  I can get cables that have 90° connectors, so I may be able to get my existing setup working reliably afterall.  I need to test my old "bad" drive to see if it is truly faulty.  If not, I might throw it back in and swap cables.  The NAS cases are pretty sexy though!

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAE7R5Y01964&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-Cables+-+SCSI+%2F+SAS+%2F+InfiniBand+Cables-_-9SIAE7R5Y01964&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6fvdBRCbARIsABGZ-vRG7jXm4vLEBA0qkKMm4K-Ty3jyQiiy8_dkNyTvYLAwbXqoH4JvWkQaAnctEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[dhouston]

My WiFi enclosure looks like the one you linked to except it's bright, shiny aluminum. I never put it to use because my 6TB HDD connects via USB to my router and serves the same purpose - backup for all my PCs as well as easy file sharing between anything that connects to my router.

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Toolfree-External-Enclosure-Support/dp/B00GAML7OK/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1539290890&sr=8-13&keywords=orico+usb3.0+to+sata+iii+2.5%22+external+hard+drive+enclosure

[bkenobi]

I just realized that I could have an issue with drives dying, but it may also be something else.  I have a 4 HDD RAID 5 + 1 HDD for the system.  There are 2 fans, the LSI board, and the motherboard.  The following is a rough calc based on a power sizing guide on FreeNAS's forum:

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/



35W x 5 HDD = 175W
30W x 2 fans = 30W
25W x 1 MB = 25W
80W x 1 CPU = 80W
6W x 2 sticks RAM = 12W
30W x CPU fan = 30W
10W x 1 LSI board = 10W
------------------------------
TOTAL = 362W
Safety factor (1.25) = 452W


Now, that's probably ok since the PSU was over 500W.  However I can't verify due to the location they put the sticker on the PSU (thanks Antec!).  However, if the PSU was 500W and over time it's lost some capability, then I might be pushing it too hard.  I also found that if I put a "dead" drive in to test it, the drive would disappear prior to finalizing the format.  I installed another "dead" drive and the system spun down and rebooted.  Maybe these "dead" drives are stuck and draw way too much power on top of the ~452W above (another 35W would still be under 500W).  I have another PSU in a dead machine that I suppose might still be able to spin the drive up.  If so, I could probably use that PSU to spin the "dead" drive and plug the SATA into the RAID system for testing.

[HA Dave]

35W x 5 HDD = 175W
30W x 2 fans = 30W
25W x 1 MB = 25W
80W x 1 CPU = 80W
6W x 2 sticks RAM = 12W
30W x CPU fan = 30W
10W x 1 LSI board = 10W
------------------------------
TOTAL = 362W

That's a lot of electric/energy/cost there. I had ran an old (door-stop) XP unit years ago as part of my Home Automation setup. But as the technology moved to CFL... I realized I was spending more to control lighting... than the cost of the lighting.  By the time I began moving into LED lights (and I am an early adapter) I had switched to laptops for Home Automation. Now my [Homeseer/Hometroller] Raspberry Pi... and my Amazon Echo devices.... reduces it all to milliwatts.


You might want to toy with the idea of a Raspberry Pi, flash-drive RAID server (seriously) https://youtu.be/CCISPm9KekY

[petera]

I just realized that I could have an issue with drives dying, but it may also be something else.  I have a 4 HDD RAID 5 + 1 HDD for the system.  There are 2 fans, the LSI board, and the motherboard.  The following is a rough calc based on a power sizing guide on FreeNAS's forum:

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

When I experience weird or hard to explain hardware failures my first line of attack usually is to throw in a spare power supply. Always a high capacity one on hand. Of course plastic connectors do come loose over time

Earth shorts and loose straps on cases are another target for erratic performance.

In fairness most of the stresses are usually attributed to powder supplies. If the server is running 24/7 wear can be expected and of course powering on and off has its own drawbacks to.



35W x 5 HDD = 175W
30W x 2 fans = 30W
25W x 1 MB = 25W
80W x 1 CPU = 80W
6W x 2 sticks RAM = 12W
30W x CPU fan = 30W
10W x 1 LSI board = 10W
------------------------------
TOTAL = 362W
Safety factor (1.25) = 452W


Now, that's probably ok since the PSU was over 500W.  However I can't verify due to the location they put the sticker on the PSU (thanks Antec!).  However, if the PSU was 500W and over time it's lost some capability, then I might be pushing it too hard.  I also found that if I put a "dead" drive in to test it, the drive would disappear prior to finalizing the format.  I installed another "dead" drive and the system spun down and rebooted.  Maybe these "dead" drives are stuck and draw way too much power on top of the ~452W above (another 35W would still be under 500W).  I have another PSU in a dead machine that I suppose might still be able to spin the drive up.  If so, I could probably use that PSU to spin the "dead" drive and plug the SATA into the RAID system for testing.

[bkenobi]

Well, I think the power supply is definitely the issue.  The loads I listed are worst case startup and not sustained so my power bill won't see 500w year round.  But, when it cranks up for a minute, the PSU must be able to handle it.  I looked at the PSU before, but the sticker was on the wrong side.  I just pulled it and see that it's only a 380W unit.  Well shoot...

I believe the case came with that PSU and sunce it's a 8 bay case you'd think they'd include something capable.  Well, since not, I will have to bump it up.

That said, I'm not clear why it's an issue anyway.  Based on the kill-a-watt the max load I see is 160w and generally between 100-120w.

[Brian H]

Some power supplies and motherboards. Can suffer from the Swollen Capacitor syndrome. Getting flaky as time goes on.

You may want to look at the motherboard and see if any of the capacitors. Are swollen, the rubber seals on the bottom are starting to pop out or the tops safety vent is starting to bulge out.

Power supply is not as easy. As the primary side of the switching supply can hold a nasty shock or worse.

[bkenobi]

I'll check the MB but outside of leaks, they might be hard to spot.  On the up side, the server is reporting good since the rebuild completed last week.  I have a kill-a-watt on the system and its idling at 66W so not much more than a standard light bulb.  I think the PSU will need replacing, but I'm considering moving the system to a more slick box like the drobo.  There are some that include nice back planes now, so swapping drives doesnt even require opening the box (minimal benefit in reality since I shouldnt be swapping drives outside of failures).