Hey all, new to the forum and very impressed by some of the threads I've read so far. This weekend I've probably spent 8 hours bouncing around some IP surveillance camera forums, Reddit, and various other spots before I found this forum. My goal is to architect a solution for running Blue Iris surveillance software with up to about 12 IP cameras (2-4mp), while also providing Plex (probably no more than one 1080p transcode at once), and a backup server for the house. I think FreeNAS fits into this for providing the pool for Plex and backup. Also want to leave myself some headroom for one more Linux VM for future use. If I could do it in one box using ESXi, that would be great from a thermal and energy use perspective. Noise/size/beauty doesn't matter, it will be in a closet. I have perused these applicable threads and taken notes:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...node-304-x10sdv-tln4f-esxi-freenas-aio.57116/
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/freenas-virtualized-on-esxi-or-vms-in-freenas.58410/
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/esxi-question.69241/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/4scaws/nas_vs_htpc/
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...r-passthrough-from-esxi-6-5-to-freenas.61304/
Another thing to mention is I intend to keep the Windows 10 Blue Iris hardware and setup totally isolated from the rest of the server and network for security reasons. So VLAN, no access to the FreeNAS media/backup volume from the Win10 VM, etc.
Overall I'm very comfortable building PC's, been using some flavor of Ubuntu for my main PC for more than a decade, experience with Virtualbox VMs, built a pfSense box recently, and I do random freelance computer work for small businesses a few times a year. But I'm not a networking or NAS guru, and this would be my first romp with ESXi, Plex, and FreeNAS. I'm going to provide a little background below, but then I'll follow that up with my proposed software and rough build plan and questions.
Blue Iris runs only on Windows and it will probably be the most CPU and I/O intensive application on a 24/7 basis. A lot of folks on the IP surveillance side claim you should only run a dedicated i5/i7 box for this, but others have had success recently with newer consumer hardware (such as an i7 6700) virtualizing inside ESXi. Regardless, this part of the equation gives me the most uncertainty because it's a steady CPU and IOPS load unlike how I will be using the FreeNAS share (backups and Plex usage). Here's a thread with a guy that does Blue Iris in a VM in ESXi but isn't hosting NAS on that box: http://www.blueirissoftware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2639
Server requirements:
1. Support about 40-50 mbps of 24/7 IP cam recording (used this calculator:https://ipcamtalk.com/tools/calculators/hdd/). This will probably take about 30-40% load on an i7 6700 without Quick Sync hardware acceleration.
2. For Plex, must be able to support one transcode stream simultaneously. One Direct Play stream (home theater, probably Nvidia Shield client) and one transcode (tablet) simulteaneously would be ideal though!
3. Serve as a backup spot for 1-2 PCs. The FreeNAS pool should be able to support this no problem.
My thoughts on hardware/software setup (please critique!)
Modern consumer hardware (but open to like integrated Xeon mobos, ebay'ed servers, etc. if most effective):
-i7 6700 or similar
-16-32 GB ram
-Haven't actually decided how much space I want in the main FreeNAS pool, but let's assumed 4 x 8 TB. Trying to decide between going with internal SATA controller or separate HBA card for the FreeNAS pool, either way I know I need to pass-through ESXi to FreeNAS.
-SSD(s) for VMs and ESXi, probably separate one for a SLOG too. If I don't pass the SATA controller, these could be SATA, otherwise I guess M.2 NVME
-Probably a separate single hard drive for Blue Iris, something like a WD Purple 8-12 TB. There are logistical considerations on where I hook this up (* see below).
-I guess I need a UPS too
*If the single WD Purple went on a passed-through SATA mobo controller used for the 4 x 8 TB pool, now it's also in FreeNAS. I guess I could make it its own volume, and it's basically isolated at the FreeNAS level from the other volume. Then I would do virtual networking via ESXi to allow the Win10 VM to write to that single disk volume. If I wanted to leave the WD Purple out of FreeNAS and connect it direct to the Win10 VM via ESXi, I would need to either buy a separate PCIe HBA or figure something else out! Open to suggestions.
Overall I think the separate WD Purple mitigates some of the IOPS concerns of the steady-state Blue Iris load, plus should increase mean time to failure for the media FreeNAS volume (fewer writes!). The controller stuff is what I need advice on though.
Software Setup
-ESXi
-FreeNAS VM (could jail Plex)
-Linux VM: Would need if I didn't like Plex in a FreeNAS jail, but also might want this to run OpenVPN, etc.
-Win10 VM: Blue Iris
-Details: Passthru of a controller necessary for FreeNAS media/backup pool. Intel Quick Sync hardware decoding passthrough very desired for Blue Iris and/or Plex BUT I think only one VM can get passthrough at a time. I would chose Blue Iris for this (http://www.blueirissoftware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4295).
Like I said, looking for critique/suggestions and I appreciate any feedback!
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...node-304-x10sdv-tln4f-esxi-freenas-aio.57116/
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/freenas-virtualized-on-esxi-or-vms-in-freenas.58410/
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/esxi-question.69241/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/4scaws/nas_vs_htpc/
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...r-passthrough-from-esxi-6-5-to-freenas.61304/
Another thing to mention is I intend to keep the Windows 10 Blue Iris hardware and setup totally isolated from the rest of the server and network for security reasons. So VLAN, no access to the FreeNAS media/backup volume from the Win10 VM, etc.
Overall I'm very comfortable building PC's, been using some flavor of Ubuntu for my main PC for more than a decade, experience with Virtualbox VMs, built a pfSense box recently, and I do random freelance computer work for small businesses a few times a year. But I'm not a networking or NAS guru, and this would be my first romp with ESXi, Plex, and FreeNAS. I'm going to provide a little background below, but then I'll follow that up with my proposed software and rough build plan and questions.
Blue Iris runs only on Windows and it will probably be the most CPU and I/O intensive application on a 24/7 basis. A lot of folks on the IP surveillance side claim you should only run a dedicated i5/i7 box for this, but others have had success recently with newer consumer hardware (such as an i7 6700) virtualizing inside ESXi. Regardless, this part of the equation gives me the most uncertainty because it's a steady CPU and IOPS load unlike how I will be using the FreeNAS share (backups and Plex usage). Here's a thread with a guy that does Blue Iris in a VM in ESXi but isn't hosting NAS on that box: http://www.blueirissoftware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2639
Server requirements:
1. Support about 40-50 mbps of 24/7 IP cam recording (used this calculator:https://ipcamtalk.com/tools/calculators/hdd/). This will probably take about 30-40% load on an i7 6700 without Quick Sync hardware acceleration.
2. For Plex, must be able to support one transcode stream simultaneously. One Direct Play stream (home theater, probably Nvidia Shield client) and one transcode (tablet) simulteaneously would be ideal though!
3. Serve as a backup spot for 1-2 PCs. The FreeNAS pool should be able to support this no problem.
My thoughts on hardware/software setup (please critique!)
Modern consumer hardware (but open to like integrated Xeon mobos, ebay'ed servers, etc. if most effective):
-i7 6700 or similar
-16-32 GB ram
-Haven't actually decided how much space I want in the main FreeNAS pool, but let's assumed 4 x 8 TB. Trying to decide between going with internal SATA controller or separate HBA card for the FreeNAS pool, either way I know I need to pass-through ESXi to FreeNAS.
-SSD(s) for VMs and ESXi, probably separate one for a SLOG too. If I don't pass the SATA controller, these could be SATA, otherwise I guess M.2 NVME
-Probably a separate single hard drive for Blue Iris, something like a WD Purple 8-12 TB. There are logistical considerations on where I hook this up (* see below).
-I guess I need a UPS too
*If the single WD Purple went on a passed-through SATA mobo controller used for the 4 x 8 TB pool, now it's also in FreeNAS. I guess I could make it its own volume, and it's basically isolated at the FreeNAS level from the other volume. Then I would do virtual networking via ESXi to allow the Win10 VM to write to that single disk volume. If I wanted to leave the WD Purple out of FreeNAS and connect it direct to the Win10 VM via ESXi, I would need to either buy a separate PCIe HBA or figure something else out! Open to suggestions.
Overall I think the separate WD Purple mitigates some of the IOPS concerns of the steady-state Blue Iris load, plus should increase mean time to failure for the media FreeNAS volume (fewer writes!). The controller stuff is what I need advice on though.
Software Setup
-ESXi
-FreeNAS VM (could jail Plex)
-Linux VM: Would need if I didn't like Plex in a FreeNAS jail, but also might want this to run OpenVPN, etc.
-Win10 VM: Blue Iris
-Details: Passthru of a controller necessary for FreeNAS media/backup pool. Intel Quick Sync hardware decoding passthrough very desired for Blue Iris and/or Plex BUT I think only one VM can get passthrough at a time. I would chose Blue Iris for this (http://www.blueirissoftware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4295).
Like I said, looking for critique/suggestions and I appreciate any feedback!