Current system will need expansion

Loren Zimmer

Dabbler
Joined
May 6, 2017
Messages
25
Hello,

I built a "whitebox" that houses our freenas system a few years ago. Like many others we use it for media storage and backups of our computers. It has served us really well but I'm starting to wonder how long it will hold up (it's built out of consumer grade parts except for the drives) and we are starting to run out of storage. About a year ago I purchased a refurbished Dell R710 to use for a few virtual machines and relieve some of the strain on our freenas machine. If possible I would like to move to something like that for our freenas machine as well as a disk shelf to give us the ability to expand our storage.

Here are a few of the spec's for our current freenas system:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 cores)
40 Gigs of non-ecc memory
4 (consumer grade) 370 gig drives housing some miscellaneous jails and phone backups
4 2Tb drives for our computer backups (73% used)
4 3Tb drives for our media library (45% used)

We are also probably going to have a house built and will be expanding our network for some smart home devices as well as a security system with a few cameras. I'm guessing having some additional storage for security footage would be good. I've done some research but would also welcome input if my thoughts about a refurbished server with a disk shelf is a smart and economical way to get the ability to expand as well as have equipment that is designed to last.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Loren
 

Loren Zimmer

Dabbler
Joined
May 6, 2017
Messages
25
I've done a little more reading and found this article. Has anyone had any luck attaching a Netapp DS4243 to a freenas system?
 

JaimieV

Guru
Joined
Oct 12, 2012
Messages
742
NetApp do dick around with their firmware - I'd suggest the same shelf branded Dell Xyratex HB-1235, they Just Work.
If you're concerned about your consumer kit slowly dying I'd greatly recommend getting another refurb Dell tbh (see my builds below), they're dirt cheap (and use ECC!)
 

Loren Zimmer

Dabbler
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May 6, 2017
Messages
25
@JaimieV I took your advice. Thank you for that. In my attempt to be budget friendly I ordered the wrong SAS Card. This is the one that should be here any day now. Is there anyway to use that card with the HB1235? If not I'll look for a card like the LSI 9207 -4i4e. If I can use the card that should be arriving what kind of cables or adapters would I need?
 

Snow

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Aug 1, 2014
Messages
309
I would Replace your consumer grade parts ASAP as they are not meant for 24/7 power on operations. Also the Non Ecc Memory is a really bad idea if you care about your data! I looked in to getting a net app as a DAS like he said they have problems play nice with other stuff that's not netapp. @JaimieV do they make a 24 or 36 Bay for the Dell Xyratex HB?
 
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JaimieV

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Loren Zimmer

Dabbler
Joined
May 6, 2017
Messages
25

Loren Zimmer

Dabbler
Joined
May 6, 2017
Messages
25
The saga continues...

A while back I found a pretty good deal on a NetApp RA-1402 DS14 MK2 on ebay and I scooped it up. My plan was that it could house all of the SATA drives that the original white box had living in it. Fast forward to about a month ago, my wife and I purchased a R710 with ample memory. I was able to install the sas card into the new machine. I was able to get freenas going with the configuration from the original machine. The only problem was that I hadn't ordered a fiber channel card yet. I ordered one as well as cables. In the process of working on my plan I found this tutorial outlining the steps to get the iscsi service up and running. In the midst of configuring the iscsi target, it needed a device field to be filled out. However the drop down didn't have any options available. I assume that this means that the card that I purchased (QLOGIC QLE2562-DEL Dual Port PX2810403 Dell MFP5T PCIe Fiber Channel HBA Adapter) isn't compatible with freenas. Is that correct?

Additionally the NetApp shelf that I purchased came with a single cable. When the two that I ordered arrived yesterday, I noted that they had 7 contacts while the cable that came with the shelf a had 10. Can someone point me to information about the differences between the two sets of cables?

Thanks in advance for any assistance or advice!
 
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