First Time NAS Build

[Alexandr]

Hey Guys!

Wife says the the 18 computers and associated bird's nests of wiring has to go. I don't have a centralized system and it's time to remedy this. I've been building gaming systems since the days of DOS, but building a server turns my previous way of thinking upside down. What I need is a centralized server of around 20 - 24 drives. I'm thinking Western Digital Red 3tb drives in 3 pools of 8 running RAID Z2 on a FreeNAS OS. One pool devoted exclusively to streaming movie files to 3 HTPC's running FRODO, one pool as a working drive and the third pool for backup, all crammed into a Norco 4224 case that I picked up for a song. I know what is available and desirable for top end performance PC's but I can't get a good fix on server hardware. Budget is of secondary importance. Upgradeability and reliability are my main concerns. Searching the various forums, I've noticed most threads are several years old. Fresh reviews are hard to come by it seems. Given what I want to accomplish, any recommendations for motherboard, cpu, RAM and controller cards?

 

[gpsguy]

Start here, with a recent (April) thread on hardware suggestions

 

[cyberjock]

Read the hardware recommendations link in my sig and my guide. That'll give you a good education to get started.

If you just want something to buy a good cost effective, reliable, energy efficient, compatible hardware, and excellent performance my server is:

Supermicro X9SCM-F-O motherboard(IPMI is a big plus!)
32GB ECC RAM
Intel Xeon E3-1230v2
Norco 4224 case
M1015(reflashed to IT mode) (There's links for reflashing instructions in the forum and via Google if you don't know how)
Intel RES2SV240 SAS expander

Then add whatever drives you want.. WD REDs are a good choice.

If you didn't own the Norco 4224 I'd recommend you get a Supermicro and then you could use just the M1015 and ignore the SAS expander. The Supermicro cases have superior cooling and build quality and many won't need the SAS expander as its built into the case.

But that list above is what I am using right now and its a very very good solution.(35w idle with no hard drives when I tested my build).

It's not one of those "ultra cheap" builds , but its got all the recommended stuff and none of the stuff you don't need. I'm sure you'll be as satisfied with that build as I am. :)

 

[Ryback]

Cyberjock: Is there any reason why you recommend the E3-1230v2 over the E3-1230v3?

I'm planning my NAS and here's my hardware-list at the moment.

4x KINGSTON Valueram/ 8GB 1600MHz KVR16LE11/8EF
1x IBM Express ServeRAID M1015 90Y4556
1x INTEL CPU/Xeon E3-1230v3 3.30GHz BX80646E31230V3
1x Supermicro motherboard X10SLL-F
6x Western Digital Red 3TB NAS-harddrives

 

[cyberjock]

Some people have had problems with Haswell with FreeBSD. The v2 has plenty of power for FreeNAS too.