New to FreeNAS in Marietta, Georgia USA

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May 21, 2019
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Hi all, I am just getting started with FreeNAS and am building my server as I write this. I am starting out modestly with four 1TB SATA data drives, 32MB of memory, and an Intel Core7 processor. I have been running Linux machines in my home for many years now and was working with IBM AIX servers before I retired from my I.T. job two years ago. So I am familiar with Unix-like systems and have come to prefer them (just a personal bias, I guess). I am looking forward to experiencing FreeNAS and its benefits in my home network!

Looking forward to participating in these forums with all of you!

Ken Shackelford
 

sretalla

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four 1TB SATA data drives, 32MB of memory
Welcome Ken.

You're probably not going to have a lot of fun with 32 MB (maybe you meant to say 32 GB?).
 
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Hehe - you are so right, sretalla. I did mean 32GB. I should not post when it is 5:54am in the morning... my non-ECC brain RAM is apparently subject to bit errors around that time! :p
 

sretalla

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32 GB is a good amount of RAM for your relatively conservative pool. It will allow you to run some jails and/or VMs if that's what you're looking for.

I guess you have looked into the details of ZFS to understand what it means to structure your pool with redundancy and for performance, but if not, that will be the next task.
 

jgreco

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I have been running Linux machines in my home for many years now and was working with IBM AIX servers before I retired from my I.T. job two years ago. So I am familiar with Unix-like systems and have come to prefer them (just a personal bias, I guess). I am looking forward to experiencing FreeNAS and its benefits in my home network!

Well, if you consider that the alternative to Unix-like systems is probably Windows, with the associated price tag, ...

I find that the Free (as in dollars) UNIX-like variants such as Linux or UNIX-derivative variants such as BSD are both very attractive simply because there isn't big cash going to Redmond for a platform that then sends craptons of telemetry back to Redmond. Paying Redmond for the privilege of them being able to spy on you? Huh? Wha?

So you could also consider privacy or frugality to be good justifications for running a UNIX-ish platform.
 
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32 GB is a good amount of RAM for your relatively conservative pool. It will allow you to run some jails and/or VMs if that's what you're looking for.

I guess you have looked into the details of ZFS to understand what it means to structure your pool with redundancy and for performance, but if not, that will be the next task.

One of the reasons that I settled on FreeNAS was a robust file system like ZFS. I have been doing software RAID on my Linux boxes for some time, so working ZFS into the mix made a lot of sense to me. I am starting out with 32GB and 4 data drives in order to play with FreeNAS for a while, build it up, experiment, gain experience and confidence, and then take what I learn and implement FreeNAS to support all of the workstations in my home. Toward that end, I would be bumping RAM up to 64GB and adding 4 more data drives - 2 for the pool, and 2 as "spares" for the inevitable time when a drive decides to go bad. It (sadly) happens. :rolleyes:

I appreciate the tips that you have been giving me - I am a newbie to FreeNAS and I definitely look forward to gaining experience and taking advice from all of you FreeNAS veterans out there. It is nice to know that I have access to a knowledgeable base of folks out here willing to welcome this newbie into the fold! :)
 
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Well, if you consider that the alternative to Unix-like systems is probably Windows, with the associated price tag, ...

I find that the Free (as in dollars) UNIX-like variants such as Linux or UNIX-derivative variants such as BSD are both very attractive simply because there isn't big cash going to Redmond for a platform that then sends craptons of telemetry back to Redmond. Paying Redmond for the privilege of them being able to spy on you? Huh? Wha?

So you could also consider privacy or frugality to be good justifications for running a UNIX-ish platform.

Hi jgreco! You are preaching to the choir concerning Windows. I do have a Windows laptop here in the house, but I only use it during tax season when I have to run a tax prep program. Otherwise, it collects dust most of the time. I definitely agree with you about privacy and frugality - both are important. To add to that, I find that part of the "fun" of Linux and Unix derivatives is being able to have "hands on"... to "do it yourself". While Windows is good as far as what it does, it is mostly a pre-packaged experience. You mess with Windows too much, and it bites you back. And then you are on the phone in the end trying to get support and paying the bucks. I prefer to get my hands into the system and work with the command line when I need to, and to write my own programs and scripts to accomplish what I want to do. To me, it is akin to growing your own veggies in the garden and taking pride in what you harvest, verses going to the grocery store and buying off the shelf. In that vein, that is why I am attracted to FreeNAS. You have to invest yourself in properly implementing it, and then enjoying the results of your efforts. Windows is mostly plug and play. Where is the fun in that?? :cool:

Thanks for the contact, jgreco. It is nice to hear from you and I am sure that we will be talking again as I begin my FreeNAS adventure!
 

sretalla

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adding 4 more data drives - 2 for the pool, and 2 as "spares"
Be sure to use your first 4 drives in mirrored pairs in this case, so adding further mirrored pairs will fit with your intentions.

Using RAIDZ1 for your first 4 disks would not work based on your statement/future need.

It's also worth knowing that spares are not as useful as you probably think, since the disk needs to completely disappear from the OS in order to be automatically swapped in to replace a failing disk (doesn't help when your disk is just beginning to fail and you already get pool degraded warnings). Usually these are useful when the system is far away and you would be notified, but unable to intervene in a short timeframe to manually replace the drive. While they are designated spares, they spin and consume power (wasting useful life), so better as cold spares if you have ready access to the box and notifications to alert you of the need to act.
 
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Good to know, sretalla. Thanks for the heads up - I will definitely use those as "cold" spares, since the FreeNAS box will be in a room just down the hallway from where my other machines are and I monitor my systems almost anal retentively during the course of a typical day. :D
 

balunasj

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Jun 19, 2019
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Hey Ken - your situation sounds almost exactly like mine. New to FreeNAS, comfortable with Linux, and hardware (although in my case, I'm not up on all the latest), and looking to get started.

I'd be very curious what you ended up going with, and how it's going?
 
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Hi balunasj, I am still tweaking my system at this point. I keep going back to system requirements, and finding things that I would rather get right the first time instead of setting up and then discovering that I should have done something differently. Currently, I have two IcyDock units installed on my system, each capable of holding 4 2.5 inch drives each. I only have the first IcyDock fully populated at the moment with 1TB drives, and I will be populating the second unit over the next couple of weeks. I also have two 3.5 inch 500GB drives installed for the OS and other non-storage functions - I will be mirroring those. The 2.5 inch drives will be set up in a RaidZ configuration (I will keep one drive out of the raid array as a "cold" spare based on a good suggestion from sretalla (see above). I am installing everything in a Rosewill Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer Case (Thor V2-W, White) with a 600W power supply and 6 large fans to keep everything cool. I am also looking at a publication named "FreeBSD v10 Jails - Step by Step: A ZFS based Jail configuration workbook (Let's Get it Done)" by Benjamin T. Hacker, Jr. I am not really skilled with BSD as I am with Linux, and my thought is that I would be well served by doing a little study of FreeBSD (and jails) prior to just jumping into FreeNAS. You can't go wrong with knowing something solid about the OS before depending on the featured application to run without issues (and your ability to react appropriately to those issues). ;)

Bottom line - I am taking a lot more time in preparation and self-education before I crank up FreeNAS. In the end, I think that I am going to be happier with the result. I have gotten some good feedback here in this forum and it is making my journey toward a FreeNAS implementation much easier!
 

balunasj

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Thanks a lot for the details, it starts to clear some of my thoughts as well. Although I'm hoping not to go too deep on the FreeBSD side, and trust that FreeNAS has abstracted as much of that as possible.

I'm mainly starting to narrow down the hardware side of things, and read through the hardware guides. They were certainly helpful, and I'll see if I get together an initial list and post for feedback.

Thanks again!
 
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