$2,000 to finish building server FreeNAS

[RedWine]

Hi everyone!

First time I build a NAS and I would like to ask you to help you match motherboard, processor and graphics card to my needs. I read the suggested guide and still need advice.

1. I mainly want to store data: ISO of my DVD movie collection, Bluray, music, hundreds of thousands of RAW images (90% media) and images of virtual machines (10%). On virtual machines where I do software testing (many clones). I would like to protect myself from accidental deletion of data, which happened to me not once
2. Intensively I would like to use for processing photos and videos - fast access time and transmission.
3. I would also like to run a virtual machine for converting videos to H256 at a free moment.
4. Streaming media is expected. Two 4K streams at the same time is the maximum.

• I am looking for a compromise between high performance, compact size (microATX) and silence. Maybe water cooling, unless it turns out to be an exaggeration.
• For this project I bought 8 x 10 TB (ST10000NM0086). In my experience HDD with helium is cooler. I will link them in RAIDZ2.
• I also have a Fractal design Node 804 housing. The enclosure does not include the new disk mount :-( I ask the manufacturer.
• I think the 10 Gbit network will be helpful.
• I install 128 GB of RAM, but is that enough?
• I think about Be Quiet Power Adapter! SFX L Power 600W. It is small and with gold certificate. I hope it is good.
• The graphics card would be welcome to help with virtual machines, but I do not know how to check.
• What types of network shares to apply? I am a Windows user. For virtual machines iSCSI 10% of capacity, the rest of the capacity would be for CIFS, and maybe NFS?

Supermicro has seen the X11SPM-TF. I do not know if it's new and compatible with the current version of FreeNAS. The second X10SDV-TLN4F requires an additional disk controller and then no graphics card. Maybe you know a better solution? I already have disks and case, and additional $ 2,000 should close the project.

 

[Chris Moore]

graphics card

Don't need one, use a server board with a built in graphics solution.

 

[Inxsible]

I think the 10 Gbit network will be helpful.

Only if you have other 10Gbit devices or at least a switch with a 10Gbit port.

I install 128 GB of RAM, but is that enough?

More than sufficient.

What types of network shares to apply? I am a Windows user.

CIFS/SMB

 

[RedWine]

Thanks for your answers.

Don't need one, use a server board with a built in graphics solution.

Would you please indicate which one would meet my expectations?

I also have a Fractal design Node 804 housing. The enclosure does not include the new disk mount :-( I ask the manufacturer.

They answered. They know the issue and work on it. In a month they should have something more to say.

 

[joeschmuck]

Water cooling and silence are mutually exclusive. The water pump makes noise, sometimes quite a bit. Think of a fish tank air pump. I've not heard of a silent water pump for a computer however a centrifugal pump could be used but I'm not sure who sells something like that which is reliable for small scale operation like a single computer. I'd stick with the boxed CPU fan at first.

 

[Evertb1]

Maybe water cooling, unless it turns out to be an exaggeration.

If you want silence a water cooler can be disappointing. Look for a decent air cooler.

 

[RedWine]

Water cooling and silence are mutually exclusive. The water pump makes noise, sometimes quite a bit. Think of a fish tank air pump. I've not heard of a silent water pump for a computer however a centrifugal pump could be used but I'm not sure who sells something like that which is reliable for small scale operation like a single computer.

I have been using swiftech MPC655 for many years and I can assure you that this is a very quiet pump. Water cooling will be used if the volume is too high or the temperature in the case is too high.

If you want silence a water cooler can be disappointing. Look for a decent air cooler

Yes, in the first place I will be using air cooling. Water cooling will be used if the air does not meet expectations. Additional costs are not needed.:)

 

[Evertb1]

I have been using swiftech MPC655 for many years and I can assure you that this is a very quiet pump. Water cooling will be used if the volume is too high or the temperature in the case is too high.

Yes, in the first place I will be using air cooling. Water cooling will be used if the air does not meet expectations. Additional costs are not needed.:)

I would be very surprised if air cooling would not be meeting your expectations, as long as you have a case with a half decent air flow. And the Node 804 is not the worst in its class. However, I must admit that I prefer cases with a bit more room to work with. Especially if they are packed with hard drives.

 

[RedWine]

And the Node 804 is not the worst in its class. However, I must admit that I prefer cases with a bit more room to work with. Especially if they are packed with hard drives.

We will be able to see how the 8x HDD solution with helium in Node 804 will work. I am optimistic. IMO these drives are cooler about 3 than I have helium. I'm skeptical whether the casing manufacturer will find the right solution for mounting the discs within a month. Probably I will have to do it myself.
But by that time I would buy a motherboard, RAM and optionally a graphics card.

 

[Chris Moore]

If that chassis you picked will take a full ATX style system board, I would suggest that you go with one of these:
https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C600/X10SRL-F.cfm
and a Xeon CPU in the 8 core 3 GHz range. That and about 128GB of RAM should do you pretty well, but since you want to run some VMs, you might want to go higher on the RAM and more CPU horsepower can't hurt if you have the budget for it.
The CPU recommendation is based on the 2 streams of 4K video that you want to be able to stream / transcode. Video rendering in FreeNAS is all CPU, which is the reason that I said earlier a GPU is not needed. If you want to be able to pass a GPU into a VM, you will probably need to run ESXi as a hyper-visor. Another user, @Stux recently did a very nice build showing that and you might want to check it out.

 

[RedWine]

If that chassis you picked will take a full ATX style system board, I would suggest that you go with one of these:
https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C600/X10SRL-F.cfm
and a Xeon CPU in the 8 core 3 GHz range. That and about 128GB of RAM should do you pretty well, but since you want to run some VMs, you might want to go higher on the RAM and more CPU horsepower can't hurt if you have the budget for it.
The CPU recommendation is based on the 2 streams of 4K video that you want to be able to stream / transcode. Video rendering in FreeNAS is all CPU, which is the reason that I said earlier a GPU is not needed. If you want to be able to pass a GPU into a VM, you will probably need to run ESXi as a hyper-visor. Another user, @Stux recently did a very nice build showing that and you might want to check it out.

Node 804 is for micro ATX and mini ATX. ESXi is tempting and I hope it does not complicate cooperation with FreeNAS. I will try to use the experience of Stux.
Thanks

 

[Stux]

you will probably need to run ESXi as a hyper-visor. Another user, @Stux recently did a very nice build showing that and you might want to check it out.

:)

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...node-304-x10sdv-tln4f-esxi-freenas-aio.57116/

 

[RedWine]

Thank you all for the hints!

The budget met with the wishes and the decision was taken. It will be the https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/D/X10SDV-TLN4F.cfm. This is not the latest motherboard, but it has been in the market long enough to recognize this motherboard as mature. This board has only 6 SATA ports, and I need 8 ports. Which controller can you recommend the most suitable according to your knowledge?

 

[Stux]

Well, to add the extra Sata ports, you best use an LSI 2008 sas card.

This will use up your sole pci slot. Precluding additional fast PCIe storage. FWIW.

Actually not quite true, as you can get dual 8x PCIe splitter cables which are compatible with the x10sdv.

I'd look at the MicroATX form factor x10 Xeon d (SFP+ not 10gbaseT though), or the x11ssm.

But if you insist on MiniITX, X10SDV TLN4F is a fine board. Super capable for it's size.

 

[RedWine]

Thank you Stux.
I want to use 128 GB RAM, x11ssm will handle only 64. X10SDV TLN4F has a processor that does not generate too much heat. Yes, the processor could be faster. I decided that the main functionality would be the NAS. Virtual machine is secondary functionality.
I have a HBA 9400-8i but it's too new. Drivers for FreeNAS will appear in 11.1.

Can you suggest another disk controller that will handle the 8 Seagate drives freely?
LSI 2008 SAS is currently unavailable for sale where I buy.

 

[Stux]

There is a whole suite of OEM LSI 2008 based cards available (Lenovo/ibm dell etc)

Check the hardware guide
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

 

[MatthewSteinhoff]

motherboard/Xeon/D/X10SDV-TLN4F.cfm.

That's the same board I have in my home FreeNAS. It too, lives inside a Fractal 804 case. Very pleased so far.

To keep it cool and quiet, I added two Noctua fans to the stock fans already in the case and I am running them all at low speed.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[RedWine]

That's the same board I have in my home FreeNAS. It too, lives inside a Fractal 804 case. Very pleased so far.

To keep it cool and quiet, I added two Noctua fans to the stock fans already in the case and I am running them all at low speed.

Cheers,
Matt

Great to hear it. The silence here is very much expected.