8 bay build based on X11SSH-F

[miluz]

Hi,

I'm planning a build intended for inexpensive 8 bay storage based on FreeNAS. It is intended to be used as NFS server, small amount of clients (1-3), archiving image data (many small files, mainly archive with bursts of RW, probably cacheable (< 15GB of data) when image data is being processed over NFS).

So far, this is what I came up with:
Xeon E3-1220 v6
Supermicro X11SSH-F
2x 16G ECC UDIMM Corsair CT16G4WFD8266
(Boot device) SSD M.2 Kingston 240GB SSDNOW A1000
Chassis Antec P101 Silent
PSU 550W Antec NE550M
HDD 8x WD Red WD40EFRX

Choosing X11SSH-F over X11SSM-F is because I'd like to put 8 disks inside and I'm reluctant to put it in another place with USB as a boot device that might be mistakenly pulled out.

Will it FreeNAS? I'm concerned about the M.2 SSD as a boot device.
Also, are there any recommendations for something that has smaller footprint, reasonably ventilated, but can still take 8 drives? (if not, 6 drives?)

Would love to hear your feedback.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

(Boot device) SSD M.2 Kingston 240GB SSDNOW A1000

I generally advice that M.2 is a waste for boot devices. If you ever want a SLOG that M.2 slot is much more appropriate for that.

Choosing X11SSH-F over X11SSM-F is because I'd like to put 8 disks inside and I'm reluctant to put it in another place with USB as a boot device that might be mistakenly pulled out.

A cheap HBA and very cheap SSD solves the issue of limited data ports and avoids using M.2 as boot. Check the build in my signature for how I got 12 drives on a X11SSM-F

To be clear a boot device can work off M.2 no problem so long as your board is configured to boot from it, but it's a waste if the speed of that slot.

Consider the fractal design define R6. It has sound dampening panels as an option, supports 11 drives, is about the same size, and can easily be made to fit more drives if you need. It also has 4 SSD locations to avoid the need for M.2 assuming you get an HBA.

 

[Chris Moore]

I'm planning a build intended for inexpensive 8 bay storage based on FreeNAS.

You might want to consider used hardware. This guide is about seven months old, but the suggestions are still valid. I am running hardware like that now and see no reason to upgrade:

Specific build changes to upgrade as high as 512GB of RAM

This is intended as a modification to the list of hardware I put together here: https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/specific-build-components-list-up-to-32gb-ram.109/ Be aware, this is a totally different system board with a totally...

www.ixsystems.com

 

[miluz]

I generally advice that M.2 is a waste for boot devices. If you ever want a SLOG that M.2 slot is much more appropriate for that.



A cheap HBA and very cheap SSD solves the issue of limited data ports and avoids using M.2 as boot. Check the build in my signature for how I got 12 drives on a X11SSM-F

To be clear a boot device can work off M.2 no problem so long as your board is configured to boot from it, but it's a waste if the speed of that slot.

Consider the fractal design define R6. It has sound dampening panels as an option, supports 11 drives, is about the same size, and can easily be made to fit more drives if you need. It also has 4 SSD locations to avoid the need for M.2 assuming you get an HBA.

Thanks for your feedback!

I checked out this path of HBA + Sata SSD. Seems like the HBA is the big penalty here: you use LSI SAS 9207-8i. A quick search shows it sells in newegg/Amazon at 80$ or more, and at e-bay at around 50$. The difference between X11SSM-F and X11SSH-F is ~35$ (newegg). Cheap 120GB M.2 NVMe is about a few bucks more expensive than cheap 120GB SATA device. This still puts the X11SSH-F option slightly less expensive.

Also, I'm not sure about buying the LSI card from e-bay since I don't yet understand where the price gap is coming from. Has anyone had good experience with a certain e-bay seller on this type of LSI card?

I get it that putting the OS on M.2 is a waste of speed. In this build's case, I'd like to see that synced writes are indeed a bottleneck before I add a SLOG SSD. The intended use is nfs. Hopefully by configuring it async, the intention log would be only on RAM. Is this assumption correct?

 

[miluz]

You might want to consider used hardware. This guide is about seven months old, but the suggestions are still valid. I am running hardware like that now and see no reason to upgrade:

Specific build changes to upgrade as high as 512GB of RAM

This is intended as a modification to the list of hardware I put together here: https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/specific-build-components-list-up-to-32gb-ram.109/ Be aware, this is a totally different system board with a totally...

www.ixsystems.com

Your posts of inexpensive builds with the e-bay links are really nice! When I'll build a home NAS those would be among the first options I'll consider. The build I'm working on now may require buying from a local supplier for warranty issues.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

I checked out this path of HBA + Sata SSD. Seems like the HBA is the big penalty here: you use LSI SAS 9207-8i. A quick search shows it sells in newegg/Amazon at 80$ or more, and at e-bay at around 50$. The difference between X11SSM-F and X11SSH-F is ~35$ (newegg). Cheap 120GB M.2 NVMe is about a few bucks more expensive than cheap 120GB SATA device. This still puts the X11SSH-F option slightly less expensive.

Yes, it may be slight more expensive. I thought of the cost as the cost for flexibility. If you know 100% you'll never need a SLOG or anything else in that slot you can safely ignore me and boot from M.2. I don't mean to make it sound like it is stupid to do so, I just mean to point out a potential trade off. :)

Also, I'm not sure about buying the LSI card from e-bay since I don't yet understand where the price gap is coming from. Has anyone had good experience with a certain e-bay seller on this type of LSI card?

100% can highly recommend purchasing an HBA such as this one from this seller. I've purchased several things from that seller with great luck. Also had great help offered via messages.

I get it that putting the OS on M.2 is a waste of speed. In this build's case, I'd like to see that synced writes are indeed a bottleneck before I add a SLOG SSD. The intended use is nfs. Hopefully by configuring it async, the intention log would be only on RAM. Is this assumption correct?

NFS uses sync writes, unless you specifically tell it not to. Do keep in mind that by turning off sync writes you're disabling the data integrity provided by sync writes. This may be okay with you; but just keep that in mind. I do think you're 100% spot on with waiting to buy a SLOG though. You can always add one later when you know you need it. :)

You might want to consider used hardware. This guide is about seven months old, but the suggestions are still valid. I am running hardware like that now and see no reason to upgrade:

Specific build changes to upgrade as high as 512GB of RAM

This is intended as a modification to the list of hardware I put together here: https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/specific-build-components-list-up-to-32gb-ram.109/ Be aware, this is a totally different system board with a totally...

www.ixsystems.com

100% recommend you use these build guides. I regret not going used for my first build. :)

 

[joeinaz]

Hi,

I'm planning a build intended for inexpensive 8 bay storage based on FreeNAS. It is intended to be used as NFS server, small amount of clients (1-3), archiving image data (many small files, mainly archive with bursts of RW, probably cacheable (< 15GB of data) when image data is being processed over NFS).

So far, this is what I came up with:
Xeon E3-1220 v6
Supermicro X11SSH-F
2x 16G ECC UDIMM Corsair CT16G4WFD8266
(Boot device) SSD M.2 Kingston 240GB SSDNOW A1000
Chassis Antec P101 Silent
PSU 550W Antec NE550M
HDD 8x WD Red WD40EFRX

Choosing X11SSH-F over X11SSM-F is because I'd like to put 8 disks inside and I'm reluctant to put it in another place with USB as a boot device that might be mistakenly pulled out.

Will it FreeNAS? I'm concerned about the M.2 SSD as a boot device.
Also, are there any recommendations for something that has smaller footprint, reasonably ventilated, but can still take 8 drives? (if not, 6 drives?)

Would love to hear your feedback.

Hi,

I'm planning a build intended for inexpensive 8 bay storage based on FreeNAS. It is intended to be used as NFS server, small amount of clients (1-3), archiving image data (many small files, mainly archive with bursts of RW, probably cacheable (< 15GB of data) when image data is being processed over NFS).

So far, this is what I came up with:
Xeon E3-1220 v6
Supermicro X11SSH-F
2x 16G ECC UDIMM Corsair CT16G4WFD8266
(Boot device) SSD M.2 Kingston 240GB SSDNOW A1000
Chassis Antec P101 Silent
PSU 550W Antec NE550M
HDD 8x WD Red WD40EFRX

Choosing X11SSH-F over X11SSM-F is because I'd like to put 8 disks inside and I'm reluctant to put it in another place with USB as a boot device that might be mistakenly pulled out.

Will it FreeNAS? I'm concerned about the M.2 SSD as a boot device.
Also, are there any recommendations for something that has smaller footprint, reasonably ventilated, but can still take 8 drives? (if not, 6 drives?)

Would love to hear your feedback.

"I'm planning a build intended for inexpensive 8 bay storage based on FreeNAS."

Reinforcing what Chris said, If you are really looking toward "inexpensive" I would consider older hardware.

1. Starting with the motherboard, consider an x9 or x10 motherboard with SATA DOM capability. Something like the X9SRi-F or X10SRL-F. Both have 2 SATA DOM ports AND 8 SATA ports. The X10 has the benefit of "active" SATA DOM ports. You could still create an 8 disk system without the need for an HBA. The SATA DOM ports could be used with SATA DOM devices or with a standard small SSD for good boot performance. Also both of the suggested boards have internal USB ports which eliminate the possibility of accidentally removing the flash drive.

The aforementioned boards would allow for greater future expansion as both have a much greater potential memory capacity versus the X11SSH-F. Price wise, the X9 motherboard would be about $80 less than the X11 on eBay; The X10; about the same.

2. CPU: The X9 with an E5-2630 v2 or the X10 with the E5-2630 v3 would both provide aggregate performance which exceed the E3-1220 v6. The difference is the 1200 v4 is running about $200 on eBay compared to the 2630 v2 at less than $10 and 2630 v3 at less than $40.

3. It's possible to find a case with lots of internal 5.25" bays to build a 8 to 12 disk system. Right now in my lab, I have Antec 900 (with 12 disks internally) and an older server case with 10 internal 3.5" disks. Both cases are considered "mid tower" in size.

good luck on your build...

 

[rfielder]

"Inexpensive" can be a very flexible term.... :)

My main NAS is build on a Supermicro X11SSH. It has eight 8Tb drives, plus an M.2 drive for boot. I went for the M.2 boot drive because it left all eight SATA ports free for use. Perhaps overkill, but the extra space really helped.

As to "inexpensive" - I am in Canada. An HBA and two 4 connector SATA cables, used from Art of Server on eBay, will run to around $120.00 CDN, once currency conversion and other factors are given consideration. This is far, far less than the difference in cost between motherboards.

Plus, it reduces the number of components in the computer, thus reducing failure points.

So far, about 25 days since LIVE, my FreeNAS system has been rock solid.