Hi guys,
Your feedback would be very much appreciated. This is my first FreeNAS build, and actually my first real build - in all my other machines, I've upgraded components but never built the whole thing.
That in mind, I've been wanting a NAS for some time, mainly for nightly backups of my laptop and desktop. I've lost all my data before (and came very close to losing it all about a month ago) and it's no fun, as I'm sure you all know. And since I have an advanced CS degree and work as an engineer, I don't have any excuses. :)
On top of the backups, I am planning to use it as a media server - my desktop currently serves in that role. I can't see myself using it for that purpose outside of the LAN, and then almost always on a single device. As a rule this is pretty low traffic since most of my media streaming is via Netflix, not local content. As my other computers are Windows machines, I'll need CIFS, which I understand is singlethreaded. In fact since Samba is capable of it, I will probably at least experiment with using it as an AD server. On top of all that, I am seriously considering using it as a low-traffic webserver for some SMF forums I run, presently hosted on a shared hosting service. I have a business class Internet connection, so that's not a problem.
I've been lurking here for quite a while and I've gone through the sticky threads and cyberjock's PowerPoint. That said, it remains possible I'm confused or doing something stupid, so that's why I'm posting here.
This is what I'm looking at right now:
Mobo: Supermicro MBD-X9SCM-F-O (btw - I'm not really sure what the O means - if it is important please let me know!))
Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1230v2
Memory: 2 x Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 1333 ECC Unbuffered (KVR1333D3E9S) (I plan on buying another 16GB down the road - just a temporary cost-saving measure)
Power Supply: SeaSonic SSR-450RM 450W
Case: Fractal Design R4
Drives: 6 x 4TB WD Reds
I realize some are a bit old (no Haswell, for example) but I'm OK with giving up a little bit of power saving and juice for what (seems to be) proven. I'm most uneasy about the power supply - I've never had to worry about one, so I've just tried to overshoot a little based on what other builds here had for similar setups.
The drives will eventually be in a RAIDZ2 configuration - I am going to buy them staggered (cost and worries about a single batch), though, and probably stop at 4 for a while. I realize that means I will have to throw my data away to get everything up and running on a 6 x 4TB RAIDZ2 configuration. That's OK. All the data will still exist on my desktop, laptop, and external, and part of the point is to learn a little.
Your feedback would be very much appreciated. This is my first FreeNAS build, and actually my first real build - in all my other machines, I've upgraded components but never built the whole thing.
That in mind, I've been wanting a NAS for some time, mainly for nightly backups of my laptop and desktop. I've lost all my data before (and came very close to losing it all about a month ago) and it's no fun, as I'm sure you all know. And since I have an advanced CS degree and work as an engineer, I don't have any excuses. :)
On top of the backups, I am planning to use it as a media server - my desktop currently serves in that role. I can't see myself using it for that purpose outside of the LAN, and then almost always on a single device. As a rule this is pretty low traffic since most of my media streaming is via Netflix, not local content. As my other computers are Windows machines, I'll need CIFS, which I understand is singlethreaded. In fact since Samba is capable of it, I will probably at least experiment with using it as an AD server. On top of all that, I am seriously considering using it as a low-traffic webserver for some SMF forums I run, presently hosted on a shared hosting service. I have a business class Internet connection, so that's not a problem.
I've been lurking here for quite a while and I've gone through the sticky threads and cyberjock's PowerPoint. That said, it remains possible I'm confused or doing something stupid, so that's why I'm posting here.
This is what I'm looking at right now:
Mobo: Supermicro MBD-X9SCM-F-O (btw - I'm not really sure what the O means - if it is important please let me know!))
Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1230v2
Memory: 2 x Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 1333 ECC Unbuffered (KVR1333D3E9S) (I plan on buying another 16GB down the road - just a temporary cost-saving measure)
Power Supply: SeaSonic SSR-450RM 450W
Case: Fractal Design R4
Drives: 6 x 4TB WD Reds
I realize some are a bit old (no Haswell, for example) but I'm OK with giving up a little bit of power saving and juice for what (seems to be) proven. I'm most uneasy about the power supply - I've never had to worry about one, so I've just tried to overshoot a little based on what other builds here had for similar setups.
The drives will eventually be in a RAIDZ2 configuration - I am going to buy them staggered (cost and worries about a single batch), though, and probably stop at 4 for a while. I realize that means I will have to throw my data away to get everything up and running on a 6 x 4TB RAIDZ2 configuration. That's OK. All the data will still exist on my desktop, laptop, and external, and part of the point is to learn a little.