BUILD Building a durable NAS, my list of hardwares, please advise

[Shantanu Mondal]

I have been following FreeNas for a while and I am quite impressed with how smart folks are here in this community. I am learning a lot.

I am a Network Engineer by trade, I have been Server and Firewall engineer before. I am blown away about the sheer amount of detail knowledge about CPU, Mobo and everything else people possess in this forum. Truly amazing.

What have I done so far research wise?

I read FreeNAS 9.2.0 Users Guide Completely.
I read a lot about ZFS and read the excellent ppt presentation. Don't go cheap on RAM! Got that.
Although I am not an expert, I know a bit about UNIX. I love vi editor!
I read a book on FreeBSD to get myself more familiar with it. I am 2 yr old Mac user and I think Mac started from FreeBSD.
I have been using HP MediaStream which runs Windows Home Server 2011 and I am quite unimpressed with it. No compatibility with Timemachine, slow, unreliable.
I managed to install FreeNas 9.2 on it but with only 2 GB of RAM I am not comfortable and I think it is running Realtalk NIC. This is my current "test" FreeNAS server.

Here is the list of Hardware I am planning to purchase to build a solid, reliable NAS drive.
Purpose of this NAS: Windows backup, two mac book pro backup using TimeMachine, Movies and personal video storage and stream, Pictures, Music streaming, etc.

CPU: Intel Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz
CASE: Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower
MOTHERBOARD: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O uATX
RAM: Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/16G ECC Memory
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

My questions?

0. Am I missing anyting?
1. Do I need extra cooling fans?
2. Do I need to buy extra SATA cables?
3. Any other suggestion?

 

[panz]

How could we evaluate a build without knowing the hard drives you're going to operate?

I have the same case (Fractal Design Arc Midi) and it has a BIG problem: slots are slightly misaligned so you can't correctly install expansion cards. If you're going to use something like an IBM M1015 SAS/SATA card or an Intel RES2SV240 expander card (which have a very precise manufacturing) you're out of luck.

I downgraded that case to a Windows 7 build :D

Did you search that memory modules for compatibility with your motherboard? I can't see them listed:

http://www.kingston.com/us/memory/s...MI_X10SL7-F_Supermicro_-_X10SL7-F_Motherboard

 

[Z300M]

I have been following FreeNas for a while and I am quite impressed with how smart folks are here in this community. I am learning a lot.

I am a Network Engineer by trade, I have been Server and Firewall engineer before. I am blown away about the sheer amount of detail knowledge about CPU, Mobo and everything else people possess in this forum. Truly amazing.

What have I done so far research wise?

I read FreeNAS 9.2.0 Users Guide Completely.
I read a lot about ZFS and read the excellent ppt presentation. Don't go cheap on RAM! Got that.
Although I am not an expert, I know a bit about UNIX. I love vi editor!
I read a book on FreeBSD to get myself more familiar with it. I am 2 yr old Mac user and I think Mac started from FreeBSD.
I have been using HP MediaStream which runs Windows Home Server 2011 and I am quite unimpressed with it. No compatibility with Timemachine, slow, unreliable.
I managed to install FreeNas 9.2 on it but with only 2 GB of RAM I am not comfortable and I think it is running Realtalk NIC. This is my current "test" FreeNAS server.

Here is the list of Hardware I am planning to purchase to build a solid, reliable NAS drive.
Purpose of this NAS: Windows backup, two mac book pro backup using TimeMachine, Movies and personal video storage and stream, Pictures, Music streaming, etc.

CPU: Intel Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz
CASE: Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower
MOTHERBOARD: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O uATX
RAM: Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/16G ECC Memory
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

My questions?

0. Am I missing anyting?
1. Do I need extra cooling fans?
2. Do I need to buy extra SATA cables?
3. Any other suggestion?

As Panz has pointed out, those RAM modules are not on Kingston's list of recommended modules for that motherboard -- and even the 8GB modules that were recommended are now off the list because there have been reports of problems when using four of them.

Supermicro's own recommended RAM modules are Samsung or Hynix, which are cheaper than the Kingston ones in some places. Check the Supermicro Web page for that board.

 

[Shantanu Mondal]

Thanks a lot for pointing it out, specially Panz. I will check the compatibility on SuperMicro website.

As for Hard Drives, I have Two 3TB HD (one Seagate one WD) and Two 2TB HD (Seagate and WD).
I have read a bit about buying NAS quality HD. Is that a wise move?

 

[Shantanu Mondal]

I have modified my list with the suggestion I got from you:

CPU: Intel Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz
CASE: <<<Need Help Deciding>>>
MOTHERBOARD: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F
RAM: Samsung, 2x8 GB, K4B4G0846B-HCK0, M391B1G73BH0-CK0
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
HDD: 2 x 3 TB (Seagate and WD 7200 rpm), 2 x 2 TB (Seagate and WD 7200 rpm)

 

[Flynn]

I'm thinking of a very similar build like above.

 

[Yatti420]

...

 

[Shantanu Mondal]

What case are you thinking of getting?

 

[jgreco]

Mac OS X has some FreeBSD (circa 3.something) DNA in it, but is a rather different beast.

As for the chassis, the best advice available is to find something that allows for airflow around all the drives (and through the rest of the chassis). The usual problem is that people try to cram lots of stuff into a teeny space. This is Very Hard To Do Right. You want a storage appliance, not a slow cooker. Especially with the 7200's.

 

[Shantanu Mondal]

This is my final list of hardware. Total cost $ 830 (excluding the HDDs). If I include the cost of HDDs it would be $ 830 + $ 500 = $ 1,330

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz
CASE: Fractal Design Arc XL
MOTHERBOARD: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C222 DDR3 1600
RAM: Samsung, 2x8 GB, K4B4G0846B-HCK0, M391B1G73BH0-CK0
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
HDD: 2 x 3 TB (Seagate and WD 7200 rpm), 2 x 2 TB (Seagate and WD 7200 rpm)

 

[Satam]

1. CASE: Fractal Design Arc XL

I've got a Fractal Design Define XL and comparing it to your case I see some similarities in things that bothered me.

1. The side panels do not hook into the case. You know the little L-shaped notches that sidepanels usually have? Fractal Design doesn't seem to like that concept. Well I do like this concept, especially with heavy side panels. And the Define side panels have sound dampening material glued to them which make them extra heavy. This means I have to hold the panel in place with one hand while using the thumb screws to fasten the panel with the other hand. I have to keep the panels fastened with screws and so unfortunately no fast access and also whenever I do want to open or close it I have to use thumb screws, normal PC screws are impractical to use with these cases!
2. The overall build quality isn't that great. I mean at least there are no sharp edges, but the cases are certainly more flimsy than a real server case or any PC case that was build 10 years earlier. But since thin steel sheets and weak tiny rivets are the norm these days in PC cases, it's not really something Fractal Design stands out with negatively.
3. Grounding. It must suck with their cases. Every bit of metal is coated in paint, even the screw holes and even the actual screws that come with the case including their threads.
4. The power button is at the top front of the case. For a server that's a no go. I suggest you remove or do not connect any of the I/O ports and buttons there and get your hands dirty and install some at the front. I've actually removed all the I/O ports from the front panel since the cables in the case bothered me. For the power switch though I'm still looking for a replacement I can put behind the front lid.
5. The HD trays are a joke quality-wise, but they do their job.
6. Now this may be very different from your case: the space between the motherboard tray and the right side panel isn't that great. This includes the back side of the HDDs. But I guess that's an issue for many cases with cable management. But be prepared to modify your PSUs HDD power cables (remove flex tubes and cable binders) to make them flexible and be sure to check your HDDs for I/O errors due to loose SATA connectors before doing anything productive. The alternative would be to not use the cases behind the back cable management and have the HDD connection run through the middle of the case.

Still I wouldn't recommend a server rack case. They are loud, they often lack dust filters, they are meant to be installed in a datacenter not in a living area that's dusty and needs to be comfortably quiet.

Despite their downsides the Fractal Design cases have one advantage: they don't look like a toy box. If you can live with the issues I have listed go for it.

 

[panz]

@satam I went with a server case and I'm very happy. It isn't as quite as the Fractal Design, but it is very sturdy, we'll ventilated and with a very good handcraft (all the expansions card fit perfectly!). And the noise is acceptable, with 120mm temp controlled fans and a daughterboard that can be manually adjusted for minimum level of noise with Supermicro IPMI features. Oh, and I have room for 24 drives ;)

 

[Shantanu Mondal]

Despite their downsides the Fractal Design cases have one advantage: they don't look like a toy box. If you can live with the issues I have listed go for it.

If not Fractal Design case, what other case would you recommend? I certainly don't want a server case because of loudness and the sheer space it can occupy.

 

[panz]

I've just built a firewall with pfSense using a Cooler Master case. I'm very pleased with quality and internal design.

 

[Shantanu Mondal]

Cooler Master cases do look great. I will research on which one I should buy.