Converting my old desktop to FreeNAS box

[irate.overlord]

Hello,
I just joined the community. I'm looking to make my current desktop a NAS once I finish getting my new computer set up.

The machine specs are
mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2746#ov)
- 8 x 3 Gb/s SATA 2 ports (6 on southbridge, 2 on GIGABYTE SATA2 chip)
- LAN: Realtek 8111B chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
CPU: Intel C2Q Q6700
RAM: 4 GB
OS drive: 256 GB SSD (OCZ Vertex3)
Storage drives: 2 x 2 TB HDD (various)
case: Coolermaster HAF 932 (http://www.coolermaster.com/case/full-tower/haf-932/)

Yes, I know it's old, but you fight with the army you have, not the army you want. This will be replacing a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+, which has always been slow, but has gotten much slower as of late. What do you guys think?

 

[Ericloewe]

I think you haven't read the Hardware Recommendations guide, because that system is simply inadequate for FreeNAS.

 

[DrKK]

Yeah, echoing what the other guys have said, your computer is actually a PERFECT example of EXACTLY what hardware *NOT* to use for FreeNAS.

Please read the various forum resources on why that is.

 

[irate.overlord]

Hmm.. yes I see that now. I read the CPU list, saw my CPU was better than an i3 and didn't read the rest. The last time I looked into FreeNAS was a long time ago, so I guess things have changed a bit.

I'm going to have to pursue different options until I can save up for some real hardware. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction on the hardware requirements!

 

[Chris Moore]

Hmm.. yes I see that now. I read the CPU list, saw my CPU was better than an i3 and didn't read the rest. The last time I looked into FreeNAS was a long time ago, so I guess things have changed a bit.

I'm going to have to pursue different options until I can save up for some real hardware. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction on the hardware requirements!

The case and power supply are probably good to go, at least to start. That must count for something... Right?

If you want to get into FreeNAS, which really is a good solution, you should look at some second hand server boards from eBay.
Here is a good option: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERMICRO-...o-ATX-Intel-Xeon-E3-Motherboard-/331878473473
Purely coincidence that is the same model board I am using, and for that price I considered getting another because it is about half what I paid...
Certain model Pentium, i3 and Xeon E3 processors can fit that board and utilize ECC memory. The Pentiums are pretty inexpensive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Penti...Socket-LGA1155-55w-CPU-Processor/201703436468
Then you need some memory, you could go with this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/270877538395
This item says it is for Apple, but it is the correct type of RAM.
All together, that is ( I think ) around $161, so please don't let the cost of entry keep you from making a start.

 

[DrKK]

The Pentiums are pretty inexpensive.

Indeed. Every FreeNAS I've built has been based on the 1150-socket Pentium. In my case, my own FreeNAS is G3220 based. I think I paid $47 for the CPU. And let me tell you, unless someone is trying to transcode some Plex on me, that thing never gets above 5% usage.

I've said it many times: I think the #1 place people screw up when provisioning the hardware for the FreeNAS box is buying too much CPU, and justifying it with some cockamamie horse-doodoo like "future-proofing".

 

[irate.overlord]

How much CPU would it take for, say 2 HD stream transcodes?

 

[Chris Moore]

How much CPU would it take for, say 2 HD stream transcodes?

I run PLEX on my system and while I can't say for sure how little you could get by with, I do know that the CPU I am using can handle transcoding a 1080p video in the living room while my daughters are watching a 720p video in the play room and still has some headroom. If you are near the NAS when it does this, you can hear the fans speed up because of the increased heat over idle.

 

[DrKK]

Typically speaking, you can expect, I think, an HD transcode stream to consume a good bit of a CPU hyperthread on an i3. If I expected, say, 1, possibly 2, HD transcode streams max, I would think I could get by with an i3. If I was going to have more frequently 2 and 3, well then you do probably want a Xeon. I am not the expert on this though. On a Pentium class chip, I do not recommend a transcode at HD resolution--it definitely cores it out, and can barely handle even one.

 

[joeschmuck]

One thing you can do to help yourself out is to chose a video format in which every player you plan to use is considered a native or supported format this way you negate needing to transcode in the first place. If you have to transcode, it's best to do it for products which have a smaller screen like an iPod or Smart Phone and thus the transcoding can be a bit lighter.

 

[Stux]

But as soon as you want to watch the subtitle, or there is something which causes a full transcode, you'll have troubles.

 

[irate.overlord]

Is there any kind of benchmark I can find that covers the kind of workloads used in CPU transcoding? If so, that would make it much easier to pick a good value for CPU.

 

[vibratingKWAX]

Plex uses the h.264 codec as its output format.
The transcoding speed varies depending on the resolution of your material, the desired bitrate and the 264-preset you choose.
To get an idea of your CPUs transcoding capabilities, run some tests on your material using handbrake. Or you could just do a simple windows / linux install on your machine to try the plex media server itself.

 

[joeschmuck]

But as soon as you want to watch the subtitle, or there is something which causes a full transcode, you'll have troubles.

Subtitles are built into my H.264 formatted videos, not separate files, so while I'm not at all an expert on video encoding I do think that would mitigate it. Of course if you have separate subtitle files then I could see that causing transcoding.

Is there any kind of benchmark I can find that covers the kind of workloads used in CPU transcoding? If so, that would make it much easier to pick a good value for CPU.

That would be nice but I would expect there to be too many variables such as the quality of the source material and then the desired quality of the delivered material. When someone says HD content, what does that mean? Is that 4k raw video or some compressed version of a BluRay Rip? I would see what the Plex forum has to say on the topic, they should be able to provide an answer.

 

[danb35]

The Plex folks have said that, as a rough guide, you want about 2000 passmark per HD stream; I have no idea what would be appropriate for 4k. Just as one data point. So, the Q6700 cited in the OP should be fine for a single stream, but wouldn't handle two. Of course, that assumes nothing else is going on with the system, which isn't at all likely to be the case--but it would at least give you some number to look at.

 

[joeschmuck]

@danb35 I appreciate the info. So my passmark score is just over 9,000 according to a chart I read. I conducted a test withing a Win 7 VM using 4 cores and 4GB RAM and the CPU Mark = 8,901. So there is some drop for running it in a VM. The actual Passmark for the VM was 2,486 (fell short because I couldn't do any 3D testing). The CPU Mark correlates better to the chart.