Cookiecutter homeserver build

[Haematoxyl]

After looking at NAS and homeserver solutions for the better part of a year, SWMBO has begrudgingly given a green light to put in place a proper home server with FreeNAS. A HDD crash with subsequent fear of loss of family pictures might’ve helped in the decision process... (I recovered everything from backup, but it wasn’t fun).

I have read the hardware recommendations guide and plenty of build discussions on this forum, and this should be a straightforward and very boring cookiecutter build. However, I’d still like to put it to your scrutiny just for peace of mind.

The purpose of the machine would be NAS first, for family pictures and all documents (private and work related). Furthermore, I’d like to set it up as media server with Plex or something similar. It would need to be able to transcode one or two streams, of which one could be 4K.

Future plans also include an ownCloud type of platform, but I still need to look into the security issues with that.

I’d like to run RAIDZ2.

So, what I’m currently considering:
-CPU: Intel Pentium Gold G5400
-Motherboard: Supermicro X11SSM-F
-Memory: Samsung 16GB DDR-4 2400 Mhz ECC M391A2K43BB1-CRC
-PSU: Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 650W
-SSD: Kingston SA400S37 120GB
-HDD: 4 x Western Digital Red 2TB
-Case: Fractal Design Define R5
-Case fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM

I won’t be buying from Amazon, so these prices are not representative of what I’ll be spending on the particular parts.

Some thoughts I’m having myself:

I initially wanted to go with a Pentium G4XXX CPU. They’re not available anymore in my area, and the G5XXX seems to be equally suited (and a hair faster). I’m not totally decided on the exact model, but the G5400 should be basically adequate?
The only other option would be an Intel Xeon E3-1220V6, but that’s immediately double the price of the G5600.

I picked this motherboard because it is pretty much standard on the forum these days, and it has the 8 SATA ports (see HDD’s below).

The PSU is overpowered for 4 drives. However, the 550W model only has 6 SATA connectors, which wouldn’t be enough for 6 drives + OS drive. Again, see below.

Now for the hard part: I really don’t know how to configure the pool. 4 x 2TB is basic and would fulfill my storage needs for the years to come. 6 x 2TB might be more future proof since I could just swap in bigger drives whenever the need for more storage arises.
Another option would be 4 x 3TB drives for a larger pool to start with, but again, not as futureproof as 6 drives.
That’s also why I’m choosing this particular motherboard and PSU. With the X11SSL-F and a 550W supply, rebuilding the pool from 4 to 6 disks would also mean replacing the supply and motherboard (or adding an expansion card).
I'm also considering buying 50/50 WD and Seagate drives (although Seagate drives don't have a fantastic reputation in my memory), to avoid the possible problems associated with getting all drives from a single batch.

Budget is certainly not unlimited, I’m looking to spend somewhere around 1000 euro. Adding two disks strains the upper limit.

 

[Ender117]

You cannot transcode 4k, other than that looks OK

 

[Inxsible]

You cannot transcode 4k, other than that looks OK

Right. You'd need a lot more processing power for transcoding 4K. Something even better than Xeon 1220v6 that you were considering. Is it worth it for that much money?Only you can answer that.

The PSU is overpowered for 4 drives. However, the 550W model only has 6 SATA connectors, which wouldn’t be enough for 6 drives + OS drive. Again, see below

You could get a 450 or a 550W and use SATA y-adpaters. Just don't put more than a MAX of 4 drives on a single outlet from the PSU

With the X11SSL-F and a 550W supply, rebuilding the pool from 4 to 6 disks would also mean replacing the supply and motherboard (or adding an expansion card).

Not sure why you think that. I use a 450W with 6 drives without issues in my backup NAS.

 

[Chris Moore]

6 x 2TB might be more future proof since I could just swap in bigger drives whenever the need for more storage arises.

Better idea, especially with RAIDz2

 

[Chris Moore]

It would need to be able to transcode one or two streams, of which one could be 4K.

https://www.cnet.com/news/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/

 

[LIGISTX]

So, for performance reference I am in a similar situation. I have few users hitting my box, and it’s really just there for long term storage and plex media serving. I am getting more advanced with what I do as I now run ESXi with FreeNAS virtualized and then have plex and other things in Ubuntu server VM’s, but point is all of that is running great with my i3. I don’t do any plex transcoding, I pretty much am able to always stream at full quality so it’s not a huge CPU hit.

That said, I have tested with my server ingesting media at about 200 mbps, playing back two plex streams to two different network devices, all under ESXi. I have been more than happy with my i3 and except for the transcode needs that looks like a fantastic little build.

I think I was able to do mine for about 1500 all in. Maybe closer to 1700 now that I added more RAM and a sas expander. But I have 1000 in harddrives alone.

Going with older gear is a great idea as well. In my sig I have specs for a friends FreeNAS box I helped build, he got everything except the harddrives for iirc around 400 bucks and it’s still doing great 2-3 years later. It’s not very energy efficient and we had to do some work to make it quiet, but it’s worked without issue thus far! Personally I was able to snag a good deal on a HPE server that came with the i3, motherboard, 4GB ram, and a case and power supply I legit don’t even use, all for 190 bucks!!! Seeing as your talking in euro, I’m not sure if that would be an option, but it was a tiger direct sale that pops up every now and again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jgreco]

https://www.cnet.com/news/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/

Well for years I was quite happy with 24" WUXGA (1920x1200, ~94PPI) displays but found that even with several of them I was always running out of screen space. I do a lot of work with VM's and it is normal to have dozens of consoles, VNC, and RDP sessions open. Now in the average case, displays have been following Apple's "retina" strategy to get to a point where you have a maximal PPI. The human eye can only discern around 300PPI at 18", and at the distance you sit away from a monitor, about 24-30", only around 200PPI, which falls into the general area of 4K at 24" display size. But the reality is that unless you're working with graphics, photos, etc., that could be construed as unnecessary detail. I work with text, so as long as the text is easy to read, that's good enough, and maintaining things like remote console displays at a reasonable size seems to work out best around ~90-100PPI. It turns out that a 49" 4K display has a ~90PPI. But finding one that's usable as a monitor is a bit of a trick. A 49" panel is pretty big and you really need a curved one if you plan to use it as a monitor. If you want to do it affordably, you need a 4K TV.

But at the distance most people sit from their TV's, yeah, 4K is mostly stupid. And for things like Plex, 4K *content* increases the bitrate and processing requirements for what is mostly a hard-to-notice improvement in quality. All other things being equal, though, the price premium on 4K panels has nearly vanished in the three years since that article was written, and the nicer TV's are going all 4K it seems.

 

[Haematoxyl]

Right. You'd need a lot more processing power for transcoding 4K. Something even better than Xeon 1220v6 that you were considering. Is it worth it for that much money?Only you can answer that.

Short answer: no. My befuddled brain was thinking the 2000 Passmark "target" was for 4K, not 1080p. Should've looked it up again before posting. I'll stick to 1080p then.
(The television does require transcoding, as it doesn't support DLNA) I'm not entirely convinced by that 2015 article though. Biology is never as straightforward as those data imply. Same thing with frame rate. The human eye is not capable of discerning faster than ~60 Hz, but somehow competitive gamers get noticeably better results when they play with 144 Hz screens.

You could get a 450 or a 550W and use SATA y-adpaters. Just don't put more than a MAX of 4 drives on a single outlet from the PSU
Not sure why you think that. I use a 450W with 6 drives without issues in my backup NAS.

I'd been reading there are many problems with splitting adapters. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to split a SATA to 2xSATA and hang the SSD off one. I'll add a Sharkoon SATA Y-splitter then.

Better idea, especially with RAIDz2

I was thinking I might get this reply from you, thanks for the input though! :D

@LIGISTX: I've tried looking at used parts or even an entire system, but the market in Belgium is almost non-existent. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but all I find are desktop grade components or ancient stuff (Supermicro X7 was the most recent mobo I encountered). As far as complete systems go, this server will need to live in our living room, so no rackmount chassis, and certainly no loud cooling. I'd rather not buy international, shipping and customs are capable of killing any savings I make.

What about buying a mix of WD Red and Seagate IronWolf?[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[Chris Moore]

What about buying a mix of WD Red and Seagate IronWolf

Just buy the cheapest drive you can find and have some spares on hand to replace them when they fail. Embrace the failure, don't try to avoid it. The more you replace drives, the easier it gets. The first few years I ran my FreeNAS systems, I was using all used drives from eBay. There were months when I replaced a drive every week. Understand, I have two FreeNAS servers with 12 drives in each. There were a couple times when I even had a second drive fail before I was able to replace the first. Drive failure is nothing to fear. Just be prepared with spares that you have already run burn-in testing on and when a drive fails, you can swap it out. No big deal. I would skip the 2TB drive though and go with 4TB ones from the start. Unless your budget is so constrained that you just can't manage it.
If I were buying drives on a tight budget, this is what I would get:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HUS726040A...AS-12GB-SAS-HARD-DRIVE-W-NO-TRAY/282987028713
You just need a SAS controller to run them on and even though they are 12 GB/s SAS, they will run fine from a 6 GB/s SAS controller like this:

Drive Controller: SAS PCI-E 3.0 HBA LSI 9207-8i P20 IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID - - US $69.55
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162862201664

You would need to get actual SAS to SAS cables for them though, like these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/201805073616

I would go with six drives in RAIDz2 with two more for cold spares, just to be safe. Understand that I have servers at work that are running the HGST drives where there have been zero drive failures in the time the server has been in service. Some of those servers have been running over five years. HGST drives last really well and I have seen systems go the entire service life with no failures. I have never seen that with Western Digital or Seagate. I have a server with 60 WD Red Pro drives in it that had 3 drives fail in the first year. Percentage wise, that isn't so bad, but I have not seen that kind of failure rate with HGST.

As to the question of sata power splitters, I have used this kind with no failures or difficulty at all:
https://www.ebay.com/p/Cp06-e4-Silverstone-SATA-Power-Adapter-Cable-With-Capacitor-1to-4/1819872573
They cost a little more, but they are very well made.

 

[Ericloewe]

-CPU: Intel Pentium Gold G5400

That's not compatible with C222/226 boards, due to Intel gratuitous incompatibility. You'd need a newer board, but those are fairly crappy, so I'd recommend an older processor.

 

[Haematoxyl]

That's not compatible with C222/226 boards, due to Intel gratuitous incompatibility. You'd need a newer board, but those are fairly crappy, so I'd recommend an older processor.

Ouch, that really throws a wrench in the works. Good info!
I found a used Pentium G4560 on a forum, I'm considering a bid on that. Also looking around for a used Xeon, but with all the SKU's it's difficult to sift through the old, the too new and the expensive...

Edit: found a used Intel Xeon E3-1220 v5 for 100 euro.