Dell R510 Server Build: Advice appreciated

[StoreMyBytes]

Thanks for the info regarding controller failure. Glad it hear it wasn't much of a headache for you to swap out the faulty controller for a new one. How did you know the controller had gone bad? Are there any kind of diagnostics you can run on of these, or did the system completely fail to boot and you played process of elimination? I looked into many different NAS platforms and decided to go with FreeNAS because of the legendary reliability. Glad to hear it was robust when recovering from a controller failure or randomly swapping drives. :)

I'd love to hear your input as to how your network switch and NIC's are working in your FreeNAS boxes. I took a look at your signature and the hardware you've used, and wanted to know what you thought about my three options I laid out in my last post above? If you get a chance to provide some feedback, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Chris Moore]

Next question I have is regarding networking and link aggregation. The Dell R510 has two gigabit RJ45 jacks built into the motherboard. Additionally, there are two more gigabit NIC, each with two RJ45 ports on them. That means six gigabit ports altogether. If combined in lagg mode via FreeNAS, that gives 6gbps of throughput, the same speed as your standard SATA III HDD's which what is going inside of the box.

Let me put it this way, Link Aggregation doesn't do what you might like it to do. I went out and bought a switch that does support it, with the same idea in mind. The server boards in both of my NAS systems had dual port Intel NICs built in and I went out and bought dual port add-in NICs for both of my workstations and bought a Cisco switch specifically to setup Link Aggregation. I worked on it, and if it can be done, I wasn't able to get it working. Here is what I found. Any single transfer would only use the bandwidth of a single NIC port. If you were doing a type of transfer that was multi-threaded, or multiple separate transfers, the other network port would be used. So, it worked more like having two pipes instead of having one big pipe. This would be great on a server where it is getting hit by multiple clients, because each client could have their own NIC port and utilize the full 1gig bandwidth. It didn't make my access go faster as it did not break a single transfer stream apart and spread it across multiple ports. Software updates being what they are, things may have changed in the intervening couple years since I tried it so your mileage may vary.
What I did is put a 10gig port in the server. Here are some links to explain in more detail if you are willing to watch some YouTube videos.
It is a series of three, and you will want to look at them all:
https://youtu.be/MgNpI6VAAhI
https://youtu.be/KHiucyRYX_w
https://youtu.be/p39mFz7ORco

 

[StoreMyBytes]

Thanks for the explanation.

I've ordered several 2.5" New 40gb HDD's for mirrored boot drives, as suggested. The M1015 controller arrived today, need to work on crossflashing it using my Windows desktop, then putting it in the R510.

It is a small world, I just watch those youtube videos a few weeks ago and he did a very good job as a primer to introduce people to 10gbe! At this point, I'm leaning against the LAG that you were speaking of, as it wouldn't really show any real speed benefits seeing I would be just a single client from my desktop workstation to the FreeNAS.

I'm also considering the following: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/58282/asus-launch-10gbe-pcie-adapter-costs-99/index.html

~$200 for two 10gbe NICs plus a few more bucks for some cat6a seems like a steal.

A review here:


Doesn't seem to be as fast as some much pricier Intel models, but certainly lower the barrier to entry for those of us on a budget. I'd love to see more RJ45 based 10gbe in the marketplace. Right now the switches and NICs plus adding the cost of getting cat6a wiring can certainly all add up. Glad to see ASUS step up to the plate and hopefully other vendors will follow.

 

[Ericloewe]

The Asus 10GbE NIC does not have drivers for FreeBSD.

 

[StoreMyBytes]

@Ericloewe Thanks for pointing that out. Here's to hoping they release them in the future, or some other vendor getting on board with more FreeBSD supported NICs. With all the massive file transfers these days, it would be great if someone other than Intel got in the game.

@Stux , or anyone else rocking the M1015 controller in their system, could you please take a look at this thread I created regarding crossflashing the M1015 and share how you did it?

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...-the-current-firmware-for-freenas-11-0.57208/

Thank you!

 

[Halintexas]

Thank you all for this discussion. It's 10/2019 but I am planning the same project for many of the same reasons. This will also be my first project with enterprise server hardware. I was clueless about the controller issues so this has saved me a great deal of frustration. I will report back.

 

[Darklion]

Hello all, I have going all around the internet looking for answers and I am filling dumb as I can't find it.

I wanted to have and storage network harddrive ones and end up buying a WD my cloud but found it very expensive and then it came to me that maybe I could just boilt one my self and when looking on YouTube I found many ways to build a FreeNAS. I went to a local used computer parts just to get old parts and planed to spend like $100 on old parts, but when I got there I found a Dell R510 for just $160 whith dual xeon 2.26ghz, 64 ecc ram, dual 750 PSU's and 8 HDD bays, so I just went ahead and bought it as i thought it will be better a server than old computer parts.

Well here came my odyssey as I thought a server will act as a computer and I had to learn that to install a OS required to used a Dell proprietary bios software to start the installation and I try with SUSE as was one of the supported OS by Dell. After spending weeks on this learning time I came up with FreeNAS and all that learning was for nothing lol. Long story short, now I am stuck with the hard drives, I learned the hard way that the h700 that came with the R510 can't be reflash IT and had to get one that can be done, so I went the easy way and bought one that is already IT mode, a SAS HAB LSI 9200-8i but I came in to some problems.
1 - I am getting an error stating that the cable on the B port is not connected but it is, try 4 cables already with the same result.
2 - even though the cable error still there, all my 8 2tb satas appear on the controller bios/software but when inside FreeNAS they won't, they only appear 5, either the four on the A port plus a random one of the B port or vice versa, all the ones on the B port and one random of the A port, every reboot comes with different drives.

I have being searching all around with no luck, I have being fighting 2 months already by my self so I am giving up and now I need some help.

Let me tell you guys that I am someone that new a little about computers until 2005 and then I just didn't touch them again till now, try to probe than all dogs can learn new tricks lol. Back then I didn't have this luxury of a forum as I was leaving on a country with little internet access, so this is the first try I am doing on this forum thing, so please be kind and don't treat me to bad for the foolish things I do or say as I am filling like all I learn a decade and a half ago was for nothing lol.

I will appreciate any help and advice as I am feeling stuck and frustrated lol.

 

[Halintexas]

OK, Darklion. We are in this together. I am a total noob with this enterprise server hardware. I have a Dell R510 similar to yours. I also have 6 x 4 Tb WD Red SATA drives that I want to run FreeNAS and Plex on the R510.

It did not occur to me that the H700 controller wouldn't just work with these drives. I am going to review this thread, do some more research and try something. I will check back.

 

[Halintexas]

Is this what we need?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273757002321

 

[Darklion]

I just did the reflash on the controller, I found a bootable CD image at broadcom.com the LSI creators I think and did it for me, way easier that all the methods I have found over hear, that I pretty much didn't understand lol. The version of the bios of the controller was 10. Something and said 2011 and now is 17. Something and says 2013. I don't know if that will fix the issue but I did it any way.
I end up doing this way because even though I saw many videos and read a lot on how to do it, not even one person provide a link or a hint on where to get the files to do the flashing, so this was the only thing I found.

I feel pretty dumb as I am not able to find exactly what I need, I see every manual and video talking about the firmware version being 20. Something but I could only get 17. Something.

I leave some pictures that can mabe help.

 

[Darklion]

I feel like a genius lol. It worked.
Now I can see my 8 drives no problem, now I will see if I can add them to the pool I have already created.
I am leaving attachments of what do I have cuz it could help someone lol.
There is the web site where I got the bootable CD image.

 

[Darklion]

I added the other 4 drives at my existing pool of 4 as I was only able to use 4 before but it looks like I lose the capacity of 2 drives instead of just one, looks like I have 2 different raidz with 4 drives on each. I thought I could be adding more drives as I am getting more but it didn't work that way. Maybe I should add one drive at a time and not all the 4 at ones.
I am gonna have to erase everything I start from scratch again and lose all the movies I already copy in there, well now this is getting fun as I am leaning a lot now, glad this is not my definitely storage for now and can mess it up until I learn how it works. I never thought I could go all the way this far by my self just reading and viewing lol.

@Halintexas I feel like an expert now, you can ask me anything you want, if I don't know it, I will invented it lol.

I feel like we am being ignore by the moderators, they must be like "this guys are to newbie" it will take to much to teach them from scratch lol.

 

[Darklion]

Is this what we need?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273757002321

That card looks like Chinese and I have being reading to stay away from them because they are fake, besides it will take for ever to receive it. The one I bought costed me $36 and for a r510 you have to get the card that has the ports on top and not on the back cus there is no space inside tha chassis.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/123916887273

This is what I got.

 

[Halintexas]

I already ordered this one:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/192627137318

Looks like I paid a little too much but it says Dell on the card and will arrive this week.

 

[Darklion]

I have being reading that the error I hot of the cable B being disconnected is because of the being an IBM instead of Dell. Let me know if you don't get that error. I don't mind having that error as long as I can see the disk on FreeNAS.

I just build my pool and know I am getting an error on 2 of my disks and looks like I am gonna have to exchange them, those disks are like 4 years old and I have had them full of memory and I never had a problem. Maybe FreeNAS looks at them differently.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/191659467232

I just saw this hard drives and they are SAS drives.

I would like to know if I can combine SATA with SAS drives or if there will be a problem. Sadly we am not getting answers lol.

 

[Darklion]

I already ordered this one:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/192627137318

Looks like I paid a little too much but it says Dell on the card and will arrive this week.

Let me know if that one actually fits on the same slot as the h700. If it does, maybe a exchange mine.

 

[djruoss]

Hi all,
I'm going to buy a 64GB RAM Dell PowerEdge R510 2 X Intel Xeon Core X5650 2.66GHz H700 to be used with WD REDs.
So at the end of story, if all was clear to me, the H700 is not good for a FreeNAS build.
The recipe will be, unistall the H700 a buy a IBM m1015 card (like this one? https://bit.ly/3az0974) to install instead of H700.
Which are any other issues I could encounter by going on this way? Or better, is there any other advice I can receive by choosing these server?
Any help will be appreciated a lot, Thank you in advance.

 

[Jessep]

I would take a moment and consider if buying hardware that is six (seven?) generations old makes sense.

 

[djruoss]

I would take a moment and consider if buying hardware that is six (seven?) generations old makes sense.

Hi Jessep, first of all thank you for your prompt reply.
The fact is that this HW is cheaper.
As for now I just finished to experiment on a little and cheaper QUANTA STRATOS 1U S210-X12MS with 2 E5-2630L and 64 GB RAM and 4 WDRED 3TB in two pools (no more HD Caddy space available), mirrored each (the best SAFE solution if I'm not wrong), plus a wonderful X520-SR1 10GB SFP+: the performance are very good (download from SAMBA share at 938 MB/sec) and i'm very satisfied.
But nonetheless, if there will be a disk in fault could be a problem?!
From what was my Freenas reading and learning, I need more space and want to realize a Raidz2 by adding just 1 or at max 2 disks, what could be the best choice for a max 2U server with at least 6/8 3.5 HD spaces available?

 

[Darklion]

@djri that dell r510 was pretty cheap for me and as my intention was just to have a plex server and a NAS for my Network, this worked like a champ regardless of the age and generation type and even though Dell stop giving support for this generation. It did everything I need and let me experiment and learn for very cheap.

Now I upgrade to a r910 that only accepts 2.5 drives so I am using the r510 as a enclosure for my other 3.5 drives.