Expected read/write speeds from this build?

[overshoot]

Hi,

I am building a FreeNAS server for a client to be used for video editing.
He has an iMac Pro with a 10GB network card so I am trying to get the best for his budget.

Here are the specs of the machine so far:
- Asrock B450
- Ryzen 3 2200G
- 32GB DDR4 PC2400
- 6 * 4TB WD RED drives
- 1TB ADATA NVME drive
- 500W Seasonic PSU
- 10GbE Intel Ethernet adapter

I am planning on setting up a 6 drives RaidZ2 pool and use the 1TB NVME drive as an L2ARC device.
From what I understand, with the RaidZ2 I should be getting good write speeds but poor read speeds which is why I am adding an NVME drive as an L2ARC.

Can I expect 500MB read/write speeds in this scenario or do I need an SLOG device as well?
Thanks!

 

[overshoot]

I will use the onboard Sata ports of the motherboard to connect the 6 drives by the way, so no HBA card added.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

I can't say what speed you'd expect just based on your hardware but I expect saturating that 10G connection might be a challenge.

1TB NVME drive as an L2ARC device.

You may want to skip this for now and watch your ARC hit ratio. If you have a good hit ratio there isn't any reason to buy an L2ARC device. Furthermore, check out the L2ARC sizing suggestion guides here on the forums.

Asrock B450

If I'm not mistaken this board has a Realtek NIC. Some folks have found these to be somewhat unreliable with FreeNAS.

32GB DDR4 PC2400

I suggest you go with modules that are 16GB each. This way you can upgrade to 64GB in the future, the max supported by your board if I am reading the specs correctly. You'll see better performance gains by going to 64GB of memory than by adding an L2ARC.

 

[overshoot]

I can't say what speed you'd expect just based on your hardware but I expect saturating that 10G connection might be a challenge.

Ay Caramba!!!
Is that because of the Pool type or the hardware you would think?
A 500MB/s would be decent enough for video editing from what I've read.

You may want to skip this for now and watch your ARC hit ratio. If you have a good hit ratio there isn't any reason to buy an L2ARC device. Furthermore, check out the L2ARC sizing suggestion guides here on the forums.

I see. I'll look into that then.

If I'm not mistaken this board has a Realtek NIC. Some folks have found these to be somewhat unreliable with FreeNAS.

I plan to disable that NIC completely and use the 10GbE Intel instead.

I suggest you go with modules that are 16GB each. This way you can upgrade to 64GB in the future, the max supported by your board if I am reading the specs correctly. You'll see better performance gains by going to 64GB of memory than by adding an L2ARC.

Ok, I'll follow that advice then. And does RAM frequency matters that much then?
Going from 2400Mhz to 3000+ makes quite a difference in price and since this is not for gaming, I would guess that the 2400Mhz should be fast enough but though I have no clue I can say.

Thanks for your help.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Ay Caramba!!!
Is that because of the Pool type or the hardware you would think?
A 500MB/s would be decent enough for video editing from what I've read.

You're going to need both the client, the FreeNAS machine, and any switch or router in the middle to be able to handle the 10Gbps connection. You're also going to have to consider sync vs async writes and if you're using sync writes consider adding a SLOG device with PLP to improve performance. Your pool layout may also have an impact; for example high IOPS loads benefit from striped mirrors.

I plan to disable that NIC completely and use the 10GbE Intel instead.

That makes sense. Fair enough.

Ok, I'll follow that advice then. And does RAM frequency matters that much then?

No, the frequency isn't as important. Building a FreeNAS machine is very different than building a gaming rig. Server boards, such as what is ideal for FreeNAS, have many features that you may like; including being designed for 24/7 operation, lack of expensive but unnecessary features like sound or RGB, frequent addition of great features like IPMI, and of course support for ECC memory. ECC memory looks like it is supported by your board?

What of your gear do you own already?

 

[overshoot]

You're going to need both the client, the FreeNAS machine, and any switch or router in the middle to be able to handle the 10Gbps connection. You're also going to have to consider sync vs async writes and if you're using sync writes consider adding a SLOG device with PLP to improve performance. Your pool layout may also have an impact; for example high IOPS loads benefit from striped mirrors.

I plan to create a dedicated network with a simple LAN cable between the iMac Pro and the NAS. No switch involved.
Then the internet connection will be set on the Wi-Fi interface of the iMac Pro.

I guess I'll have to play with some SMB/Network settings since it's a Mac and the use is only for Video editing using Apple Final Cut Pro.
I don't believe there should be that much IOPS with Final Cut Pro but I'll check what people says about that in case.
But since I am saving on the NVME drive (which is quite cheap though), I can get one of these Intel Optane 900P. I have to look at what is this PLP thing though.

No, the frequency isn't as important. Building a FreeNAS machine is very different than building a gaming rig. Server boards, such as what is ideal for FreeNAS, have many features that you may like; including being designed for 24/7 operation, lack of expensive but unnecessary features like sound or RGB, frequent addition of great features like IPMI, and of course support for ECC memory. ECC memory looks like it is supported by your board?

What of your gear do you own already?

I use myself IPMI on my Dell and HP servers but since this is a standalone build for a single user, not that much of a need here I believe.
However I have to say that I worry about the lack of ECC RAM on this build but budget wise, one of the cheapest Supermicro motherboard is 4 times the cost of the Asrock build so... and then have to get ECC memory which is not cheap either. So for this build, It won't work.
So far, I have already bought the 6 WD red drives.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

I plan to create a dedicated network with a simple LAN cable between the iMac Pro and the NAS. No switch involved.
Then the internet connection will be set on the Wi-Fi interface of the iMac Pro.

I did a similar setup on my first build. Any machine connecting over wireless was slow due to the wireless speeds but the direct-connect machine has fast access to the NAS.

But since I am saving on the NVME drive (which is quite cheap though), I can get one of these Intel Optane 900P. I have to look at what is this PLP thing though.

You'll find information about the 900P in this thread. PLP is power loss protection. It ensures that your data is able to make it fully from RAM and into your SLOG device in the event of an untimely power outage.

However I have to say that I worry about the lack of ECC RAM on this build but budget wise, one of the cheapest Supermicro motherboard is 4 times the cost of the Asrock build so... and then have to get ECC memory which is not cheap either. So for this build, It won't work.

Have you considered used? You can find a much more reasonable price on the x10 range boards. The memory is a bit more expensive but maybe you could price it out to get a comparison.

 

[overshoot]

I've decided to go for an HP Proliant ML350p Gen8 that I got a good deal one (Yeah, I know, HP hardware...)
Despite its noise level which is too high to have it sitting next to you, it's a decent machine for the buck and now I have ECC memory installed.
Crossing fingers that the hardware will not die within a year or so.

Thanks for you help again. Greatly appreciated.