First Entry Level FreeNAS

[halo3addict]

Hello!

Recently, I've been looking for a solution to access files/media from just about anywhere, and came across the highly recommended FreeNAS. I've built a few computers (gaming) so the hardware is pretty familiar. But, I've never built anything on the server level, and would appreciate any tips you could give me.

I've based my built mostly on these guides:

1. A handy spreadsheet to figure the ratio of drive space to cost, depending on RAID used.
   1. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...HC5VAiT9FFIBxhVECBk73jH1Y/edit#gid=1796424437
2. FreeNAS Hardware Guide
   1. https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/freenas®-quick-hardware-guide.7/
3. Uncle Fester's Guide (This will be used more as I get hands-on with the hardware)
   1. https://wiki.freenas.org/index.php/Uncle_Fester's_Guide

If I'm not allowed to link these here, please let me know.

The current configuration I have is as follows:
CPU

Xeon E3-1230V5 LGA1151 @3.4GHz 4c/8t Link: http://ark.intel.com/products/88182/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1230-v5-8M-Cache-3_40-GHz​

MotherBoard

Supermicro X11SSM-F microATX C236 Chipset Link: https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SSH-F.cfm​

RAM

Is there a reputable site to buy server ECC RAM? I have trouble finding the manufacturer QVL RAM (Hynix and Samsung, never heard of Hynix)​

PSU

Probably a modular Corsair 80Plus Gold certified. Any recommendations as to power needed is appreciated.​

Pools

Will consist of either 3 or 4 (4TB) WD Red drives. Any suggestions on RAIDZ2 or Z3?
Plus one small SSD for boot. Don't really trust a USB stick.
​

This is more of an experiment to see if I'll expand on its uses in the future. I'm tired of carrying around portable hard drives and would like an easily accessible way to get to my files. Nothing fancy, just a file/media/Plex server for now with some room for improvement. If it turns out well, I may start keeping everything (personal and public) files on here, which means that encryption is a must, not sure if/what FreeNAS supports in terms of encryption.

Thank you for reading! Any feedback much appreciated.

 

[Jailer]

Is there a reputable site to buy server ECC RAM? I have trouble finding the manufacturer QVL RAM

Look to Crucial for your memory. They are the retail brand of Micron.

Will consist of either 3 or 4 (4TB) WD Red drives. Any suggestions on RAIDZ2 or Z3?

RAID Z2 usually provides enough fault tolerance to satisfy most people. If you are very concerned about your datas integrity you can go with RAID Z3.

Plus one small SSD for boot. Don't really trust a USB stick.

Smart move IMHO.

If it turns out well, I may start keeping everything (personal and public) files on here, which means that encryption is a must, not sure if/what FreeNAS supports in terms of encryption.

Unless you are bound by some sort of company policy or law to have your data encrypted, don't. If you somehow lose your encryption keys your data is gone forever and it has happened a few times since I've been around this forum.

 

[halo3addict]

Thanks for your response!

Look to Crucial for your memory. They are the retail brand of Micron.

Supermicro has only tested Micron for 16GB sticks, I had planned for 8GBx2 sticks. Is it still okay to go with Micron (Crucial)?

Unless you are bound by some sort of company policy or law to have your data encrypted, don't. If you somehow lose your encryption keys your data is gone forever and it has happened a few times since I've been around this forum.

It's for personal use, but I was planning on keeping financial records, loans, personal data, etc that I'm not sure how to secure on something that has access to the network. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[Jailer]

Do you have any suggestions?

Yeah, don't expose your NAS to the internet. You can also control local access of your data with proper permissions.

Supermicro has only tested Micron for 16GB sticks

Look under the 2400Mhz selection and you'll find what you are looking for.

 

[Glorious1]

It's for personal use, but I was planning on keeping financial records, loans, personal data, etc that I'm not sure how to secure on something that has access to the network. Do you have any suggestions?

There are a couple of ways. One is to use a VPN. Another is to use SSH with public key authentication. This gives you encrypted communication AND a secure authentication scheme. There are even ways to tunnel web access through it. https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...r-freenas-server-remotely-and-securely.27376/