First FreeNAS Build - Help Verify Hardware

[rbrinson]

Hi, All.

I know from having combed this forum that my request is common. I have done as much due diligence as I can utilizing the FreeNAS documentation, these forums, and the FreeBSD Hardware Compatibility page. Within the next couple of weeks I plan to build a FreeNAS 8.2 Home Media Server. I have built computers in the past but never a server and never using a BSD OS. The purpose of the NAS will be to hold family pictures, family home videos, music, MKV rips of owned DVDs and Blu-Rays, and Windows 7 backups. The server will be sitting in the living room and connected to a wired gigabit switch. I plan to use ZFS and RAIDZ Level 1. The clients are all Windows computers. So, CIFS shares will be in play. I also plan to utilize the minidlna plugin to stream to a stand alone Blu-Ray player. The goal is to have enough space for stated media and run as cool and quiet as possible (and money will allow). I would appreciate any validations or suggestions concerning my server design:

Case - Antec 300
CPU - 2nd Gen Intel Core i3-2120 (3.3 GHz)
CPU Cooler - Stock Intel HSF
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V
Power Supply - Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2 430W 80 Plus Certified
Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1333MHz 240-Pin F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL
NIC - Intel Gigabit CT Network Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK
Data HDD - 5 - 2TB WD Green WD20EARX SATA III (Possibly Red Line WD20EFRX if available and reasonably priced)
SATA Power Splitter - Startech Model PYO2SATA 6" SATA Power Y Splitter Cable
Case Fans - Antec TrueQuiet - 1 @ 140mm, 3 @ 120mm
USB Flash Drive - Sandisk Cruzer Fit 4GB

 

[survive]

Hi rbrinson,

I really don't see anything wrong with your list at all. The system should work pretty well...you got all the basics covered, plenty of proc, plenty of RAM and you selected a one of the best PSU's in that class\size range.

I think you done good.

If there's a Microcenter near you check them out, they have some "aggressively priced" CPU\mobo combos that would save you a few more bucks.

-Will

 

[rbrinson]

Thank you, survive, for your kind reply. Unfortunately, there is not a Microcenter or a Fry's in my entire state! However, I have done my best between Amazon and NewEgg. I have ordered the components that I listed, and the first boxes have already arrived. I should have all components in by the middle of next week. I'll follow up with the results.

 

[Stephens]

FYI for future reference, Microcenter and Fry's have on-line operations as well, though they don't always reflect in-store bargains.

 

[ithank]

Thanks for asking the questions about your configuration (and for posting it for critique!!).

I'm looking to build a box for backups and file storage for our office and need 8-10TB of space. My question for you is whether you are planning on using the MB's sata ports for the drives or otherwise?

Stephens: I have the question about your configurations listed: Are using the MB's built-in sata ports or something else?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Stephens]

I use the 6 on-board SATA ports.

 

[rbrinson]

Hi, ithank. I built the server this past weekend, and I used the 5 SATA II ports on the motherboard. I've only gotten as far as setting up the ZFS volume in RAIDZ configuration. So, I'm not sure if there will be any downside to using the onboard SATA ports.

One thing I have noticed is that I am seeing 7.1 TB of disk space for my volume that contains four 2 TB drives. I actually posted another thread asking if this was typical. I have gone back and watched a video tutorial that used FreeNAS 8.2 BETA, and they also ended up with a volume size less than the total space of the drives used. In addition, there does seem to be some anecdotal evidence that the resulting ZFS pool will be smaller than the sum total of drive space available based on the Disk Space Requirements for ZFS Storage Pools in the Oracle Solaris ZFS Administration Guide. So, perhaps there is nothing to worry about. :)

 

[Stephens]

In my RAIDZ2 w/6 drives, FreeNAS reports 7.1TB total space. It's normal. And IMO, as long as you have good motherboard SATA ports, I'd rather use those than add-in cards which may or may not be supported correctly.

 

[rbrinson]

Thank you, Stephens. I feel better about my hard drive situation. My OCD was kicking in! :p

 

[ithank]

Thanks for the feedback both of you! I'm going to pull the trigger on a system very similar to yours, rbrinson.

If I could ask another question without overstepping (if I do, please forgive me): if I were to need additional drives, say 6 months down the road, what additional hardware would you recommend to make the expansion?

 

[rbrinson]

Well, on the motherboard that I used, there are only 6 SATA ports (5 SATA II, and 1 SATA III). So, you are limited to 6 drives without adding on a SATA expansion card. However, this is the first time I have built a server of any kind. So, you'll have to consult the FreeBSD 8.2 Hardware Compatibility Guide or postings from other users for which cards work the best with FreeNAS. Also, bear in mind that you cannot just add hard drives to a volume. You can create an additional volume with the new disks or you can replace the disks in your existing volume with larger capacity disks.

 

[ithank]

Thanks for the insight!

 

[djsticky]

rbrinson, how is the system running so far? Im thinking of getting the same motherboard/cpu/ram for my first build as well.

 

[ithank]

I know that you pointed your question to rbrinson, but I bought the same configuration, though I substituted WD Black 2TB drives. I got all of the components on Friday and built it at home over the weekend. The build went well and is running fine other than one of the hard drives died within 24 hours! (Interestingly, the only one of the six built on a different day from the others!) It's being RMA'd/replaced with NewEgg.

I haven't tested it too much, but, before the failure, I was getting around 80-90 MB/s transfer rates for large files (80 GB image backup took <30 minutes).

 

[djsticky]

That's great! (Other than the bad drive). I guess I'll be going for the same setup except for 6x 3TB drives. I guess those transfer rates should be more than enough for streaming media files (Movies, Music, Photos) and doing Time Machine backups.

 

[KDatt]

Hi rbrinson / djsticky / ithank

I am looking to build a freenas system using the same motherboard as you all have used - I just wanted to check if you had any feedback on your builds after 6+ months. The system I am looking to put together is below.

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 Socket 1155 Motherboard
CPU - Intel Pentium G2020 Socket 1155 Dual Core Processor
CPU Fan - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
Memory - Kingston 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 SODIMM Memory
Case - Fractal Design Define Mini micro ATX Case No PSU
PSU - Be Quiet! BN222 PURE POWER L8 120mm Fan - 400W
HDD1 - WD WD40EZRX 4TB Green Hard Drive 3.5" HDD, SATA III 6Gb/s 64MB Cache IntelliPower OEM
HDD2 - Western Digital WD5000AAKX Caviar Blue SATA 6Gbps 7200rpm 16MB Cache
HDD3 - Western Digital WD5000AAKX Caviar Blue SATA 6Gbps 7200rpm 16MB Cache

My use case for the system is :
1. File server storing videos pictures and documents.
2. torrent downloads
3. plex server

From my research - I doubt i see the need for ZFS for my use case.
Any thoughts / suggestions / advice are more than welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rbrinson]

Hi, KDatt.

I have been running the FreeNAS server described above for about 18 months now without any issues. The motherboard has been rock solid. I actually ended up using the same motherboard in a home theater PC build that uses this FreeNAS server as its source for over the air HDTV recordings and rips of my DVDs and Blu Rays. My FreeNAS build (as well as the HTPC) sits in my living room right up next to the TV, and the measures that I took for low noise parts, especially case fans, has paid off because I don't even notice that the server is there.

With regards to your build specs, the only thing that I would comment on is that ZFS likes RAM. I know that you mention not seeing a need for ZFS, but just keep in mind that if you do decide to go that direction, you will want to bump up the RAM, which you can do later if you decide to use ZFS. The motherboard has a max of 16 GB, and I maxed mine out. Also, I assume that you are setting things up in JBOD mode, as your HD1 is of much larger capacity than HD2 and HD3.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[HoneyBadger]

I don't see nearly enough of the three magical letters in this thread; those letters being E-C-C.

If anyone here is running ZFS on non-ECC RAM with data they care about, stop that right now. A corrupt stick can take out your entire zpool.

There is a massive stickied thread about this. Please don't ignore/handwave ECC because "my system works fine" - what you are doing is akin to driving with no seatbelt or airbags and calling it "safe" because you haven't crashed yet.

 

[cyberjock]

Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Mushroom Mushroom!

 

[rbrinson]

I was not aware of this issue, and I cannot disagree with what HoneyBadger is saying. However, all of this is about trade offs. How much money can you/are you willing to spend on a server. ECC RAM is not cheap. If the server is for a company, then spending the extra money is probably prudent as downtime could be a real problem, but for personal use, it may not be as important as other financial obligations. Having a backup strategy for any computer is important. As a measure against losing my zpool, I keep a weekly backup of my server data using rsync via cron to two external drives connected to the server as a UFS volume. So, I can always rebuild my array from the backup.