First time venturing into NAS.

[Joel.LM]

Hi. Been debating between budgeting to building a NAS or a new gaming rig for well over a year now and decided on a NAS for a few reasons. One I have never built a NAS before and always wanted to. Two, it's cheaper then the gaming right I'd like to build, and Three, most importantly it will get the most use. I have two daughters and as much as I like Dino trucks and my little pony. There is only so many times a man can watch that stuff in a month. Having our pictures and videos backed up would also be nice, my phone was lost not long ago with it many pictures that never got backed up. This NAS is basically going to be for entertainment purposes music, photos, getting more shelf space (ripping and moving my bluray into storage) and having my kids watch their stuff in the guest room or on a mobile device with out me worrying about how the disc will look like after. I plan on runny either plex or kodi, I have more experience with Kodi (xmbc) but it seems that plex may offer some necessary features that xmbc does not have yet.

Anyways I'm the kind of guy that likes to build thing once and not worry about it until it's absolutely necessary. In other words if I see a huge performance drop or the hardware can no longer support the software.

Mobo - MSI C236A Workstation LGA 1151 Intel C236 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard (yes I know you guys like supermicro)

Cpu - Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 SkyLake 3.4 GHz LGA 1151 80W BX80662E31230V5 Server Processor

Ram - Kingston 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) Server Memory Model KVR21R15S4K4/32

PSU - SeaSonic Snow Silent 750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Storage - HGST Deskstar NAS H3IKNAS30003272SN (0S03660) 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" High-Performance Hard Drive for Desktop ...

I have left the some stuff out like the case which I already. (Corsair c70)

Cpu cooler I'm still debating on a corsair water cooler or a be quiet air cooler.

I was planning on an SSD for running programs like plex and transcoding. Anyways any advice would be great. Let me know what you think, help me bring down cost where you think I can and let me know if you think I'm missing something. I am from Canada so all parts will be coming from newegg.ca or ncix.

Cheers

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

MSI C236A Workstation LGA 1151 Intel C236 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard (yes I know you guys like supermicro)
HGST Deskstar NAS H3IKNAS30003272SN (0S03660) 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" High-Performance Hard Drive for Desktop
I'm still debating on a corsair water cooler

These seem like dubious choices. You seem to be treating this like a high performance workstation build. What people here like is server gear, not workstation or desktop gear. That tends to lead towards things like Supermicro at the higher end, and off-the-shelf servers at the lower end.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

And, welcome to the forums :)

 

[JDCynical]

Mobo - MSI C236A Workstation LGA 1151 Intel C236 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard (yes I know you guys like supermicro)

Supermicro is liked and recommended as their kit are known good and reliable performers that have been well used and 'tested in the field'.

Newegg.ca shows:

MSI workstation board as 215.99
Supermicro X11SSL-F-O as 259.99

It looks cheaper, but this is false economy. Allow me to explain...

MSI: Uses an Intel chipset, this is good. However, it also uses a intel 219v chip for the network, which is not current supported under FreeBSD/FreeNAS (that I can find). Cheapest compatible Intel PCIe card (EXPI9301CT) on newegg is 44.99, making the total 260.98 vs the 259.99 for the SM board, not including taxes and shipping (shipping for the MSI appears to be more than the SM board as well)

Yes, it's less than a dollar, but the SM board comes with the network-based KVM for headless operation (never need to hook a keyboard or monitor to it if you need to work on it or figure out why it's not booting, just connect to it over the network from another machine via a web browser and java), works out of the box, and doesn't have parts that will use power but never be used (sound circuitry on the MSI board).

Cpu - Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 SkyLake 3.4 GHz LGA 1151 80W BX80662E31230V5 Server Processor

This may be massive overkill. Unless you are transcoding the video to be streamed (or plex/kodi has some CPU requirements that I'm not aware of), an I3 with ECC support may be a better (and less expensive) option.

Ram - Kingston 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) Server Memory Model KVR21R15S4K4/32

If I'm not mistaken, this is the wrong RAM for the chip and board. You will need unbuffered, not registered.

PSU - SeaSonic Snow Silent 750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Probably overkill here as well. You didn't really specify the number of drives you are planning on using, but this is suitable for around 8+ drives (I'd have to look at the calculator to be more specific).

Storage - HGST Deskstar NAS H3IKNAS30003272SN (0S03660) 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" High-Performance Hard Drive for Desktop ...

Unnecessary. The 7200 rpm drives do not really improve anything for a gig ethernet network, but they do use more power and generate more heat. Several people in here have builds with just the WD reds at 5400 rpm and they easily saturate their gigabit network.

Cpu cooler I'm still debating on a corsair water cooler or a be quiet air cooler.

Another massive overkill. If keeping things really quiet is the goal, a tower cooler with a 120mm fan (i.e. coolermaster hyper 212 evo) would be more than adequate. Besides, the bulk of the noise is going to be from the hard drives, not the CPU cooler.

 

[Ericloewe]

If I'm not mistaken, this is the wrong RAM for the chip and board. You will need unbuffered, not registered.

Yup.

Another massive overkill. If keeping things really quiet is the goal, a tower cooler with a 120mm fan (i.e. coolermaster hyper 212 evo) would be more than adequate. Besides, the bulk of the noise is going to be from the hard drives, not the CPU cooler.

People should give the stock cooler more credit.

Under normal workloads, it's inaudible.

Sure, my i3 4330 jumps up to 75 degrees Celsius faster than you can say "Mersenne Primes" when you load it up with Prime 95, but why would you do that on a regular basis?

 

[Joel.LM]

These seem like dubious choices. You seem to be treating this like a high performance workstation build. What people here like is server gear, not workstation or desktop gear. That tends to lead towards things like Supermicro at the higher end, and off-the-shelf servers at the lower end.

Sorry I've had a hard time finding consistent information and as stated my experience is in gaming computer builds. Most of my information came from Tested, tech syndicate, and Paul's hardware. They seem to go overkill on all there builds. I'll post links to the videos I watched.

Paul's freenas build: https://youtu.be/2-qrX8RGLCs

Tech Syndicate: I liked this one a lot. I thought they had some good information. https://youtu.be/GrUs2QMF1ns

And Tested.
https://youtu.be/ICblwRtUito

I know that these servers are all over built. I am going smaller but this is kinda what I'm basing mine off of.

 

[Ericloewe]

Without even watching those videos, I'm going to tell you that they're probably dubious at best - someone who has the opportunity to watch them might be able to confirm my suspicions.

There are several stickies that might interest you here on the forum and they're guaranteed not to spread grossly inaccurate information. I can't link them at the moment because I'm on my phone, but they're easy to find.

 

[Joel.LM]

Without even watching those videos, I'm going to tell you that they're probably dubious at best - someone who has the opportunity to watch them might be able to confirm my suspicions.

There are several stickies that might interest you here on the forum and they're guaranteed not to spread grossly inaccurate information. I can't link them at the moment because I'm on my phone, but they're easy to find.

Fair enough. That's why I'm here. I'll be refining, reposting my build as I go until I'm ready to order parts. If you guys have links and recommended reads that you want to pass a long I'll be sure to read them. Good videos too.

I've already check this one out. It was useful https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

 

[JDCynical]

Without even watching those videos, I'm going to tell you that they're probably dubious at best - someone who has the opportunity to watch them might be able to confirm my suspicions.

Mileage varies on the video. My 'highlights':

Paul's freenas build: https://youtu.be/2-qrX8RGLCs

• Used spare desktop hardware
• Did point out the 1 gig per tb of space
• 850 watt PSU
• Used WD reds (4x 4tb drives)
• Video with clips of the guy from tech syndicate driving a car fast to 'save' the guy from not using enough RAM
  
• rock music during the time lapse build footage

Tech Syndicate: https://youtu.be/GrUs2QMF1ns

• Didn't cover the build in too much depth, but did mention the 1 gig per tb bit
• Used an asrock c2750d4i board
  
• Did specifically say that ECC is the way to go to 'do it right'
• Used the HGST NAS drives, did say the reds are a good choice (10 drives for the build)
• Did mention the bait and switch Kingston did for their SSD's, did say that it might be a mistake to use it but it's one he had laying around for caching
  
• Gold rated PSU, 650 watt

And Tested. https://youtu.be/ICblwRtUito

• Used desktop hardware
• Mentioned being 'bumbed' about having a single network interface because you can 'channel bond' interfaces for a '2 gige connection'
• Used AX760 PSU
• HGST NAS drive, 4tb
• Talked as if mirrors are the only redundancy that can be used
• Watercooler, i7 CPU (was going to be transcoding)
  
• Mentioned setting up the drive spindown to 'save power'
• Talked about the plugin and jail functions

Of the three, the Tech Syndicate was the best for the mention of ECC, admitting the drive may be overkill, and using the Kingston SSD might be a mistake.

 

[Joel.LM]

So okay. Looking at the supermicro X11. There is a crap tone of different models in that siries with different price points.

For instance SupermicroX11SSL-F-O vs. Supermicro mbd-x11ssm-f-o vs. SupermicroMBD-X11SSZ-F-O

 

[INCSlayer]

So okay. Looking at the supermicro X11. There is a crap tone of different models in that siries with different price points.

For instance SupermicroX11SSL-F-O vs. Supermicro mbd-x11ssm-f-o vs. SupermicroMBD-X11SSZ-F-O

as people have said earlier read the stickies there is one titled:
so youve decided to buy a supermicro x11 board
by Ericloewe.
Read it and read everything else... and then read it all again :P

 

[Joel.LM]

as people have said earlier read the stickies there is one titled:
so youve decided to buy a supermicro x11 board
by Ericloewe.
Read it and read everything else... and then read it all again :p

Yeah that's great but that's not how I learn. I don't have my A+ certificate, Their is a bunch of terminology I'm not familiar with and that I don't understand. It will all make much more sense once I start the build / get my hands dirty. This is an interest of mine and just like building gaming rigs it will take me time before I get it. Be patient with me. Until a few months ago I didn't even know that their was much more to Ram other than SDRAM, pin, timing and voltage. World shattered! Honestly I'm really excited about learning and expanding my knowledge.

Alright. That being said I had a look at the thread you mentioned. I didn't see anything on the SSZ board I'm assuming that it will share most features as the SSM,/ SSH Boards?

Again if you have sources for super newbie like my self don't be shy post a link.

 

[JDCynical]

Alright. That being said I had a look at the thread you mentioned. I didn't see anything on the SSZ board I'm assuming that it will share most features as the SSM,/ SSH Boards?

When in doubt, check the manufacture web site? :)

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SSL-F.cfm
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SSM-F.cfm
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SSZ-F.cfm

Nutshell, SSL-F and SSM-F are basically the same, the SSM has a step up on the chipset used, 2 extra SATA ports, an extra pcie x4 slot (x8 physical), and a com 2 header.

The SSZ looks to be some kind of workstation board and stuff that will never be used (audio hardware and extra video out ports). Avoid it IMO.

 

[Joel.LM]

A little bit of an update here.

MOBO
SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SSH-F-O - I have chosen this board because I'm interested in trying an M.2 as a boot drive.

CPU
Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 SkyLake 3.4 GHz - I'm sticking with the Xeon. I'm sure I could probably get away with an I3, however we have a lot of different hardware in our house Mac's , Ipads, Kindle Fire, Ps3, computer, Galaxy tab. You get it. I'd rather be prepared with a Cpu that can handle transcoding just in case.

HD
WD Red 3TB x2 - for now. At the beginning this will suffice, I'm not sure how difficult it is to add more in the future but I'm sure it's doable. I'm still reading and learning the different RAID configuration but I'm going to say mirrored?

M.2- lm going to ask your opinion on this. Run as a boot device and running programs like plex (is this what's called a Jail?)

PSU
Seasonic SS-660XP2 ATX 12V / EPS 12V, 660W, 80 PLUS PLATINUM Full Modular - self explanatory I've downsized by a bit, still probably oversized but I don't feel comfortable going smaller. I've looked at the golds and really the price difference seems small.

Memory- I'm having a hard time with this one probably because I'm not sure how to look for it or I'm looking for it in the wrong place. Unregistered and unbuffered the same thing. Regardless I can't seem to find much in DDR4. The board says 4x 288-Pin DDR4 2133 / 1866 / 1600MHz. Up to 64GB Unbuffered ECC UDIMM DDR4 2133 MHz. I'm really having a hard time with this. If someone could provide a link to some lame reading or explain it to me I would greatly appreciate it. I thought I understood Ram when I build my first gaming rig but clearly I don't and I'm missing a lot.

CPU cooler. I'll go with stock as was suggested.

Anyways. This is as far as I got. Feedback greatly appreciated like last time.

Thanks for your help and patience.

 

[Ericloewe]

Memory- I'm having a hard time with this one probably because I'm not sure how to look for it or I'm looking for it in the wrong place. Unregistered and unbuffered the same thing. Regardless I can't seem to find much in DDR4. The board says 4x 288-Pin DDR4 2133 / 1866 / 1600MHz. Up to 64GB Unbuffered ECC UDIMM DDR4 2133 MHz. I'm really having a hard time with this. If someone could provide a link to some lame reading or explain it to me I would greatly appreciate it. I thought I understood Ram when I build my first gaming rig but clearly I don't and I'm missing a lot.

Go to Supermicro's product page, open the RAM QVL and start googling the various DIMMs they've validated. Pick your favorite find from that list.

 

[danb35]

Or go to crucial.com, select the motherboard, and see what it gives you. They guarantee compatibility of those listings.

 

[pirateghost]

Your boot device is your boot device and nothing else. You will not run jails or plugins (which are just pre-configured jails) on it along with the OS installation.

http://doc.freenas.org/9.10/freenas_intro.html#compact-or-usb-flash

 

[Joel.LM]

Your boot device is your boot device and nothing else. You will not run jails or plugins (which are just pre-configured jails) on it along with the OS installation.

http://doc.freenas.org/9.10/freenas_intro.html#compact-or-usb-flash

Okay. Reading one of the threads it mentions usb devices are slowly being fazed out. What would you recommend booting from an SSD? Or the M.2? Seems like the M.2 would be better served running Jails no?

 

[pirateghost]

Okay. Reading one of the threads it mentions usb devices are slowly being fazed out. What would you recommend booting from an SSD? Or the M.2? Seems like the M.2 would be better served running Jails no?

What do you expect to gain by running your jails on ssd or m.2?

 

[Joel.LM]

Reduction in load times when accessing the programs? Or is that something that does not make a difference,?