FreeNAS Mini or FreeNAS Mini XL

[NorCalTechSupport]

I am getting ready to deploy a third FreeNAS mini and I am thinking a Z2 would be nice for safety reasons. The 4 drive mini does not really have enough drives for Z2 so I am looking at the FreeNAS mini XL with 8 drive slots. Here is where I am hoping a couple of you that have the XL might chime in? This mini will be a backup repository for Acronis Backup just as the first two are. I will be backing up Windows servers.

My plan calls for six 6TB SATA HDDs. Should I bite the bullet and fill the mini up with eight HDDs?

My fiber network throughout town is 100Mb so I probably don't need more speed than what the read & write cache SSDs provide but is there anything anyone would recommend?

Is the latest and greatest production FreeNAS the one most of you recommend?

Thanks in advance :)

 

[Nick2253]

It's really going to depend on your space needs. How much data do you need to store?

With only 100Mbps, you really won't need read/write cache drives. Especially if this system is only used as a backup target.

 

[Chris Moore]

Since you are now considering buying a third unit, what about buying a larger chassis and just add vdevs to the pool as you need to grow capacity?

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[LTCM]

Since you are now considering buying a third unit, what about buying a larger chassis and just add vdevs to the pool as you need to grow capacity?

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Sounds like the units might be at separate locations or storing data for different clients who want dedicated metal.

 

[Chris Moore]

Sounds like the units might be at separate locations or storing data for different clients who want dedicated metal.

That could be a reason. NorCalTechSupport, what do you say?

 

[tvsjr]

IMO, the Minis are expensive for what they are. If you want a turnkey solution, they're great... but you can build a more capable system for less money.

 

[Chris Moore]

IMO, the Minis are expensive for what they are. If you want a turnkey solution, they're great... but you can build a more capable system for less money.

While that is absolutely true, I know that where I work, and likely many other business environments, the management is not going to let you build a server. I suggested it one time and the look I got, I don't know how to describe it.

 

[tvsjr]

Ha, I'm in the middle of doing this right now. Funny, it seems you can't just turn-key buy a box with 8 GPUs in it, unless you want Teslas at $9K/card. Sigh...

 

[Chris Moore]

Ha, I'm in the middle of doing this right now. Funny, it seems you can't just turn-key buy a box with 8 GPUs in it, unless you want Teslas at $9K/card. Sigh...

It is like this Supermicro chassis:
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/4U/6048/SSG-6048R-E1CR60N.cfm
I was talking with an engineer at one of the resellers about ordering one of these. Even the reseller must get those from Supermicro preconfigured. They can't get a bare-bones system and configure it themselves. Supermicro only sells it preconfigured and one of the things you are required to order is a minimum of 30 hard drives.