FreeNAS on SuperMicro SuperStorage Server 6049P-E1CR36H?

aravindh

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Oct 28, 2017
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Hello.

I'm brand new to FreeNAS and building out servers, so please pardon my innocence.

I'm looking to build out a FreeNAS server that would act as a passive backup server for our primary storage(4-node Isilon cluster). By no means do I expect to run regular HPC load on this FreeNAS server. It needs to be there as a silent backup to be used carefully in case of a disaster.

In that context, would it be a good idea to install FreeNAS on SuperMicro SuperStorage Server 6049P-E1CR36H and export NFS out?
A dedicated backup server would be rsync-ing content from primary storage to this over a dedicated N/W, and I expect to use a few snapshots to serve as backups.

The server would have
96GB of DDR4 ECC memory,
an intel Xeon-SP Gold processor,
with 28 X Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD 6TB 4Kn SAS disk drives - total = 168 TB raw before RAID.
intel 10GbE NIC

Anything I need to know before venturing into this? Any suggestions, tips, advice?

/ Aravindh
 

Chris Moore

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In concept what you're suggesting is pretty simple. I manage a server at work that has over 300TB.
Did you look at the Recommended Hardware section of the Forum?
You didn't specify what Hardware is actually in the server and there's lots of different options. Some options available for a Supermicro server are not necessarily compatible with ZFS and FreeNAS.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
 

aravindh

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Thanks for the response Chris.
I have not specced out the SuperMicro server yet. This is me checking in the forums trying to check if it is a good idea in the first place.
The hardware recommendations guide gave me a good view of rules of thumb - about memory needs, 5400 RPM instead of faster rpms because of heat and so on. But, I wish there was a section that said, but this server combination and expect to run FreeNAS with least friction. I guess that's what ix systems are...

I will post back after I decide on the specs of the SuperMicro server.
Thanks
/ Aravindh
 

LTCM

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The thing is, FreeNAS is used on everything from home file servers to plex transcoding machines to enterprise level backups containing critical data. Least friction cannot begin to be defined until you know the purpose of the server.

But like you said, there is a list containing the exact hardware for your purpose - ix systems.
 

Chris Moore

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The hardware recommendations guide gave me a good view of rules of thumb
You are welcome to bounce ideas off the forum, you will see other threads here where that has been done. Many of us have years of experience supporting ZFS servers in our homes and at work.
The key items to seek for your purpose are the hardware components that are fully compatible with BSD Unix and ZFS.
 

Chris Moore

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danb35

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Broadly speaking, that unit sounds fine. You'd need a SAS HBA added, though. It's an updated version of what I'm running, which works quite well.
 

Chris Moore

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In that context, would it be a good idea to install FreeNAS on SuperMicro SuperStorage Server 6049P-E1CR36H and export NFS out?
A dedicated backup server would be rsync-ing content from primary storage to this over a dedicated N/W, and I expect to use a few snapshots to serve as backups.
Looking at the specifics for that system, it appears to come preconfigured with an AOC-S3108L-H8IR, which is a hardware RAID card. That is not good to use with FreeNAS.
 

Xelas

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danb35

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Elliott

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According to Supermicro website, they have only qualified this machine for RHEL and Windows Server. Has anyone used this successfully on FreeBSD / FreeNAS?

The L model (instead of H) uses Broadcom 3008. Or the L+ model has a Broadcom 3616 with x16 ports.
 
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