FreeNAS play with a RAID Controller? And ZFS Questions

[Stratozpshere]

Hi all,

I'm new here, so apologies if this isn't the right place, and I'm asking a dumb question! I'm very new to the FreeNAS world, but I have an old computer lying around and want to turn it into a FreeNAS box. Here are my hardware specs:

- MSI B250M Bazooka mobo
- 16 GB RAM
- Intel i307100 CPU @ 3.9GHz
- 4 x WD Red 4TB Hard drives
- 1 x SilverStone ECS01 LSI 9261-8i SAS/SATA Controller, 8 Ports Internal, PCIE 2.0 x8, RAID 0,1,5,6,10,50,60

My main questions are:

1. How well will FreeNAS play with the Raid Controller? Can this be used to set up a proper ZFS file system?
2. Is using the ZFS file system my best option for data redundancy?

Thanks for any help!

K

 

[m0nkey_]

How well will FreeNAS play with the Raid Controller? Can this be used to set up a proper ZFS file system?

No. Do not use a RAID controller with ZFS. By using a RAID controller, you prevent ZFS from having direct access to the disks.

Is using the ZFS file system my best option for data redundancy?

Depends. Take a look at this: https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

 

[Chris Moore]

- 1 x SilverStone ECS01 LSI 9261-8i SAS/SATA Controller, 8 Ports Internal, PCIE 2.0 x8, RAID 0,1,5,6,10,50,60

Sell it on eBay and buy a proper SAS HBA like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...D-High-Air-Flow/162834671120?epid=19006955695
Trying to use that RAID controller will only lead to destruction.

- MSI B250M Bazooka mobo

That is a gaming motherboard and it must be a really terrible one because they are up for auction on eBay starting around $30 and nobody is buying. It has a lot of features that are not suited to FreeNAS. I would suggest getting a server grade motherboard, if you want a server, something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...DR4-SATA3-USB3-0-V-2GbE-MicroATX/322333083804
It will work with the existing CPU.

 

[joeinaz]

Sell it on eBay and buy a proper SAS HBA like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...D-High-Air-Flow/162834671120?epid=19006955695
Trying to use that RAID controller will only lead to destruction.

That is a gaming motherboard and it must be a really terrible one because they are up for auction on eBay starting around $30 and nobody is buying. It has a lot of features that are not suited to FreeNAS. I would suggest getting a server grade motherboard, if you want a server, something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...DR4-SATA3-USB3-0-V-2GbE-MicroATX/322333083804
It will work with the existing CPU.

The SuperMicro board suggested Chris also allows for the use ECC memory which is recommended for FreeNAS deployments. Speaking of memory, I am not certain but the X11SSL-F may require ECC (server) memory vs NON-ECC (desktop) memory which is likely what you currently have.