Hello fellow networkers!

[penfold1992]

Hello, how are you all!

Me and my father have this "dream" that hopefully FreeNAS can help become a reality! well.. if not, im sure you guys can point me in the right direction...

sooo, without further adieu: here are my requisites:

• Networked storage where multiple people can access files at once.
• The ability to either plug-in to a TV or stream to a samsung smart tv
• RAID array support with the ability to notify if a drive is down
• Accessible from another PC on another network connection (connect to the network online)
• the ability to shove this thing into our dining room and leave on constantly (control temperature on high/low usage and or monitor temps from the net?)
• run simple scripts, I want to automate a few things like go through each folder on the machine and print its contents once a week.
• connect to our sonos system.

I think all of this can be realised however there is obviously a limiting cost factor as always. We dont necessarily want a full blown HTPC, we just want a small discreet system that we can use similar to cloud based storage that we have ownership of.

Is this all possible and would someone be able to take a look at a spec build to see if its plausable?
(lastly, would it be better to run free-nas on a SSD with two HDD's in raid for storage only?)

 

[9C1 Newbee]

There is a whole whole lot of info missing.
What kind and how much files?
Should be able to stream to the Samsung.
FreeNAS can notify you if set up correctly.
Not sure what you mean by "Accessible from another PC on another network connection (connect to the network online)" but that sounds like a network (read non-FreeNAS) issue.
Are you wanting to control the temperature of your dinning room from the net? I can't quite grasp what you mean.
I think you would need to use a host machine to print out stuff.
When you say connect to your sonos system, how? Do you mean stream to the sonos?

If I understand you correctly, most of what you want is possible. A "full blown HTPC" is MUCH easier on the wallet than a proper FreeNAS build. Just sayin.

 

[penfold1992]

yeah... youre right... I apologize

Mostly music and video files but also a a small amount of documents and pictures and that sorta stuff. We plan to have 2 1TB hard drives to support our stuff on raid 0.

"accessible from another PC", we essentially want to be able to connect to it from the internet. Login anywhere in the world to access the files and remotely manage it.

we dont want to control the temperature of the dining room, we want to control the temperature of the PC but we dont want a fan whirring 24/7. I am not sure if free-nas has the capability to lower the fan voltage to control the CPU or case fans to try to silence the machine as much as possible when it is idle like at night.

and yes just streaming to the sonos from the NAS with our phones. (use the phone to access sonos app which is looking at a specific location on the network where our music is stored)

lastly when I mentioned HTPC, I meant that we could build a PC and stick it by the TV and have it be an entire XBMC set up running on w8.1 with it configured to also share files over a network with a TV tuner and recording functionality etc etc... but we cant afford to spend $1000 to set up such machine when really our main goal is to do essentially what google drive / dropbox / microsoft skydrive offers

 

[9C1 Newbee]

1TB is VERY small. But I know $$$ can be an issue. To answer your question, SSD's are MUCH more expensive. I'd opt for the regular HDD.

As far as access from the internet, to do it right, you need a router with VPN capabilities.

The HDD will be spinning 24-7, there needs to be cooling at all times. The case and fan quality will determine the noise level. FreeNAS does not have provisions for this as far as I know. But, you can certainly build something that won't wake the neighbors. It is just a question of $$$.

Ahhh. I think the sonos would work then.

What is your budget?

 

[depasseg]

Look into Owncloud for the document accessibility from anywhere.
Plex Media Server can index and transcode all your media (pics, videos and music). And then Plex client can be at the consuming location like a TV. Plex supports a ton of endpoints (phones, tablets, TV (via DLNA), PC/Mac, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox). If you want to record your own shows, with something like MythTV, you can still transfer your recordings to FreeNas and have Plex index them.

 

[penfold1992]

well currently i guess there is no budget however id like to keep it below $1000.
as for SSD vs HDD. is there a benefit of having free-nas on a ssd and the data on a hdd.
I am aware 1tb is small however it is sufficient to get a set up running, we do not have too many video files and due to tagging issues on media, it will be a while before we get things sorted to fill a TB drive.

I am not sure how much power is required in the machine but we are looking for a small scale build rather than a rack/blade set-up or anything too fancy. as someone who has only had problems with networking local machines, this will be a first attempt at setting a permanent solution.

 

[9C1 Newbee]

I know you are on the fence right now. But when you think you want to go with FreeNAS, you need to read the documentation BEFORE you buy anything. That way you would know things like, putting the FreeNAS software on a thumb drive is the way to go. With your requirements, an SSD is not needed. There are a few "must have" items. This is why the documentation is so important. Once you have done your research, post up a hardware build for us to take a look at.

 

[solarisguy]

I do have one FreeNAS in my dining room :) The cost was higher than average, due to the requirement that the noise level be low...

I use mostly 3.5" 4TB WD Red hard drives, they are not noisy, but you can go for a 2.5" laptop drive, like for example 2TB WD Green Notebook hard drive, as it is noticeably more quiet.

Four ultra quiet fans, not fancy and ultra expensive, but not cheap either. I found it very difficult to strike a balance between the air flow that was preventing the hard drives from overheating and the noise level, so I ended up buying but ultimately not using the relatively noisier fans at first.

A quality powers supply, that is a little bit oversized so its fan operates at low speeds. I used a power meter to learn the power draw during the start-up, boot and operation.

Similarly, if you buy a little bit oversized CPU, you might be able to have its temperature controlled fan running in the lower range of its speeds. As an alternative, you can buy the smallest CPU that efficiently handles multiple transcodings and buy an expensive silent cooling system...

A sturdy case would not vibrate, but it would likely cost a few dollars more. Either get one with quality vibration dumping feet or be prepared to make such feet. I had to be creative when installing larger fans than the case designer imagined...

I am not listing parts, since I just bought what was available in my local store (in Spring 2014), and not what would have been an optimal purchase (= more $$$ spent...)

 

[jgreco]

WD does make a 1TB NAS class 2.5" HDD which is probably a better choice than the green.

 

[solarisguy]

WD does make a 1TB NAS class 2.5" HDD which is probably a better choice than the green.

Me bad. I did not compare specifications, I do not know whether that WD Red 1TB 2.5" is operating with the same noise levels as the WD Green one I carelessly suggested... I just went with my prior experience that laptop hard drives are less noisy (on average).

 

[jgreco]

Well there are obviously differences, including that the 2.5 Red's only go up to 1TB, while the Greens are 2TB. As far as noise levels, the Red and Green are both rated 25 dBA, and since neither are 7200 or 10KRPM drives, I'd expect that not to be an issue anyways.

I stuck several 2.5 Red's in one of our HP DL365's (P400i RAID on an ESXi box) recently and that seems relatively happy.