I have 32GB of ECC RAM with 30TB of Space. Can I add more raw space without a problem?

[Craysh]

Here is the Hardware:

10 x 3TB Hard Drives (HGST Deskstar NAS), RAID-Z2
2 x E5450 Quad Core 1333MHz FSB CPUs
8 x 4GB 667MHZ ECC Memory​

I have a Jail root set up, but no Jails are running so all of the hardware is dedicated to the ZPool, UPS service, and CIFS service.

I do transcode from a Plex server but that's done on my Windows 7 box (FreeNAS is using CIFS)

I know the 1GB RAM to 1TB Storage is pretty fast and loose, and is more targeted at an Enterprise Environment. I was wondering how much I could comfortably expand to (by replacing the 3TB HDDs with higher density HDDs) with only 2, and very occasionally 3, users.

 

[jgreco]

It isn't targeted at the enterprise environment. It is, however, looser as the amount of RAM increases.

The problem is that there aren't real good rules for this. There are environments, usually busy, where the 1GB:TB thing falls entirely apart and fails. There are other environments where you might be able to handle 60+TB off a 32GB system. Is it an archival system (i.e. low write activity, no rewrites)? You're likely to handle more. Is it a VM storage server? You will handle less.

You can try it and see what happens. However, if performance starts to suffer, you may need to add RAM.

 

[Craysh]

Gotcha. Unfortunately, I'm stuck at 32GB RAM as that's all my MOBO supports.

I'll have to consider a new MOBO/RAM/CPU combo if I want to upgrade then. I'd rather keep my FreeNAS server happy than put undue burden on it.

Thank you for taking the time to post on it :)

 

[MtK]

Which mobo is it, that supports 2 CPUs but only 32Gb?

 

[Ericloewe]

Which mobo is it, that supports 2 CPUs but only 32Gb?

Core 2 Era stuff or older, judging by the FSB.

 

[Lordadmiral Drake]

Socket 771 System. I have one of these with almost the same CPU. Depending on Chipset/Mainboard those support between 24 and 128GB of RAM (Supermicro ones at least)

 

[jgreco]

Double-check what the system supports. I'd be inclined to think that you could go beyond 30TB fairly safely, but I'd hate to steer you that way and then have you have an unresolvable problem that required more than a memory bump.