Is 4k video editing possible on FreeNAS?

[da.taza]

G'day all,

I've now spent the last couple of weeks pouring over the site and reading as much as I can. It's great! A wealth of info and clearly some very helpful people around which is definitely reassuring as this will be my first foray into building a home NAS!

I’ve flipped back and forth on my desired build many times but have made the sensible and recommended decision to start small. I’m going to buy a few of the basic things, play around installing FreeNAS with some spare HDDs I’ve got lying around, replacing disks, rebuilding etc and then if I am happy (I’m pretty sure I will be) and if I think I can manage it ongoing (some of it seems a bit daunting at the moment but I’m a quick learner) then I’ll pull the trigger on the rest.

Until that point, my first question for the brains trust, is it possible to edit 4k videos in Final Cut Pro from my MacBook Pro on FreeNAS (ie. store the raw video files on the FreeNAS machine and point to them)? Am I dreaming or is this possible? If so, how would you suggest and what would impact it (ie. Network, CPU, RAM)? Would I setup a separate vdev of striped disks? I would have the original footage backed up elsewhere so it’s not a problem if I lose the data. My concern is, would it be fast enough. I’m only looking at SuperMicro boards with 2x GbE if that helps. If it's not possible it's not the end of the world. I can come up with another solution. Just need to know whether to leave it on the wishlist or cross it off as that will help determine the build. Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Taz

 

[Chris Moore]

Unless you are able to install 10Gb network in the MacBook, you will probably find it slow. The speed of 1Gb network connections is about 1/5 the speed of SSD.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[da.taza]

Unless you are able to install 10Gb network in the MacBook, you will probably find it slow. The speed of 1Gb network connections is about 1/5 the speed of SSD.

Ok, thanks Chris. Only 1Gb unfortunately. The newer Macs support 10GbE or have adapters but I believe mine is too old. Maybe it's time to upgrade that too :)

 

[Chris Moore]

Ok, thanks Chris. Only 1Gb unfortunately. The newer Macs support 10GbE or have adapters but I believe mine is too old. Maybe it's time to upgrade that too :)

If you find a way to get 10Gb network connectivity between the FreeNAS and the Mac, then it is doable, but there are some hardware optimizations that need to be done to the FreeNAS in hardware (what hardware to buy) to make the experience better / faster.
I don't think you would like it very well with the speed limitation of 1Gb networking.
Are you still interested in doing a build? How much data are you looking to store?
Just so you know, it is a challenge to get good deals on hardware in Australia. There have been several users here that used this service to ship equipment from the US to get what they wanted and, even with shipping cost, they saved money. https://www.shipito.com/

 

[Chris Moore]

You might want to take a look at the build that @Stux did with a 24 bay Norco case:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...224-supermicro-x10-sri-f-xeon-e5-1650v4.46262
He put a lot of effort into the build and documented it pretty well. It might give you some pointers.

 

[tarnar]

10 GbE on Macs is tricky. There's only one Mac that ships with it, the new iMac Pro. And that machine is, shall we say, not cheap.

Though, interestingly, there are resources out there that have found the iMac Pro has a negative Apple tax on it - that is, the components that make it up cost less than equivalent priced gear in a tower. But even if that's true (and there are enough details behind those findings to make it open to debate) that doesn't make it good value in my eyes.

There are third party Thunderbolt enclosures that do 10GbE, but those are also quite expensive. I have no experience with them, and some of them don't even claim the ability to saturate 10GbE. There are such enclosures for both Thunderbolt 2 and 3.

 

[garm]

There are thunderbolt - 10GbE adapters, but I have no experience with them. I was in a similar situation a while back and decided to work locally and simply store the results on the NAS

 

[da.taza]

Thanks for the info everyone. Yep, definitely still interested in doing a build. As much to meet a need as it will be to indulge a hobby. Direct video editing is not an immediate goal now but as I’ll likely get a new Mac specifically for video editing in the next couple of years I’d still like to build with that in mind.

Well aware that parts are stupidly expensive here so will definitely be sourcing from OS where possible. Whilst budget is definitely a consideration I’m more concerned with building something that will provide options to expand down the track. After all, if you’re going to do something, do it right, right?

Use case will be pretty standard. Plex server, backups of a few machines on the network, dabbling with some stuff running in jails and virtual machines (still learning about these but keen to play around a bit and understand more), and of course down the track hopefully video editing. I know this build is potentially overkill but I don’t want it to be a limiting factor for anything I may want to try in the future.

My original plan was 8x10TB drives in a Fractal Define R5. After a lot more research I understand that a larger number of smaller sized drives would be a wiser option, quicker rebuild and therefore less chance of a second drive failing when it eventually comes to that. Therefore I’ve been looking at a bigger case. Understand that adding an entire new pool is an easy way to expand so would probably still start with 8 drives but with the smaller size would need the option to add another pool in the future. Specifically looking for a case (not rack mount) as it will be sitting in the corner of my apartment.

I’ve read Stux‘s build already. A great resource indeed! My build is based off that and a number of other builds I’ve seen on here. At this stage I’m planning on buying the Mobo, CPU & RAM in the next week or two and using a couple of old HDDs (2x3TB and 2x4TB) in a spare case with an existing PSU to play around with FreeNAS. Assuming all goes well I’ll pull the trigger on the rest.

Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 6 Rev. B Dark Black (capable of holding 13 drives and I should be able to suspend 4 in the 5.25 bays if I need to. Have done this on my desktop PC and it works very well)
Mobo: Supermicro MBD-X10SRH-CF-B LGA2011 (as I understand it can run 8x HDD off the onboard SAS plus an additional 10x via the SATA ports, also 2x GbE & IPMI)
CPU: Xeon E5 1650 v4
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DX i4
RAM: 4x Samsung 32GB DDR4-2400 RDIMM (M393A4K40BB1-CRC) (ECC and straight off the SuperMicro approved list)
Boot: An SSD (TBC) but will start my testing with a pair of mirrored USBs
Cables: 2x SilverStone CPS05 50cm Mini SFF-8643 36-Pin to SATA With Sideband Mini SAS HD Cable
HDDs: WD Red (TBC but likely start with 8x4TB in Raid-Z2)
Fans: Possibly replaced with Noctua NFP14s down the track depending on how quiet and effective the included fans are. Have the P12s in my desktop and it is near silent. Love them.
PSU: Was originally thinking Seasonic PRIME Ultra 850W 80 PLUS Titanium but given the number of drives has increased should I be looking at the 1000W? I’ve read the power consumption guide which suggests I should be aiming for closer to 950W. Is the 30W for a HDD due to spin up requirement? Because the WD Red spec sheet states 6.5 at load.

 

[da.taza]

Is the 30W for a HDD due to spin up requirement?

Found my answer, yes it is. Well, I never found the exact spin up figure but enough articles to confirm it would be up to around 30W at spin up. 1000W it is. That would provide enough room to add the additional drives in the future. It won't be as efficient in the meantime but it will save having to upgrade.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Did you found this thread: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/ everything is in it :)

 

[Chris Moore]

Understand that adding an entire new pool is an easy way to expand so would probably still start with 8 drives but with the smaller size would need the option to add another pool in the future.

You don't have to add another pool, you can extend the existing pool by adding another vdev. You should probably look at this PowerPoint presentation. I think it will help you understand some of the terminology and how the parts fit together with regard to ZFS.

Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

Terminology and Abbreviations Primer
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/terminology-and-abbreviations-primer.28174/

Specifically looking for a case (not rack mount) as it will be sitting in the corner of my apartment.

You can stand a rack-mount case on it's side like a tower. That is how mine are because I don't have a rack at home. It works fine. The only good high drive count cases are rack mount cases. I have a 24 bay Supermicro and a 48 bay Chenbro.

HDDs: WD Red (TBC but likely start with 8x4TB in Raid-Z2)

Prices are constantly changing and it may be different in your country, but 8TB drives were the best "bang for the buck" last time I was looking to buy drives. You might want to look at this resource to help make the decision:

Disk Price/Performance Analysis Buying Information
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...e-performance-analysis-buying-information.62/

 

[da.taza]

Did you found this thread:

Yep, read that but thanks for checking.

You should probably look at this PowerPoint presentation. I think it will help you understand some of the terminology and how the parts fit together with regard to ZFS.

Nearly finished it and you're right. Excellent presentation! It has definitely helped clarify a few things. Big learning curve but I'm getting there.

You can stand a rack-mount case on it's side like a tower.

Interesting. I did not know that. I've already ordered and paid for my Nanoxia Deep Silence 6 as I don't anticipate needing more drives than that for the immediate future. If/when I ever get to the point I need more drives I'll likely be in a position to build a new machine so will consider the rack-mount then.

8TB drives were the best "bang for the buck"

Also the best bang for buck here at the moment. However after reading more posts and builds I got the impression it was better to go for a higher number of smaller drives to reduce rebuild time and therefore reduce possible drive issues during resilver. Need to do some more research and consider my requirements properly before I ultimately make the decision on drives considering they're around half the total cost.

At this stage I'm aiming to buy the mobo, CPU and RAM next and then I have enough to start playing around with 4x spare drives I have lying around (2x 3TB and 2x 4TB WD Green). They're not NAS drives but that shouldn't be a problem for simply testing without any data, right? I just want to setup a system to learn about how it all works. Get used to using the command line, setup scrubs, daily emails etc.

 

[guysmilez]

Did you ever build this? how is it going? do you have any benchmark speeds over 10gbe?