JBOD Help

[DocPMD]

I am a hobbyist, not an IT professional, so please have some sympathy and patience. I searched and read some of the posts here on JBODs and most were over my head and/or too specific to help me.

I just got my TrueNAS Core server running. I just upgraded my desktop and am using the old one (a Dell Inspiron with 8-core Ryzen 7 2700X) for TrueNAS. The problem is that box only has space for three HDD's and I want to add more.

So I heard the term "JBOD" today, Googled to find out what it actually is, and am hoping a JBOD is my answer as a cheap way to add new drives to my TrueNAS pool.

Can someone please advise if I can, in fact, use a cheap JBOD enclosure to add more drives, and perhaps make a recommendation.

Keep in mind that this all started as a way to get a free NAS with existing equipment.

 

[Samuel Tai]

Please, please, please do NOT use a USB JBOD enclosure to add more drives. That way lies madness and loss of data.

The ONLY proven way to use a JBOD enclosure is with a serial-attached SCSI (SAS) enclosure downstream of SAS expanders.

 

[DocPMD]

Thank you, as advice on what NOT to do is often more valuable than on what TO do. Truly appreciated.

Now I just need some specific suggestions on options for what I should buy.

 

[Samuel Tai]

Please provide some more details on your hardware.

 

[DocPMD]

Please provide some more details on your hardware.

AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 8-core 16-thread CPU
16GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Ram
256 GB SSD used for OS
Three 3 TB HDD's set up in TrueNAS as a single pool with one Vdev Raid-Z
Two PCIe x16 slots
Two PCIe x1 slots
One open PCIe/SATA M.2 slot

Manual says the External bus frequency is "PCIe Gen3x4"

And I believe there are an additional 3 SATA plugins open on the MB, but no room for the drives themselves and would probably have to upgrade the power supply.

Hope that is enough info.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Please, please, please do NOT use a USB JBOD enclosure to add more drives. That way lies madness and loss of data.

The ONLY proven way to use a JBOD enclosure is with a serial-attached SCSI (SAS) enclosure downstream of SAS expanders.

Or a SAS card with 4,8,16, or 24 external ports, but @Samuel Tai is correct, USB JBOD isn't as reliable as one would hope, sadly.

 

[NugentS]

Which of those PCIe slots are free? I assume you have a GPU in one - anything else in the others?

 

[DocPMD]

Which of those PCIe slots are free? I assume you have a GPU in one - anything else in the others?

You are correct - one of the PCIe slots has the graphics card - sorry I didn't catch that.

All other listed ports are open, although I am thinking of filling one with a new network card as I've seen someone say that "the onboard Realtek Ethernet controllers are problematic", which is what this MB has.

 

[Samuel Tai]

Also, what are you trying to accomplish by adding drives? Expand your pool to a RAIDZ2? Adding a 2nd pool? Adding cache, log, or special VDEVs to your current pool?

 

[DocPMD]

Also, what are you trying to accomplish by adding drives? Expand your pool to a RAIDZ2? Adding a 2nd pool? Adding cache, log, or special VDEVs to your current pool?

I want to expand the current pool by adding another Vdev

 

[DocPMD]

I want to expand the current pool by adding another Vdev

And I should elaborate a bit, I suppose. My current pool has three 3 TB drives in a single Vdev in RaidZ.

So I was thinking I could get a 5-bay JBOD, use 3 bays for another Vdev, and put two spare drives in the other two bays so that I'd have immediate replacement if a drive failed.

 

[Samuel Tai]

Your best option is probably to transplant your system into a bigger workstation case, which will provide the 5-1/4" disk slots and a larger power supply you need. To connect those additional drives, look for an HBA. Art of Server on eBay is a known reliable source for TrueNAS HBAs and cables.

Alternatively, you could try experimenting with an external JBOD enclosure which supports Firewire 800 connectivity, and get yourself a Firewire PCI adapter and cables. TrueNAS does inherit Firewire support from FreeBSD, but I've no experience with running ZFS over Firewire. Google searches seem to confirm this will work, but the performance may not be great.

 

[DocPMD]

Your best option is probably to transplant your system into a bigger workstation case, which will provide the 5-1/4" disk slots and a larger power supply you need. To connect those additional drives, look for an HBA. Art of Server on eBay is a known reliable source for TrueNAS HBAs and cables.

Alternatively, you could try experimenting with an external JBOD enclosure which supports Firewire 800 connectivity, and get yourself a Firewire PCI adapter and cables. TrueNAS does inherit Firewire support from FreeBSD, but I've no experience with running ZFS over Firewire. Google searches seem to confirm this will work, but the performance may not be great.

Yah, I started looking for non-USB JBOD boxes and didn't see anything. So I had the same thought, just get a different case and go from there. A new case and power supply shouldn't break the bank.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Arwen]

There are external JBOD enclosures, here is a link to 4 or 8 disk enclosures, attached by SAS / eSATA;

RS6414S/6418S Overview | | HighPoint Technologies, Inc.

The HighPoint RocketStor 6414S/6418S external 4- and 8-bay 6Gb/s SAS/SATA storage tower enclosures are designed for use with RocketRAID hardware.

www.highpoint-tech.com

If not using an external ported SAS card, and instead using SATA ports, keep the cables as short as possible, You still want short cables with an external ported SAS card, but there is minimal internal wiring.

 

[DocPMD]

There are external JBOD enclosures, here is a link to 4 or 8 disk enclosures, attached by SAS / eSATA;

RS6414S/6418S Overview | | HighPoint Technologies, Inc.

The HighPoint RocketStor 6414S/6418S external 4- and 8-bay 6Gb/s SAS/SATA storage tower enclosures are designed for use with RocketRAID hardware.

www.highpoint-tech.com

If not using an external ported SAS card, and instead using SATA ports, keep the cables as short as possible, You still want short cables with an external ported SAS card, but there is minimal internal wiring.

Cool, thank you!

 

[NugentS]

So - So your setup might look something like in the same case
PCIe 1 - 3*16 - GPU
PCIe 2 - 3*16 (probably actually 8, I haven't checked - but you haven't told us proper hardware details) - LSI externally ported HBA
PCIe 3 - ?*1 - Intel 1Gb NIC
PCIe 4 - ?*1 - Not Used

 

[DocPMD]

So - So your setup might look something like in the same case
PCIe 1 - 3*16 - GPU
PCIe 2 - 3*16 (probably actually 8, I haven't checked - but you haven't told us proper hardware details) - LSI externally ported HBA
PCIe 3 - ?*1 - Intel 1Gb NIC
PCIe 4 - ?*1 - Not Used

Yah, that's what I was thinking. PCIe 2 actually is a 3*16, I've had the case open. And you're right, I don't actually know the speed of the other two slots. All I had to go on is what I read in the manual. I'm guessing there is a was to check through the command line or in software, but as I originally mentioned, I'm just a hobbyist and my skills are limited. I know more than the average joe, but that's about it! ;-)

Thank you for your help.

 

[ChrisRJ]

How much storage do you need? It appears that right now you have about 6 TB net capacity. You would have a simpler and more reliable system by buying to e.g. 10 TB drives and configure them as a mirror.

 

[NugentS]

Yah, that's what I was thinking. PCIe 2 actually is a 3*16, I've had the case open. And you're right, I don't actually know the speed of the other two slots. All I had to go on is what I read in the manual. I'm guessing there is a was to check through the command line or in software, but as I originally mentioned, I'm just a hobbyist and my skills are limited. I know more than the average joe, but that's about it! ;-)

Thank you for your help.

Given that the CPU has 24 lanes total. 4 to the chipset, 4 to the PCIe Storage and 16 to the motherboard PCIe Slots
1 slot will be 16, its highly unlikley that the second 16 slot is electrically 16. Or maybe it is 16 - but shares lanes with Slot 1. In which case the GPU will get 8 and the second slot will get 8 (if something is inserted, otherwise the GPU will get 16)
It might be supplied by the chipset, but my experience of those is that tend to be of a lesser standard. The two PCIe x1 are probably chipset

However I don't actually know as you didn't post what motherboard you had - which leaves me / us guessing.

But you should be OK with a X8 HBA with the GPU running in X8 as well.

 

[DocPMD]

How much storage do you need? It appears that right now you have about 6 TB net capacity. You would have a simpler and more reliable system by buying to e.g. 10 TB drives and configure them as a mirror.

Yah, a lot of ways to skin the cat.