Looking for feedback on my build

odic

Cadet
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
3
Hello,

I am about to build a FreeNAS system for the family and home office and would like to welcome any thoughts or suggestions on my build. I want to use ZFS, a Supermicro system board, ECC RAM, 2 mirrored SSD's for the OS to boot from, and 4 HDD's for RAID.

Here's what I hope to achieve:
- I want to have a rock solid dependable networked storage solution for my home and home office data.
- I want to backup my data from multiple PC's and Mac's.
- I want to be able to stream media with plex. Probably not more than 2 to 3 streams simultaniously, but 4k would be nice.
- I would like to serve up VM's for development, but it's not the central focus.
- I would like to use jails like I would docker?
- I would like to download torrent files.
- I would like to setup access from over the internet.

- I would like the system to be very responsive on my switched 1Gb ethernet connection.
- I would like to build it once and, lord willing, only have to deal with the hdd's failing as the most probable point of failure. I am otherwise
comfortable with the time required to research, setup, and configure. Set it and forget it is the aim.


Here's the Hardware I'm looking at purchasing:

- Supermicro A2SDi-8C+-HLN4F Motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076J23HTB/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?smid=A1CCMLARIFEY2T&psc=1


- WD 8TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBWLG0080HBK-NESN - x5
(Shucking...one for spare, 4 for RAID)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D5V2ZXD/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- Supermicro Certified MEM-DR416L-SL06-ER24 Samsung 16GB DDR4-2400 LP ECC REG
(2 stick for 32GB RAM)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071WD6FLH/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?smid=A29P93PKVXFSE3&psc=1

- EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR, Black

- PNY CS900 120GB 2.5” SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - (SSD7CS900-120-RB)
(2 drives mirrored for boot)

- Bitfinix Prodigy mini ITX case
(I just happen to have one that's been in the closet unused for years)
https://www.bitfenix.com/products/chassis/mini-itx/prodigy/

- APC Sine Wave UPS, 1000VA UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protector, Back-UPS Pro Uninterruptible Power Supply (BR1000MS)


Questions...
- Am I wasting money on the Mini ITX form factor just to use an old case? Is there a cheaper, faster supermicro with ECC that I should consider in another form factor and just get a different case?...repurpose older enterprise servers?
- Will 4 HDDS in a RAID be reasonable responsive?
- Is 500W from the power supply enough juice for this to perform reliably?

Thanks!
 

odic

Cadet
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
3
An after thought would be to go with a xeon board such as this...

SUPERMICRO X10SDV-4C+-TLN4F-O Supermicro X10SDV-4C-TLN4F-O Intel Xeon D-1518 DDR4 SATA3 and USB3.0 V and 4GbE Mini-ITX Motherboard and CPU Combo X10SDV-4C+-TLN4F-O

 
Joined
Jul 2, 2019
Messages
648
Did you take a look at eBay for a used one? There are many Supermicro servers listed (mostly rackmount, though).
 

odic

Cadet
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
3
Did you take a look at eBay for a used one? There are many Supermicro servers listed (mostly rackmount, though).
I did....while the price points are appealing, the rack mount is awkward for my environment. I'm thinking they would be pretty loud and difficult to cool too?
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2019
Messages
648
It could be a little loud. I have mine in my office and it is not too bad. At boot all servers are loud until the firmware loads - all servers seem to run the fans at 100% during bootup. My Supermicro FreeNAS server (2U) is mostly quieter than my HP DL360G7 (1U). Fan noise is dependant on load so if you are doing a lot of transcoding that could drive the CPU load and hence the cooling needs.

You could look at Noctura fans but you need to consider more than just the amount of airflow (i.e. cubic feet per minute - CFM). Supermicro provides specifications for the air pressure; the Static Pressure (inches of H2O). The biggest challenge is that - as you seem to be thinking - is that a "real" server is made for a data centre. Hence noise isn't a concern.
 

Jessep

Patron
Joined
Aug 19, 2018
Messages
379
Change the case, use a MATX, likely Fractal Design case, and change to Seasonic PS

For silence and expansion you could use a Define R5/R6 if you can handle the size.

Plan for your expansion, starting with 4 drives and your first NAS, you will likely want more space sooner rather than later. You can't expand a vdev so you will have add a second vdev to the pool or swap out each drive one at a time with a larger drive. Swapping works it it is however time consuming and there can be mistakes. Adding a second vdev is easier, faster, and less wasteful as you keep your old drives in use. An 8 drive case (SSD can go in other bays) would allow a second 4 drive vdev.

Also backups, once you've put all this effort into you NAS, especially if you have important data on it, you don't want to have something go wrong and have no backups. So start planning for those as well.
 

Chris Moore

Hall of Famer
Joined
May 2, 2015
Messages
10,080
I am about to build a FreeNAS system for the family and home office and would like to welcome any thoughts or suggestions on my build. I want to use ZFS, a Supermicro system board, ECC RAM, 2 mirrored SSD's for the OS to boot from, and 4 HDD's for RAID.
Unless you are determined to build a micro sized system or have brand new hardware, you could save significant money with used parts. I would suggest reviewing the hardware list here:
 
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