Migrating to FreeNAS - Check my plan for me please?

[averyfreeman]

Hi,

I'm not totally new to FreeNAS, as I've run a copy on an old Dell XPS 400 kind of as a test run. However, this was done with UFS as to the age and memory constraints of the system, so I am new to ZFS.

I currently have a system running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS with 4x 2TB WD Green hard drives (4K block size). Two of these drives are WD20EARS and two are WD20EARX, which I believe are all 64GB cache and 5900RPM. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). The reason for the mismatch is due to two of the drives failing in a standalone Mediasonic RAID-5 enclosure I used before I realized there was a difference between 512b and 4K drives (!). When I RMAed the drives I read up on them and realized I made a horrible mistake using them in a standalone enclosure that was unable to recognize the 4k block size. (Please excuse my previous ignorance - it was 2010, so it's been a while, but I'm sure there's still a lot more I need to learn before executing this build properly).

So anyway, the current build is:
Supermicro X9SCL-F-O
Intel Celeron G440 1.6Ghz 35w sandy bridge processor (will upgrade to an E3-1220L v2 when funds allow)
8GB Kingston ECC Unbuffered memory (two 4Gb KVR16E11/4 UDIMMs)
4x 2TB WD "green" 4k drives in RAID O+1 Ext4

My plan is to purchase:
2 more 2TB WD20EARXs
2 more 4GB Kingston ECC UDIMMs (however, KVR16E11S8/4 as opposed to KVR16E11/4)
Note: I plan on using the stock SATA2 controller with 6 ports on the motherboard

I was going to copy my data from the server to another computer with a 5TB drive over GbE, install the hardware, Install FreeNAS 9.3, set up a Raid Z2 array, then copy the data all back.

Does anyone see any issues with my setup or plan?

I guess my main concerns are the mismatches of the hardware - I tried to get as close to possible in matching my older hardware, but it just can't be purchased anymore.

Also, is there any issue with my configuration? I'm hoping I have the right idea with 16GB of ram, but the processor is a bit long in the tooth (although, I don't ever have any issues with copying or streaming files, so I haven't really felt the need to upgrade, and I like that the processor, although single core, consumes only 35w electricity).

What about Raid Z2 -- is that going to be a good move from Raid 0+1? Right now my performance across GbE is around 100MB/s read, 70MB/s write (I used to get 160MBs r/w with a different router). Will performance be similar with Raid Z2? Is fault tolerance acceptable at only 2 out of 6 drives?

Is the stock SATA controller going to be OK for this? Do I need to do anything special in the configuration of the drives? (I saw a ZFS tuning blog recommending creating a "raid 0 array" for each individual drive, but that was using an LSI controller).

I'm really looking forward to your feedback - I definitely want to get this right!

Thank you!

-Avery

 

[BigDave]

I was going to copy my data from the server to another computer with a 5TB drive over GbE, install the hardware, Install FreeNAS 9.3, set up a Raid Z2 array, then copy the data all back. Does anyone see any issues with my setup or plan?

Your plans for upgrading (when completed) sound good,
just make sure your final hardware config is tested and
burned in properly before trusting your data to the pool.
Also your cpu would be ok for streaming/access, but if
you desire the ability to transcode files, you might think about
a cpu with a bit more power/speed (i3 or Xeon).

I definitely want to get this right!

Check out the stickies here in the forum, they will help alot!

Intel Celeron G440 1.6Ghz 35w sandy bridge processor
(will upgrade to an E3-1220L v2 when funds allow)

Power savings with the E3-1230 v2 at idle would be close to
the same as the low power model u mentioned,
but would have more power if called upon with a heavier load.

 

[averyfreeman]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the reply! I just read one of the stickies on ECC memory -- I am sure glad my board doesn't accept non-ECC ram, because I probably would have made a big mistake cheaping out early on!

As far as the processor goes, what about the E3-1220L? It's got even lower power consumption than my current processor [17 (v2) or 20w max TDP as opposed to 35w] and it's nearly the same price as the E3-1230v2, which is max 80w TDP (yikes!). I had planned on doing all my transcoding on remote computers, I really just use the server for file storage and torrents. What's the advantage to transcoding at the server level?

Also, what about putting the 5TB drive directly into my Ubuntu server, formatting it as Ext4, copying the files over and then reading the Ext4 drive with FreeNAS to migrate the data into the pool? Is this a fairly easy process? I'm asking because I'm somewhat concerned about corruption occurring due to the transfer across the network (also speed).

Thanks again!

-Avery

PS: Does my sig look OK? :)

 

[averyfreeman]

Oh, last but not least -- Are there any good posts on burning in hardware? I don't think I've ever done that before ...

 

[Ericloewe]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the reply! I just read one of the stickies on ECC memory -- I am sure glad my board doesn't accept non-ECC ram, because I probably would have made a big mistake cheaping out early on!

As far as the processor goes, what about the E3-1220L? It's got even lower power consumption than my current processor [17 (v2) or 20w max TDP as opposed to 35w] and it's nearly the same price as the E3-1230v2, which is max 80w TDP (yikes!). I had planned on doing all my transcoding on remote computers, I really just use the server for file storage and torrents. What's the advantage to transcoding at the server level?

Also, what about putting the 5TB drive directly into my Ubuntu server, formatting it as Ext4, copying the files over and then reading the Ext4 drive with FreeNAS to migrate the data into the pool? Is this a fairly easy process? I'm asking because I'm somewhat concerned about corruption occurring due to the transfer across the network (also speed).

Thanks again!

-Avery

PS: Does my sig look OK? :)

Forget about low-power versions of regular processors. They're not more efficient, they just work less.
When idling and at low loads, the E3-1220 v3 will use as much power as an E3-1220L v3. The 1220L v3 also has less L3 cache, IIRC.

 

[BigDave]

burn in found here. While your reading that, I'll point to some power/cpu tidbits...
Thanks to Eric for the power/cpu info and the wear n tear on my keyboard :D

 

[averyfreeman]

Hi Eric -

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it! I'll definitely look into the "regular powered" E3s more...

 

[demon]

I would suggest not using Kingston RAM. Per other posts, Kingston's recently played games with swapping different parts in under the same part numbers, causing serious compatibility issues. Samsung or Crucial (Micron) RAM would be a fine choice, but check the SuperMicro QVL for your board to find out what's recommended.

 

[averyfreeman]

Dave -- Thanks for the post, I read up on it and I think I can do most that stuff --- I tried to get the shell script download and it wasn't available, though (?) -- thread said I didn't have sufficient permission to view (?)

Demon -- It's kind of too late for me to switch ram manufacturers since I already ordered the new Kingston ram to try and match the old Kingston ram I already had ... :P is it really that big of a deal?

Can you refer me to some of the posts you are talking about?

Thanks!
Avery

 

[BigDave]

Here's a good read regarding power/speed/cache

I tried to get the shell script download and it wasn't available, though (?)

You have to be logged in to see attachments, pictures, etc.

 

[demon]

This post covers a broad spectrum of the problem. If you've already got some Kingston RAM... eh, I'd buy new, non-Kingston RAM, but if you do take the plunge, make sure you burn it in good before you start using the system for realsies.

 

[averyfreeman]

Eric - Loved the post with the "big car with the engine artificially limited" and "big car with engine not artificially limited" analogy. Really made sense!

 

[averyfreeman]

Regarding RAM -- Checked the supermicro site regarding tested 1600MHz RAM for this board:

8GB --

MEM-DR380L-HL01-EU16HynixHMT41GU7MFR8C-PBHynixH5TQ4G83MFR2RoHSLow Profile

MEM-DR380L-SL01-EU16SamsungM391B1G73BH0-CK0SamsungK4B4G0846B-HCK02RoHSLow Profile

4GB --

MEM-DR340L-HL02-EU16HynixHMT351U7CFR8C-PBHynixH5TQ2G83CFR2RoHSLow Profile

MEM-DR340L-HV01-EU16HynixHMT351E7CFR8C-PBHynixH5TQ2G83CFR2StandardVery Low Profile

MEM-DR340L-SL01-EU16SamsungM391B5273DH0-CK0SamsungK4B2G0846D-HCK02RoHSLow Profile

I'm wondering if I should return the kingston RAM I just bought, sell my old RAM and get something on this list (?)

 

[averyfreeman]

FWIW, the Kingston site lists the ram I purchased as being compatible with this board --- Is this info worth anything?

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/hyperx_us/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=69306

 

[Ericloewe]

FWIW, the Kingston site lists the ram I purchased as being compatible with this board --- Is this info worth anything?

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/hyperx_us/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=69306

Nobody's complained about Kingston and X9 boards.

 

[averyfreeman]

Wow, just went to the Intel ARK site to compare some different chips --

http://ark.intel.com/compare/65735,65734,65732,65722

The E3 1220Lv2, 1220Lv2, 1230Lv2 and 1290Lv2

The 1220Lv2 doesn't support idle states like the other 3 -- wondering if this might contribute to higher power consumption when idle (?)
The 1220v2 doesn't support hyper threading
The 1290v2 is prohibitively expensive -- Google'd some shopping results, still over $440!

The 1230V2 definitely seems like the sweet spot! Thanks Dave!

 

[averyfreeman]

Eric -- Thanks for the info. Apparently, regarding the post Demon sent, it does seem like they are involved in some shady bait-and-switch style practices. Given that I don't have the $ to switch ram at the moment, I think I'm just going to hope nothing bad happens. I'll look into switching it out for a couple 8GB Samsung UDIMMs down the line ...

Demon - The Supermicro QVL site was very helpful, and I will be sure to reference it when I consider upgrades in the future!

Thanks everybody!

 

[BigDave]

The 1230V2 definitely seems like the sweet spot!

I've purchased two of these cpu at $199 from my local Microcenter,
which was a walk-in price only! This cpu was recommended to me
right here in this forum, so the credit goes to the core members
who guided me back when. I do so enjoy giving back...

 

[rogerh]

Just a note - the recommendation for Raid 0 is wrong. Except if stuck with a RAID controller that can't be set to expose the disks fully as JBOD, when it might be a risky but necessary compromise - but not to be recommended. AFAIK the board controller is fine if you only want 6 disks, but I am not an expert on that particular issue.

 

[averyfreeman]

Hi Roger - Yes, that was the reason they recommended using disks as RAID 0 - to gain full access to the drive for ZFS. If you're interested, the blog is https://calomel.org/zfs_raid_speed_capacity.html -- They were using an LSI MegaRAID 9265-8i

So I suppose this isn't an issue with the controller on the X9SCL-F-O. Thanks for the input! Having never attempted to use ZFS before, I find the amount of information, which seems fairly technical from my standpoint, to be a little daunting. I'm just really grateful to have a little personal guidance in this endeavour, since I am not seeing a lot of info specific to my hardware or current level of understanding.

Dave - I think the E3-1230 V2 is going to be my next upgrade :)

Side question: Has anyone tried Bonnie++ for doing burn-in?