My First NAS build with question

[husu]

Hi all, this is my first NAS build and I am still at planing stage I would appreciate any feedback on my parts list before I pull the trigger. Here are the list so far, I have 2 approaches in mind and both are open to suggestions.




8 bay sfx setup


ASRock c2750d4i or c2750d4i+

Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3-1600 ECC UDIMM CT2KIT102472BD160B

SilverStone Technology NAS Case (DS380B)

SilverStone Technology 500W SFX-LG or

SilverStone Technology 450W ST45SF-G

WD Red NAS Hard Drives 6TB x 8

16-32GB SSD as boot x 2



12-16 Bay setup


ASRock c2750d4i or c2750d4i+

Intelligent Memory IMM2G72D3LDUD8AG-B15E 16GB DDR3L ECC UDIMM

Fractal Design Define R5 (8 HHD bay)

Fractal Design Define R5 Bottom HDD cage (this add 3 addition HHD bay at the bottom next to PSU)

Lian Li EX-23N 5.25" to 3.5" HHD adaptor (this add another 3 additional HHD bay and 80mm fan by using both 5.25" bay)

SilverStone Strider Titanium ST60F-TI 600W PSU or

Seasonic SS-660XP2 ATX 12V / EPS 12V 660W

WD Red NAS Hard Drives 6TB x 12

SanDisk Ultra Fit USB Flash Drive x 2 as boot

The case will have 14 x 3.5"/2.5" bay + 2 bonus 2.5" bay under motherboard for potential of total 16 drives.

As an option for future expansion add a SATA controller card and I can have total of 16 HHD/SSD.


Questions:
1. Do I really need hotswap? I know this will be on 24/7 but how often do you really need to swap?
2. How much performance gain will the 64gb get over the 32gb memory? At how many TB of storage does the 32gb memory becomes insufficient.
3. If i use USB as boot, how hard is it to switch to using SSD as boot later?
4. How hard is it to add 2 (64 or 128gb)ssd as cache drive later?
5. Fractal Design Define R5 come with 2 x 140mm fan plus one 80mm on EX-23N is that enough cooling for 12 HHD?
6. The ASRock c2750d4i board only come with heat sink, do I need a CPU Fan?
7. Anything else I missed or anything i messed up?

I am leaning more toward the 12 bay setup. I appreciate any comment or suggestions. thanx in advance.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

1. Probably not, disk swaps should be rare events.
2. No way to know for sure without testing, especially without knowing how you plan to use it. In general start with 16GB or 32GB and test, then add more if necessary. Just make sure you buy large modules so you can upgrade without discarding the first set.
3. Easy, just make sure you always have an up to date backup of your configuration.
4. Easy.
5. No idea.
6. The CPU should come with whatever cooling it needs.
7. I haven't checked your parts for compatibility.

Be aware Marvell is not a preferred SATA controller, so you might be encouraged to add an HBA.

 

[husu]

Thanx for your reply, I forgot to mention about the usage, as I am new to freenas I am not familiar with the capability of the machine so it will start off as storage/server for picture/music/video/movies should be able to stream them anywhere, maybe setup as a cloud server for all my devices. As I learn how to and what I can do with jail then I will probably push the machine a little harder.

I will do my research into the onboard Marvel controller, anyone can point me where to read first? thanx

 

[Mirfster]

Good Start: Hardware recommendations (read this first)
Better Start: Everything listed in my sig under "Recommended Reading"
Even Better: All the above + the Manual

:D

 

[husu]

I went through the hardware recommendations prior to the planing and I will go through your signature this weekend thanx :)

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Also, search the forum for the term "marvel ports" and close variations.