My FreeNAS plan - need opinions :)

[ChrisHolzer]

)GOAL:
Network storage (SMB) for my home. 4 users (Wife, kids and me).

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Hardware:
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RAM: 2x 8GB ECC, however non of the modules listed here are available in Austria. Alternatives? :-/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170, 2x 3.70GHz (supports ECC)

Mainboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F retail

• 1x Samsung SSD 850 PRO 128GB - attached to an SATA 6G port
• 5x Seagate IronWolf NAS HDD 8TB - attached to the SAS ports

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FreeNAS Setup:
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FreeNAS installed on the SSD
5x 8TB drives build a raidZ2

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Questions:
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(Q1) Is the CPU strong enough for what I want to do? Based on the topics I read here I think it should be?
(Q2) Are 16GB of RAM enough for my setup? And can anyone recommend different DDR3 modules as I cant find a store that sells them here. :(
(Q3) Do I "need" a separate SSD as cache?
(Q4) My plan for the future is that when I eventually run out of storage, then I buy 5 new drives, attach them to the remaining ports on the mainboard (or a HBA), create a new raidz2, move all data over from the 5x8TB one, remove the 5x8TB one and finally connect the new drives to the 5 SAS ports. Is that a good or a bad idea?

Thanks in advance! :)

 

[Jailer]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. Why detach the old drives? Add the new drives as planned and expand your existing pool with the new drives. FreeNAS doesn't care where they are attached as long as it has direct access to them.

 

[Pitfrr]

My opinion regarding RAIDZ2: I would go for 6 drives if you can afford it.
No technical reasons, just that I find it to be an acceptable compromise between usable/raw space.
I find that with less than 6 drives you're wasting a lot of space. 6 is good and I would aim for 7 or 8.
Unfortunately you can't add them afterwards so this has to be decided at the beginning... ;-O

 

[Spearfoot]

For memory, try Crucial's European site. Crucial is basically a storefront for Micron, which is one of the biggest memory manufacturers. They guarantee their memory works in your system, and they have stock suitable for use in your X10SL7 motherboard:

http://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Supermicro/x10sl7-f

I own an X10SL7-F and I believe you'll be pleased with it, but note that there are newer Supermicro boards in the X11 series that support twice the maximum memory (64GB vs. 32GB max in the X10SL7).

Good luck!

 

[ChrisHolzer]

4. Why detach the old drives? Add the new drives as planned and expand your existing pool with the new drives. FreeNAS doesn't care where they are attached as long as it has direct access to them.

But then some of these 5 additional drives would be connected to SATA 3g.

My idea (at this point) is that when I eventually run out of space then I also want new/fresh drives. So I'd just throw out the old ones then. Maybe use them for non-critical data. :)

My opinion regarding RAIDZ2: I would go for 6 drives if you can afford it.
No technical reasons, just that I find it to be an acceptable compromise between usable/raw space.
I find that with less than 6 drives you're wasting a lot of space. 6 is good and I would aim for 7 or 8.
Unfortunately you can't add them afterwards so this has to be decided at the beginning... ;-O

Costs are a factor (My wife is going to kill me if I add another €280,- to this build :'D ) . However this 5 drive build has 3x the capacity of what I have right now. I "think" it should be enough for the next few years. :)

For memory, try Crucial's European site. Crucial is basically a storefront for Micron, which is one of the biggest memory manufacturers. They guarantee their memory works in your system, and they have stock suitable for use in your X10SL7 motherboard:

http://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Supermicro/x10sl7-f

I own an X10SL7-F and I believe you'll be pleased with it, but note that there are newer Supermicro boards in the X11 series that support twice the maximum memory (64GB vs. 32GB max in the X10SL7).

Good luck!

Thanks a lot! I will check that out! Do you know if the newer boards are fully compatible with FreeNAS? Is there an updated compatibility list somewhere? :)

 

[Spearfoot]

But then some of these 5 additional drives would be connected to SATA 3g.

This really won't matter; you won't notice the difference if some of the drives are only connected at 3Gbps.

Thanks a lot! I will check that out! Do you know if the newer boards are fully compatible with FreeNAS? Is there an updated compatibility list somewhere? :)

You're welcome!

The newer Supermicro X11 boards work well with FreeNAS. You'll find that many forum members use them.