BUILD NAS Hardware Suggestions Requested

[mhumm2]

I will soon start building a NAS computer for my homemade 25U Rack. The challenge is I think I know enough to be dangerous instead of effective. I've built all of my computers since 1985, but never a NAS box.

I have 3 older computers sitting around doing nothing so that's my first resource. I will purchase a 3U or 4U rackmounted case, but I would like to include a SAS backplane for a maximum of 8 drives. At first, I'll populate the NAS with three, 2TB SATA drives. I know SATA drives are compatible with SAS, but I don't know how to purchase a SAS backplane so it's compatible with the ATX mobos I have.

Another question is the NIC. I have a Gigabyte NIC with 2 ethernet ports. Is there or could there be any advantage of connecting both ports, from the NAS, to my home LAN? Would it provide more bandwidth/throughput or not?

Final question. My main system computer (3.2GHz, AMD Phenom 4 core CPU, 8GB RAM running Kubuntu 14.04) has an eSATA port. What can I use this port for? Could it have any functionality with a NAS computer? Please advise and thank you for your time and expertise.

 

[danb35]

Your best way ahead is to get something like this Supermicro 4U chassis, which comes with a SAS expander backplane (this particular one also comes with a motherboard which you can use or discard, as you prefer). Then buy an IBM M1015 (or a suitable LSI HBA), run a single SAS cable from the HBA to the backplane, and you're wired for all 24 drive bays.

There's unlikely to be any particular benefit (if anything, there are likely to be problems) from connecting both network ports to your home LAN. FreeNAS does support link aggregation, but that's rarely useful in a home environment.

Your eSATA port lets you connect an external hard drive using a SATA interface (quite a bit quicker than USB). It doesn't have any real application to your NAS.

 

[mhumm2]

Your best way ahead is to get something like this Supermicro 4U chassis, which comes with a SAS expander backplane (this particular one also comes with a motherboard which you can use or discard, as you prefer). Then buy an IBM M1015 (or a suitable LSI HBA), run a single SAS cable from the HBA to the backplane, and you're wired for all 24 drive bays.

There's unlikely to be any particular benefit (if anything, there are likely to be problems) from connecting both network ports to your home LAN. FreeNAS does support link aggregation, but that's rarely useful in a home environment.

Your eSATA port lets you connect an external hard drive using a SATA interface (quite a bit quicker than USB). It doesn't have any real application to your NAS.

Thank you danb35. Excellent recommendations and information. I also found CyberJock's Hardware recommendations after I posted this. With your recommendations and his, I think I have all the information I need to start my build. Thanks again.

 

[danb35]

Glad to help. Also take a look at @jgreco's thread on SAS stuff: https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...-sas-sy-a-primer-on-basic-sas-and-sata.26145/

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Your eSATA port lets you connect an external hard drive using a SATA interface (quite a bit quicker than USB). It doesn't have any real application to your NAS.

I have found eSATA ports very handy for temporary external backup and for drive replacement. For the latter, imagine you have a drive you don't trust but that ZFS has not yet kicked out. You can hook up a drive using the eSATA port and a drive dock and Replace the dodgy drive without losing redundancy in the pool.

 

[Darren Myers]

mhumm2 i have the very 4U chassis , as well as @DataKeeper and @pclausen , they're great chassis, sometimes a little loud as it has to pull air through as many as 24 hdds....But for its noise, to me it doesnt matter it sits in a basement with other noisy equipment. these are older pics of my homelab that i need to update...but they will suffice. http://imgur.com/a/8hhoW the coolrs you see are ncotua Xeon heatsinks as i dont really like passive heatsiks (that most of the 2U/4U chassis come with).

 

[mhumm2]

Wow, that is some great info. Thank you very much. I'm trying to sort out the Supermicro mobs, cases, cpus, etc. I decided to go with a 4u case so I can use quieter 120mm fans while still pushing a lot of air.

 

[Darren Myers]

good to hear, well we are all here, floating around somewhere :P and we'd be more then happy to help you. If you take a look at @DataKeeper and @pclausen you can see there builds and the components they used, that might give you a good starting point; just dont have sticker shock when you do the math :P

 

[mhumm2]

Yeah, it didn't take long to figure out that a NAS box is going to cost more than my main computer and the rack I built, put together.

Okay, here's a question. What would it take for guests of mine to access my NAS via internet? Am I too exposed to security threats or is that manageable?

 

[Darren Myers]

Yeah, it didn't take long to figure out that a NAS box is going to cost more than my main computer and the rack I built, put together.

Okay, here's a question. What would it take for guests of mine to access my NAS via internet? Am I too exposed to security threats or is that manageable?

Errrr lets define this, do you want them to access files? If so is it media, pictures,music,movies,tv shows? Is it files of software, ISO's etc?

 

[mhumm2]

I expect most of the file xfers would be photos, documents, perhaps a few ISOs. No media streaming or xcoding.

 

[Darren Myers]

I expect most of the file xfers would be photos, documents, perhaps a few ISOs. No media streaming or xcoding.

Errrr...you could host OwnCloud, its a plugin that SHOULD do what you want.

 

[mhumm2]

Sounds good. Yeah, I was looking at SAS backplanes and drives and trying to find a set up with the fewest drives possible then it occured to me that by using a X9SCL-F-O mobo, I can put 6 SATA drives in the box with full RAID capability if I want. Since I'm only going to 8TB maybe 12TB at some point in the future, I don't need to mess with SAS hardware. I figured out a complete system for less than $700.

I think it's time to install FreeNAS on an old desktop so I can start learning the interface. Thanks again for all your help.

TTYL

 

[Darren Myers]

Sounds good. Yeah, I was looking at SAS backplanes and drives and trying to find a set up with the fewest drives possible then it occured to me that by using a X9SCL-F-O mobo, I can put 6 SATA drives in the box with full RAID capability if I want. Since I'm only going to 8TB maybe 12TB at some point in the future, I don't need to mess with SAS hardware.

While true, look at the future...you say only 8-12Tb ....but i was once at 8Tb and went nahhh ill never use all this...then i found plex...and sickrage/sickbeard and couch potato...and now well, my girlfriend will NEVER watch all the movies i have, or TV shows lol. Plus we're now savings TONS of pictures of our 7 month old and all his video's so my storage needs are going to grow...soon lol

Summery: Future proof, plan for more, even if you dont think you'll need it :P

 

[Robert Smith]

You realize that once you give credentials to a guest, he or she can [perhaps unwillingly] pass them along to the whole world, right?

 

[mhumm2]

Good points both. The only guests I know of now would be family in California, Vegas, and Charleston SC. And with Onecloud, is it not possible to limit the actual storage they can access? That brings up another question, what does Cyberjock mean by "per delivered TB":
<quote> Add up the total cost of the system you propose with those "cheap" 2TB or 3TB drives, then divide by the number of usable TB you get. Then add up the total cost of a system built with 4TB drives, divide again. Shocked? The 4TB is often the less expensive choice per delivered TB, despite the drives being a bit of a price premium. </quote>

How much overhead is used and by what?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

I think it's time to install FreeNAS on an old desktop so I can start learning the interface.

This is an excellent plan. You will learn a lot this way, without putting important data at risk. Another forum member went as far as buying a bunch of small used hard drives so he could experiment with creating and destroying various pool layouts.

What would it take for guests of mine to access my NAS via internet?

Alternatives to ownCloud for sharing stuff with folks include BitTorrent Sync and Syncthing. You could use the plugins or you could install them directly in VirtualBox VMs. These apps don't depend on anyone having direct access to the box, which might be desirable. While Syncthing has the benefit of being open source, BitTorrent Sync is better at tunneling.

 

[ALFA]

If you go with the Supermicro 4U chassis, you can/want go more quiet changing those default PSU for this ones PWS-920P-1R (45db) or PWS-920P-SQ (23db) plus they are more high-efficiency (platinum level), and the PWS-920P-SQ has PFC PMBus.

 

[katit]

If you go with the Supermicro 4U chassis, you can/want go more quiet changing those default PSU for this ones PWS-920P-1R (45db) or PWS-920P-SQ (23db) plus they are more high-efficiency (platinum level), and the PWS-920P-SQ has PFC PMBus.

Hi!
I just got those chassis, but I got PWS-1K21P-1R PSU. It's 80+ GOLD. Noise wise it's OK for me. Little noisy if I was next to it, but for basement it's pretty good. Now, for PSU you suggest. I did think about getting platinums with "SQ", but can't find any cheaper than $180. Regular platinums can be bought <$100. I wonder, how many W it will cut off? Considering roughly 1W=$1 per year in my area. Will it save 20W compare to my PSU? And even it does, it will take 4 years just to brake even...

 

[ALFA]

Hi!
I just got those chassis, but I got PWS-1K21P-1R PSU. It's 80+ GOLD. Noise wise it's OK for me. Little noisy if I was next to it, but for basement it's pretty good. Now, for PSU you suggest. I did think about getting platinums with "SQ", but can't find any cheaper than $180. Regular platinums can be bought <$100. I wonder, how many W it will cut off? Considering roughly 1W=$1 per year in my area. Will it save 20W compare to my PSU? And even it does, it will take 4 years just to brake even...

Dunno Katit about your case (1200W PSU), but the 900w ones are *very* loud (70ish db), and something its true, you never will gain back your money for what you save buying platinums PSU (only you can find it very cheap, some crazy black friday offer thing).