New build, FreeNAS newbie

[RichieB]

The X11SSH-F has one less PCIe slot than the X11SSM-F.

I noticed this, but do not plan to use the PCIe slots at all. Or just maybe just 1 to add an M.2 card. So I don't think this should influence my choice of motherboard.

 

[2nd-in-charge]

Adding M.2 to the X11SSM-F would cost me about €26 (Delock PCI-E M.2 NGFF).

Sounds on the expensive side. Can you get a Silverstone SST-ECM20 or ECM 21? The former has two slots. Or Lycom DT-120?

Is the Transcend MTS600 32GB M.2 (€30) sufficient as a book disk?

I think these are SATA drives ("M.2 "B key"), which means they need a card with a SATA controller (rather than a card for M.2 "M key" NVMe drives), StarTech PEX2M2 for example. I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives. Like this IOCrest.

Edit: ECM20 has one M-key and one B-key slot.

 

[RichieB]

Sounds on the expensive side. Can you get a Silverstone SST-ECM20 or ECM 21? The former has two slots. Or Lycom DT-120?

None of these are cheaper options here locally. The only one cheaper I found is Addonics ADM2PX4 for €21.

I think these are SATA drives ("M.2 "B key"), which means they need a card with a SATA controller (rather than a card for M.2 "M key" NVMe drives), StarTech PEX2M2 for example. I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives. Like this IOCrest.

Thanks! I wasn't away there were different "keys" in the M.2 standard. The cheapest M.2 "M key" SSD I found is the Intel 600p 128GB for €65. Adding a cheap/flaky M.2 "B key" SATA card feels weird to me (and will cost me €50+).

With regards to the case, I think I'm going for the with the Fractal Design Define R5 with additional 3-disk cage to replace the 5,25" bays. This will give me 11x 3.5" and 2x 2,5" SSD positions. For this RAIDZ2 would it be better to go for 8x(6+2) 8TB or 10(8+2) 6TB drives? They will both have 48TB usable space. I can buy 8x Seagate NAS 8TB for around €2700 and 10x HGST Deskstar NAS v2 6TB for around € 2200. So that's quite an incentive to go with the 6TB solution. Upon reading some drive reviews I'll stick with WD Red's which will cost me €2590 for 10x 6TB and €2792 for 8x 8TB so still a little cheaper for the 6TB solution.

 

[2nd-in-charge]

Looks like your first spec was pretty good, we haven't improved much other than the enclosure..

Fractal Design Define R5 with additional 3-disk cage to replace the 5,25" bays.

That cage goes to the bottom of the case, not in in the 5.25" drive bays. It will sit close to the PSU (leaving 180mm for the PSU, if R5 has the same dimensions as R4). Corsair RM650x and AX760 should just fit. They are 160mm long, leaving you with 20mm to fit the cables.

 

[RichieB]

That cage goes to the bottom of the case, not in in the 5.25" drive bays.

Actually, both. The the 5.25" drive bays can replaced with a 3.5" HDD cage, and an an additional 3.5" HDD cage can be placed at the bottom as well. The only question is: what is the maximum number of 3.5" HDD bays that can be stacked in the full height of the case? Is it 3+5+3=11 or 5+5=10? With the additional 3 bay HDD cage at the bottom that would give me a 14 or 13 HDD (+2x 2.5" SSD) configuration. I've asked Fractal Design technical support this question.

 

[2nd-in-charge]

The the 5.25" drive bays can replaced with a 3.5" HDD cage,

I didn't know this, but according to that drawing both top and bottom cages are simply shifted towards the top of the case. It doesn't necessarily mean that you can fit another cage underneath.

I've asked Fractal Design technical support this question.

Let us know what they say. If it doesn't work, there is always IcyDock.

 

[RichieB]

Fractal Design wrote back:

No, you can't replace the ODD cage with a 3 x HDD cage. There is simply no room.

Theoretical you will be able to fit 15 HDDs in a Define R5:

13 x 3.5" and 2 x 2.5" HDDs.

So it seems you can add another 5x HDD cage above the stock one and shift the 3x HDD cage to the left. Along with 1x SDD that would enable me to use all 14 SATA ports on the X11SSL-CF. Going to place an order soon. :)

 

[RichieB]

My system arrived this week. Unfortunately the X11SSL-CF does not have MiniSAS SFF-8087 connectors but MiniSAS HD SFF-8643 connectors. So the cables recommended to me here do not fit. :-( It would have been nice if Supermicro mentioned this anywhere on their product page or manual.

Also, when placing the 5 HDD bay on the bottom (as suggested by Fractal Design) jams the bottom disk tray. So to be able to add or remove an HDD in that bottom tray you need to remove the whole 5 HDD bay. :-(

OTOH installing FreeNAS by mounting an ISO over IPMI was a breeze. As was flashing the SAS3008 controller to IT mode (using an UEFI shell). So I'm quite happy with this setup overall.

 

[RichieB]

My hardware build is finished. I ordered 2 additional 5-disk bays from Fractal Design (note: they come with the anti vibration rubbers, but not with the HDD screws!) but I was not able to fit a 5-disk bay on the left. The SATA cables on the motherboard prevent placement. So I went with the 3-disk bay to the left and 2x 5-disk bays to the right. The disks in the 3-disk bay are not accessible from the back, so I hope the SATA and power cables extend enough to be able to replace a disk without having to take out the bay. As previously noted the bottom disk in the lowest 5-disk bay cannot be taken out without taking out the whole bay. I sure hope that disk does not fail.

So here is my 12-disk setup (1 HDD slot free). There are also 2 SSD slots behind the motherboard.