BUILD Noob build need confirmation, Media Server purpose

[gmacman]

The primary purpose of my FreeNAS is an Emby Media Server. Secondary purpose is easy home file transfer for our collection of Macs, PCs and a Linux.

NONE of the data is life critical and anything that we do use on the FreeNAS (family photos, home movies, etc.) is backed up on secondary drives elsewhere.

Usually the Emby is just streaming files to devices running Kodi (FireTVs, etc) that do the decoding however there are times we view on other devices (phones, tablets, etc.) where the FreeNAS (well Emby) is doing transcoding. But this is the exception and not the rule.

With that as a back drop I would greatly appreciate any advice on if this build works. Keep in mind I'm a noob on FreeNAS (and yes, I have read, reread and re-reread the Hardware Recommendations (read this first) thread).

Also, my current FreeNAS is just a test base (read as: I used any lying around PC stuff and now plan to do it right). My current storage is identical in size to this build (running 5x3TB in RAIDz2) so comments on this setup would also be appreciated. Used vs Free space is currently around 70% used which seems okay to me but again comment if you feel I'm making mistakes.

EDITED for comments I've had so far

Prices are just average I've seen

MB: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C222 DDR3 1600 $196.99

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor $204.99

RAM: Crucial 16GB CT102472BD160B 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC $120 (corrected RAM model for MB)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower Case $79.99

PS: SeaSonic 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply $79.99

HD: WD Green Drives 3.5-Inch 3TB 5400RPM $93 x 5 Drives Total $465 (went with Green since this not mission critical data and cost savings will allow failed replacements sooner and still save money)

 

[joeschmuck]

I can't give you advice on how well Emby would run on FreeNAS however I'd think it would run fine, but I have a question to ask of you... Do you know how to install and configure Emby on a FreeNAS machine?

As for your hardware list...
You do not need 7200 RPM drives, you could get WD RED 3TB for about $110 each or WD Green 3TB for $92 each. 7200 RPM drives will be louder and run hotter.

Make sure the RAM is certified to run on your selected motherboard.

 

[Ericloewe]

RAM: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC $123.99

What's the model? CT2KIT102472BD180? (I'm quoting that from memory, but I'm referring to the one in my X10 RAM FAQ, in case I got it wrong :p)

HD: HGST Deskstar NAS 3.5-Inch 3TB 7200RPM $127.99 x 5 Drives Total $639.95

Consider 5400RPM drives.

Otherwise, looks good.

 

[gmacman]

I can't give you advice on how well Emby would run on FreeNAS however I'd think it would run fine, but I have a question to ask of you... Do you know how to install and configure Emby on a FreeNAS machine?

As for your hardware list...
You do not need 7200 RPM drives, you could get WD RED 3TB for about $110 each or WD Green 3TB for $92 each. 7200 RPM drives will be louder and run hotter.

Yes, I currently run Emby in a jail in my test machine that's been up for several months. And have upgraded the plugin, etc. so I'm comfortable with running it on FreeNAS. I will revert to 5400 drives, the only reason I was looking at HGST btw was the BackBlaze blogs that highlight those, of course I know the WD Reds are also very good in terms of reliability.

Make sure the RAM is certified to run on your selected motherboard.

See, I'm glad I posted, yes forgot that I needed to verify that, thanks.

What's the model? CT2KIT102472BD180? (I'm quoting that from memory, but I'm referring to the one in my X10 RAM FAQ, in case I got it wrong :p)


Consider 5400RPM drives.

Otherwise, looks good.

And ditto "Thanks" Ericloewe, I'll take a look at your FAQ. And likewise, will go with 5400's

 

[ChriZ]

My 2c:
The motherboard you listed has an integrated LSI controller and can support up to 14 drives. If you don't plan on adding more drives, then perhaps with a different motherboard you can save a few bucks.
If by stating that your storage usage is 70%, you mean that the new system will also start at 70%, then I think it is wise to reconsider it. At least add another drive.

 

[gmacman]

My 2c:
The motherboard you listed has an integrated LSI controller and can support up to 14 drives. If you don't plan on adding more drives, then perhaps with a different motherboard you can save a few bucks.
If by stating that your storage usage is 70%, you mean that the new system will also start at 70%, then I think it is wise to reconsider it. At least add another drive.

Thanks, that's one of the debating points currently working in my head. Either go with 6x3TB or merely stick with the 5 and then later if I need to replace the 3TBs with 4TBs since drives will need to be replaced at some point. And before anybody jumps on me, yes I do understand that I must replace all 5 drives from 3TB to 4TB if I do decide to increase the size of the pool.

Or add a new vdev, but not likely for my uses.

 

[joeschmuck]

BTW, WD Reds are just what have treated me right, of course you would select whatever drive tickles your fancy. I myself will be waiting for my 2TB reds to start dying and replace them with larger and fewer drives, yup, building a new pool and that should be almost fun. All I really need is 6TB of storage and I'm good. I do not see my storage needs getting any larger, ever. So I myself will need to re-evaluate larger storage drives next year (crossing my fingers the drives last 4 years). Maybe 5TB SSD will be cheap

 

[TheDubiousDubber]

Less for the OP and more so for others, as I noticed the OP has a raidz2 but only 5 drives. Has the amount of drives in a raidz2 become irrelevant? From my understanding it was pretty common practice to run a raidz2 in either a 4,6 or 8 drive configuration, likewise a raidz3 would be in a 7,9,11, or something along those lines.

 

[danb35]

Has the amount of drives in a raidz2 become irrelevant?

Pretty much, with the near-universal use of compression.

 

[gmacman]

Pretty much, with the near-universal use of compression.

Yes, if I remember correctly from Cyberjocks doc I didn't have to worry about it because of compression and also (I think) because my use is streaming media.

In terms of this build am I being overly cautious by going raidz2 over raidz1? Again no data in this pool is irreplaceable, but I do remember something he said that most people who lost data had raidz1 and it was more dangerous with zfs.

 

[nightshade00013]

On the motherboard and the integrated SAS controller, while you could save a few bucks by not having it. Think of the cost to add one later on and weigh the possibility of wanting more and/or faster space later on.

You could save 50.00 now and end up spending two to three times that later on to add a SAS controller. More than likely you'll save less. There is another board that will save more but it's maximum ram support is 16GB so you're crippling yourself even more that way.

I would stick with the board you have picked but agree that you can drop to the cheaper 5400rpm drives. I am using a pair of laptop drives right now until I can pick up the ones I want and can easily stream to multiple devices at the same time with Plex. Once you start a file FreeNAS will read ahead and store the files in memory anyway. You would be better suited by spending the cash saved to double your ram IMHO.