OptiPlex 780 Small Form Factor with an eSATA port

[Gerry Mullins]

I was gifted with a very clean 9 year old OptiPlex 780 Small Form Factor that has an internal 160GB HDD which I've configured as a FreeNAS volume (just to confirm that FreeNAS v11 would run on it). It's been humming along for a couple of weeks with no issues, and now I'm ready to graduate to an array so that I can enjoy the benefits of ZFS, and lots of space to host backups, media, etc. MY QUESTION IS: Can I use the eSATA port factory installed on the back of the Optiplex to connect a JBOD with a few 1TB WD Red drives. I've looked at some eSATA JBODs that require a "eSATA PCIe port multiplier" (for example: https://goo.gl/jZ3XkE). Or, should I be looking in another direction for external storage? Has anyone done this with older generation Dells?

Thanks in advance!

 

[gpsguy]

A 9 year old small form factor desktop is a bad platform for a FreeNAS server. You'd be better served by a new/inexpensive server or a late model server from eBay. See the Resources section for hardware suggestions.

 

[Gerry Mullins]

Thanks for your quick reply and advice! I agree that old hardware for a high availability server isn't prudent. And I will be building a new and reliable server after I finish testing/learning FreeNAS. However, since this is a box I already have and works as a testbed (learning platform) my question remains: Can I use the eSATA port factory installed on the back of the Optiplex to connect a JBOD with a few 1TB WD Red drives. I've looked at some eSATA JBODs that require a "eSATA PCIe port multiplier" (for example: https://goo.gl/jZ3XkE). Or, should I be looking in another direction for external storage? Has anyone done this with older generation Dells?"

 

[Ericloewe]

I've looked at some eSATA JBODs that require a "eSATA PCIe port multiplier" (for example: https://goo.gl/jZ3XkE).

There's only one use for those: Training for e-waste recycling.

SATA port multipliers are evil, unreliable, an intimately associated with hardware so crappy nobody with any sort of reputation is willing to attach their name to it.

You can use the eSATA port for a single external drive, though.