Prospective FreeNAS Build

[Evan Shaw]

Hello, I am new to FreeNAS and NAS in general, and I have some questions concerning a prospective build. This build would be used for mostly a fileserver/webserver for photos and general storage.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XYFHBP

CPU: Intel i3 6100T - I chose this processor for its low power consumption, ECC support and upgradeability, but is FreeNAS compatible with Skylake? I couldn't find anything about its compatibility.

Motherboard: ASRock C236 WSI Mini ITX LGA1151 - I'm not really sure about ASRock, but this board looks pretty reliable, supports ECC, has 8 SATA controllers + Intel dual gigabit. Concerned with only 2 RAM slots though.

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 1x16GB DDR4-2133 - Kingston is a pretty good brand, and 1x16 allows upgrades.

Storage: WD Red 3TB 5400RPM x5 - I plan on running 4 of these on RAID 6 (Z2?) with another one sitting on the shelf in case of failure, however, I've heard that RAID 10 is better, and I am considering both.

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX - Mini ITX case that is very small, but has lots of room for drives.

PSU: SeaSonic 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX - SeaSonic is pretty good, and this would put power usage at maximum efficiency level.

Boot Disk: I actually have no idea what to do about this one. Some people use USBs and some people say that USB sucks in FreeNAS. Please recommend!

UPS: Preferably something small; I really don't know anything about UPS specs or brands that work with FreeNAS, open to suggestions.


tl;dr - Skylake compatibility? What RAID to use on 4x3TB? Boot disk and UPS/ general recommendations accepted.

 

[BigDave]

Hello, I am new to FreeNAS and NAS in general, and I have some questions concerning a prospective build. This build would be used for mostly a fileserver/webserver for photos and general storage.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XYFHBP

CPU: Intel i3 6100T - I chose this processor for its low power consumption, ECC support and upgradeability, but is FreeNAS compatible with Skylake? I couldn't find anything about its compatibility.

Motherboard: ASRock C236 WSI Mini ITX LGA1151 - I'm not really sure about ASRock, but this board looks pretty reliable, supports ECC, has 8 SATA controllers + Intel dual gigabit. Concerned with only 2 RAM slots though.

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 1x16GB DDR4-2133 - Kingston is a pretty good brand, and 1x16 allows upgrades.

Storage: WD Red 3TB 5400RPM x5 - I plan on running 4 of these on RAID 6 (Z2?) with another one sitting on the shelf in case of failure, however, I've heard that RAID 10 is better, and I am considering both.

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX - Mini ITX case that is very small, but has lots of room for drives.

PSU: SeaSonic 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX - SeaSonic is pretty good, and this would put power usage at maximum efficiency level.

Boot Disk: I actually have no idea what to do about this one. Some people use USBs and some people say that USB sucks in FreeNAS. Please recommend!

UPS: Preferably something small; I really don't know anything about UPS specs or brands that work with FreeNAS, open to suggestions.


tl;dr - Skylake compatibility? What RAID to use on 4x3TB? Boot disk and UPS/ general recommendations accepted.

I would go with this instead:
Pentium G4400
Supermicro X11SSM-F (eight SATA & 64GB RAM capacity)
Fractal R5 case (more room, better cooling)
6- WD 3TB reds, all six in RAIDz2
SSD boot device
Fortran Aurum S 400 Gold
I took a quick look at shopping and my choices are approx. $200 more money (give or take).
Not everything was available on PCPP, so I was unable to do a side by side comparison.
IMHO you end up with cooler drives, that will last longer as a result. More storage capacity...

 

[BigDave]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/r4trVY
I discovered you can input manual pricing for the missing products

 

[Evan Shaw]

An ATX Mid Tower case is a little too big for me, is there a smaller case that you would recommend?

 

[BigDave]

An ATX Mid Tower case is a little too big for me, is there a smaller case that you would recommend?

I don't like small case with this many drives, too hard to keep cool (I live in Texas so this is a major concern for me).
This is not a recommendation, just something I found on PCPP website. I know some of the members here have used it and
to quote Forest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that"
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/jw4gXL/fractal-design-case-fdcadefminibl

 

[Evan Shaw]

Ok, do you have any suggestions for a UPS?

 

[mutation666]

After building and upgrading my own server a few times, I would highly advise against Mini ITX unless space is very important. I had to upgrade my board to add a 10gbe adapter since my only slot was taken up with my HBA card. I would also go a little bigger psu IMO, I will probably outgrow my 400w in the next year or be stressing it alot to its peak. The rest of your build seems good though.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/thompson896/saved/mh62FT My build except I didn't update ram on it yet its currently 32gb not 16.

 

[BigDave]

Ok, do you have any suggestions for a UPS?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16842102132
The above model has worked well for me, my outages last for just minutes in most cases and it seems to work
just fine to power my pfSense box, network switches and my FreeNAS server long enough for a proper shutdown.
On the same web page is a smaller model for $110 if you think the other is too much coin, but it's only 8 outlets.
A few people in here have both the 1350 and 1500 models. Last thought, the replacement batteries are reasonable.