Thoughts on First Build

[Itabe]

Hi everyone,

I have been lurking for the past month reading up on FreeNAS and considering my own build. I currently use my primary desktop for file storage with six 1TB HDDs pooled with Drive Bender. Now that my pool is running out of space, I would like to move my data to a NAS and am seeking input on my build plans.

Use scenario:
RAIDZ2 pool
Crashplan cloud backup for pool
Sync family data to server (bitsync and/or owncloud)
Transmission/Sick Beard/Couch Potato
Minecraft Server (<10 players)
Plex Server (3+ 1080p transcodes, hopefully 4k down the road if the cpu has enough horsepower)
Mumble Server (I might not end up bothering with this)

Hardware:
6x4tb WD Red (I considered HGSTs that are cheaper, but they will generate more heat at 7200rpm)
Either X11 or X10 supermicro board with Xeon e3 1231 v3 or 1230 v5
16-32gb ECC Ram, DDR3/4 depending on motherboard choice
Fractal Design R5 or Node 804
SSD or mirrored USB boot drives (SSD if I spring for X11)
Seasonic G450 PSU
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS

I am leaning towards an X11 build, but I am hesitant to deal with any compatibility issues since I am new to Linux and FreeBSD. I might wait until late February to see how Ericloewe’s build goes.

I will probably go with 32gb of RAM to deal with all the potential jails, though we will see if I can get them all working. I would appreciate any input on my hardware choices and use case. I am happy to answer any questions.


Other thoughts:

My recent reading has been focused on network security issues, and I am concerned about the potential pitfalls of WAN access from jails for torrents, syncing, minecraft, and mumble. I am planning on setting up OpenVPN on my Asus router for connection to Minecraft, and I would like to use a PIA VPN for torrents. Would a VPN also be necessary for securing access to Mumble if friends want to use the voice chat server but not deal with getting on the VPN?

For my family to sync files to the server from outside my LAN, can bitsync or owncloud be sufficiently secured without putting them through the paces of connecting to the VPN? I realize SSH is less secure, but I am looking for a more user friendly method for syncing their files since my parents aren’t tech savvy.

It sounds like Plex is relatively secure for my family to access from their homes even if I have to forward a port for it:

This is pretty much exactly what Plex was designed for.
Opening your Plex server port only opens up to plex server, not the FreeNAS box. Your Plex server should have access to your media, but nothing else. There is nothing more that would need to be done. You aren't going to be able to open up Plex client and somehow browse to any other directories from a client side of things.

I apologize in advance for any dumb questions. I realize I have a lot more reading to do, but I am interested in starting a conversation about my plan. Thank you all!

 

[DifferentStrokes]

Looks like you are on the right track. I'd think X10 and DDR3 would be just fine. Proably even save you some mone. Extra money could then be used to buy a nice piece of meat for the grill. I'm hungry, sorry. :)

 

[Itabe]

Thanks Strokes, that sounds like an excellent idea. I've always enjoyed building PCs as a hobby, so the joy of building it big might be worth it. Nevertheless, I don't get the impression it would make much of a performance difference. Now I'm thinking of a steak seared in a cast iron skillet because we are snowed in from the grill.

The X10 build would look very similar to yours!

 

[Free@last]

I wish I had bought a Fractal case, other than saving you money that looks pretty good to me. Buy a couple of 16gb Sandisk USB sticks for $10-15 instead of using SSD and save yourself a chunk of change. I have been using 16gb of ram with much of what you have listed configured and it has been plenty of resources so far though it is unusual for more than 2 streams to come off my plex at a time.

I would avoid being on the bleeding edge with the board, lots of people have the X10 and are very happy with them, I have been bit by new designs being less than fully supported with early products. Call me paranoid but is that bad in a storage server?

 

[Bidule0hm]

Buy a couple of 16gb Sandisk USB sticks for $10-15 instead of using SSD and save yourself a chunk of change.

I recommend against that. Any cheap SSD (something like $30) from any reputable manufacturer (Sandisk, Crucial, Samsung, ...) will be far better than any USB stick.

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

I recommend against that. Any cheap SSD (something like $30) from any reputable manufacturer (Sandisk, Crucial, Samsung, ...) will be far better than any USB stick.

Why?

 

[Mirfster]

Why?

Speed and longevity; would be my first two reasons. I understand that FreeNas loads in to memory, but getting to that point and installing updates on a USB do not even compare to a SSD (or smaller 2.5 SATA).

Been seeing a lot of people leaning towards moving away from USB lately as well especially with the prices of old SSDs being so darn cheap nowadays.

Edit: Of course if you are limited on SATA connections, then there is nothing "wrong" with using USB.

 

[Itabe]

As an update, I am moving forward on a more budget-friendly NAS build. I might grow into more RAM/xeon/SSD boot upgrade in a few years, but for now I wanted to prioritize storage space within my means. We had a few other surprise expenses with our new house haha. Thank you everyone for your comments! I will start building and burning in this weekend.

6x4tb WD Red HDDs ($150 each)
Supermicro X10SLL-F-O ($140)
i3-4170 ($100)
16gb Crucial CT2KIT102472BD160B ($118)
Fractal Design R5 ($80)
Mirrored 16gb Cruzer Micro USB drives (X10SLL-F-O only has 6 SATA, $16 total)
Seasonic G550 PSU (a bit overkill but allows a lot of room for expansion and only eats a few dollars per year in efficiency, $80)
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS ($135)
Fractal Design GP-14 Fan (additional front intake airflow across HDDs, $15)

 

[Mirfster]

Congrats on the new FreeNas Server... Oh and the house too... ;)

 

[Itabe]

Thanks, now I just need to get it wired up with ethernet