Upgrading current FreeNAS system

[Christopher Saunders]

I currently have a FreeNAS system that I build using spare parts I had around the house and it works great. However I have run out of space and my controller card has no more room to add additional drives. I know there are a lot of different options that I could pursue to upgrade this system, but I wanted to run a system I found on eBay by this forum and see what everyone thinks.

- 2U Chenbro 12 Bay SAS/SATA
- 2x Intel Xeon L5520 SLBFA 2.26GHz Quad
- 24GB ECC-Reg DDR3
- TYAN S7012 LGA 1366 Server Motherboard
- Quad Intel Gigabit NIC Intel 82574L/82576EB
- Dual 720Watt PSU
- LSI Mega RAID SAS Card w/ Cables 8708EM2 w/ BBU
- Chenbro SAS Expander 80H10461201B1 Card

Let me know what you think.

 

[jgreco]

There's one for $425 that lacks a RAID controller (also only 4GB RAM ugh), which would be a better base choice because you probably want to get an IBM ServeRAID M1015 for best FreeNAS compatibility (see sticky in Hardware, etc). Do note that it'll be a bit louder and probably a bit more energy-hungry than your existing unit.

This is not an endorsement, but I'd say it appears to have potential.

 

[Christopher Saunders]

Thanks for your suggestion. I am a little confused on why you think the system you suggested will be louder than mine. I took a quick glance and they look identical other than the memory and controller card.

 

[jgreco]

Have you ever worked with rackmount gear?

p.s. that is honestly not the potentially sarcastic question it appears to be.

 

[Christopher Saunders]

Sorry, I misunderstood your comment. I thought you mean that the system would be louder than the one I suggested and not my current system. Yeah I have worked with Rackmount equipment. The unit would be mounted in a utility room and the noise isn't a problem.

 

[jgreco]

Okay then, good. If you haven't worked with these high density storage servers, a secondary warning is to not compromise the cooling. These things rely on being able to force air through 1mm wide gaps around the disks, and if you leave the cover off, you get a nice EZ-Bake Oven effect because the air will take the easier path. Filler trays and blanks are part of the cooling design as well.

Not directly relevant but you can read more here.

 

[Christopher Saunders]

Do you have experience in moving hard drives from one system to another? I will most likely have a temp backup for all my files, but I would like to know if my volumes will stay in tact once I place the drives in a new system with a new controller card.

 

[cyberjock]

Thanks for the "burn" jgreco. Yes, that thread about the schmuck overheating his server... is me. :( I've fixed it temporarily by getting rid of my fan "upgrades" (upgraded to 120mm fans and went to a bearingless design I typically use).

Yes, if you move all of the drives from a zpool to a different machine they should just auto import without any fuss.

 

[jgreco]

Thanks for the "burn" jgreco.

Hey, what did I say? I said "not directly relevant". It just happened to be a good discussion of the problems all these high density storage servers face.