BUILD Home made NAS instead of QNAP TS-451

[Aikimaniac]

Hmm, didn't know about that board. There's a similar one from ASRock which is used by a few people around here.

Supermicro has a lot of miniITX stuff, but it's all Avoton.

Well...after reading the HW recommendations in stickies here on forums, im pretty sure that Atom CPU is a no go option for FreeNAS build..

A number of forum users have the: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX

If you go the Gigabyte route, you can be the pioneer.

If somebody would give me money, ill be glad 2 pioneers in 1 person every 10 minutes... since 1000€ is alot for me, ill gladly let others be pioneers in new and not tested products :D

 

[Ericloewe]

Well...after reading the HW recommendations in stickies here on forums, im pretty sure that Atom CPU is a no go option for FreeNAS build..


[\QUOTE]

What gave you that idea? Avoton is a proper server-grade platform. It's plenty fast for the vast majority, too.

 

[Fraoch]

Well it is a proper server board - ECC and even IPMI. Two proper Intel GbE LAN interfaces, 5 SATA III ports. Even a PCIe x16 slot for an HBA if you need more ports. I also see an on-board USB port. Pretty neat.

Only two drawbacks from what I can see:

1. Just two RAM slots and a maximum of 16 GB. Should still be OK if you don't use very high capacity drives and make a gigantic pool. Also don't use too many plugins or jails.
2. You're on your own in the forum. You might not be able to get much help on the forums because no one will have the same hardware.

Otherwise, seems pretty nice.

 

[Fraoch]

Well...after reading the HW recommendations in stickies here on forums, im pretty sure that Atom CPU is a no go option for FreeNAS build..

To paraphrase a very, very old commercial - this isn't your grandfather's Atom.

It's an 8-core CPU, designed for servers, and runs at less than 20 W, meaning it's usually passively cooled. It accomplishes what it does through throwing all its many cores behind a task. Interestingly, this was the idea behind the original Atom - they were never intended to be run in singles or just pairs but in 8, 16, 32 core arrays. Weak processors but lots and lots of them.

It does quite well in FreeNAS apparently. It's even good for transcoding a few streams. I wonder if it's enough for Samba though, which is single-threaded and likes high clock speeds (ideal for a Core i3, which would be faster than most Xeons at this task due to its high clock speed).

http://www.servethehome.com/Server-...8-core-avoton-rangeley-benchmarks-fast-power/

It's expensive though, but part of that is its rather revolutionary 4-port NIC which apparently adds quite a bit to the cost. I was also concerned about single-core performance. In the end I was able to find a Xeon E3-1220 V3 and a Supermicro X10SLM-F for less. I still envy that 20 W peak power consumption (mine idles at 47 W), the passive cooling and the small form factor though.

 

[cyberjock]

@Fraoch

Read my presentation. I was able to do >400MB/sec with a 10Gb NIC on the 8-core Atom. I forget the exact numbers, but check them out.

 

[Fraoch]

Cool...for anyone else looking for this:

http://cyberj0ck.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/my-review-of-the-freenas-mini-part-2/

If the price wasn't so high here (it was over $400 when I was looking, it's skyrocketed to almost $475 now!) and the availability wasn't so poor (backordered) it would've made my decision easier.

I am talking about the Supermicro A1SAI-2750F though. The ASRock version isn't available at all, and the C2550 version has also disappeared.

 

[anodos]

I wonder if it's enough for Samba though, which is single-threaded and likes high clock speeds (ideal for a Core i3, which would be faster than most Xeons at this task due to its high clock speed).

Samba is single-threaded per datastream. Smbd will happily say 'all your base are belong to us' to a multicore processor in a multiuser environment.

9.2.1.3 had a bug with libinotify / samba that caused smbd to thoroughly violate a multicore Xeon processor. All core pegged at 100%.

 

[Aikimaniac]

Another great thread "Mini-ITX C226 Haswell build" made me consider to mITX way and skip the Supermicro since its mATX. For now this will be probably the best adept for my needs in field of NAS.

Motheboard: €190 Asrock E3C226D2I
CPU: €112 Intel® Core™ i3-4160T Processor
(3M Cache, 3.10 GHz)
RAM: €207 2x Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL11 ECC Unbuffered
PSU: €58 Seasonic G Series 360W
CASE: €67 Fractal Design Node 304 Black
USB: €5 Cruzer Fit™ USB Flash Drive
TOTAL: €639

Ive reached over my €500 budget and here is my next question. Is the 16GB RAM necessary? Will be my FreeNAS too limited while running on 8GB only? Looking at all those factory build NAS from QNAP or Synology which have like 1GB and even 512MB RAM and ppl seem to be happy with them.

 

[Ericloewe]

Another great thread "Mini-ITX C226 Haswell build" made me consider to mITX way and skip the Supermicro since its mATX. For now this will be probably the best adept for my needs in field of NAS.

Motheboard: €190 Asrock E3C226D2I
CPU: €112 Intel® Core™ i3-4160T Processor
(3M Cache, 3.10 GHz)
RAM: €207 2x Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL11 ECC Unbuffered
PSU: €58 Seasonic G Series 360W
CASE: €67 Fractal Design Node 304 Black
USB: €5 Cruzer Fit™ USB Flash Drive
TOTAL: €639

Ive reached over my €500 budget and here is my next question. Is the 16GB RAM necessary? Will be my FreeNAS too limited while running on 8GB only? Looking at all those factory build NAS from QNAP or Synology which have like 1GB and even 512MB RAM and ppl seem to be happy with them.

Don't compare FreeNAS to those pre-built things. They don't hold a candle to FreeNAS in several ways.

Depending on your needs, 8GB of RAM might be enough, but 16GB is the sweet spot. You can, of course, upgrade from 8GB to 16GB easily at a later date by adding a second 8GB DIMM.

 

[Aikimaniac]

cool beans :)...so...now i need to prepare excuse to my wife why we need to invest 1000€ in something we didnt needed till nowadays... i hope the config is just fine ;)

 

[anodos]

so...now i need to prepare excuse to my wife why we need to invest 1000€ in something we didnt needed till nowadays...

You may need some marketing help. You didn't *realize* you need it till recently. You've always needed it. :)

One more useful bit of advice. A disjunction (or statement) is true if one or more of its operands is true. So getting a FreeNAS box will make you really happy or save baby seals, or stop global warming, or stop wars. So a good person would want you to get a FreeNAS box.

 

[gpsguy]

Since you need to involve the good wife, please ensure that any critical data, like wedding/kids/xxx pix or important documents are backed up on other media. We'd hate to find out something went wrong and you're now looking for a good divorce lawyer. ;)

so...now i need to prepare excuse to my wife why we need to invest 1000€ in something we didnt needed till nowadays...

 

[Fraoch]

CPU: €112 Intel® Core™ i3-4160T Processor

Why the "T"? If it's low power consumption you want, this won't help. It will limit the full-load power draw (and the speed, and the performance!) but it won't save any on idle power draw, which is where your FreeNAS will spend most of its time. So when you really need performance, you won't get it, and when you really need low idle power draw, it'll be no better than a regular Core i3. So just get a regular Core i3 at the same price or lower. Around here at least, the i3-4340 is the same price but would perform better (3.6 GHz).

 

[Ericloewe]

Why the "T"? If it's low power consumption you want, this won't help. It will limit the full-load power draw (and the speed, and the performance!) but it won't save any on idle power draw, which is where your FreeNAS will spend most of its time. So when you really need performance, you won't get it, and when you really need low idle power draw, it'll be no better than a regular Core i3. So just get a regular Core i3 at the same price or lower. Around here at least, the i3-4340 is the same price but would perform better (3.6 GHz).

This exactly.

 

[Aikimaniac]

Hmm...didnt know that.. thanks for tip... so i change it to

CPU: 102€ Intel® Core™ i3-4160 Processor(3M Cache, 3.60 GHz)

Im curious about PSU...isnt 450W too much? Isnt more suitable 360W PSU ? According to my calculations should 6x WD Red 3TB with by me selected HW take like around 164W... i selected this 450 due removable cables so i can have not messy case..

 

[Fraoch]

Hmm...didnt know that.. thanks for tip... so i change it to

CPU: 102€ Intel® Core™ i3-4160 Processor(3M Cache, 3.60 GHz)

Looks good!

Im curious about PSU...isnt 450W too much? Isnt more suitable 360W PSU ? According to my calculations should 6x WD Red 3TB with by me selected HW take like around 164W... i selected this 450 due removable cables so i can have not messy case..

It's better to overspecify your PSU rather than underspecify it. PSUs reach their maximum efficiency at 30 - 50% load. They will live longest, run coolest and waste the least amount of power in that range. This is important in a NAS which will be on 24/7 - no way do you want to have a PSU running hot 24/7, and since it's constantly drawing power, the more efficient, the better. This is why gold-certified PSUs are good for FreeNAS, they may actually pay back their cost premium over a bronze PSU after several years.

Of course that 164 W is PEAK load, meaning you must size your PSU to take this load, and it shouldn't see any higher with the hardware you have. At idle, it will be significantly lower...mine draws only 47 W at idle.

164 W is 45% of 360 W, it's 36% of 450 W. Both power supplies would be fine and both would still be in their maximum efficiency range. At idle, the 450 W PS would be further away from its maximum efficiency, but you'd have this problem with just about any PSU - my 47 W idle would need a 166 W PSU to be at 30% load, but a 166 W PSU would not be enough for full load. It's better to have ample power reserves, you give up efficiency at idle for this.

 

[Ericloewe]

Hmm...didnt know that.. thanks for tip... so i change it to

CPU: 102€ Intel® Core™ i3-4160 Processor(3M Cache, 3.60 GHz)

Im curious about PSU...isnt 450W too much? Isnt more suitable 360W PSU ? According to my calculations should 6x WD Red 3TB with by me selected HW take like around 164W... i selected this 450 due removable cables so i can have not messy case..

I recommend the G-360 up to about 10 drives and the G-450 for some 13 drives or for those who want the modular cables. On spinup, count on up to 30W per disk, plus some 60W for the rest of the system.

 

[Aikimaniac]

So...i proly decide to use the 450 since it has removable cables to have better cable management and airflow in box...

Want to ask..if i start with 4x 3TB drives...can i enhance later my raid with 2 more 3TB drives of same brand and type so i would have from start 6TB within Z2 Raid and later 12TB?
For me it would be sufficient since right now im on 4 TB on USB drives full of family photos, videos and some move series like complete Startreks, SG1..etc.. :D

 

[Ericloewe]

So...i proly decide to use the 450 since it has removable cables to have better cable management and airflow in box...

Want to ask..if i start with 4x 3TB drives...can i enhance later my raid with 2 more 3TB drives of same brand and type so i would have from start 6TB within Z2 Raid and later 12TB?
For me it would be sufficient since right now im on 4 TB on USB drives full of family photos, videos and some move series like complete Startreks, SG1..etc.. :D

No, you can only add vdevs, not modify them (including removing them).

Check Cyberjock's guide for details. (link is in my sig)

 

[Aikimaniac]

So i can have RAID with either 4 HDDs from start or 6 HDDs from start with no way to add more HDDs later? Not sure but i recall we did something like this on office that we exchanged common RAID 5. Going to read the guide.. :) thanks for pointing there.