Build questions (drive/usb configuration, parts recommendation, etc.)

[Ramapo]

Hello all,

I'm building a new freenas machine with the goal of providing a backup location for my families computers and running a media server. After I get that working and feel more comfortable with it I'd like to do more (owncloud, sickbeard, ...) but that's down the road. I also plan on adding a second 6x ?tb raidz2 array so I can separate media and backups/files but I don't have the funds for that currently.

Here's the build:
[Things I already have]
- E3-1241 v3
- 6x 2tb Seagate Barracuda HDD's
- 2x 3tb Seagate HDD's
- Older NZXT Case (will be replaced asap)
- 2x 32gb USB's that will be mirrored for the OS

[Things I'm going to purchase]
- Supermicro X10SLf-7 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D65EHQY/?tag=ozlp-20
- Crucial ECC RAM http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008EMA5VU/?tag=ozlp-20
- Arctic Alpine CPU Cooler http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JGMVUE/?tag=ozlp-20
- Seasonic 550W PSU http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00918MEZG/?tag=ozlp-20

I plan on running the 6x 2tb drives in raidz2 and the 2x 3tb drives in a mirrored vdev. I plan on having the media stored on the raidz2 array and the backups stored on both the radz2 array and the mirrored 3tb drives for redundancy as the drives are older and untrusted (but lightly used). Does that sound sensible?

I was also wondering how many streams a system like this would be able to support using plex or emby with the media stored on the radiz2 array (assuming no other system loads)?

For the mirrored usb's for the OS, is it alright to have one installed internally and one external? Or is there a way to set them both up internally easily? Also is it ok if they're usb 3.0 but plugged into 2.0 ports?

Does anyone have any recommendations from personnel experience for a psu and cpu cooler that would be appropriate for this build, quiet, and low cost? I selected the current choices based on reviews and could use a second opinion.

Is there anything else that I've missed?

Thanks for any and all help, and for being a great resource for such a cool piece of software that I'm looking forward to working with.

 

[DifferentStrokes]

Looks like you've read up on what to buy. Some pretty good choices here.

Couple of things:
If your Intel E3-1241 came with a cooler it will probably do the job (unless maybe your just wanting something quieter as you metioned)

Mirroring the boot devices is the way to go. You can save a little money and just get 16GB drives as 32GB is way more than you'll need, but it certainly what hurt either.

I didn't see a UPS on the list. That is something to look into as well.

As far as Plex streams a lot of that depends on if it is "streaming" or transcoding.

 

[BigDave]

Since you seem to live at the white house (1600 Penn. Ave) you might seriously consider a UPS for those
dreaded terrorist attacks that may cause a power outage and possible data loss to due improper shut down;)

 

[DifferentStrokes]

Oh....and yes you can get USB header adapters to plug drives directly into the Mobo.

 

[Spearfoot]

I like your choices, too, as I use a SuperMicro X10SL7 myself. It does only have one internal USB socket on the motherboard. Something like the adapter below should let you add add'l internal sockets if you want to keep your mirrored boot devices hidden away inside the chassis:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QQ0PWII/?tag=ozlp-20

 

[Ramapo]

Looks like you've read up on what to buy. Some pretty good choices here.

Couple of things:
If your Intel E3-1241 came with a cooler it will probably do the job (unless maybe your just wanting something quieter as you metioned)

Mirroring the boot devices is the way to go. You can save a little money and just get 16GB drives as 32GB is way more than you'll need, but it certainly what hurt either.

I didn't see a UPS on the list. That is something to look into as well.

As far as Plex streams a lot of that depends on if it is "streaming" or transcoding.

I do have the stock cooler and I'll try that out but the last one I used was much louder than the aftermarket coolers I've used/heard. This will be located where I'm sleeping, so silence is desired.

The sticks were free, otherwise I would have gotten 16gb ones (hey, I couldn't argue with the price).

I do have a UPS I can use but it's connected to my desktop and I'm not sure I want to try and run two pc's off of it. It's this APC model: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038ZTZ3W/?tag=ozlp-20 I also don't know if it can communicate with freenas for a elegant shutdown. I was going to look into that more when I get everything setup and start doing backups. I'm sure there's a list somewhere with compatible UPS's.

Assuming worse case, where it has to transcode before streaming, what do you think? Going forward I'll work on getting everything into mp4 but I have a decent media collection already and I'd imagine varied number of video formats.

Since you seem to live at the white house (1600 Penn. Ave) you might seriously consider a UPS for those
dreaded terrorist attacks that may cause a power outage and possible data loss to due improper shut down;)

I'm aware of the potential situation already and am under advisement to proceed with that course of action by top experts in the field. You've done America a great service by backing their assessment fellow citizen. Your country thanks you.

Sincerely,
POTUS

I like your choices, too, as I use a SuperMicro X10SL7 myself. It does only have one internal USB socket on the motherboard. Something like the adapter below should let you add add'l internal sockets if you want to keep your mirrored boot devices hidden away inside the chassis:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QQ0PWII/?tag=ozlp-20

It seems like the best board for the price, I mean you could save $45 and get the cheaper version without the built in LSI SAS controller but then you only have 6 sata ports and the separate addon card that's recommended was running $80 dollars on ebay when I looked. It just seems like the best option.

That adapter is perfect. One questions though, I remember reading that USB 3.0 ports don't have the best support in freebsd and thus freenas, will that effect this?

 

[Spearfoot]

That adapter is perfect. One questions though, I remember reading that USB 3.0 ports don't have the best support in freebsd and thus freenas, will that effect this?

I honestly don't know. I boot VMware ESXi 6.0 from a thumb drive in the internal USB port, and have a mirrored FreeNAS system installed on two SSD datastores.

 

[Ericloewe]

That adapter is perfect. One questions though, I remember reading that USB 3.0 ports don't have the best support in freebsd and thus freenas, will that effect this?

Works fine with USB 2.0 drives. YMMV with USB 3.0 drives and USB 3.0 is disabled by default, currently.

 

[Ramapo]

Works fine with USB 2.0 drives. YMMV with USB 3.0 drives and USB 3.0 is disabled by default, currently.

Thanks for the reply. For the USB 3.0 drives I can enable support following this method: http://www.freenas.org/whats-new/category/freenas/page/18

But that might lead to booting problems according to this: https://bugs.freenas.org/issues/3273

If it does I can go into the bios and disable xhci and try that, although then the usb 3.0 ports might be disabled altogether (according to the above).

If it doesn't work I'll pick up some usb 2.0 16gb drives, and one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GNU2V6/?tag=ozlp-20

Does that seem like a good path forward?