Greeting: Please advise with set up a new HP Server

[b0ogdan]

Greetings everybody,
My name is Alex, i just recently discovered FreeNAS.
I am a graphic designer and needed a new small server for me and 2 people i work with.

I really need an advice to setup the new server correctly from the beginning to fit our needs.

The server i bought is an HP ProLiant ML310e Gen8 v2 E3-1241v3.
Intel Xeon E3-1241v3 (3.4GHz/4-core/8MB/80W)
- 16GB (2 x 8GB) PC3-12800E DDR3 UDIMM
- HP Ethernet 1Gb 2-port 332i Adapter
- HP Half-Height 16x SATA DVD-RW
- HP Dynamic Smart Array B120i Controller (RAID 0/1/10)
- 2 x HP 460W Common Slot Gold Hot Plug Power Supply
+ i bought 2 x 256 ssd sandisk extreme pro and 2 x 4TB WD purple.
+ 1 ssd or micro ssd to install freenas on it

The purpose of the server is to store about 1,5 Tb of files that we already have (jpg, psd, ai , pdf, some small some large) + new files and also to work with raw pictures ( 30+mb files and large psd) everyday with files that are stored on the server.

Until now we have an old dell with windows server 2008 for file sharing and work as i described above.
Everybody had mapped a network drive.

Besides me and my 2 guys there will be also 2-4 people that will view sometimes files like jpg and pdf.

The server is nearly us and we all have 1gb network cards.

I hope i made the correct choice with the hardware i bought.

I read a little bit about FreeNAS and other option in the last 2 weeks and for what i need, stability and backup i think it`s the right choice.

What i want to ask you guys how should i set up the hard disks and also what you suggest as a backup plan..

My initial idea ( the server has an array with 4 hdd in the front and a 5th sata inside ) was to have install FreeNAS on a ssd or microssd connected to the 5th sata inside the server and for the array in the front to setup the other HDD in raid 1 ( 2 ssd for working with the daily files raw photos , psd and ai files ) and the other 2x 4TB WD raid 1 to store files.

What you guys think i should do ?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Most of your choices look fine, but I get the impression you're planning to use a hardware RAID card with FreeNAS. This would be a mistake. If your motherboard doesn't have enough SATA ports, you need to use a card that can operate in JBOD mode or can be flashed to IT mode.

 

[b0ogdan]

Hi and thank you for your answer.
Sorry i did not say anything about the raid.
No i don`t plan to use the raid card. I read it`s now o to use the raid card together with freenas.
I will set the hdd option to AHCI in bios and use the raid function within FreeNAS.
My question was more or less about the 2 SSD.
Should i put them in mirror..or not? If i use the 2 ssd in raid i have trim for both of them?
Also if i install now FreeNAS on an ssd i will encounter any issue if i clone the disk after and put it on micro ssd or a pen drive?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Your overall plan seems OK to me. The term "mirror" is correct for ZFS, where saying "RAID1" can lead to confusion.

Should i put them in mirror..or not? If i use the 2 ssd in raid i have trim for both of them?

I believe trim is supported in 9.3.1, but I wouldn't be too concerned if it isn't as long as you don't overfill the drives. Sticking to the 80% recommendation for ZFS volumes should keep your SSDs in good condition too.

if i install now FreeNAS on an ssd i will encounter any issue if i clone the disk after and put it on micro ssd or a pen drive?

Instead of trying to clone the boot device, just make sure you have an up to date backup of your configuration. Then you can clean install to a different device and restore the configuration. This allows rapid recovery from a failed boot device too.

what you suggest as a backup plan

The CrashPlan plugin is a popular choice, but on FreeNAS it does need regular attention. Assuming everything you want to backup is available via shares, you could run something like Arq Backup on one of the client machines and backup to Google Nearline Storage, Amazon Glacier or OneDrive.

 

[b0ogdan]

Hmm...i am reading a little bit more...and i see that for 2 drives i cannot use raidz?
I need to have at least 3?
For 2 drive the option is to use mirror instead of raidz?

Can please someone advise me.
Thank you

 

[b0ogdan]

So should i put the 2 x 4 tb in mirror not raidz? or use only 1 ssd for porcessing the raw pictures and files and have 3 x 4TB in raidz?

 

[gpsguy]

You could create 2 volumes with ZFS mirrors. One small one with your SSD's and a second one with your 4TB drives.


Sent from my phone

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

i see that for 2 drives i cannot use raidz?
I need to have at least 3?
For 2 drive the option is to use mirror instead of raidz?

This is correct.

 

[b0ogdan]

And which is the best way to move my data from the windows server with ntfs partition to the newly created zfs with 2 x 4tb western purple mirrored on the freenas server?
Should i use rsync? I cannot connect the hdd with the data physically to the freenas server and copy directly no?

 

[Mirfster]

And which is the best way to move my data from the windows server with ntfs partition to the newly created zfs with 2 x 4tb western purple mirrored on the freenas server?
Should i use rsync? I cannot connect the hdd with the data physically to the freenas server and copy directly no?

Might just be easier to copy over the network from your Windows Server. Technically, you should be able to connect the drive physically to FreeNas and copy the data. While I have not done this personally (yet), I have heard mixed results. RSync is not entirely needed to do this. Depending on the amount of data and your network speed (assuming you have 1 GB network) it would not take that long. Simple "Copy and Paste" or even a "RoboCopy" command should do the trick for you.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

The benefit of rsync or Robocopy is that they can resume an interrupted transfer.